Persistent, Misguided, or just Clueless?

Half suspecting this is a spam message sales prospecting I respond with our peering information. Ian responds with his canned followup message - which for the record is his first mistake. Not only is my contact information included in my email it is very easy to find our phone numbers via our web site(s), whois records, Google, etc… Trying to turn a lead into an opportunity via email just doesn’t go anywhere.

Hi Max,

Thanks for the quick response. Just to make sure we’re on the same page, I am proposing the following two items:

1.) IP [snip]

2.) Flow Control Platform (FCP) [snip]

Please let me know if there is/isn’t a level of interest here.

Ian P. * InterNAP

Now that we have confirmation that this is sales spam I move to quickly quash the conversation and not waste any more (of my) time.

Thanks no interest.

At this point I’m impressed by Ian’s persistence - he still wants to talk. Except Ian makes another mistake by still not calling. I’ve clearly stated that I am not interested in internap’s offerings, sending yet another email is not going to open the door.

Thanks for your candor, Max. I understand these types of things are occasionally reviewed and sometimes changed/implemented. Please let me know a time in the future to follow up.

Ian P. * InterNAP

I (wrongly) assumed that at this point the issue was closed and we had moved on. Needless to say I was surprised to receive this next latest message - maybe it was the language/tone, or maybe it was just the persistence. In either case this is where things get weird and I would guess that Ian was having a bad day.

Max,

I can’t read your mind, and I don’t want to waste anyone’s time. Per my last email, when would be a good time to touch base?

Ian P. * InterNAP

Interesting sales tactic don’t you think? “I can’t read your mind”, I just love that line. Quick reply again from myself.

Ian,

My last email clearly stated I was not interested in internap services or products.

-Max

This has to be Ian’s tour de force.

I didn’t say I couldn’t read. I said I couldn’t read minds. My last email clearly stated, “I understand these types of things are occasionally reviewed and sometimes changed/implemented. Please let me know a time in the future to follow up.” this way we could have avoided impolite email correspondences like this.

Forget about it. Thanks.

Ian P. * InterNAP

So what do we learn from this (besides that I will never purchase anything from Ian)? Being hostile in email when you are sales prospecting is never a good idea because chances are it will be posted on the Internet for all to see.