The breakdown
Last week I cold emailed the Founder of one of the largest hedge funds in the world. He responded. We set up an appointment.
This isn’t a one-off. I’ve created dialogues and relationships with influential names from government, business and finance all from a single cold email.
At time of writing, I’ve been hosting a podcast for 2 years. The main question I’m asked is “how did you convince XYZ famous/interesting person to come on the podcast?” and my answer is always “I emailed them”.
In this post I’ll try and demystify the very simple process I use.
The opportunity
30 years after its invention, people still don’t understand the power of the Internet.
85% of the world’s population own a smartphone. 50% of the world’s population has a personal email address. The best part – most email addresses are publicly available or easy to guess.
Extremely senior individuals usually check their own email multiple times a day. CEO’s are practically glued to their inbox.
The only outlier to this rule is out-and-out global megastars. For example, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s agent told me that he doesn’t check his own emails; his personal assistant prints them out and reads them to him.
Nevertheless, I’m sure Arnold probably does have a personal email account he does check. Something he doesn’t share with his agent. So essentially, we all check emails.
The truth is that in the increasingly online world we live and work in, email is the most reliable and efficient channel to reach individuals.
How to source
You’ve honed in on your target, but have no idea what their details are. Not to worry.
If they’re senior – and I’m guessing they are – they will leave clues across the Internet. The biggest clue is the company they work for, who will have a standardised email address format. For example, jcass@company.com or joseph.cass@company.com.
To find this, play around with Google searches as somebody from that company will have left a trail online.
I’ve sourced email formats from Sailing forums, Reddit threads, public shareholder presentations, practically anywhere that someone from the firm has publicly posted their details for all to see.
Another source is their personal website. The ‘contact me’ forms on these sites will typically divert to their personal email address or at worst someone who manages their inbox. It takes practice but now I can source 95% of individual emails I need just using Google.
Last point on sourcing: it’s critical to reach your targets ‘professional’ inbox. Don’t go via their Gmail unless you’re very confident it’s their preferred channel.
What to say
Once you’re practiced in sourcing emails, the process becomes quick and easy. The real kicker is what to say. My only piece of advice here is: add value.
If you’re asking something, ensure the benefits for the recipient are clear and concise. How will your ask directly benefit them?
Email length should be no longer than what can feasibly be read on an iPhone with minimal scrolling. Stick with two short paragraphs.
What to expect
Your rate of response will depend on what you’re offering.
If your target is high profile, don’t beat yourself up about not getting a response. If you email someone offering them a chance to legitimately grow their wealth or save their time, it’s likely they will respond.
Equally, once you start getting responses and creating relationships, make a note of what works and replicate it.
Final thought
If you ever hear an internal voice telling you “this person will never respond”, it’s probably a good indicator that you should reach out to that person.
I can’t tell you the amount of times I’ve said that to myself, emailed the target anyway and then ended up building a relationship or meeting them. There’s also been occasions where the target has passed me on to someone in their immediate team who suggests something creative I hadn’t thought of.
That’s it.
Good luck reaching out to people, double down when it works and enjoy the process.