[pmdulaney]

You may be aware of research about those scam letters from Africa that are trying to get people to send money. They seem so foolish: "What kind of an idiot would buy into this?"

But it turns out that it's intentional. They want to filter out at the outset those who will terminate the relationship once they figure out what's going on.

This strikes me as similar. I am one of those people who has a visceral (and bad) reaction to someone trying to schmooze me, compliment me, etc.

BUT your tactics will draw in the type of person who is likely to succumb to those tactics, and perhaps that kind of person is easier to manipulate and profit from! So it could well be a good strategy.