AI Trust Signals

Find out just how likely AI is to recommend YOU. 

SEO got you found. AI trust signals get you recommended. And the brands that win tomorrow are the ones AI trusts today.

Co-Founder

PriceGuide.ai

Explode leads on your website with PriceGuide.ai, allowing you to quickly, easily, and inexpensively create a pricing estimator for your product or service, giving your website visitors what they want while giving you way more of what you need-- LEADS.

The Question First Group

Helping leaders and sales teams connect deeper and win more trust by learning the art of breakthrough conversations.

Marcus Sheridan International, Inc.

In 2017 Forbes named Marcus 1 of 20 “Speakers You Don’t Want to Miss the Opportunity to See." He has been featured in The New York Times, Inc., The Globe and Mail, Content Marketing Institute, Social Media Examiner and more. Having spoken to hundreds of audiences and thousands of people around the world, Marcus delivers riveting and passionate performances that motivate and inspire!

Keynote Speaker

They Ask, You Answer

Rated the #1 Marketing Book to read in 2017 by Mashable and the "#2 Marketing Book of All-Time" by Book Authority, Forbes listed it as one of "11 Marketing Books Every CMO Should Read."

"They Ask, You Answer" is a revolutionary approach to Inbound Sales, Content Marketing, and Today’s Digital Consumer.  In it, Marcus shares his simple approach to inbound marketing that has earned an exceptional track record across many industries and throughout the world.  How can a single approach to selling be so versatile? Simple - it's all about the customer.  All potential customers need answers along their way to making a purchase and "They Ask, You Answer" definitively shows businesses, B2B and B2C, exactly how to become the most trusted voice in their industry.

Author

The Visual Sale

How to Use Video to Explode Sales, Drive Marketing, and Grow Your Business in a Virtual World.

IMPACT

Recognized by Fortune Magazine as one of the “Top 25 SMB Workplaces” in 2017, IMPACT is obsessed with helping businesses and organizations succeed.  By offering full support from strategy to implementation, as well as education and in-depth training, IMPACT is able to help lead their clients to success regarding all things inbound, digital, and today’s changing buyer.

Owner/Partner

River Pools

Currently one of the largest fiberglass pool installers in the United States with the most visited swimming pool web site in the world.  In 2001 and fresh out of college, Marcus stumbled across his first business with two friends: installing swimming pools out of the back of a beat-up pickup truck. Nine years later, with the help of incredible innovations through inbound and content marketing, Sheridan’s company overcame the collapse of the housing market and became a leader in the industry.

Partner

The Sales Lion

The Sales Lion is a Marketing/Sales consulting company focusing on helping organizations develop a culture of content and inbound marketing while dramatically improving sales, marketing and video communication.  We offer world-class training, consulting, workshops, and keynotes for businesses, brands, & agencies around the globe.

Founder and President

Working with Chris Marr, founder of the Content Marketing Academy, Marcus has developed workshops focused on achieving true “World Class Communication.”  His true passion is found in helping others reach their potential as teachers, communicators, and speakers. Marcus’s workshops are focused on pushing business professionals and executives to improve their ability to communicate, motivate, and inspire in all walks of life.  Covering such topics as: Presentation Design, The Power of Story, The Columbus Principle, and Trust Techniques; Marcus helps attendees to elevate their communication skills on stage, in the boardroom and in the home.

Co-Founder:  World Class Communication

Along with sales and marketing experts Joey Coleman and Ian Altman, Marcus created and hosted two unprecedented conference events focused on sales, marketing and customer experience.  The Remarkable Growth Experience conferences were held in historic Arlington, VA.  Attendance was limited to 100 participants allowing for more intimate discussions and interaction.  Conference attendees were able to have full access to event speakers, participate in hands-on practical applications, develop individualized specific action items and leave with clear plans for immediate improvement and success.

Co-Founder: The Remarkable Growth Experience Conferences

TED Conferences

The Honest Economy:  How Transparency Can Change the Economy and Inspire a New World

TEDx Speaker

Keynote Speaker on Sales, Marketing, and Building Trust...Author of They Ask You Answer...Ranked #1 LinkedIn Voices for Entrepreneurship...and a Dang Good Follow on LinkedIn

Called a “web marketing guru” by the New York Times, the Story of how Marcus Sheridan was able to save his swimming pool company, River Pools, from the economic crash of 2008 has been featured in multiple books, publications, and stories around the world and is the centerpiece to his best-selling book, They Ask You Answer, which has been named “One of the 5 Best Marketing Books of All Time” by BookAuthority and his follow up book, Endless Customers, was named a National Bestseller by USA Today.

