GTS

Yesterday at 6:57 AM I got a call from Rep for a leading internet marketing and analytics company. I thought that anyone that worked for a company of this stature should be very internet savvy. I was wrong. It was very obvious that this woman had not done her homework or she would not have called me so early in the morning. She had my name, number and even a company name, but she did not know city in which I lived and worked. So I assume that she had not done her research and she was just calling the next name on the list. I was just another lead.

To paraphrase John Merrick in The Elephant Man ~ I am not a lead! I am a human being! or “Only you can validate a lead, so GTS”

What is GTS? It is an acronym for a tried and true lead validation system, that even the least tech savvy, like the person that called me yesterday, can use. GTS – Google That Shit.

If the Rep had entered any two variables about me into any search engine, I am sure she could have found me on Twitter, LinkedIn or Facebook. If she had done that, she would have known where I lived and worked, but more importantly, she would have learned many things about me that might have helped her on the call and maybe in a future sale. Now, because she did not do her research, I doubt that I will trust the company in the future.

So the next time before you pick up the phone or draft an email to a stranger about business, validate the lead with GTS.

Google That Shit!