How To Get Me Not To Talk To You

I'm known for giving the cold shoulder. What can I say?! Someone pisses me off, and I go radio silent for hours, days, possibly even weeks. It's not the most glorious trait to have, but, hey, at least I own it. So, suffice it to say, if you absolutely don't want me to talk to you-- piss me off. If you don't know
what gets my goat, then just follow these lovely, real-life examples of things I've had happen to me recently:

• Send me a LinkedIn request that explains that I was just your absolutely, favorite speaker at the conference you just attended-- when I didn't even speak at that conference.
• Request an interview from me by addressing the email, 'Dear Hank'.
• Ask me if I need to be introduced to what social media is --> when I'm clearly a social media professional.
• Ask me if my company needs someone to handle social media for us --> when I am the social media specialist.
• Send me an automated DM of any sort.
• Automatically nickname me when I've never met you before. (I can't tell you how many people call me Marj or Marge, which only my mother gets away with!) 
• Send me an email with one sentence about something personal about me, and then paste in your automated email response. (I was in PR-- I can spot these a mile away!)
• Don't have any idea what my company does, when I ask you during your sales pitch. 
• Email me that you're so grateful for our Twitter conversations and now you'd like to introduce me to your product, when we've never had a Twitter conversation..EVER. (I'm more involved then you think with my own account!)

And-- the NUMBER ONE thing to do to get me NOT to talk to you is... SPELL MY NAME WRONG when it is right there in front of you on my social profile. I have no idea how people can Tweet at me with a "Hey, Margie" when my name is clearly spelled out in my Twitter handle. I get the same thing with other social networks, too. Oh, and I also get addressed as Sherman quite a bit. That's when it is no doubt automated. I am NOT the Sherminator, so please, leave my last name where it belongs.

Point? I am on the other side of this, as well. I have to write people I don't know, and make connections with strangers, and I make damn sure I know how to spell their name, what they do and what their company does, before I pitch them anything. I also genuinely find a way to be interested in what they do, so I don't have to pull the old PR trick of finding out one fact and including it in with the rest of the automated bullshit.

If you want someone to respond to you --> be genuine, know as much as you can about them, and know what you have to offer them that no one else can.

Then start the conversation.

PS- Can you tell I got a shitload of impersonal emails, lately? ;)

- Marji J. Sherman