Why Random Sales Emails Are Annoying

I Really didn't want to post this........ Stop Sending Lazy Sales Emails. They're Damaging Your Brand. I need to say this clearly—because not enough people are: If you’re sending generic, soulless, copy-paste emails on repeat… you're not building brand awareness. You're building brand resentment. Every day, I receive emails like: “I know you're busy, but…” “Just checking in to see…” “Bumping this to the top of your inbox…” “Would love to grab 15 minutes of your time…” “Are you the right person to speak to about…" “We help companies like yours to…” “Following up on my last email…” And the worst part? These aren't from scrappy startups—they're from companies paying agencies and PR firms who claim this is "lead generation." It’s not. It’s lazy. It’s harmful. You’re paying for pestering. You're damaging your reputation with every unsolicited, untailored touchpoint. So here’s my advice: CAVEAT. NOT ALL AUTOMATION IS BAD. 1. If you're using a PR or marketing agency that’s pushing this as a strategy—review your contract, and have a serious conversation. 2. If your team is doing this in-house stop the automation, and start focusing on relevance, relationships, and value. 3. If you're measuring success by volume and not conversion or engagement—**rethink your entire approach**. People buy from people. They remember how you made them feel. They will remember if your brand was the one that wouldn’t stop spamming them. Let’s raise the bar. Let’s earn attention, not demand it. **If you’re serious about growth, make it personal—or don’t do it at all.....

The rise of tools that allow sellers to send 'personalized messages at scale' has become a double-edged sword. As someone who finds themselves on the receiving end on countless messages every single day, it's getting really, really annoying! There's an inherent contradiction in the term 'personalized at scale.' True personalization requires an understanding of individual needs and contexts, which is lost when automation and volume become the priority. Every day, my inbox is inundated with messages that are supposedly tailored to me but miss the mark so widely it's clear they're anything but personalized. Some of them are so off the mark, and for the love of all that is good, please take the time to get my name right. The irony is palpable – in an effort to connect more efficiently, there's a growing disconnect. The barrage of formulaic and irrelevant messages not only dilutes the potential impact of genuinely thoughtful communication but is damaging your company's brand. The further irony, is that many sales people know this... but have to do it because their employer is telling them to. This is not selling. This is annoying. As buyers, if we are in market, we have done our due diligence. If we're not in market, you need to work way harder to engage us. As technology continues to advance, I hope the sales industry strives not only for efficiency but also for empathy and authenticity in our communications. Let's rethink how we use technology to foster real connections rather than letting it drive a wedge between us and our potential buyers. After all, the goal of any business interaction should be to add value, not noise. Preach over... needed that! #Sales #Marketing #CustomerExperience #Personalization #Technology

If your outbound strategy looks like a sweepstakes letter from 1999, don’t be surprised when no one replies. Another day, another “Congratulations! You’ve been pre-selected!” email. This one told me Modern Outbound was “approved” for up to $4M in credit. All I had to do was click an e-sign link. Sounds impressive. But here’s why these messages never land: Fake personalization: They insert my company name, but the rest is boilerplate. If your message feels like a mail merge, it goes straight to trash. Overblown promises: “Funding in 24 hours.” “Up to $4M.” “Low APR.” When everything sounds too good to be true, the prospect assumes it is. No credibility: Zero context on who you are, why I should trust you, or how you picked me. Just a random “business advisor” with a phone number. CTA mismatch: They want me to commit (e-sign for millions in funding) before I even know if I want to talk. Outbound should earn interest, not demand action on the first touch. No relevance: Do I even need funding? Do you know anything about my business? They don’t ask. They just assume I’ll jump at money. Outbound isn’t about blasting offers. It’s about earning attention. That takes relevance, trust, and sequencing. Cold emails like this fail because they skip the hard part: understanding the buyer.

