Business Owners Are Nastier And More Irrational Than You Think

Hey guys, so I wanted to share a thought that I've had recently.

So for context, I do IG DMs to gym/studio/box owners in the UK/USA/Canada, and like any outreach channel, after about 1 in 500 initiations, I always get some sort of malice backlash.

The most common theme being that I'm a "scammer" and the more uncommon which is personal insults to myself from observations they make on my Instagram profile (A couple casual pictures of me on holiday and with friends etc)

I'll be honest 99% of this doesn't affect me at all, because I understand this is inevitable for everyone and it is really just words on a screen, and retaliating will only do bad for my business, in terms of if they report my account, report me to my clients or I don't know shame me on a niche related online community.

This is why I almost never reply and if I do, its always with a complete opposite and positive tonality.

Some of the most obscure replies have been:

"We had a bet that it was another person with another canned marketing scam. My head coach won because he correctly guessed the formulaic email response. I don't know what group is selling you guys this program but it keeps getting worse". ----(LIKE WHAT, IT ANNOYS ME THAT GYMS HAVE THESE BAD BELIEFS, HOW DO I CHANGE THEIR PARADIGM)

"Sorry, I only give walmart gift card details over email to nigerian princes, not skinny white europeans"---(THIS ONE WAS QUITE FUNNY)

"No, I do not believe I can bring my previous clients back, if they left, they left for a reason and are not coming back"--(SERIOUSLY, THIS IS AN INSANE MENTALITY FOR A GYM OWNER, SURE PEOPLE EMMIGRATE AWAY, BUT A LARGE PERCENTAGE LEAVE BECAUSE OF INJURY OR OTHER PRIORITIES GETTING IN THE WAY, WE ALL KNOW HOW EASY IT IS TO FALL OUT OF ROUTINE WHEN OBSTACLES APPEAR IN OUR LIFE, IT SHOULD BE HIS DUTY TO TRY AND GET THEM BACK INTO FITNESS AGAIN".

"You were not transparent, you sent a BS message that wasted my time. I knew what it was. Find better sales tactics. Nobody wants their time wasted. We will never work with people like you"--(LOL SORRY)

"What is this in regards to, It's hard to trust someone with 4 different accounts under the same name. We get spammers all the time"--(YOU SEE JOHN, WHEN IM TRYING TO HELP AS MANY GYMS AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE, BUT INSTAGRAM GIVES ME MESSAGE LIMITS, THE ONLY WAY I CAN GET AROUND IT IS TO MAKE AN ARMY OF ACCOUNTS LOL)

"Can I speak directly with these gyms you've worked with"--(I RESPOND WITH YES OF COURSE BUT WHAT MIGHT BE BETTER IS IF YOU TAKE A LOOK AT THESE 3 VIDEO TESTIMONIALS... AND INSTANTLY SHE GOES "NOPE", LIKE HOW IRRATIONAL IS THAT).

"I'd rather put my balls between a vice mate"--(SUIT YOURSELF)

Conclusively, I think I made this post half to have a laugh and eliminate some of the negative aura surrounding it, hoping others can relate, my thought on this, is that business owners are human too, they are not some perfect forefront that is welcoming and nice to everyone because they are a business.

It is your duty to notice the difference between the genuinely vile people and those who just have a bad belief system that you need to break and change.

5 comments