STOP OVERSELLING THE SIZZLE

By Lydia Kalleske –For Abel Photography

Have you heard these statements…?

‘Hey guys just thought I’d pop on and let you know, I only have 1 spot left for this month so you better get in and book now!’

Or…

‘I have just the template or secret formula for you, and it’s going to blow your mind and up level your business/mindset/personal growth!’

Or this little chestnut…

‘I can help you grow your following by x% and show you exactly how I grew my clients’ social media following from nothing to hundreds and thousands in x amount of weeks!’

These things all sound amazing, yeah? NO!

I’m getting right up on my soap box here, this new wave of prying on individuals and businesses insecurities or pain points and over selling the sizzle, is getting a little bit nutso over here!

I’m here to talk about, my 3 top pet peeves swirling around on social media and in the business world at the moment, because I’m certain, if you're reading this you’ve seen one of these examples or let’s face it, probably ALL of these — circulating with in social media platforms and business groups. Maybe you have thought some of the same things as me and if you haven’t I truly hope I can help you see through some of these…smoke and mirror tactics.

A few months back I purchased something from a small business that was being sold as a ‘downloadable template,’ for a bit of social media planning.

I’m thinking — ‘yes template…drag and drop. Easy!’

But after handing over my cash, I got a word document that looked like something my 10 year old son could have put together.

Something’s not right here?

I mean, it was only a small investment but what I got was a far cry from what I believed I was getting.

What about these social media superstars? You know the ones, you see them when you are scrolling through your feeds? They’ve grown hundreds and thousands of followers for their clients, and you think ooo…’they’re worth a follow’. You head on over to their page and they have 300-400 followers?

Every time I see this I cringe, just a little, because my brain automatically thinks, ‘Wouldn’t they have a bigger following of their own if they’ve grown their clients’ base

SO large?’ Surely if they are a whizz at social media the proof should be in the pudding? Their social media following should be indicative of the sizzle they are selling! No?

I get it everyone has to start somewhere. Heck I look back to my work from the first five years in business and far out, I sure have come a long way. But in those days there’s no way I would have advertised that I could enlarge my prints, if I hadn’t tested them myself beforehand. I was confident to promote my business being able to sell enlarged prints, because I knew I could — because the proof was in the pudding.

And lastly I am here to debunk one of the most seen and most cringeworthy hard sell tactics, the ‘book now before you miss out’ posts!

Yep, sure! There are certainly companies out there who really are sold out or booked out, but I can tell you now, most of the time they aren’t shouting that from the rooftop. Honestly, when was the last time you clicked on an advertisement that said, we're sold out but come and look at the products you missed out on?

You get to their website and see they are sold out and go on their wait list!

9 times out of 10, the ‘book now or miss out’ businesses are preying on the current epidemic that is the FOMO epidemic! Urgency gives people a reason to finally bite the bullet and overcome inertia. Don’t buy into it.