Make a thoughtful suggestion

Someone pitches me something daily, usually via some cold email sequence or LinkedIn automation.

And honestly, I read most of their first emails.

Why?

Because I or someone who works with me pitches someone something every single day.

It's how the world works nowadays, and I am not even mad about it.

There are two ways to go about it. Both have some form of validity.

You can email 100 people with a mass, barely customized message. You'll get four responses, lots of "nopes," and at least a few super annoyed people. In some cases, this strategy works and can make sense. However, this is the blue pill.

Or, you can take the red pill. Taking the red pill means you only email 20 people this week. And before you do so, you're going to do some research. Check out their website, their LinkedIn, and their other social profiles and see if you can find one opportunity to make a thoughtful suggestion. If that's hard to do, share one thoughtfully articulated lesson you learned that might be relevant to them. Be generous and don't do one of those "if you jump on the phone with me, I'll tell you how I did...." This strategy isn't about you. It's about being helpful and providing value to those 20 people.

You'll get at least five grateful responses and probably another five over the coming weeks.

There is a place for mass outreach, and there are ways to make it work better than I suggested above.

But if you want great results, take the red pill. Lead with generosity and share something valuable and thoughtful with the people you're looking to connect with.

It works.

Always has.

Always will.