Sheridan is a highly sought-after global speaker (averaging 50 keynotes yearly) in the digital sales and marketing space, working with hundreds of businesses and brands alike to achieve their potential in a rapidly evolving marketplace, ultimately helping them to connect deeper and become the most trusted voice in their respective industry.

Companies Marcus is a Part of: IMPACT, River Pools, Marcus Sheridan International, Question First Group, PriceGuide.ai

Keynote topics include:  Sales, Marketing, AI, Leadership Communication

Marcus Sheridan

Most people assume I “run” all my businesses.

But the truth is I barely run any of them.

Here’s the actual timeline of businesses I’ve started:

   2001 - Swimming pool installation
   2012 - Professional speaking
   2014 - Consulting/coaching agency
   2017 - Pool manufacturing
   2019 - Swimming pool franchise
   2020 - Sold #4 and #5
   2021 - Offshore fishing charter
   2024 - PriceGuide (software) + The Question First Group
   2025 - AI Trust Signals (software) + Pet food manufacturing

I’m still an owner in all of them except the two I sold.

People ask me all the time:
“How do you manage so many companies?”

My answer is simple:
"I don’t."

At least, not really.

I have exceptional business partners (and people) who run them without me.

My job is strategy, big picture, and making sure we are world-class in sales and marketing.

But a great CEO I am not.

And I’m perfectly fine with that.

After 25 years of building, failing, pivoting, selling, and starting again… here are a few lessons that stick:

👉 1. Most entrepreneurs don’t make great CEOs.
At a certain size, the skills that built the business aren’t the same skills needed to run it. This isn’t a knock, it’s self-awareness. Sadly, most CEOs never know when this day has come.

👉 2. Choose partners who are great at what you’re terrible at.
If your partner is just another version of you, you don’t have a partner, you have a mirror. You do NOT need another you.

👉 3. Your first “vision” for the business is almost always wrong.
The market will teach you what it wants...if you’re willing to listen. Observe. Adjust. Observe. Pivot. Observe…

👉 4. Someone on the team has to go to bed thinking about the business.
If that’s not you, you better know exactly who that person is.

👉 5. Your business only scales when you stop trying to be everything.
Ego doesn’t scale. Self-awareness does. You do NOT need to be everyone’s hero.

I could go on and on, but hopefully there’s a nugget or two for you.

I’d love to know, what would you add to the list? What has your journey taught you? 👇

One of the most engaging keynote speakers on the planet—I create experiences that change how businesses sell, connect, and win | Author of Endless Customers and They Ask, You Answer | Entrepreneur | Master Storyteller

What a magical couple of days teaching MasterCraft Boat Company dealers how to create extraordinary connections with their customers. But let me tell you a powerful story how one man in the audience immediately applied what he learned to his personal life:

During the event, one of the attendees recieved a text from his daughter that she was having a really hard time.  Instead of calling her and quickly going into "Dad" mode by telling her what she needed to do (or think, or feel, etc.) he simply reached out to her and kept inviting her to "tell me more."

He said it was one of the most powerful conversations he'd had with his daughter in a long time.

That's what is so rewarding about teaching leaders and sales pros to communicate at the highest levels - when done properly, it transcends their "professional" life and deeply affects their "personal" life.  And then, because of that, they come to you months later and  say, "That training has affected my entire life. I can't thank you enough for the impact you've had on my family."

Once again, this is just another reason why I love my job.

It was a good day. 🙂

Wild Stat:
After analyzing 3,500 websites, only ONE scored a “perfect” for NAP consistency (Name, Address, Phone Number).

If you own a business (especially a location-based one) you already know NAP matters. Legacy Google has always relied on it for local signals. But here’s the part business must now understand:

👉 LLMs (like ChatGPT) rely on NAP even more.

To a large language model, inconsistent NAP is a major "ding" on your trust score. If your core business identity isn’t consistent across the internet, the model questions whether you’re legitimate… which directly impacts whether it will recommend you.

