How to make friends and influence people – or not, as the case may be

I have always – naively perhaps – believed good marketers should make it easy for you to do whatever you want and whenever possible appear welcoming and helpful.

So I was intrigued to read what happened when a friend wanted to join the Chartered Institute Marketing’s group on Linked-in.

Here is the welcome she got.

Subject: Your request to join the CIM group on LinkedIn

Hi and thanks for your interest in the group.

PLEASE follow this up with an email containing your CIM membership number, or at least confirm that there is something on your LinkedIn profile that will show me you are a CIM member. This is strictly a CIM-members-only forum and I just don’t havew time to check up on everyone, so please make it as easy as possible for me to let you into the group!

If it takes a while to process your application, please bear in mind that I run the group on a voluntary basis, and I don’t always log in regularly. I get 50-100 requests to join a week, so forgive me if it takes time for your request to be actioned: I will get round to it!

On the same note, if you feel that your request is taking too long to action, sending me a snotty email demanding that I accept your request or you’ll withdraw your application (don’t laugh – it does happen!) is unlikely to make me drop my clients and rush online to welcome you into the group!

Finally, if you get a rejection from me in a few days please don’t take it personally. It means I’ve either made a mistake (it happens!), or you haven’t sent me your CIM number 🙂

Finally, I am not on the staff of the institute, so if you have any queries about your membership please address them to the CIM directly.

All the best


What I don’t understand is why he never asked her for her bra size.

About the Author

In 2003, the Chartered Institute of Marketing named Drayton one of 50 living individuals who have shaped today’s marketing.

He has worked in 55 countries with many of the world’s greatest brands. These include American Express, Audi, Bentley, British Airways, Cisco, Columbia Business School, Deutsche Post, Ford, IBM, McKinsey, Mercedes, Microsoft, Nestle, Philips, Procter & Gamble, Toyota, Unilever, Visa and Volkswagen.

Drayton has helped sell everything from Airbus planes to Peppa Pig. His book, Commonsense Direct and Digital Marketing, out in 17 languages, has been the UK’s best seller on the subject every year since 1982. He has also run his own businesses in the U.K., Portugal and Malaysia.

He was a main board member of the Ogilvy Group, a founding member of the Superbrands Organisation, one of the first eight Honorary Fellows of the Institute of Direct Marketing and one of the first three people named to the Hall of Fame of the Direct Marketing Association of India. He has also been given Lifetime Achievement Awards by the Caples Organisation in New York and Early To Rise in Florida.

1 Comments

  1. Maxxk

    marketeers always have the ability to influence other people.

    Reply

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