Social-media-path tries to steal business

I have a cautionary tale for you today:

Last night, my client forwarded me a curious substack newsletter from a fellow business owner. And she was down bad. 

Like, for example:

* She’s been badgered by the alphabet soup agencies at the federal government because she was a little too early for jumping onto the CBD train 

But she lost her visionary partner when the FDA came a-knocking because, well, check out the next bullet to see the real* reason he fled:

* Her visionary partner was taking out predatory loans in her name behind her back. Not one, not two, but three such loans… without telling her! The three loans totaled 275k. 

* This happened at the same time the FDA was shutting down the CBD side of her business. 

* With her partner gone, she tried to hire another COO. Only problem was, this COO had another client who told him not to work with her, so he could have him for himself. 

* And it gets worse… 

* The Rona algorithms further tanked her organic traffic, and her new business “partner” was a influencer who told her to hire a seasoned marketing veteran

* This so-called “seasoned marketing veteran” was anything but. His name is Matt Aponte and he positioned himself as an SEO expert - but he was an NLP social-media-path in disguise. 

* First, he had the brilliant idea to remove 1,700 articles off her website, which fvcked up her traffic and revenue overnight. He basically unplugged her site from Google. He also caused quite a bit of harm to her email list and email marketing strategy, as sociopathic slime types tend to do. (Which, since it’s fresh, these sociopathic slime types run rampant in the b2b lead gen space too - in fact, I just saw an ad from a so-called “reputable” company who was BRAGGING about a 0.1% reply rate - and lying through their teeth: They made positive replies seem like high-quality leads who will become clients. I’ve used cold email for my business since I started, nothing could be further from the truth. A 0.1% reply rate is god-awful and a reply is hardly a closed client. Nothing about replying makes someone qualified for any service. Anyway, I digress…) 

* Around the time he was literally breaking her business, he told one of her vendors that he was attempting the steal the entire business. 

Steal. The. Business. 

I’ve written about social-media-paths before - they are out there, I’ve heard my fair share of horror stories, and I’ve even been involved in my fair share of getting got (the rant above is proof). 

But none have come close to the sociopathic tendency of this slub, Matt Aponte. 

Anyway… 

* She eventually found out about Matt’s scheme, called him out, and he shut down his marketing agency (he’s now doing YouTube to a handful of subscribers - and let’s just say, with his physiognomy, he’s got a face made for radio). 

* So, after firing Matt and making him shut down his agency (of which, I’m sure she was his only client because you don’t last long as a sociopath - especially if you’re not even a GOOD one), she thought that maybe she should look at hiring other women. 

* And that’s what she did. But little did she know that these feminists were also robbing her blind. They spent their day doing busy work, majoring in the minors, and not engaging in any real revenue-building activities. They were actually making more money than her for this busy work. And, as narcissistic feminists tend to do, they got rid of all the men to isolate her - in the cultish way only third-generation feminists can do. 

Long story short: 

You MUST vet everyone you do business with.

There are sociopaths all over - especially in the marketing world. They will lie, cheat, and even try to steal your business. 

I repeat:

You MUST vet everyone you do business with. 

Yes, that includes even me. I don’t care that I’ve sent you 800+ emails. While I’m good at what I do, I never pretend to be more invested in my client’s businesses than they are. While I have a track record of working with clients for going-on 6 years (and my average LTV is probably around 3 years), you still must vet me. 

And this applies doubly, nay triply, to any other potential business partner you might do business with. 

Literal sociopaths are everywhere: 

They’re sending you DMs and cold emails.  

They’re doctoring proof on social media to make themselves seem better than they are. 

They are, in many cases, paying for reviews too. 

They’re using NLP and cheap marketing tactics to trick you into believing a 0.1% reply rate is good and conflating a reply rate with a qualified lead.

They’re fapping to the idea of AI and making “26k a month” from implementing a simple, AI “XYZ” system. 

And they’re starting YouTube channels, as Matt Aponte has, as they delete their history of sociopathism to try to lure more innocent business owners into their repulsive little hands. 

I repeat: 

Do your due diligence. 

Failing to do so could, quite literally, cost you everything you’ve built. 

Anyway:

If you have a list and a good offer, there’s a good chance (not a 100%, but damn near) that improving your copy and email strategy can turn your revenue around in a hurry. 

Hit reply to start doing your due diligence with me. And once we’re both satisfied, we can get down to bidness. 

And remember: There are more sociopaths in marketing than perhaps any other profession, save politicians (and that may even be a stretch!). 

But you’re one reply away from working with one of the “good guys.” 

John