Over the last few years we’ve been contacted a few times by people wanting to learn more about our company. Not people that want to use it, but people from companies that, I guess, want to invest in it or partner with us in some way. I am always amazed at the lack of awareness in the person’s email. Well, maybe I am crazy, and I am certainly no salesman, so I don’t really know what I am talking about…but IF it were me contacting a company with the intent to “sell” them on why they should give me ownership in their business – or whatever it is I am contacting them about – I would try to make a better 1st impression. More like I would if I were contacting a start-up company about getting a job.

I’d try to make the email stand out from the hundreds of others that are surely in that owner’s Inbox. I’d try to make it sound less like it’s from a complete stranger wanting to buy into something that the team there has clearly been laser focused on for years. Why would they look up from that focus and even waste 10 seconds to respond to my email that says “Hi, I want to learn more about what your doing, can we talk?” In fact, here I am wasting 30 minutes writing about it – which is kind of funny. Honestly, I’d be afraid to press send on that email if I were truly interested in investing in (or working with) their company. Instead, I’d scour their website for the company’s story. Anything, but definitely the names of the people who started the business and why they started it. There has to be a reason the owners decided to hang out their shingle and take such a huge risk, especially in this economy. I could not imagine anyone ever responding to me if I made it sound like I did not care why.

So after I had spent 10-12 minutes doing that, I would craft a very humble email that did not sound like I was shopping for a quick return on my investment and not like an email that was blasted to 15 other companies that day. I’d definitely address the owners, maybe give them some props for the success they’ve had so far and somehow relate the reason for my email to their story. Not to their product, but to their story.

I don’t know, it probably still would not work, but it would not be because of a lack of 15 minutes of effort to sound like I was truly interested.

Wes

If you liked this post, you might like reading Blaze your own path or Don’t mess with my margins.