When Patrick Moorhead and I reviewed this dataset from AI Trust Signals, we honestly thought something was broken, so we checked the data again and again.

But the result held: 1 out of 3,500. 😳 

Yes, that's a pretty shocking number.

So here’s the takeaway:

AI needs every possible reason to trust you. (I really can't stress this enough.)

NAP consistency is one of the simplest (and strongest) trust signals you can control.

So do this today:
👉 Audit every platform, directory, social profile, association listing, map entry, citation, and third-party mention of your business.
 👉 Make every instance of your name, address, and phone number identical--same formatting, same punctuation, same abbreviations, everywhere.

It may take an hour or two but will be well worth it.

Remember my friends, when it comes to AI recommending you online, small inconsistencies create potentially massive visibility penalties.

And if less than 1% of businesses are doing this correctly, that means one thing:
Fix your NAP, and you instantly separate yourself from the entire market.

Turns out that AI (and humans) HATE recommending stale/old content.

That's why EVERY marketer should make this a non-negotiable in 2026:

👉 Put a “Last Updated” timestamp on every major page and article on your website, just like you see in the photo here from HubSpot.

I know, this may seem incredibly tedious.

But at AI Trust Signals, we’re seeing over and over that it matters a lot, not just to readers, but to the AI systems deciding whether your content is confident, current, and *safe* to recommend.

And please understand, this isn’t just a "front-end" thing.

You also need the machine-readable version on the back end.

This means implementing the proper schema markup so AI can instantly verify when the page was truly updated. (Yes, it appears every marketer will be forced to a Schema expert in the future. 🤷‍♂️ )

This is just one of many "new rules of the game" that we're seeing because of AI.

And yes, it may feel a little annoying.

But it's the reality of where online content is heading, and so there's no need to complain about it.

Fact is, "content freshness" as a trust signal will only matter more and more moving forward. 

It's a new era in content my marketing friends.

Time to lean in.

While teaching a workshop this morning, I had a salesperson come up to me during a break and said, "Marcus, I don't do well with conflict. When a customer is upset, I freeze. Can you help?"

This simple question led to a great conversation, but the core of the answer I gave comes down to three simple steps any team can learn with a little bit of practice. 

Step #1: LET THEM VENT: 
This is a bit hard for folks to understand because the tendency is to immediately try to "fix" the situation. The issue with fixing is that the customer doesn't get a chance to feel heard. Your job is to make sure they feel VERY heard. Which means you let them vent, and even when you think they may be done, you ask them if there is anything else they're unsettled about. This step is the most important by far, yet the most overlooked in the world of customer experience.

Step #2: REPEAT WHAT THEY SAID: 
Not only must they feel heard, but they must feel *understood.* This occurs when you repeat the words they used and confirm, "What I've heard you say is..." (Again, do not use your words here. Use *their* words. Those are the ones that matter.)

Step #3: LET THEM VERBALIZE THE POTENTIAL SOLUTION: 
Assuming the individual has has a legitimate complaint (which is true in most cases), once you've allowed them to vent and have repeated their thoughts, you sincerely ask, "What would you like to happen to make this right?"

Now, granted, businesses can't always do what the customer asks for, but you at least want to put the ball in their court first.  Interestingly enough, often times the only thing they were looking for were step 1 & 2. In other words, they just wanted to feel heard and understood. But by asking them what they would like to do to make the situation right, you've now allowed them to at least state what they feel would be the appropriate solution.

Ultimately, there is no foolproof method of resolving customer frustration, but at a minimum you want to train (with role play) your team what to say and how to say it for these situations. 

Like the young man that approached me this morning, they shouldn't freeze when moments of conflict arise.

Instead, they should be ready for the moment. And if they follow these three simple steps, they are very likely to not only diffuse the situation, but create a lasting relationship as well.

As always, a little training goes a long ways.

#QuestionFirst

Have you seen this article from Inc. Magazine this month? It verifies everything I've been begging organizations to understand since AI changed the way we search.

👉 Pricing Transparency is about to be forced on ALL businesses. 👈 

Why? Here are a few impending realities (all of which have already begun):

1. In the future, if you don't discuss pricing/cost in detail on your website, it's highly unlikely that AI (like ChatGPT) will recommend you.

