The 3 Foot Rule Equals Spam
“Every person within 3 feet of you is your prospect.”
WRONG!
WRONG!!
WRONG!!!
This is so unbelievably false. Why on Earth would you want to start a business relationship with just anyone that happens to be around? Remember from the last newsletter, the goal of interacting with a prospect is to determine, as quickly as possible, whether or not they are a good fit for your business.
What does it say about your business if you think that literally everyone is your prospect? Proponents of the 3 foot rule will tell you that everyone wants to quit their job or make extra money.
This is what your prospecting should be. You should be talking to people to qualify if they have the skills, determination, and perseverance to make it happen. And really, it’s just the last two. Skills can be taught to any person that is willing to learn.
Traditional stalking, ahem…I mean, prospecting aside, the 3 foot rule is rearing it’s ugly head on the internet.
I was talking to a fellow networker about how some people just don’t get it. There was a topic on the BetterNetworker.com forums about how many friend requests you are allowed per day on MySpace and Facebook before you get banned. Clearly the people asking were using some sort of automated friend-adder software and spamming the heck of about 200-300 people per day.
What concerned me is that a bunch of people jumped in saying how they don’t care if they get banned or how they have 5-10 different accounts so they can get away with it, or about how being banned is “just the cost of doing business.” What was troubling is that I found this on a forum dedicated to attraction marketing in the networking industry and techniques specifically designed to avoid this type of behavior.
I was reminded of something that someone once told me.
Most spammers don’t think they are spammers.
This is basically people still employing the 3 foot rule, but now they’re using internet technology to increase their range and their scope. Using these skills in person will just make people will just blow you off. On the internet, you create a record for anyone and everyone to see.
If you’re serious about building a long-term business, then you should be putting your best foot forward constantly. Good videos, good articles, good blog posts. Build a profile that makes you a leader. Anyone can use friend-adder software, and if anyone can do it, then it’s not a skill that’s going to position you as a leader.