The One Thing You Can Do to Separate Yourself From Other Client-Hunters Who Are Gaming Social Media
Resist the urge to air your grievances because it’s an inefficient approach to stand out
Social media is the ‘place to be’ to find a client — that’s what someone like me who is new to the game of “finding clients” would think.
This drove me to become more active on LinkedIn lately. It would be the best social platform for scouting potential clients for my ghostwriting service. In my search, I saw a post from a business owner who was unhappy with the fake socialization on the platform.
“Fake socialization” is when the exchange between users feels very transactional. The conversation went somewhat like this:
- Fake Socializer: I love this post. Good job! I agree with everything you said.
- Me: Oh, thanks! Glad you liked it. Y’know I worked my butt off for this.
- Fake Socialzer: Yea yea yea. Sure. But I think you can make it even better — with my help, of course. You see, I’m a coach. And my mission is to help people just like you to become better at what they do.
- Me: Oh cool! Thanks for letting me know. I’ll let you know if I need you.
I’m thinking, “What the — man…is this how coaches play the client-hunting game? Does that approach lead to a sale? If not, then how come a lot of them and other service-for-hires do it? Do most business owners fall for a scammy tactic like that? Am I generalizing here?!”
As someone involved in that exchange, I realized that I cannot approach things the same way if my goal is to stand out.
Now I understand where the business owner (who was complaining about the fake socializers of the platform) is coming from. However, after imagining myself in his shoes, I realized that getting pissed off (to the point where I needed to air my grievances out) was not worth it.
Here are 3 reasons why:
- The market will weed out the fakes (with or without my complaints).
- Client-Hunters (who game the system) are improving much slower than you.
- Complaining about wieners doesn’t make you a winner.
I only have a limited time and energy to do everything well.
Therefore, it makes more sense if I used that time and energy to adapt to unideal situations, instead of complaining my way for things to change.