Ever had an email that instantly irritates you? I get spammed by "SEO specialists" all the time. Usually, they go straight to my junk. But this morning, one caught my eye - a “free SEO audit” absolutely slating our website. Apparently: 🚨 We have “duplicate meta tags, thin content and broken links” → We score 100% on SEMrush and fix technical issues weekly. 🚨 Our “site speed is low, especially on mobile” → Mobile: 78 / Desktop: 98. Mobile could be better, but we pass all Core Web Vitals. 🚨 “There’s no schema markup” → There’s a ton of structured data on the site. And the kicker? ⚠️ “YOU ARE LOSING POTENTIAL CUSTOMERS DUE TO POOR WEBSITE PERFORMANCE.” No. No, we’re not. This wasn’t even a real audit. Just a fear-mongering email full of templated jargon and inaccuracies. The worst part? I looked the sender up and they have a decent following on LinkedIn... they seem “reputable”. This stuff isn’t just annoying. It’s misleading. It’s lazy. And it scares small business owners into thinking their website is broken. If this is how you’re trying to win clients, please stop. Deliver results. Be helpful. Be human. And if you can’t win work without shady tactics… Maybe this game isn’t for you.

Here is the secret to effective cold outreach... 👇🏻 About a month ago, I complained to the financial advisors in my Inner Circle that one of my biggest frustrations is the sheer number of cold emails I receive. The reason it’s so annoying is because I frequently check my email. After all, my Inner Circle members get direct email access to me for marketing help. And honestly, the worst part about the cold outreach is that almost every single one wants to GET something from me. The worst ones are the people who jockey to get themselves or one of their buddies on the Financial Advisor Marketing podcast. Because their emails go like this: “Hey James, big fan of your show! (Translation: I Googled ‘financial advisor podcasts’ 4 minutes ago and yours was the first result.) You know who your audience needs to hear from? My client, Brad. He’s a financial advisor who has completely revolutionized the way people buy life insurance by hosting wine-and-cheese vision board parties at his office. Can we get him on your podcast this week?” Oh yes. Because what my audience is dying for is a 42-minute interview with Brad about how he uses brie and cabernet to convince people they need a whole life policy. I’ll just cancel all of my plans so he can explain how Pinot Noir pairs perfectly with a discussion about indexed annuities. Ugh. And to make matters worse, they always seem to follow up (from different email addresses because I block the original ones) with lame messages like: “Hey James, just circling back here because I know you’re busy. We’d really love to get Brad scheduled before his calendar fills up.” Yes. I can see how in-demand Brad must be if he’s relying on you to cold email people like me. I don’t know how Brad even has time to brush his teeth, let alone appear on a podcast. Again, the cold emailers always want to get something. They want to GET a podcast interview. They want to GET exposure to my audience. They want to GET my time. There’s zero thought about giving anything. Zero thought about helping me, helping my audience, or contributing in some meaningful way. The secret to effective cold outreach is to give instead of trying to get. Help someone. Be of service. Imagine if someone emailed me right now and said: “James, I noticed you run a podcast about financial advisor marketing. I’ve got a proprietary study on how financial advisors are using LinkedIn that I think your audience would love. No strings attached. Would you like me to send you the full data set?” I’d be FAR more likely to respond to that email. When you focus on helping someone first, you immediately stand out. Almost nobody does it, which is why it’s so powerful. Instead of demanding attention, you earn it. And once you do that, people are way more likely to respond, engage, and even look for ways to help you in return. Stop trying to GET. Start trying to GIVE. That’s the whole game.

