Hello there! š
I hope youāll forgive the lofty and presumptuous title of todayās post, but hear me out. Connecting to the right people at the right time is life-changing ā and I believe itās possible to connect and speak with literally anyone š„
Recently, Iāve come to realise that creativity is a big source of inspiration and motivation for me, which is why Iāve been recently setting aside time daily to develop ideas and create something meaningful. I donāt know where itāll take me, but Iām hoping it can lead to exciting projects.
Working alone though is hard. Someone once said to me, āno innovation ever occured from staring at a screenā. Similary, Steve Jobs has often been cited for his obsession with āserendipitous personal encountersā in the office to spark creative conversations. Creativity and innovation stem from the connection (and friction) between people.
But sometimes we need to connect with people we donāt know. They might have experience or specific skills we donāt have, or access to certain resources. Maybe we have a product we believe they would benefit greatly from, or maybe we want to work for them.
Having worked in sales for a few years, Iāve seen the power of a well-crafted outreach. Done well, there are no limits to who you can connect with; a couple of months ago I had meetings with the CEO and CMO of a large company just from a single email.
From experience, Iāve seen emails as the most effective channel to connect with people ā so how do you write an email that creates connections?
šÆāāļø Do you know someone whoād enjoy this post? Iād be grateful if youād share itā¦
š Dareā¦ I heard one time that the main reason why people arenāt accepted to Harvard University is because they didnāt apply. Similarly, itās easy to think that the person youād like to connect with wouldnāt be interested or have time, particularly if they hold senior positions. Thatās not necessarily true; itās all about finding common ground. So dare!
š Make it about them. The natural instinct when writing to someone who doesnāt know you is to introduce yourself in a paragraph. Boring! And irrelevant! You just interrupted the day of the person on the receiving end, and theyāre wondering why youāre reaching out. So skip the introduction, and get to the point: for example, you want to have a call/meeting about [your request], and spell out how this conversation is going to make their life/job better.
š Teach them something. People crave information but hate being sold to. Share something useful and relevant to them, which will make you look resourceful. For example an article or video about a topic relevant to their job.
š Keep it short and focused. Max 100 words, and focus on one narrow topic. Donāt elaborate on why you, your company or product is so great, but highlight only one reason for why the conversation will be worth their time.
š Try multiple times. If they donāt answer the first time, it doesnāt mean they donāt want to talk. It just means they didnāt answer, and you donāt know whether itās because they havenāt read the email, had time to answer or because theyāre not interested. Tweak your message and email again after a few days, or maybe pick up the phone.
I called someone yesterday after I had sent the person two emails and not getting a response. The person picked up the phone and apologised for not answering; he was very happy to speak with me, as heās passionate about the topic in question, and we scheduled an appointment for the following week.
Sales people have (rightfully) a bad reputation; they force their way into peopleās life without regard of context and the person on the other side. However, through proper research and a carefully crafted outreach, there are no limits to who you can connect to. Connecting to the right people at the right time can open doors you didnāt anticipate, and spark creative conversation š„
If youād like some practical examples of how to write an email to someone you donāt know, let me know! :)