The Accidental Pest (An Ironic, Cautionary Tale)

pest control

How’s this for ironic…

Last week, a guy pitching marketing services for pest control companies began bugging me on LinkedIn.

He first buzzed by on Wednesday:

šŸ¦Ÿ: “Hey Tom, let’s connect! – I’ve worked with a lot of folks in pest control and thought maybe I could be of help to you.”

Pest control?!? This guy was buzzing up the wrong tree. I ignored him.

On Thursday, this…

šŸ¦Ÿ: “Thanks for connecting with me, Tom. Would you be available for a quick call next week sometime? Let’s schedule a time that works best for you… (followed by a calendar link).”

I ignored him again.

On Sunday, he buzzed by a third time.

šŸ¦Ÿ: “Quick follow-up to see if you have a few minutes to chat.We’re regularly getting between 8 – 10x return on ad spend for our customers in the pest control industry. I’d love to share a bit with you if you have a few minutes.”

This time I replied: “I’ve written emails/posts about marketers who are ‘annoying pests’ (perhaps your lead-gen system flagged me b/c of those). But I’m not in the pest-control business.Ā šŸ¤£

(As pest-swats go, I thought that was gentle.)

To his credit, the pest apologized and bugged-off.

šŸ¦Ÿ: “Oh so sorry, last thing I want to be is a pest! Iā€™m sure youā€™re right ā€” Iā€™m using LinkedIn tools to help me connect with certain demographic prospects I think I can help out. In your case something in your profile or work history misidentified you as being in this group.”

I forgive you, Pest.

Funny thing about pitchy pests, though: I’ve never met one who says: I WANT to be a pest!

But pests they are.

This guy blames his “LinkedIn tools.” He suggests he’s an Accidental Pest.

But it’s no accident.

He chose to:

  • Use a “LinkedIn tool” that scapes social profiles to generate lead list — inaccurately it seems.
  • Blast cold pitches to the ice-cold, scraped list — without reviewing it for accuracy.

(Pesty is as pesty does.)

You can attract leads, engage prospects and sell your products and services — without being a pitchy pest.

I share some ways to do it in Pointers 3, 16, and 18 inĀ The Story Power Profit Pack.Ā Click the button below to get theĀ Profit PackĀ — so you won’t be an accidental pest.

Don't go away yet..

p.s. Coaches, authors, and consultants hire me to power-up their creative content and storytelling to captivate prospects, stand-out and book more business.

Whenever you're ready, here are several ways I can help you become a storytelling stand-out so you'll land more clients without pitching and prodding:

1) Get theĀ Story Power Profit PackĀ -- 52 Strategies, Tips, and Tactics Ā to Transform Your Content from Ignored to Adored.

2) Watch theĀ free, 7-minute Micro-Training: ā€œThe 3 Most Important Storytelling Keys to Captivate Prospects and Inspire Them to Act -- Without Pitching and Prodding.ā€

3) Become a Story Power VIP: Master how to discover, assemble, and deliver business-building stories. Twice-monthly live masterclasses. Members-only content. One-on-one feedback and consulting sessions. And moreā€¦ If you'd like to learn more about our VIP program, just reply to this email and put "Story Power VIP" in the subject line. Iā€™ll contact you with more details.

4) Work with me one-on-one: If youā€™re interested in working directly with me -- to discover, assemble, and deliver powerful, business-building stories -- simply reply to this email and change the subject line to "Private Client." Tell me a little about yourself, your business, and what you'd like to accomplish, and I'll reply to discuss options.

5) Invite me to speak at an event: I can tailor a presentation that meets the specific needs of your organization. Informative. Entertaining. Virtual or live. Potential for continuing education credits when applicable for your group. If interested, reply to this email and change the subject line to ā€œSpeaking Engagement.ā€ Iā€™ll circle back to discuss the possibilities.

Want to get great content like this...

...delivered straight to your inbox?

Join our email list...

Hidden
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Post Categories

Previous Post

Next Post

Tom Ruwitch

Tom Ruwitch is the founder and CEO of Story Power Marketing. For more than 30 years, he has helped businesses grow by delivering powerful stories using a variety of different media.