2. In the future, anytime someone is given a "price" , "quote" , or "estimate" they will run this through AI and it will give them an assessment as to whether or not they are getting a good value. 

3. In conjunction with #2, if someone doesn't feel good about a quote they've been given, they'll then be able to task their AI-agent to go out and "find" a better value...immediately.

I can assure you, these three things will be COMMON. The norm. Table stakes.

I can also say with high certainty most companies still do not realize this is what is happening.

The solution?

Get in front of this. 

Don't wait for everyone in your industry to move while you continue to do things the ways they've always been done.

Entire industries where "call for quote" is the norm are about to be upended.

Act now. Start winning today. And stay in front of all the laggards tomorrow.

Because it's all coming.

Your biggest competitor isn’t another firm. It’s your invisibility. If your target buyers don’t see you as a trusted authority early, you’ll never even get considered.WHAT I DO: I help owners and executives at small B2B services providers, resellers and technology firms build their visibility and authority on LinkedIn. Because the more you're seen and the more credibility you develop, the more you'll attract ideal clients who already trust you and by extension, your company.I spend a lot of time studying what works on LinkedIn and how the algorithm (or 360Brew) works - how posts gain traction, how comments build audience, how ideas spread. And I apply that to help you spread your ideas and attract clients.WHY IT MATTERS: Here’s why visibility and trust is so important: 90% of buyers build their shortlist before they even begin a formal buying process. If you’re not already on that list, getting added later is nearly impossible. And even if you do get added, most of the deals still go to the firms who influenced the buying vision from the very beginning. That’s the painful reality many companies don’t see until it’s too late.So you have to influence buyers BEFORE they’re ready to buy.WHAT IT MEANS FOR YOU: If your firm is invisible to buyers before buyers start their process, you won’t even be considered. The leaders who show up early—sharing insights, shaping conversations, and establishing themselves as credible authorities—they're the ones who make the list.That’s why your individual executive voices matter. And that's why your presence on LinkedIn matters.A faceless brand can’t build the same visibility or trust. People want to follow people, not just a logo.The executives who understand this are seeing powerful results.Gal Aga’s LinkedIn presence now drives 65% of his company’s leads.Alina Vandenberghe says 50% of Chili Piper’s open opportunities are influenced by her posts—millions in revenue every quarter.Even leaders with modest followings are landing enterprise conversations, shortening sales cycles, and giving their teams the air cover they need to close bigger deals faster.That’s the outcome I help leaders create. Not by turning you into an influencer, but by helping you become the trusted authority buyers recognize before they ever talk to sales.Because when your leadership team is visible to your target audience, the whole company wins.If you’d like to explore how visibility could change the game for your business, let’s connect.

Candyce. Edelen

Let the pitch-slaps begin!
I had 79 outstanding invitations to connect yesterday. 

Normally, when I receive an invite, I send them this message before connecting: 

"Thanks for the invite to connect. What led you to reach out to me?"  

The bots don't respond at all, and the pitch slappers reply with a pitch, which results in me saying "thanks, but no thanks" and deleting the invitation.

But 79 was too many for that process. So I just accepted the ones who looked mildly interesting and ignored the rest. I accepted about 65. 

And my inbox is littered with pitch-slaps today. 

Very few are relevant to my business. 

Only 2 took a human-to-human approach and connected their pitch to my business.

And one of those looked identical to a pitch I received last week. I'm 90% certain the sender used AI. 

Sellers:  The bar is low. Just take a moment to research your lead and send a human message. You'd be surprised by how rare that is.

Visibility builds trust—trust drives revenue. Helping CxOs develop the executive credibility on LinkedIn that attracts business and builds TRUST with your target audience. #Human2Human #NoBots | CEO | PropelGrowth

Sorry. But I'm not rearranging my day so we can "see where our worlds overlap."

Sometimes I feel weird about refusing meetings, since my whole business is about helping people get them.

But this request shows exactly why I ignore 99% of the 50+ outreach messages I get weekly.

My calendar is packed. Just like the executives you're targeting.

And I get a lot of messages like this, probably because of my job title and status as a business owner.

Here are three problems with this message: 
🚩 There's zero research (I'm not in B-corp leadership)
🚩 Vague meeting purpose ("a call to swap ideas")
🚩 Time-waster ("let's see where our worlds overlap")

He's essentially saying: "I didn't want to take the time to do my homework, but maybe you can do it for me on a call?"

𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗼 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱:  
Taking this meeting means I will have to delay something else or work late. And that's true for every executive you're approaching. 

It would mean changing my priorities for... what exactly?
...A fishing expedition?

I'm happy to have interesting conversations with new people where I'll learn something, where we can discuss something of mutual interest. 

But "saying hello and seeing where our worlds might overlap" is NOT a reason for me to rearrange my day.

This guy will probably conclude that human-to-human outreach doesn't work.

Human-to-human is not the problem. It's his approach.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗔𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀:
→ Research your prospect 
→ Find a topic that will genuinely interest them 
→ Ask a question that's easy to answer on mobile 
→ Start a real conversation 
→ Let it naturally flow to jumping on a call

What's your go-to response when someone wants to 'pick your brain' or 'explore synergies'? Or do you just ignore them like I usually do? 👇


~~~~~~

I post #mondaymarkups every Monday. The hashtag will help you find other posts in the series. 

Want more tips? Click the link just below my name in this post to get my weekly LinkedIn tips newsletter. 

♻️ Sharing is caring. If you found this helpful, please repost to share it with your network.

.

This week has been a joy. I got to spend time with my favorite people from the #Dynamics channel AND see some old friends who I haven’t seen in close to a decade. 

It was so great to see you Andrew Gaffney

Joe Pulizzi - it was great to catch up, and thanks so much for the book! Can’t wait to read it. Your keynote was inspiring. 

Ann Handley - thank you and your team for organizing such a great event! 

Christopher Penn - your research is amazing, and I really enjoyed your keynote.  

And it was so great to hang out with you and share takeaways: 
Anya Ciecierski, Michelle Glennie, Cheryl Salazar, Amiee Keenan, Amy Spencer, Katie Freitas.

No alternative text description for this image

"You're a bot," the prospect said.
"I am not a bot," said the customer service rep.
"That's exactly what a bot would say," he shot back.

One undisclosed AI interaction destroyed this person's trust so completely, he couldn't believe the next human was real.

Someone told me this story yesterday during a sales call when we were discussing the importance of #HumantoHuman.

He called customer service because of a problem with his account. He thought he was talking to a human. But when the issue got complicated, the conversation got garbled and it dawned on him that he'd been talking to an AI the whole time.

He felt deceived.

Next time he called, he reached a real human. But he didn't BELIEVE she was human. He no longer trusted the provider.

She kept insisting she was human. He asked if she was programmed to not know she wasn't human. 

They eventually laughed about it. But the damage was done.

𝗡𝗼𝘄 𝗵𝗲 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺. Every conversation starts with suspicion instead of trust.

Here's what happens if you try to pass off AI as human:
• Customers feel deceived and manipulated 
• They doubt future interactions...even real humans 
• The relationship becomes transactional at best, 
        hostile at worst

Companies using undisclosed AI think they're being efficient.

In reality, they're efficiently destroying the one thing they need the most: trust.

Your customers aren't stupid. They know when something feels off. And once they realize you've been deceiving them? Good luck getting that trust back.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀:

Be transparent about AI use. Tell customers upfront when they're interacting with a bot. In many cases, they'll give it a try, because a well-trained AI can respond more quickly. But give them the choice to continue or speak to a human.

Because trust isn't just about one interaction. 
It impacts every interaction after that.

You can use AI to enhance customer service. You can't use it to fake human connection.

This guy's trust is gone. All because one company thought they could automate authenticity.

Have you ever discovered a company was using AI without telling you? Did you trust them afterward?

#HumanToHuman #NoBots

Pen and ink cartoon image of a human talking to a robot. Both are holding a phone to their ears. The robot is looking at a computer screen.  

"You're a bot." 
"I'm not a bot."
"That's exactly what a bot would say."

"I feel like I'm behind. Like everyone else has AI figured out except me."
A CEO friend confided in me yesterday.

I've had similar conversations with 3 other executives last week.

A CMO who's been crushing it for 20 years suddenly doubts everything she knows.

A founder who's run a $10M company for 20 years and feels like a beginner again.

A consultant netting 7 figures a year who wonders if it's all going to come tumbling down before he's ready to retire.

Here's what few are willing to admit...

