Tag Archives: sales

Despite the Friction, I Read This Message Anyway. And Wished I Hadn’t.

I simplified my social life a few months ago by no longer posting on Instagram. I don’t even have Instagram on my phone any more.

But Instagram Meta-relative Facebook is “nice” enough to inform me when I receive Instagam messages, as well as unsolicited Instagram message requests. Which I obvously can’t read on my phone (in part because I also removed Meta for Business).

Joining the “brand ambassador” inner circle

So one day when I happened to be on my laptop, I brought up my Instagram account. I wanted to see the latest message request, reportedly from “Navin Nandra”…even though I already knew it was in a languge using the Cyrillic alphabet. And probably wouldn’t bring Bredemarkeet a ton of business.

So here’s what I had to do:

  • Go from my phone to my laptop.
  • Log in to Instagram.
  • Find my message requests.
  • Translate the message request that I received.

After translating, I was right in guessing that this was a waste of time. Here is how the message began:

“Good day! This is the brand manager for the clothing brand PRIME Wear

“I’m messaging you from a tech/alternative account—we use these to avoid getting blocked by Instagram Direct limits.

“We absolutely love your style and the content on your blog!

We would love to invite you to join our inner circle of PRIME brand ambassadors.”

Um, no. These “we love your style” messages are always amusing to me. Especially when account number one tells you to contact account number two. Because reasons.

Google Gemini.

Yeah, “ambassador.” My last name isn’t Jenner, and my look isn’t Jenner either.

Google Gemini.

The underlying scams

So I asked Google Gemini about the scam behind these amazing offers, because I suspected a scam. To please me, Google Gemini said that there are scams related to this. I could have fact-checked this on a live web page, but I had already wasted too much time on this.

Here’s one of Gemini’s reported scams:

You are told you have been “hand-picked” to represent the brand. They offer to send you jewelry, sunglasses, or clothing for “free” so you can take photos with it.

  • The Catch: They give you a discount code that brings the item’s cost to $0, but you have to pay $10 to $15 for shipping.
  • The Reality: The brand is usually a front for a dropshipping operation. They buy the items from bulk wholesale sites for less than $1. Your “shipping fee” actually covers the cost of the item and gives the scammer a profit.
  • The Outcome: You paid full retail price (or more) for a low-quality, cheap item, while giving them free advertising.

Bad enough, but it could get a lot worse.

Some requests are much more malicious. A “talent scout” or “brand manager” will message you offering high-paying sponsorships ($500+ per post), even if you only have a few hundred followers.

  • The Catch: To “set up the partnership” or “verify your account,” they send you a link to a portal or ask for your 2FA (Two-Factor Authentication) code.
  • The Reality: The link leads to a fake Instagram login page designed to harvest your password. If you give them a 2FA code, they will immediately change the email associated with your account, lock you out, and hold your account hostage or use it to scam your friends.

So “Navin Nandra” is now blocked. And I can avoid Instagram again for a while.

The Opposite of Customer Focus: Ron Johnson’s J. C. Penney

I’ve talked endlessly about product marketing with a customer focus. For a reason. If your product marketing makes your prospects indifferent, or even worse alienates them, you don’t make money.

J. C. Penney learned this the hard way when it brought in new leadership a decade ago.

“J.C. Penney brought in a bold new CEO. Ron Johnson had already created Apple Store, a chain of physical stores where people flocked to shop.”

I will state the obvious: the clientele at an Apple Store differs ever-so-slightly from J. C. Penney customers. But to be fair, Johnson had also worked at Target.

Yet Johnson’s first move was more suited to people whose idea of a bar included one preceded by the word “genius.”

“And Johnson had a plan for J.C. Penney: Tell customers they don’t have to spend time anymore clipping coupons or waiting for sales to happen. Instead, the store would offer fair prices on its merchandise every day.”

Logically it sounds brilliant. Customers can save time and money simultaneously.

The only problem is that the customers LIKED clipping coupons and timing purchases to sales.

And when revenue decreased, J. C. Penney…BLAMED THEIR OWN CUSTOMERS. In a way that got attention.

“’He sort of said sales were akin to drugs, and he was trying hard and to wean customers off drugs,’ says retail analyst Rafi Mohammed.”

Or, as one of those long Facebook posts over-exaggerated it, Ron Johnson called his own customers drug addicts.

J. C. Penney not only walked back the changes, but also fired Johnson sixteen months later.

It’s good to attract new customers…but don’t alienate existing ones.

Now Bredemarket normally plays in the B2G and B2B space rather than B2C, but the lesson applies here also. If you need someone to help you speak to your prospects, let’s talk.

Stop losing prospects! Use Bredemarket content for tech marketers
Use Bredemarket content.

And by the way, there are often third acts in business. Johnson co-founded Enjoy, an on-demand mobile retail store. It did well for years until it jumped in on the SPAC craze and filed for bankruptcy. The remnants survive today as part of Asurion.

J. C. Penney also survives today, thanks to a post-COVID, post-bankruptcy rescue by mall operators Simon Property Group and Brookfield Asset Management.

Its competitor Sears was not as fortunate.

The “Open to Work” Effect

Jobseekers, including myself, have endured endless debates about the pros and cons of LinkedIn’s “Open to Work” green banner. While these debates seem to have died down, there are still arguments about whether the green banner does more harm than good.

