Never Imply Permission

During the course of my work, I happen upon some very upsetting trends and events that do nothing but damage someone’s credibility, trust and personal brand. In addition, if those events people are participating in are under the umbrella of their employer, it is damaging that company’s brand as well.

Several months ago, my marketing assistant quit unexpectedly and I needed to get someone in to fill that position immediately. Our Accounting Manager uses a recruiting company on a regular basis and suggested I contact them. Since this was my first time using a placement service, I was a little skeptical that they could fill my need with a person of the correct skill set. After was all said and done, I had a competent, resourceful and pleasant assistant jumping right into the thick of things and doing a satisfactory job.What happened after this is what upsets me.To use this service, an Account Manager from the placement company visited me asking relevant questions about the position and what my requirements were. Now, that isn’t the issue I have with the process. That comes with the territory. What I do have an issue with is the inundation of spam emails I now receive from the Account Manager.During the course of the meetings, I gave her my business card which has my email address on it. However, this does not imply I would now like to receive emails from her outlining potential candidates with accounting, finance and legal expertise. I work in the Marketing Dept! Why would I need to know about applicants outside of my discipline? The short answer is: I do not.

She assumed that it is ok to start sending me emails without asking me if she could. During the course of our conversations, she was told that I do not have a large or even moderate need for her staffing services. In spite of that, I start receiving spam. Let’s face it. That is what it is. It is unsolicited and it is boilerplate.

She has damaged her credibility and trust with me. In fact, I am not sure if I do have a need in the future if she will be the one I call. If she had generated some content that I would be of interest or benefit to me and was providing it to me to make my life easier, it would have boosted her brand with me.

The old school sales tactics are not going to get people the same results anymore. In fact, they are going to start hurting them more than ever.