...We're all feeling it... 

...that gnawing sense that everything we know could be obsolete tomorrow. The AI prompt that worked yesterday? Already outdated. The strategy that killed it last quarter? It's no longer working.

AI is causing the business landscape to feel very uncertain. 

And that's when imposter syndrome raises its ugly head and tells me I'm not up for this challenge.

Here's what I'm learning...

That discomfort I'm feeling? It's not failure. It's awareness.

The ground IS shifting. Nobody—not the loudest voices, not the tech giants, not even the AI itself—knows where it's heading.

We're all in this messy middle together.

And maybe that's exactly where we need to be. Learning in public. Figuring it out together. Admitting we don't have all the answers.

Because the ones who'll thrive aren't those pretending to have it figured out.

They're the ones brave enough to admit they don't.

Anyone else feel like you're winging it and constantly having to adjust?

All year, I’ve been studying CEOs and founders who are turning LinkedIn into their top revenue engine — they attribute 𝟰𝟬–𝟲𝟬% 𝗼𝗳 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 to their personal profiles.  

The gap between their outcomes and what most people achieve is huge… but the steps they take aren’t complicated. 

And you don’t need a massive audience — just the right one.  

I’m thinking about hosting a hands-on workshop the 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸 𝗼𝗳 𝗝𝗮𝗻𝘂𝗮𝗿𝘆 to share what I’ve learned and help you map out a credibility-building and client-attracting LinkedIn strategy for 2026.  

If enough leaders want in, I’ll run it.  You’ll walk away with: 
• a clear view of what top founders are doing
• how to adapt their approach even if your following is small
• a written plan you can start using immediately

It’ll be a paid session — $𝟯𝟳 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 — and we’ll get real work done.  

If this sounds helpful, comment “I’m in” and tell me what you’d want to take away from the session.  

If there’s enough interest, I’ll lock it in.

📣 Best way to ensure that you get the announcement of whether we’re doing this and how to join… ⬇️

📬Subscribe to my newsletter. There’s a link below my name at the top of this post.

I get over 50 cold pitches every week between email and LinkedIn. 
But this one made me laugh out loud.

She actually told me she'd pitch-slap if I connected.

"If you accept, I'll send you information about my services."

🤨 

At least she's honest?

She's telling me upfront that she's going to pitch. No pretense of relationship building. No fake interest in my work.

Just straight-up: "Connect with me so I can sell to you."

Would you accept this invitation?

(For the record...I didn't)

𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲'𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘂𝗺𝗲 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀:

Volume players think "it's working" with:
• 10-20% connect rate
• 1-2% reply rate
  
So they prioritize Quantity over Quality. And the only way to achieve this is to "spray and pray."

I focus on building relationships. Here are my stats:
• 70% connect rate
• 50% engage in dialogue

That's because I prioritize 𝗧𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀.

We're not even playing the same game.

BTW - I checked her profile. No "About" section. Zero social proof. She's apparently a freelance sales consultant.

So her profile CAN'T do the selling. If she won't leverage her profile, then her only outreach strategy is "I'll pitch you if you connect."

That's... a choice. 🤷‍♀️

Some people defend this approach. "At least she's being transparent!"

Sure. But being transparently bad at outreach is still being bad at outreach. And it's LAZY.

Your prospects aren't sitting around waiting to be pitched. They're busy. They have packed calendars. They're drowning in messages just like this one.

If you want to stand out, you need to earn attention. Not demand it.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀:
✅ Lead with respect, not your agenda
✅ Show you've done your homework  
✅ Start conversations, not pitches
✅ Build trust before asking for time

The irony? She probably thinks #HumanToHuman doesn't work.

It does. She's just not doing it.

Do you think her upfront pitch will help or hurt her outcomes?

~~~~~~

I post #MondayMarkups every Monday. Follow the hashtag to find other posts in the series.

Want more tips? Click the link just below my name to get my newsletter.

When someone says "this isn't relevant to me," that's not an invitation to pitch harder.

But apparently this seller missed that day of sales training.

She connected with me because she likes "generous and sharp thinkers." Obvious template, useless message. 

I sent her my standard reply to templates and blank invites.

Then she hits me with this gem of a pitch-slap:

"If I could show you how universities under federal funding pressure have doubled fundraising capacity without adding headcount, would you be open to a quick convo?"

