Cautionary Tales
Wow… Sometimes I can’t believe the garbage that lands in my inbox. I got this one last week from a guy named Joon: Hey Tom, I don’t want to sound weird, but I was creeping your LinkedIn profile and wanted to reach out. Thought I’d see if you’re open to hopping on a call. Put…
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I’m not a hating kind of guy. But… I HATE Facebook. Lots of reasons. But here’s the latest… A few months ago, I set up a Facebook business account so I could run ads to promote Story Power Marketing. I logged in the other day to set up a new user. But I couldn’t manage…
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Remember that scene in “The Wizard of Oz” when Toto pulls back the curtain so Dorothy and her pals discover the “Wizard of Oz” is merely a man? I’m thinking about that scene for two reasons: 1) After I send this email, I’m hopping in my car with my wife to follow the gray concrete…
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I got an email the other day with the subject line that said, “Receipt for P’pal payment…” It came from a marketer named Victory Akpos. I bought software from him last month. I couldn’t understand why Victory sent a receipt now, weeks after my purchase. I worried that, maybe, I accidentally signed up for something…
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My brother, Mike, got a LinkedIn request the other day from a guy who wrote this: “Love to Connect. I just got a radar that detects high-performance humans. Damn thing won’t stop going off since I saw your profile.” That’s some fancy-schmancy, make-believe radar. Mike wasn’t impressed. No connection for you, Radar Man. I shared…
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My friend Ted Prodromou reached out to an old friend on LinkedIn the other day. He just wanted to say, “Hello” and catch up. The friend replied instantly… …with an automated message… …that said, “Subscribe to my YouTube channel.” That’s it. Nothing else. No “Glad to hear from you, Ted.” No personal comments. Just an…
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Stephanie Michelle was hunting for a job, and she wanted an edge. So she dished out $29.95 for a 7.5 ml vial of “Liquid Trust.” The product description on Amazon says Liquid Trust “can help people gain the trust of others.” Great for sales people, job hunters, and anyone else who wants others to “feel…
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I’ve been thinking about revenge. A movie made me think it. A movie called “Promising Young Woman” that I saw last weekend. It tells the story of a 30-year-old Cassie, who exacts revenge on men who mistreat women. I won’t give away the details. I’ll say only that the movie made me cringe and laugh…
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I get slammed by cold-call LinkedIn connection requests. They usually start with something like this… “I visited your website and was really impressed…” or “I read your profile, and we seem to have a lot in common…” or “It looks like you do some great work…” My favorites are the ones that make it seem…
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Happy (Belated) Groundhog Day. Silly holiday. GREAT movie. I love the scenes with Ned Ryerson. He’s the insurance salesman who went to high school with Phil (Bill Murray’s character). Groundhog Day after Groundhog Day (see the movie if you don’t know what I mean), Ned accosts Phil on the street and pitches insurance. “Have you…
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