Hey there!

You’ve been sent a link to this page because you’re trying to sell me something I’m not interested in.

I appreciate your hustle, clever wording, and general aplomb.

I have wonderful friends and colleagues in sales, and I know how hard it is to be an account executive, SDR, BDR, etc. You fulfill a crucial role in helping companies grow and even stay in existence, and I applaud you for that.

It’s tough to reach out to so many people every day, and to often get a disappointing response. I respect that. I know that’s something I personally would have trouble handling, so I appreciate your fortitude and resilience. Respect ✊

But I’m not interested

I promise you that I’ve read your email in full, thought about it, and decided one of the following:

  • I am not interested in and/or my company does not need whatever product or service you are trying to sell.
  • I or my company are already using one of your competitors and we’re happy with their product or service.
  • I don’t have bandwidth to evaluate this at this time.

Regardless of which of these is the case, I promise I will reach out to you if circumstances change and your service or product would be relevant in my current role. I do remember these things, so your efforts have not been in vain.

Please do not persist

I know sometimes people are too busy to respond, and that by reaching out again, sometimes multiple times, you do get responses, that can lead to positive results and sales!

Diligence does indeed pay off in many cases, but I’m letting you know that I did read your email, and I am not interested at this time (see above section), so continuing to email me will only annoy me, lead me to have more negative impression of your brand, and will not result in sales.

If you do persist

I understand that you may not believe my statements here- perhaps you think with the right wording or convincing, I will respond and eventually buy what you’re selling.

Or maybe you feel like since you already have a follow-up template email written, what’s the harm in sending it?

It doesn’t cost you anything, takes very little time, and if you’re already not getting the sale, what’s the harm?

Well, it does annoy me, and it’s not free to me, as I have to see your email in my inbox, which fragments my time.

To hopefully dissuade you from continuing to reach out to me, saving both of us time, here’s what I will do if you continue.

Marked as spam -> decreased deliverability

Your next email after I’ve sent you this link, I’m going to “Mark as Spam” in GMail.

This provides feedback to GMail’s spam classification servers that the receiver did not like this message, and gradually trains their algorithms to mark email from your email address as spam to new people you reach out to.

That means that your attempts to contact other sales opportunities are less likely to reach their inbox (and not spam folder), and thus less likely to be read, decreasing your effectiveness at selling over time.

Expect your own spam

If you continue to email me, I don’t know how this would happen, but it is possible that you will start receiving emails from services and sites you did not sign up for.

First a little bit, then gradually more as you persist.

I can’t comment on how or why this would happen, as the world is a strange and mysterious place.

In conclusion

Thanks for taking the time to read this, I really appreciate it!

I don’t mean for this to be mean or hostile, and I certainly mean no disrespect - you BDRs, SDRs, and AEs play a critical role in tech companies and society in general, and I’m happy you exist.

I know you’re just doing your job, working hard, and I respect that. I know you’re hustling to reach quotas, which probably range from tough to nearly impossible, and only those with hustle and grit survive.

But I am quite busy, and I’m trying to focus and get meaningful things done to provide value to my company, so I’m doing my best to limit distractions.

I hope you will respect my time as I respect yours, and I will reach out if I, my company, or someone else I know needs your services.

Thanks so much and have a great rest of your day! ❤️