Softly, softly catchee Monkey

I have been asked by a few folks to talk not only about what approaches do not work when reaching out to me “cold”, but also what has managed to get my attention. Here are a few of both for me personally.

• Do introduce yourself, whether on Linkedin or some other way. I am always interested in hearing what people do, what new products are emerging on the market, and if you feel there are better ways of doing things.
• Do not introduce yourself and in the next sentence be presumptuous. “Hi Peter, my name is John Smith. I am working in space of AI and wanted to introduce myself as I think we have similar professional interests” is fine. Following that with “Would next Wednesday at 2pm work for an introductory meeting with my CIO” is not.
• Using a mutual friend to introduce yourself is fine. “Hey Peter, my name is Sarah. I have been doing work with xxxxxx up at xxxxxx and they thought it would be great for us to meet”, will probably work in most cases.
• Do not use a “mutual friend” to introduce yourself if you do not know that person. Chances are if you drop the name of someone I know well, I will be checking in with them some time. If it turns out they never suggested you reach out, that contact is not only dead but toxic. Also be careful when you use this tactic – I may not actually like that person…
• If you are truly an innovator who is developing a disruptive technology, I would love to hear from you. If it interests me enough, I may even get on the phone with you to listen and maybe give some feedback.
• Do not tack a catch phrase to the end of an existing product and expect me to be excited. I have had, literally, hundreds of emails and messages from people working for companies that have never developed AI, who suddenly magically claim be “AI-enabled” or “AI-powered”. If you honestly expect me to believe that your non-AI product suddenly became AI-powered in weeks, sorry not buying in.
• Do your homework and I may pay attention. This is as simple as understanding my hospitals profile, what our major projects are, are we not-for-profit, and areas we are branching into.
• Do not message me asking for a time to meet with me and educate you on the top challenges I/we are facing. No, I will not take an hour of my time while you do an excavation session just in case you may have a service or product we may want. Thinking you are going to meet with me, throw things on the wall, and see what sticks, is not a winning strategy. Not sure what genius created that as a marketing line – it does not work!
• I appreciate grammar and spelling. I know this may make me a nerd, but I’m also an English major. A well written and engaging email is far more likely to get my attention in a good way.
• Conversely, do not send me garbage. If you email reads like it was put through a bad translator, for me it says volumes about how professional you are. If your spelling and grammar is sloppy, why would I believe your implementation skills are better? That may sound harsh – I realize not everyone is a language expert - but there is seriously no excuse. Tip: write your email in Word and use the spelling and grammar checker.
• I am not going list humor as a do or don’t, just be careful about how you use it. It is very easy for humor to sound condescending or just outright rude. Humor can also hit someone who had a bad day at the wrong time and get yourself permanently blocked.
• Asking for help can work, again just be careful about tone. I am far more likely to respond, as an example, to an email from someone saying they are rolling out a new product and would love someone to look at what they are doing and get some feedback. Refer back to DO NOT one, do not in the same message ask for a meeting.
• Do not ask for help, meet with me, and at the end of the meeting ask for next steps or a meeting with my leadership. That is a sure way of getting blocked.

A few sure-fire non-starters

• There is a Vanderbilt University and Vanderbilt Medical Center. I work in healthcare. If you send me an email asking me how my student record system is, I know for sure you have not even looked at my resume. Following up with “Sorry, can we meet anyway” is adding insult to injury.
• Sending me what was clearly a bulk email and forgetting to personalize my name is just plain sloppy. To the gentleman who asked me last week if they could meet with to understand my “pain points” and called me Mary – seriously?
• If I send a polite refusal, do not immediately follow up with “Great, when can we meet?”. This could mean one of a few things; You are using an automated trolling system (in which I don’t want to meet with you), you are arrogant (in which I don’t want to meet with you) or you simply an idiot. Regardless, I’m not meeting with you. By the way, if I send you a refusal, asking politely if you can follow up in 3 or 6 months is totally appropriate.
• Learn to take no for answer. You are far more likely to get business at a later stage by saying “Thanks for the feedback, if you ever need any help, please reach out to me”, than by doubling down and trying to persuade me I am wrong. When I am getting hundreds of cold call emails, texts and messages a week, persistence is not a desirable trait.
• If I have not responded after a few weeks, I’m probably not responding. It does not mean I have not seen your email. Nagging will get you moved to the annoying bucket and have all future emails dumped in spam.

In general, I would say reach out to people in the way you would want them to reach out to you. You do not have a right to an introductory meeting, do not act like you do. Be professional, watch your grammar and spelling, and do your research.

In Africa we have a saying “softly, softly catchee monkey” In the end that may be the best advice I can give you. Good luck.