There’s nothing wrong with cold outreach - it can be very effective when done well. But the problem is too many people don’t do it well. Rather than taking a systematic approach, researching good-fit prospects, and creating relevant, personalised messages, they fire off generic sales pitches to as many people as possible.

And while it might feel easier and more efficient to send the same copy-and-paste email or message to everyone and anyone you come across, this spray-and-pray approach can do more harm than good.

Think about the impression you are creating when you send someone a message that is clearly just a mass message created in the hope someone will respond.

It hardly screams “quality”, does it?

It’s a lazy approach. It says, “I’m playing the numbers game and will do business with anyone who's interested” rather than making the recipient feel as though you are interested in working with them specifically.

And that’s ok for some types of business and product, depending on your target audience. But if you’re trying to appeal to people on an emotional level, you’ll get better results if you make them feel special. Or at the very least, show you understand them, their business or their industry.

When I receive generic or irrelevant pitches, I usually just ignore them. If the same person keeps bombarding me with pitches, I will eventually block them.

However, I know many people who will instantly block a person if they immediately hit them with a sales pitch before or after connecting on social media. Or if the approach is via email, they’ll just block the address or even report it as spam.

They don’t like it. They find it rude. And in some ways, it is.

You wouldn’t walk up to someone at a networking event and instantly try selling them something. And if you do approach networking like that, then people will probably try to escape the conversation pretty quickly and avoid you forevermore.

People are not at networking events to be sold to. They are not on social media to be sold to. They do not have email addresses so people can sell to them. If you go in all guns blazing, you risk putting people off forever and losing your chance at ever getting the sale.

Yes - sometimes we buy from people we meet at events. Sometimes we buy from people or companies we’ve found via social media. And sometimes we buy from emails. And sometimes these sales come very quickly.

But more often than not, these sales do not come from the first interaction. They come over time. The seller has built up a level of trust and credibility.

If you sell a mass-produced product, then you might want to take a “stack ‘em high, sell ’em cheap” approach. In other words, quantity of sales will be more important than quality.

But if you’re selling a service or premium product, you should focus on winning the right type of business, not just any type of business.

I know from personal experience that working with the wrong-fit clients is not worth the time or money. It can be stressful. It can be demoralising. And, if it happens too often, it can lead to burnout and resentment.

That’s why it makes more sense to take a strategic approach to marketing rather than just firing off generic messages or putting out vague sales posts and ads that essentially say, “I’ll do business with anyone who’ll have me”.

Be clear about who you want to work with. Tailor your marketing to them. And if you’re taking a direct approach, research specific people or companies and take time to create relevant, personalised messages.

In my opinion, this is the biggest mistake people make with the spray-and-pray approach. They ask for a call, meeting or sale in the first contact.

But you don’t have to go straight in for the kill.

You might get lucky every now and then if your message just lands at the right time, but you could also be putting people off by being too aggressive or eager in your approach.

So why not take things slower?

Start a conversation. Send something of interest or value. Provide something useful or insightful. Offer something free. Don’t just try to sell, sell, sell.

With the spray-and-pray approach, you might get faster sales, but you’ll get fewer of them. A less aggressive approach might not be as instantaneous, but you’ll often get more sales over the long term. And you’ll get blocked a lot less.

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