Selling in the DMs isn’t a strategy I recommend—honestly I hate it. After an influx of sales DMs and dozens of frustrated texts to my business bestie, Sarah Erickson, we knew it was time for a podcast episode to discuss this sales strategy. In today’s episode, we’re discussing why you should stop selling in the DMs and what to do instead! Plus we’re sharing how to respond to unsolicited sales DMs to help you build stronger boundaries in your business!
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After an influx of getting sold to in my DMs and dozens of frustrated texts to Sarah, we knew it was time for a podcast episode to discuss this sales strategy. In our opinion, it’s a terrible tactic. As consumers, it’s not working, but rather driving us away from the brand.
When someone begins selling in your DMs, they’re trading on this personal connection that they were supposed to have in this more private and conversational messaging space to ask for what’s a pretty considerable business investment. Messages like that aren’t meant for Instagram DMs—they’re meant for emails.
Why This Strategy Supposedly Works
The reason so many people promote and use this sales tactic is because to some degree, it’s set up to work. When someone starts selling you on a platform that provides personal connection, it makes it so that when you say no, you’re not just rejecting the offer, you’re rejecting the person. From the consumer’s perspective, it makes it really hard to say no. You may find yourself ghosting them and that’s because you’re scared of rejecting them.
Responding to Unsolicited Sales in the DMs | Templated Responses
Saying no is hard, so Sarah provided us with a few options and scripts based on how you want to respond so that you can confidently say no and set boundaries in your DMs.
Ask for the informations to be sent in a more professional setting:
Option 1: Thanks for your message! Would you mind sending your offer and any relevant information to my inbox? I prefer to review my business opportunities there. Thank you!
Option 2: Please direct all business opportunities to my email. Thank you!
Tell them that you don’t appreciate selling in the DMs:
Hi! I appreciate you thinking of me for this opportunity, but I wish we could have explored it in a different setting. When I saw your name pop up in my messages, I was looking forward to a conversation with a friend, and I have to admit I’m a little disappointed it turned out to be a sales pitch. In the future, I hope we can keep DMs as a channel for personal communication rather than sales. Best of luck with your offer!
Keep It Professional
I truly believe that Instagram is a beautiful space to create authentic and real relationships, but when it comes to selling, be professional. Casually selling you high-ticket offers on Instagram isn’t professional. If you truly believe that an online connection would be an ideal fit, it’s okay to let them know, but you shouldn’t cold-pitch them on Instagram.
Obviously, there are caveats to this rule. If you’ve been in communication with someone about a particular offer that you know they’re interested in, you can casually let them know it’s available (without pressure) on Instagram.
Matching Their Communication Preferences
Whether you’re selling a program, pitching yourself for an opportunity, or even getting more information, make sure that you’re matching the communication style of preferences of the person in charge. If you’re constantly offering to send links via DMs, then it might be okay to shoot them a DM. If they’re never on social media, consider the resources they’ve created online that would guide you to connecting with them.
If you’re not sure, the best thing you can do is ask. You want to find your ideal customer in their ideal place to be communicated.
How to Ensure Your Sales Strategies Are Working
While we’ve talked a lot about avoiding sales in the DMs, that doesn’t mean that you can’t use Instagram to sell your services at all. We encourage you to use it to build relationships and mix in the marketing and promotions without the unwanted sales DMs.
Whether you’re selling on Instagram, a newsletter, or on another social media platform, continue to build out thoughtful communications and provide resources for your audience with a heart of service. That’s what ultimately builds trust with your audience, giving them all the more reason to trust you.
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