Marketing automation tools, like HubSpot or Pardot, can be a powerful and effective way to nurture prospects and turn them into clients. But, in order for them to work, you need to infuse humanity into the technology. You need to act like a real person reaching out to another real person, and not software contacting a computer.

Just today in my inbox I had two examples of what not to do. One email came from a marketing consulting firm noting that I had opened a previous email and therefore must be interested in their company. Well, I did open an email, but I open every email and that includes lots of emails I’m not interested in.

The other email was from an SEO company whose site I had visited and downloaded some information. While I do appreciate the follow-up, I don’t like the presumption that downloading a single piece of content means I’m now ready to schedule a meeting.

What’s missing in these kind of on-line interactions is some adherence to off-line social norms. In a relationship in real life, you don’t go from saying hi to someone in a bar to assuming they want to marry you. Let’s hang out, have a beer first and get to know each other.

Then, let’s build a relationship together.