Why Your 17X Certified Resume Writer Pitches Are Failing

Dear 17X Certified Resume Writer,

You may think your marketing tactics and sequence are foolproof. But they’re not. Read on to see why.

And if you’re NOT a 17x certified resume writer, skip to the bottom to see how the resume writing market lacks differentiation. But what about YOUR market?

Why your marketing tactics and sequence don’t work

From observing you and dozens of your 17x certified resume writing competitors that I’ve encountered (and over 14,000 of your competitors that I haven’t encountered), here are the marketing tactics and sequence that ALL of you are using, and why they are COMPLETELY ineffective.

• Find a LinkedIn profile with a green “Open to Work” banner.

• Send a message to the banner-bearer with canned phrases like “Thank you for connecting with a 17x certified resume writer,” or “May I ask what job you are seeking?” If you are using the same language as every other 17x certified resume writer out there, then the prospect has no reason to purchase YOUR services.
• Immediately demand that the prospect provide a copy of their resume. Never mind that the prospect’s LinkedIn profile already has the same information as the resume. If you are requesting information that is already available online, then the prospect has no reason to purchase YOUR services.
• When your qualifications as a 17x certified resume writer are challenged, respond with stupid stuff. For example, say that your services can place your prospect into LinkedIn’s top 10% of candidates for a position. If your “expert knowledge” betrays that you have NO expertise, then the prospect has no reason to purchase YOUR services.

• When all else fails, talk about the respectability of the third-party website where you advertise your services (usually Fiverr). If you talk about Fiverr (which has over 14,000 resume writers), then the prospect has no reason to purchase YOUR services.

• Most importantly, ensure that your pitch is the same as the pitch of your 13,999+ competitors. This is critically important—don’t provide ANY reason why your 17x resume writing services are better than those of your 13,999+ competitors. If you provide NO reason why you are better than your competition, all of whom are bombarding LinkedIn “open to work” folks with canned pitches daily, then the prospect has no reason to purchase YOUR services.

So this is why your tactics don’t work.

Why did I rewrite something that I already wrote a few weeks ago?

If you’re a regular reader of the Bredemarket blog—that’s a joke; if you haven’t read my LinkedIn profile, you certainly haven’t read the Bredemarket blog before—then you know that I recently wrote a post entitled “Five Reasons Why 17X Certified Resume Writer Pitches Fail.” It approached your marketing tactics from a different perspective.

But one afternoon when I received three separate LinkedIn InMails from three separate 17x certified resume writers in the space of five minutes, I figured that I needed to address this issue again, in a more pointed fashion. (Yes, I iterate.)

Now I don’t want you to read the entirety of my January 8 post. I know that you are very busy searching for “open to work” people to ask your canned question about their desired position. But I do suggest that you read the fourth of my five reasons why your pitches fail, and take the steps to ensure that you don’t sound exactly the same as your thousands of competitors.

Hope this helps.

That’s all I have to say. 17x certified resume writers can stop reading here.

Seriously.

Stop. Get to work.

For those of you who are NOT 17x certified resume writers

OK, time for me to talk to the rest of you. It’s just me, you, and the wildebeest.

Frankly, I doubt that any of the 17x certified resume writers have even made it to this point of the blog post. Like I said, they’re too busy seeking their next prospects.

But the whole 17x certified resume writer market strikes me as one which is sorely lacking in differentiation, competitive analysis, and customer focus. The vast majority of people who provide resume services don’t even attempt to say why their services are superior and the services of their 13,999+ competitors are inferior. And the vast majority focus on themselves rather than the specific needs of their prospects. Why should I choose one of these 17x certified resume writers, and not one of their competitors?

But it’s not enough to take a look at a lack of differentiation in one market. Now I have to take a look at myself. Have I done an adequate job of differentiating Bredemarket’s marketing and writing services from those of my other content marketing competitors? I already know that Canva content creator G from Ray of Social is a much better singer than I am.

And perhaps you should take a look at yourself. Have you done an adequate job of differentiating YOUR company from the competition? Do your prospects have a reason to choose you?

If you are employed by a technology firm and need your content to stand out from the crowd, let me explain why Bredemarket’s services can drive content results, how I provide services that no one else does, and what we will do together to create that content your company desperately needs.

Postscript

Just in case these questions come up.

• I have nothing against Fiverr as a platform, or against similar platforms such as Upwork. I’m sure that there are good people on Fiverr, and I don’t believe that there is a causation between people being on Fiverr and people providing bad services. But I do believe that there is a correlation between Fiverr and bad services, and that if you are on Fiverr, it is incumbent for you to prove that you are qualified to offer your services. (That goes for people like me who AREN’T on Fiverr also.)
• In addition, I have nothing against Nigeria, or India, or any country where a service provider may reside. While the three separate InMails that I received from three separate 17x certified resume writers within five minutes were ALL from Nigeria (Anita from Abuja, Helen from Lagos State, and Renee from Akwa Ibom State), that doesn’t necessarily mean that Nigerians are bad service providers (or that people in the United States and other “first world” countries are GOOD service providers). But again a service provider’s origin is a risk factor that you may need to consider when selecting someone.
• Well, unless they’re a rich and respectable person, like a prince, rather than some poor Fiverr user.