Recently, I fell prey to a very slimy sales tactic.

Let me explain. This guy pinged me on LinkedIn to connect and then went to my website and filled out the form for my complimentary coaching session.

I make this available to everyone, and I prep like this is any other meeting. I do some research on the person and their company, and I send them a few discovery questions in advance of the call.

The point of the call is to truly hone in on a sales challenge and provide 20 minutes of laser coaching. The sessions are pretty powerful, and while they are OF COURSE a way to introduce the power of Leap’s services, these sessions also stand alone and I do NOT expect an immediate return. In fact, they are very fun and rewarding, whether or not they pan out in any business whatsoever.

The rule I live by in sales is give before you get.

Even if it takes years to get anything…or centuries…I end up working with exactly who I’m supposed to have as clients.

So, can you guess what happened?

Yeah, so this slimy sales guy booked a consult on my (very full) calendar this week. When we got on the phone, he IMMEDIATELY went into his pitch for healthcare services that went something like this: “Hi Erika, I’m so-and-so, thanks again for connecting with me. I offer affordable healthcare coverage and wanted to see what kind of coverage you have, what you need, and how I can help you.”

SCAMMER.

Not only was his pitch pretty bad and mundane, but he broke the cardinal rule of sales: give before you get.

He wanted to GET right out of the gate.

He ASSUMED I needed him and his services, and he totally took advantage of my website freebie to get me on the phone. It was so lame, broke every rule of sales outreach, and broke my trust at the same time…in other words, there is a much more credible way of building a referral network, and this is a great example of what NOT to do.