Lead Generation or Lead Manipulation?

My biggest customer recently received yet another email claiming that our YouTube SEO wasn’t done right and contained mistakes, which the freelancer presented in a screenshot.

The issue, unfortunately, was that the data he shared was completely false. Ironically, all the information he pulled came from the exact same SEO tool my team uses to optimize videos before publishing on YouTube: VidIQ.

This situation got me thinking — there are so many legitimate ways to generate interest and build leads, yet time and time again, I see people resorting to manipulation instead.

Take, for example, the aggressive sales tactics I often see from certain regions. Many of you — especially those from India and Bangladesh — start on a negative note, desperately trying to gain prospects. Not all of you, of course, but let’s be honest — too many.

Just recently, I came across a post from Tracey Parsons about people booking time on her consultation page just to try and sell her something. Seriously? Not a good idea, fellows.

And it’s not just happening there. We’re all experiencing the flood of unsolicited messages in our inboxes. No wonder — it’s easier than ever now that AI is being so widely adopted. But as my friend Allan Langer wisely puts it:
“I’d rather receive one really good message written by a human being with a follow-up than 100 soulless messages written by AI.”

If you’re engaging in lead-building on LinkedIn (or anywhere else, for that matter), the least you can do is not be robotic. Take a moment to read what the person actually does and send a tailored, personalized message. Otherwise, you’re just another name in the spam folder.

Now, I can’t claim complete innocence here — we do send connection requests. But we only do so because:
a) The people we reach out to are actually our target audience, and my content marketing is relevant to them;
b) We see a real opportunity to amplify their business using our solutions;
c) We make sure to personalize our approach instead of blasting out generic messages.

That brings me to another interesting observation, particularly for my American friends: the perception of Indian and African services. Many of us have this deep-rooted belief that these services are cheap. Well, not anymore.

I’ve run into this myself recently and noticed a clear pattern: a lot of freelancers who present themselves as solo professionals are actually teams or agencies — with prices that are anything but budget-friendly.

Now, don’t get me wrong — their services can be solid. But the fact that they misrepresent themselves from the start already casts a shadow over their reputation. One guy recently reached out, wanting to join my video editing team. His portfolio looked great — until I realized he wasn’t the one who actually worked on those videos. That was all I needed to know to walk away.

Some proven examples of healthy lead-generation that provides real value to people include:

• running a podcast (the quintessence of giving value). My podcast focuses on helping people to find their path by listening to inspirational stories of my guests. I never look to sell anything, but miraculously, basically all my current client were guests on my show, as something sticks in their mind — “this guy have high production standards” — so they either come back or refer me to friends.
• creating sample videos that will really be beneficial for the person. Don’t hope to get something after it, even a reply. Just do the sample work for someone who you really like and forget about it. Your work will either speak for itself or it won’t.

People can smell bullshit from a mile away. If you don’t genuinely invest time in delivering real value, it won’t take long before potential clients catch on — and it will only hurt your business in the long run.