Universities? Fundraising? 
I run a LinkedIn strategy consultancy. 

There is absolutely NOTHING in my profile that would give anyone the idea that I'm connected to universities or federal funding.

I pointed out this wasn't remotely relevant. 

She responded by asking for a meeting: "I'd love to learn about your organization and explain what we do."

𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: "I have no idea who you are and am not willing to do my homework, but maybe you can help me figure out if I should be pitching you?"

So I asked the obvious: "Have you even looked at my profile?"

She claims she DID look. Even quotes my content about visibility and trust. Then tries to connect it to... university fundraising?

There's some Olympic-level mental gymnastics. 🤸‍♀️

When I reminded her that I'm not involved in universities or fundraising, she finally gave up...but without acknowleging her error. 

Then she asked me to keep her in mind for referrals. 🤯

𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗳𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗲𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗲𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀.

She's apparently spray-and-praying to anyone with "executive" in their profile.

She's too lazy to read the actual response when someone says no.

She pretends to research but can't connect basic dots. (CEO of PropelGrowth ≠ University Administrator) 

Then after wasting both our time, she asks for referrals. 

Because nothing inspires referrals like demonstrating you can't even figure out who's not in your target market.

Here's what actually works for human-to-human outreach:
✅ Actually read profiles before pitching
✅ Don't pitch when it's not relevant
✅ Stop trying to salvage dead-end conversations
✅ Quality over quantity. Every. Single. Time.

Pro tip: If you have to ask your prospect to explain why they might need you, you've already lost.

Ever gotten a pitch that was hilariously off-target like this?

~~~~~~

I post #MondayMarkups every Monday. Follow the hashtag to find other posts in the series.

Want more tips? Click the link just below my name to get my newsletter.

I know that word of mouth has a huge influence on my sales. But I’ve never considered adopting an intentional process like this.

15+ Year B2B Marketing Leader Turned Founder | ABM, Field Marketing & Events, Influencer Marketing & More | DM Me to Learn More

Buyers trust their network 5x more than they trust you.

Yet we still cold call and pray.

I mapped the people around every deal we closed. Same 4 types showed up every time.

Here's who actually influences your deals:

𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 1: 𝗠𝗮𝗽 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱

Stop focusing on the buyer. Look at who's around them:
- Current customers in their network
- Consultants they work with
- Peers at similar companies
- Former colleagues they trust

We found 73% of our deals had a customer whispering in their ear.

We just never knew it.

𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 2: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗹𝘂𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝘆𝗽𝗲𝘀

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗩𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿 - Usually a current customer. They confirm you don't suck.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝘂𝗶𝗱𝗲 - Consultant or advisor. They shape requirements (usually in your favor if you know them).

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗲𝗲𝗿 - Someone at a similar company who did what they're trying to do.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗶𝗼𝗻'𝘀 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗶𝗼𝗻 - Person your internal champion trusts most.

Find these four. Game changes.

𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 3: 𝗚𝗲𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁

Before you pitch:
- Ask your customers who else they know at target account
- Check LinkedIn for mutual connections
- See which consultants work with them
- Find the Slack groups they're in

One deal: Found out prospect's advisor was our customer.

One intro. Deal closed in 2 weeks.

𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 4: 𝗔𝗿𝗺 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱

Give these people:
- Stories to share
- Data to reference
- Intros to make
- Reasons to mention you

We created a "customer council" just so they'd know each other.

Now they sell for us without us asking.

Deals through network: 67% close rate.
Cold outreach: 2% close rate.

Stop selling to people.

Start selling through people.

Here’s the uncomfortable truth…

When you see those words in a post, do you leap to the conclusion that the post was written by AI?

Does that impact the way you feel about the content? 

Does it impact your trust?

I ask because I just came across some posts from someone I trust. 

He is a well-known thought leader who I used to follow, but lost track of over the past 5-6 years.

I just visited his profile and read some of his most recent posts. 

All of them appeared to be written by AI.

I’m not sure how to feel about that. 

But I find myself questioning:

• Were they his unique ideas? 
• Or was it written without his involvement?


(No AI was involved in writing this post, but I do use it regularly)

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The Battle

Marcus Sheridan

Candyce. Edelen

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The Battle

Marcus Sheridan

Candyce. Edelen

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Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Marcus Sheridan's LinkedIn Performance

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