Your sales emails suck. And guess what? I know because I get 30 of them a day. I see the same mistakes over and over...the boring intros, the endless rambling, and the generic pitches that make my inbox feel like a nightmare. Want to know why? Because your email has 3 seconds to make an impression. THREE. Seconds. That's how long you have before I hit "delete" So if you’re not cutting through the noise, you’re just part of the problem. Here’s why your outreach isn’t working: 🚫 Cut the fluff, now – “Hope you’re doing well” or “Just checking in” is a one-way ticket to the trash. No one has time for that. If you don’t get to the point within the first 5 words, you’re done. ✂️ Get to the point fast – Lengthy emails are a killer. Research shows emails under 50 words see 83% more replies. That means if you're writing a novel, you’re already losing. 📚 Personalize (like actually personalize) – "I see you're in [insert job title here]”—that's not personalization, it’s lazy. Do your homework and show that you understand my specific challenges and goals. If you don’t, I’m clicking delete before you even finish your sentence. 🎯 Relevance matters more than anything – If your email isn’t directly tied to what I’m trying to accomplish, it’s not going to get a reply. I don’t need a generic pitch; I need to know how you can help me solve my problems today. 🔥 Stop the lazy copy-paste – If I can tell you’re sending the same message to 100 people, I’m out. Your outreach should feel like you’re speaking to me, not to the entire world. Personalization isn’t just a buzzword. You’ve got 3 seconds to grab attention and show value. If you’re still using the same tired tactics, you’re wasting your time...and mine. 🎤 🫳 ALSO MASSIVE SHOUTOUT to the folks using video to prospect, can say that personalized video messages get a response from me every time. I LOVE them.

Just got a sales "breakup" email. Not a fan of them. Here's why: ✅ Email is an intrusion of someone's time -It can be positive if we educate or entertain -It usually is negative if they didn't ask for our email ✅ Readers don't owe us a response -They may not be ready to buy. Chances are, only 6% of your list is actively ready to buy. I usually respond letting them know if it's not a fit. That sometimes backfires. ✅ That email is more about you as a salesperson than them -YOU'RE asking them to make your job easier. -YOU want to check the box in your CRM to move onto a "warmer" prospect -YOU want to know if they have a chance to close (so you can make more 💰) That is not the reader's job to do yours. Sales is hard. Especially now. Especially in SaaS. Why artificially close the loop when sales is a long game? I've never received a "break up" email and thought: "Oh no, I need to rekindle that relationship right now!" Because we probably weren't "dating" in the first place. #sales #email #salescoaching

Stop “personalizing” your cold emails. You’re not clever — you’re just annoying. Every buyer has seen the same tired tricks: 👉 “Saw your post on LinkedIn…” 👉 “Loved your interview on that podcast…” 👉 “Congrats on the new role!” Shocker: they don’t believe you. They They don’t trust you. And they’re not replying. Because here’s the truth: ⚠️ You didn’t read the post. ⚠️ You didn’t listen to the podcast. ⚠️ You don’t care about their new job. You’re just trying to trick them into thinking you care — so you can pitch them 2 lines later. That’s not personalization. That’s manipulation. And it’s why your reply rates suck. Want to stand out? → Stop pretending to care. → Start being useful. → Hit a real pain with a real solution and get to the point. Nobody needs another email that starts with fake flattery and ends with a Calendly link. Write like someone who respects their time — Not like someone begging for 15 minutes of it.

🌟 **A Quick Reminder About Tone in Outreach** 🌟 Lately, I've been seeing a common trend in my inbox that I think we can all agree on: tone-deaf outreach. We’ve all been there—getting hit with random sales messages or offers that are so far off-base, they feel like they were sent to the wrong person. It’s frustrating, and honestly, it’s a missed opportunity for everyone involved. As professionals, we all have something to offer, but let’s take a moment to remember: context is everything. To anyone reaching out on LinkedIn, here’s a simple ask: * Take the time to understand who you're reaching out to. * Personalize your message—don’t just copy-paste a sales pitch. * Focus on value, not just the transaction. Build relationships, not just leads. A well-timed, relevant message can make a world of difference. But when it feels random or out of touch, it doesn't just annoy—it undermines the potential for real connections. Let’s strive for communication that’s thoughtful, intentional, and human. After all, we're here to build relationships, not spam inboxes. 💬 If you've had similar experiences (or solutions), drop a comment and let's talk about how we can all improve the way we communicate on here! #Networking #Professionalism #SalesTips #LinkedInEtiquette #RelationshipBuilding