If You Want to F@#k Me…At Least Kiss Me First!!!

Oh okay, pardon my French!

But the fact of the matter is that I am angry…pissed off actually.

And the cause for my anger is the sheer ignorance of a digital community that is forgetting decorum and basic online etiquette in their ridiculous attempts to use the medium to enhance their business opportunities.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I am all for networking. And I fully believe that Social Media is a wonderful platform where buyers and sellers can meet as easily as friends.

But there is a procedure. There is a protocol. There is a way you go about approaching your network for business opportunities. Online interaction you must remember has very similar rules to offline transactions. When you are physically introduced to a person, you spend some time in ‘cultivating’ him…there is some polite conversation. You may not become best buddies with everyone you transact with, but a minimum courtesy level is expected.

Same is the case with Online Networking.

Take the case of a Facebook or a LinkedIn connection. Someone approaches you with a friend request or an add me request. You see what’s the connection, you see the common friends and interests you have and accept the invitation.

And Bang!!! Even before your signature has dried, your mail box is spammed with sales pitches.

Hello…can we have a bit of a conversation first please. Can you take the trouble of finding out whether or not I am in the market for your insurance deal or for your jewelry business.

I mean, how would you like it if within a day of meeting you in the real world, I landed up at your doorstep, wanting to sell erotic lingerie to your wife. You’d be upset, right?

Yeah…so please use your intelligence (I am sure you have lots of that…it’s the manners that seem to be in short supply) and give a person time to breathe. Breathe in your aroma. Understand you. Actually connect with you.

And then hit him with a Sales Pitch.

The chances of your pitch working increases exponentially if you have already established a reasonable connect with your target. And decreases dramatically if you make it obvious from the word GO that you see your friend or connection only as a ‘Prospect’.

So you decide…whether a handshake is an invitation to hit your audience on the head or whether it is meant to create a fertile opportunity with a huge dose of acquaintanceship thrown in, if not friendship.

Behave! And Benefit…or Misbehave!!! And die.