Imagine walking up to the front door of someone you don't know.

They don't know you. They aren't expecting you, and they certainly didn't invite you over.

“HEY! YOU DIDN'T OPEN THE DOOR LAST TIME!”

Still nothing.

So a few days later, you show up AGAIN.

“HEY! IF YOU'RE NOT INTERESTED, THAT'S FINE. NO HARD FEELINGS. JUST GET OFF YOUR COUCH, WALK OVER HERE, OPEN THE DOOR, AND TAKE A MINUTE TO TELL ME YOU DON'T WANT TO TALK TO ME.”

You'd look like a freaking lunatic.

Yet somehow, when we do essentially the same thing electronically, we call it a sales sequence.

Think about some of the cold outreach you get. And maybe send.

“Bumping this to the top of your inbox.”

Please. Nothing screams “lazy” more than this.

“I haven't heard back from you.”

Correct.

“Did you see my last email?”

Maybe. And that's why it was ignored.

“No hard feelings if this isn't a fit.”

Whew. Thanks for giving me permission to ignore something I never asked you to send.

And one of my favorites:

“This is the last time I'll be emailing you.”

Thank God. Wish you would have considered that courtesy before the first one.

If you are guilty of anything I pointed out, have you considered this:

You are not entitled to a response just because you sent someone a message.

Oh, but you researched them. You sent the email. You left the voicemail. You followed up. You put them into an automated sequence.

So what?

Your activity does not create their obligation. (Feel free to Tweet that one out. I still have a hard time calling it X.)

You chose to trespass on their real estate uninvited. Their inbox. Their voicemail. Their LinkedIn messages.

They for sure weren't sitting there hoping you would show up.

And now AI and automation have taken this to a whole new level. Before automation, there was a natural limit to how many people one salesperson could annoy in a day.

Not anymore.

Now we can write one crappy message, have AI “personalize” it, send it to thousands of people, and automatically keep pounding on the doors of everyone who didn't respond.

Day 1: The pitch.

Day 3: “Bumping this.”

Day 6: “Any thoughts?”

Day 9: “Not sure if you saw my last message.”

Day 13: “Should I assume this isn't a priority?”

Day 17: “I'll make this my last attempt.”

Think about the logic there.

We took ZERO evidence of interest and turned it into justification for additional contact.

Brilliant.

And don't even get me started on some of the AI “personalization.”

“Saw your recent post.”

“Congrats on the funding.”

“Noticed your company is growing.”

“Loved your insights on sales.”

That's not necessarily customization. Having AI find a fact and jam it into a template is robotizing your outreach. And when it's obvious to the receiver, it can be worse than not personalizing at all.

Here's an important distinction:

Knowing something about me is NOT the same as having a relevant reason to contact me.

Faux personalization isn't relevance.

AI didn't create bad prospecting. I've been making fun of it since the late 80's, well before the internet. It just scaled how much bad prospecting one person could inflict.

And I say all of this as someone who has taught proactive prospecting for over 40 years.

So before someone says, “Wait a minute, Art. Aren't you the Smart Calling guy? Don't you teach people to contact prospects who aren't expecting them?”

Darn right I do.

That's exactly why this crap bothers me.

There is nothing wrong with proactively contacting someone you haven't spoken with before.

But the fact that they weren't expecting your contact puts MORE responsibility on YOU to make it relevant.

It doesn't put more responsibility on THEM to respond. In fact, they have ZERO responsibility to you.

The colder the contact, the greater your responsibility to earn their attention.

So, what should you do instead?

It's really not that complicated.

Do some actual research. Find relevant Intel about what's going on in their world. Connect that Intel to some Possible Value you might be able to provide. Give them an easy, low-resistance way to engage with you. And skip the fake familiarity, the apology for contacting them, the trick opener, and the guilt trip when they don't respond. Definitely don't ask a total stranger for 30 minutes and hand them a scheduling link, like they're the one who should be doing the work here.

Here's the difference.

Someone could send me:

“Art, saw you've been talking about AI in sales. We help sales leaders leverage AI to increase revenue and productivity. I'd love to show you how. Do you have 30 minutes this week? Here's my calendar.”

Ok, one could argue that's personalized.

It also tells me almost nothing.

Compare that with:

“Art, I saw you're developing an AI tool around your Smart Calling methodology. Not sure if this is something you're dealing with, but we've worked with other training companies on turning their proprietary methodology into AI coaching while keeping the human element intact, just like you've written about. Curious how you're approaching that part of the development?”

Now there's a reason for the contact.

The Intel is relevant. There's Possible Value.

And instead of ask to take my most valuable, non-renewable asset, 30 minutes on my calendar, there's a super-simple question I can easily answer if I'm interested.

That's Smart Calling.

And AI can be incredibly useful in helping you do that.

Use it to research, find trigger events, understand companies, identify possible issues, develop better Possible Value Propositions, and improve your messaging.

Use AI to help you become more relevant. That's where its real power is in prospecting.

And if someone doesn't respond?

You can contact them again.

I'm certainly not against persistence.

But give them another reason. Bring some new Intel, a different angle, something useful. Give them a reason to reconsider whether talking with you might be worthwhile.

Persistence respects them enough to bring something new to the table. Nagging just reminds them you're still there.

You are allowed to knock on the door.

Just don't act like they owe you the courtesy of opening it.

Stop demanding responses. Start earning attention.

And if you want the exact Smart Calling framework for doing that, go to First20Seconds.com.

I'll show you how to use Intel, Possible Value, and a low-resistance transition to create an opening that earns attention instead of triggering resistance. It's the same framework you can apply whether you're calling, emailing, or sending a LinkedIn message.

And the timing on this topic couldn't be better.

In just over four weeks, I'll be introducing something I've been working on for quite a while: the new Smart Calling AI Sales Coach.

It will help you do exactly what I talked about here: research prospects, find the Intel that actually matters, turn it into relevant messaging and Possible Value, prepare for calls, work through sales situations, and a lot more.

This is AI built to help you sell smarter and more human. We sure as hell don't need another tool that helps salespeople spray more automated crap at more people.

I'll be sharing much more about it very soon.

For now, start here: First20Seconds.com

As I’ve been mentioning all month, I’m clearing out the warehouse and doing practically giving books away compared to what tens of thousands bought them for.

We are closing this down Wednesday. So, if you want some, get them now. http://BookSale.Art

Keep making it your best week ever!