How to not suck at intros

By www.foundercentric.com. We help founders.

Ask for time before you tell people what’s going on.

Hey, we’re a new company researching HR staffing issues for our upcoming product -- who is the right person in your organisation for us to be talking to?

Hi, I’d really value your advice about how designers manage clients for a portfolio product I’m working on. Could I buy you a coffee in the next few weeks?

Don’t write too much.Keep it to 5 sentences. Make in easy to read & answer in 2 minutes or less.

Ask for something specific.An email needs a clear ask or it’s getting put in the “I’ll think about that

later” pile. Busy people never look at that pile.

Only ask for one thing.

If you have multiple points or calls to action, you’ll get the easiest one

answered and the rest ignored.

Nobody owes you.Don’t make a big ask in your first email contact.Don’t give people work to do, or stuff to read.

AttachmentsFirst contacts don’t need financial projections and a board deck.

Adding a little bit of extra info to an intro can be handy, but keep it to the more “casual” stuff (e.g. a short intro deck.)

Don’t expect anyone to open your attachments -- just throw them in there to save the curious a request.

Use the subject line to help them quickly understand what you want.

Intro: Harry meet Sally

Ask: Intro meeting to learn about your video content.

Update: Progress this month on Project X.

Reminder: Please send me the draft spec you mentioned.

Subject lines

How to accept an introductionIf someone introduces you to a potential lead, jump on it immediately with a quick “Hey, great to meet you, we do X and need Y.”

How to make an introductionHey James, meet Lydia -- she does cool and relevant thing XYZ.

Hey Lydia, James runs JQR and is generally wonderful.

I wanted to put you two in touch because ABC.

All the best,

It’s okay to nudge.Nudge people every 2-6 weeks. We all lose email. It’s fine.

Make an email icebox.When folks politely reject you (e.g. “Keep me in the loop!”), add them to your icebox list,

Send the icebox a brief email update about once a month with the main progress that they would care about (e.g. new products for clients, traction progress for investors.)

Phone callsSorry, nobody wants to just “have a call” with you. Tell them what you want to talk about.

Sometimes a call is the best tool, but if you make someone have a call on something you could have dealt with over email, you’ll be considered a time-waster.

Research callsFrame the ask around the customers context.

Hi Mr Chen,

I’m developing a product that helps recruiters manage their email. We’re in early stages, and would really appreciate 30 minutes to help understand your workflow and needs. Is there a good time to speak in the next few weeks?

Get permission when interrupting.If you’re calling, IMing or Skyping in unscheduled, say what you need in a sentence, and ask for permission to continue.

“Hi, I was hoping to grab you for 5-10 minutes to ask a few questions about the project plan you shared with me. Is now good?”

If it’s a bad time, ask when’s a good time.

Proposing MeetingsPropose a couple time ranges in the short-term, plus an empty day/week further in the future.

Propose to go to their office, or to meet them at a convenient coffee shop -- if you’re asking for the meeting, you’re travelling.

Tell them how long it’s going to be, and one or two agenda points if they exist.

Everyone hates to “catch-up” with complete strangers.

If you’re going to be late, let them know immediately, and give them your updated ETA.

Running late

Running longAs soon as you think the meeting might run over the allotted time, ask for permission or options.

“We’re not going to get through topics X, Y & Z in the next 20 minutes. Can we run 15 minutes longer, or is there another time we could talk about Z?

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