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This is not a How to hire episode. We did one of those – and even though it was about hiring a copywriter, it's applicable to your entire business. We will be covering this in an upcoming episode called Check out our upcoming episode #26 where this is exactly what we talk about.

This is about how to work best with and leverage the freelancers, the VA’s, the OBM’s. Designers etc. that will be in and out of your business. 

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Alyson Lex 0:01
Hi, I'm Alyson Lex and welcome to this edition of Thrive Quick Tips where you're going to fast and easily implemented strategy that you can use right now to grow your business. Today we are talking about what has become an epidemic. And I don't use that word lightly, especially given the current situation in the world. But it's become an epidemic in the marketing industry. And what I liken it to, is getting an unsolicited nude picture from someone that you've been talking to. And what I'm talking about is the unsolicited pitch. And maybe we'll just call it a pitch pic. So that my euphemism can be funny and continue. Okay, so you get these friend requests or these messages from people who want to know how you're doing, who want to ask you some questions about your business or your life, or what have you. And then out of nowhere, comes the pitch. And if you're like me, you probably knew it was coming. And maybe you play along just because you have this somewhat perverse need to like, I don't know get justifiably angry. But sometimes it really catches you by surprise. So there was one time I got a friend request from someone, I checked out her profile she was in my ideal audience, it seemed like we might have some things that we could talk about, I thought maybe I could help her with some marketing, or what have you. And she complimented me on my glasses. Cool. Thank you so much. You know, I really, I like this style, I've been kind of wearing the black framed glasses for a couple of years, I've been playing with size and shape and all that. Thank you, I'm really happy with them too. And then she starts to tell me about how bad eyesight is energetic, and that she's been helping people heal their eyesight without surgery. And for some reason, this really, really upset me. Because a I've been wearing glasses for, like 31 years. Okay, so I was 536. And you're going to tell me that at five years old, I was so energetically screwed up, that I needed glasses. And also, I'm a big believer in science and doctors and all of this. And for some reason, it really, it actually offended me to the point where and I never do this, I replied, I let her have it. I basically said, there are so many better, I don't know who's teaching you this. But there are better ways to connect with people and serve people and find your ideal audience than trolling Facebook looking for profile pictures of people wearing glasses, and then pretending to be their friend. So that you can try to pitch to them. And it just, it's violating. And that's really why I wanted to come up with this euphemism of the pitch pick, because it's very violating to have someone judge you based on one little piece of information they know about you whether that's physical, or maybe they saw a comment about something where you're being vulnerable with someone, and all of a sudden now you feel like there's this vulture coming to sell you because they see an opportunity. And this shows itself in a couple of different ways. Right? You sometimes get the friend request or the message Hey, I help accident, you know, so and so with XYZ. What do you want to talk about that and you're just like, Oh, don't waste my time. Right. But then you get the the sneaky ones, the sneaky pitch pics, if you will. And those, those are almost worse because it's people who pretend to care about you. And that's the part that I think drives us all a little crazy. So again, I don't know who's teaching this. I don't know who is teaching people that this is how they should be marketing to their ideal client. But I'm taking a stand against the unsolicited pitch pick. And we're going to talk really quickly about what to do instead. Here's a hint. It's not that. Okay.

So when you see someone that might be in your ideal audience, you have a couple of hours. One, you can create content you can get in there in their sphere of influence, you can be visible to them, and hope that they reach out to you. But if you want to take a more proactive approach, and you want to begin reaching out to people who are in your ideal audience, and they say, Hey, why are we connecting? There is absolutely nothing wrong with being upfront and honest, hey, I noticed that you seem on the surface to match a profile of the people that I really liked to connect with. And I know that I can provide a ton of value to you. And I would just love to connect, get to know you better, begin to build a relationship and let you see what I'm all about. That's it. No pitch now. No pitch Peck. Just, let's, let's have a conversation. Right? This is dating. It's like dating, and we're not going to send unsolicited pitch pics, to the people we're dating. What we're going to do is let them be interested enough to ask for more. Right? There are situations in which a pitch is not unwelcome. Right, but just like consent is a thing. It's a thing everywhere. People need to consent to take the taking the relationship with you to the next level, whether that's a dating relationship, or a business relationship. And so by throwing a pitch in there, and asked unconsented, unsolicited, you are, you're being violated. Okay. And I feel really strongly about this, because I get them all the time. I get pitch pics all the time. And so what I've started to do is pitch back. Right? Like, because it's my way of making light of the situation. But it's also like, here, how does it feel? And I know that's probably not right. So maybe I should stop. But if this is the way our relationship is going to be where you only messaged me, when you want me to give you my money, then that's all our relationship is ever going to be is transactional. And that's not what people want. They don't want just transactional relationships, they want to get to know people who have their best interests at heart. I love giving value. Hey, I'm hosting this webinar. Yeah, there's going to be an offer at the end. But I'm going to give you a ton of value before I get to that. And I'd love it if you could come. Cool. Great, sign me up. And chances are, I'm going to check out what you have to say. In fact, when I host a webinar, and I tell people that I'm going to have an offer at the end, just as a heads up, but I'm going to give you a ton of value. And then I proceed to follow through with that promise. People don't leave when it's time for the offer. So they actually listen to my offer. building a relationship based on transparency, instead of playing this numbers game. If I send my unsolicited pitch pics, to 100 people, I might get a sale. That is not a valuable use of your time, your energy, your effort. And it's certainly not the image that you want to put out in the world. Okay, so I'm now taking a stand against anybody who is teaching this unsolicited pitch pic nonsense. And saying this is not the way to go. This is not the way to build relationships that work. You may make a sale here and there. But it's going to feel really yucky to everybody else. You're going to turn people off, you're going to piss people off. And you're going to spend a whole lot more effort and energy doing something that's not really working than if you turned around and began building real relationships based on transparency and value with those same people. If someone was to come and slide into my DMS and say, Hey, girl, you are my ideal client and I want to get to know you better. Cool.

Like I got married before all these dating apps were a thing. But I can imagine that if I was single and dating and a guy slid into my DMS and said Hey girl, you look like the kind of girl I'm looking for. I can't wait to get to know you better. That is a great opening line. So why are we not using that same idea in our businesses? Okay, begin to look at people as more than just a number in your sales spreadsheet. Look at the relationship, build the relationship, get to know their name, get to know their problems. And you will find that you will have people who will follow you around but the internet singing your praises buying everything you put out becoming those raving fans because you got to know them on a level that's much deeper than most people ever will. Okay, no more unsolicited pitch pics. If you're doing this if you've been coached to do this, this is not a judgment on you. I just want you to understand how it feels on the other side of the screen. That does it for another thrive quick tip, check out the website at System to thrive.com or find us on your favorite podcast platform for full-length episodes and more actionable information.