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How I put a spam marketer in his his place!

There’s nothing more annoying than receiving spam, marketing dm’s and cold calls, right?

 

There you are minding your own business and working hard, trying to get towards your goals, when someone who’s managed to find your number or email pierces through and distracts you during your day.

 

It’s annoying when people waste your time and take away your energy, just to push their agenda. I received one such message the other day and decided that enough was enough.

 

Hey Joe, Isaac here…

 

Hey Joe, Isaac here, hope alls good! I came across your Facebook page and wanted to share some ideas. I work with agents and agency owners to acquire more listings and buyers, mind if I send you a quick video with some tips?

 

It came through as a text message. How did he get my number? I thought, given I hide it so well. This gentleman has come across my real estate business, Sydney Listings, which is not my core focus right now, and tried to turn me into a lead. The sheer nerve, right!

 

I didn’t respond, I was having a full day, and then the unthinkable happened. This Isaac figure followed up! The nerve!

 

G’day Joe, just checking you got my last message about the quick video I wanted to send over? Isaac.

How to deal with spam

 

That’s it I thought. I had something to say, and I couldn’t hold back anymore. It was time to let this Isaac fellow know exactly what I was thinking. I replied, and this is the conversation that ensued:

 

Don’t forget that on the other end of every interaction you have is a human being with hopes and dreams

 

I’ve worked in real estate, which is a tough industry, and it sharpened the axe on some skills which I’ve found useful for all my education work that has come after. As a business person myself, I know how difficult it can be to put yourself out there and reach out to people cold — I also know the terrible responses you get.

 

Yes we all claim to be ‘busy’ people but busy is bullshit. You and I have chosen whatever we’re doing right now, and though it feels essential and urgent, it is never the case. You’re unlikely to be quite as important as you think you are.

 

And no, I don’t just sit down all day twiddling my thumbs — right now we’re still figuring things out for the Constant Student, whilst I’m also helping to launch the Intentional Gap Year in a month, manage Sydney Listings part-time, operate my blog and podcast, whilst also helping a visionary right now with his book.

 

How you treat people is the measure of who you are as a person.

 

Not your ‘work’ or your ‘achievements’— you are the sum of your day-to-day interactions with other people. You are the sum of the things you do when no one is watching, or giving you points for acting in a certain way.

 

That is precisely who you are.

 

Yes, I could have told Isaac off… and on another occasion, when I wasn’t thinking as clearly I definitely would have. I do not stand on a moral high ground… but I turned what is normally a negative interaction into something incredibly positive for both of us. He and I both walk away positive and feeling good, with more energy to put into what we do for other people.

 

Here is his business by the way — IMV Digital — which looks fantastic. At Sydney Listings, we made a concerted effort before COVID hit to improve the digital marketing on offer in the real estate sector. Real estate lags behind the technology in the space in a major way, so what Isaac is doing looks, quite genuinely, very worthwhile.

 

So here is his promotion, as promised. It’s crazy to think people don’t do this more often, and our only excuse is that we rarely have bandwidth for the new. We should have a culture where we encourage people who reach out, try things, and take business risks… we don’t need to make things any harder for our entrepreneurs.

 

The best way to open a Thousand Doors for you is to concentrate on opening Doors for others…

 

Is what I always say, and so, it makes life a whole lot better when I allow myself enough time to remember that and make it the priority. It would have been more ‘productive’ this morning to do some time planning my course, or preparing for IGY, but instead this morning is dedicated to Isaac.

 

The thing is, you just never know where things can go. Isaac might go and help someone he wouldn’t have because of this interaction… maybe someone who was going to kill themselves, or was going through a tough time?

 

Perhaps he could become a useful contact to me at some point in the future? As I say in the Thousand Doors, you don’t know where life is taking you.

 

Now it’s up Isaac to take it forward. There is no condition from me, no expectation, nothing. To expect something in return, or to expect him to do something in particular, would ruin this whole exercise. The point is, why do we need a reason to be this way, if not all the time?

 

For you, today is a simple opportunity to be positive in a situation where you’re usually indifferent or negative.

 

You’re not an important person, but it’s important that you are a person

 

So yes, this is how I put a spam marketer in his place, exactly where he belongs.

 

Reinforced, reinvigorated, and having made his day.

 

Hopefully he finds a client through this too! And, infected by the magic, I hope he goes on to open Doors for others.

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