Receiving a message can trigger many emotions. It could be euphoria from receiving an invitation out for a night of fun. Or it could be dread and fear sparked by your manager’s unreasonable demands. However, not all messages come from people in your social or business circle – some may come from complete strangers. These are referred to as cold-call messages.
While some people do reach out because of a legitimate business opportunity or concern, it’s unfortunate that the world of cold-calls is heavily congested with spam and scams. Just look at your recent WhatsApp message history and recall how many people are claiming to be a headhunter or a long-lost friend! Without batting an eye, we just block them and move on with our day… but let’s say we get tasked with sending out a genuine cold-call. How should we approach someone to avoid getting immediately blocked? Join Wordsmith and let’s find out!
Why cold-calls don’t get much attention
Let’s say you’re browsing on LinkedIn and receive a connection request from some guy named Jim Stevens:
“Hello, I have an exciting potential business opportunity for you that I’m sure someone with your great talents would appreciate – I’ve seen some of your works before and they are truly magnificent. Please add me if you’re interested, thanks!”
How would you respond?
A. Accept
B. Decline politely
C. Request more details before deciding
D. