Unprecedented and Unprofessional Sales Stalking

aaronmeredith · 2017-10-18T16:33:46.000Z

Your first problem is you are using linkedin but don’t want commission vultures hounding you. Linkedin continues to exist because you are willingly becoming a sales lead by signing up. Secondarily you may be able to sorta network with it. Second is using your main contact information you likely have little control over when going to a sales motivated conference. Use a throwaway email and google voice number in the future so you have control again.

If you want them to go away and they don’t - phone number to nuisance caller list. My preference is to put these people in to an endless hold queue that plays the 10 hour version of Nyan cat, but you do you.

r0b · 2017-10-18T18:25:43.000Z

Jared Busch:

Harry Lui:

rbleattler:

Just because the information is there does not make it acceptable to go out and use it.

That took 5 seconds to get your full name and city on Spicesworks and Googled it. Stop putting your information for the WORLD to see if you want to be left alone.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/rbleattler

https://www.facebook.com/robert.bleattler

https://twitter.com/twistedf4te?lang=en

Robert Bleattler | Flickr

OMGZ!!! HACKER!

It’s almost like there was a session on how easy that stuff was to do!

rbleattler · 2017-10-18T18:26:58.000Z

Yashnahain

Your first problem is you are using linkedin but don’t want commission vultures hounding you. Linkedin continues to exist because you are willingly becoming a sales lead by signing up. Secondarily you may be able to sorta network with it. Second is using your main contact information you likely have little control over when going to a sales motivated conference. Use a throwaway email and google voice number in the future so you have control again.

If you want them to go away and they don’t - phone number to nuisance caller list. My preference is to put these people in to an endless hold queue that plays the 10 hour version of Nyan cat, but you do you.

You… You I like…

joelgarry · 2017-10-18T19:20:20.000Z

You likely wouldn’t know this, but my first reply was the short version of things similar to what Yashnahain said, I’ve been saying for a long time .

twitter.com

cyborg1956

@joelgarry

@PerlDBA LinkedIn: Monkeywrenching careers through social media.

10:26 PM - 22 Feb 2013

twitter.com

cyborg1956

@joelgarry

If I get a linkedin connection request at my work email, which is not on linkedin, I should:

5:15 PM - 13 Apr 2017

twitter.com

cyborg1956

@joelgarry

@TheJennaBee I've tweeted previously how linkedin continued to ask people to rate my dead cousin.

6:35 PM - 3 Oct 2014

LinkedIn, Is It Worth The Aggravation? IT & Tech Careers

Is having a LinkedIn profile worth the effort to keep up is all you ever get from it are emails from sales weenies with company X trying to ply their wares? You may know these people emails and shitty articles. I have received a few emails this week alone from tech companies trying to sell me something by using my LinkedIn profile. Why do marketing people think this is a good idea, because I immediately mark them as SPAM and bin them. Along with that you cannot actually see who has viewed your …

port16 · 2017-10-18T19:37:39.000Z

I have to say, I don’t think it’s really too bad. You put the info out there, he looked it up. I’ve attended webinars, and then told them I don’t want to be contacted, then they contact me anyway. I tell them I’m not interested, and they continue to contact me. It kind of comes with the territory…

rbleattler · 2017-10-18T19:38:37.000Z

Joel Garry wrote:

You likely wouldn’t know this, but my first reply was the short version of things similar to what Yashnahain said, I’ve been saying for a long time .

https://twitter.com/joelgarry/status/305081236798447616

https://twitter.com/joelgarry/status/852571070267707392

https://twitter.com/joelgarry/status/518107200209031169

LinkedIn, Is It Worth The Aggravation?

No I like him because of his tactics for handling sales people.

Also, understand that I’m not arguing that my information isn’t available, or that it should be difficult to find, or that it isn’t my fault that it is available. I understand the most popular argument against me here. I simply feel that just because information is available, does not make it okay to exploit it.

port16 · 2017-10-18T19:45:05.000Z

rbleattler:

Well first of all, it’s 2017, so most business is finding ways to move away from desk phones, and cell phones are a pretty common method. And yea I’d rather be contacted on my cell phone than a desk phone 99% of the time.

WHAT?!?!?! No way. The day a sales person calls my cell phone is the day someone gets chewed out. I can ignore my desk phone, I can laugh heartily as I see the voicemail light blink, but my cell phone is with me everywhere. If you’re calling my cell phone and it’s work related, it better be an emergency.

jason7147 · 2017-10-18T20:20:18.000Z

rbleattler:

I could understand if my direct contact information (email, phone, etc…) were posted on LinkedIn, but they are not. And the contact information I did provide worked just fine, so there is no reason this guy should have been calling that number.

Ever received a fake number? Ever given out a fake number? Pretty sure most of us have at some point. This guy just put some basic skills to work to find out a bit more about you. He did a quick search and said “oh, he’s working here. Let’s give him a call and chat about SpiceWorld!” If it were me, I’d be saying “well if you can deliver products and services with the same tenacity that you track people down, we just might be able to work together.”

Now, if he showed up at your house or at your kid’s soccer game, well that would be a problem.

joerademacher3424 · 2017-10-18T20:22:54.000Z

rbleattler:

. I simply feel that just because information is available, does not make it okay to exploit it.

why not, if it’s exploited in a legal manner, such as a sales call? Isn’t exploiting lead information the definition of sales?

rbleattler · 2017-10-18T20:25:06.000Z

Port16

rbleattler:

Well first of all, it’s 2017, so most business is finding ways to move away from desk phones, and cell phones are a pretty common method. And yea I’d rather be contacted on my cell phone than a desk phone 99% of the time.

WHAT?!?!?! No way. The day a sales person calls my cell phone is the day someone gets chewed out. I can ignore my desk phone, I can laugh heartily as I see the voicemail light blink, but my cell phone is with me everywhere. If you’re calling my cell phone and it’s work related, it better be an emergency.

Ok, great. Glad you feel that way. However I have used my cell phone for work consistently for the past couple of years. I know plenty of people who feel the same way. The point is, there is no good reason to not at least TRY to reach me at the provided number first. C’mon that’s just stupid. If anything, he’d have been much more likely to find bad information online, than coming directly from me.

rbleattler · 2017-10-18T21:23:25.000Z

J Rad:

rbleattler:

. I simply feel that just because information is available, does not make it okay to exploit it.

why not, if it’s exploited in a legal manner, such as a sales call? Isn’t exploiting lead information the definition of sales?

No? Utilizing available information may be a part of the sales process, but exploitation should never be part of it.

EDIT: As is well known in the IT community, exploiting information just because it is available, does not usually play out well for the person(s) doing so.

jdwyer · 2017-10-18T21:36:59.000Z

rbleattler:

J Rad:

rbleattler:

. I simply feel that just because information is available, does not make it okay to exploit it.

why not, if it’s exploited in a legal manner, such as a sales call? Isn’t exploiting lead information the definition of sales?

No? Utilizing available information may be a part of the sales process, but exploitation should never be part of it. Thats how you land yourself in court.

Previously I thought you were holding just a little too tightly to your affrontedness based on your continuing responses to those telling you to just let it go… but I think you jumped the shark with this one… court, really?

joerademacher3424 · 2017-10-19T12:27:07.000Z

rbleattler:

J Rad:

rbleattler:

. I simply feel that just because information is available, does not make it okay to exploit it.

why not, if it’s exploited in a legal manner, such as a sales call? Isn’t exploiting lead information the definition of sales?

No? Utilizing available information may be a part of the sales process, but exploitation should never be part of it. Thats how you land yourself in court.

exploit.JPG698×198 17.3 KB

rbleattler · 2017-10-19T12:40:10.000Z

J Rad

rbleattler:

J Rad:

rbleattler:

. I simply feel that just because information is available, does not make it okay to exploit it.

why not, if it’s exploited in a legal manner, such as a sales call? Isn’t exploiting lead information the definition of sales?

No? Utilizing available information may be a part of the sales process, but exploitation should never be part of it. Thats how you land yourself in court.

Please explain how posting a condescending link to a definition is helpful?

rbleattler · 2017-10-19T12:50:32.000Z

James9158

rbleattler:

J Rad:

rbleattler:

. I simply feel that just because information is available, does not make it okay to exploit it.

why not, if it’s exploited in a legal manner, such as a sales call? Isn’t exploiting lead information the definition of sales?

No? Utilizing available information may be a part of the sales process, but exploitation should never be part of it. Thats how you land yourself in court.

Previously I thought you were holding just a little too tightly to your affrontedness based on your continuing responses to those telling you to just let it go… but I think you jumped the shark with this one… court, really?

You know what you’re right. That was overstated.

joerademacher3424 · 2017-10-19T15:09:07.000Z

rbleattler:

J Rad

rbleattler:

J Rad:

rbleattler:

. I simply feel that just because information is available, does not make it okay to exploit it.

why not, if it’s exploited in a legal manner, such as a sales call? Isn’t exploiting lead information the definition of sales?

No? Utilizing available information may be a part of the sales process, but exploitation should never be part of it. Thats how you land yourself in court.

Please explain how posting a condescending link to a definition is helpful?

If you look at the synonyms section, you’ll note the word utilize. In the post I quoted, you seemed to think they were separate, when in fact they mean the same thing. Not sure how posting a screenshot is condescending btw.

rbleattler · 2017-10-19T15:19:29.000Z

J Rad:

rbleattler:

J Rad

rbleattler:

J Rad:

rbleattler:

. I simply feel that just because information is available, does not make it okay to exploit it.

why not, if it’s exploited in a legal manner, such as a sales call? Isn’t exploiting lead information the definition of sales?

No? Utilizing available information may be a part of the sales process, but exploitation should never be part of it. Thats how you land yourself in court.

Please explain how posting a condescending link to a definition is helpful?

If you look at the synonyms section, you’ll note the word utilize. In the post I quoted, you seemed to think they were separate, when in fact they mean the same thing. Not sure how posting a screenshot is condescending btw.

Posting the definition of a word is condescending and unnecessary. There is no need to chastise other members of the community. You may or may not be smarter than any given member, but doing things like that is not helpful or useful in any way, and only serves to take away from the value of content in the community.

joerademacher3424 · 2017-10-19T15:57:42.000Z

I disagree.

DragonsRule · 2017-10-19T16:04:41.000Z

rbleattler:

Posting the definition of a word is condescending and unnecessary. There is no need to chastise other members of the community. You may or may not be smarter than any given member, but doing things like that is not helpful or useful in any way, and only serves to take away from the value of content in the community.

J Rad:

I disagree.

/mod hat on

Gentlemen, that’s enough. Before this turns personal and we have to start deleting posts, just stop. You disagree. So be it.

/mod hat off

tim7139 · 2017-10-20T17:29:30.000Z

rbleattler:

He suggested that I was the backup guy, and reception, confusingly notified me of this call. My new boss, and colleagues weren’t exactly pleased, and I was immediately questioned …

Why are your boss and colleagues concerned about the calls you get? If your reply was simply random sales call and the topic was not dropped that raises a bit of a red flag for me.

I wonder if your reaction may have lead to more probing. If that was not the case you may be attaching some of the negative feelings around situation in the wrong direction.