  • The good? Legitimate employers know that you are open to work.
  • The harm? Scammers, AI-powered resume writers, and other ne’er-do-wells also know that you are open to work.

Customers won’t find you unless you buy this shady service

But this is not confined to jobseekers.

  • Bredemarket receives an uncounted number of telephone calls, from multiple numbers, all of which begin with the same question: “Am I speaking to the business owner?”
  • The caller then offers a free consultation regarding your Google Business listing and your Google voice search results.
  • And when I bother to take the calls, they are disappointed to hear that Google yanked my Google Business listing (Google never told me why, but I assume it relates to the fact that I do not physically conduct business at my UPS Store mailing address).
  • And that it was the best thing for me when Google did that.

You don’t walk up to my office and request a retainer or hourly services or small projects. You contact me by various means and we talk, you in your office and me in mine. Even the local customers aren’t going to drop by, especially since my City of Ontario business license prohibits me from meeting customers at my home.

Anyway, all these cold callers are NOT part of Bredemarket’s target audience.

And the myriad of Google Business Listing advisors are just one of the types of people who have no interest in buying my services.

How to attract real prospects

So I create Bredemarket’s content to attract identity, biometric, and technology marketing professionals. Two recent examples:

Advent International Plans to Sell IDEMIA Public Security
Amadeus!
Proof of Humanity Does Not Prove Identity
Uniqueness is not identity.

Oh, and I also create content for wildebeest fans.

I’m Writing a Book…And It’s Already Received a Negative Review

Some of you may have already read my shorter books, including “Seven Questions Your Content Creator Should Ask You.” They’re short, and they’re free.

Last December I started writing something more comprehensive, and long enough to sell. If I price each copy at $100,000 apiece and sell 25 of them, I can start thinking about retirement.

Despite the (completely realistic) financial incentive, I dropped the project and didn’t pick it back up again until this month. I’m not ready to announce it yet, but the very fact that I’m talking about it may give me the impetus to finish it.

I just uploaded the latest draft to Google Gemini, both to write a 100 word promotional blurb (which I may or may not use or adapt), and to write two book reviews: one positive, one negative.

Again without giving away too much about the book, here are two excerpts from the negative review.

“Author John E. Bredehoft spends significant time on self-promotion and anecdotal stories, such as his hypothetical attempt to access Donald Trump’s medical records, which may distract readers seeking deep technical data.”

Here’s the second:

“While the writing is accessible, those looking for a dense, scholarly analysis of biometric algorithms might find the conversational tone and frequent “investigative lead” reminders a bit repetitive.”

Hey, there weren’t THAT many…

More to come.

Six identity factors. One Bredemarket ebook. Total identity protection. Purchase “Proving Humanity: The Six Factors of Identity Verification and Authentication.”

Four pages from "Proving Humanity: The Six Factors of Identity Verification and Authentication" by John E. Bredehoft, Bredemarket., Click on the image to purchase.

When a Prospect Is Not Really Invested

Have you ever run into an old friend you haven’t seen in years? Both of you say “we should get together.” But you don’t.

Now assume it’s not friendship but a seller/prospect relationship that never moves down the funnel to conversion.

Jan McInnis sells a service, comedy. And how do comedians market their services? By performing. The comedian performs at one venue, and someone from another venue sees them and books them.

Google Gemini.

McInnis was performing in Michigan when she was spotted by a big-time manager (“one of her clients is currently selling out Madison Square Garden”) who saw Jan’s five-minute set. Afterwards the manager approached Jan and said the magic words:

“You were great.”

Then the manager’s office called and requested a meeting, asking McInnis to bring writing samples. Now a meeting itself is no assurance of getting a job, but it’s a possible step toward getting one. So Jan prepared for that meeting, spending her Thanksgiving polishing up her writing samples.

Google Gemini.

But…

“The next day, her office called to postpone the meeting.”

Lather, rinse, repeat. The manager’s office would schedule a meeting, then postpone it. In the end, the manager never met with McInnis, who pivoted away from the comedy clubs and focused on corporate speaking engagements as “The Work Lady.”

And who knows? Maybe some huge tech company will ask her to headlines a gigantic corporate event at Madison Square Garden.

But no rush on writing Knicks jokes yet.

Google Gemini.

More on Velocity

I recently shared an NP Digital observation on velocity, so now let me share one from Marcia Riner.

“In fast-moving markets, speed of execution beats perfect strategy almost every time. Businesses that test ideas quickly, implement improvements, and make decisions without weeks of deliberation create momentum. That momentum compounds into growth, visibility, and opportunity.”

Bredemarket’s processes can—with your cooperation—result in rapid delivery of prospect-focused content.

So let’s talk.

Or you can take a few seconds to learn about the questions I ask to speed your content delivery.

I ask, then I act.

And the services I provide.

Bredemarket services, process, and pricing.

The Relationship Between Velocity and Sales Cost

Basil Hatto of NP (Neil Patel) Digital recently made the point that increased sales velocity reduces costs to the selling company, since the prospects reach decisions more quickly.

So how can a business like yours, or a business like Bredemarket, increase sales velocity?

Let’s discuss how Bredemarket’s marketing and writing services can help your content, proposal, and analysis needs.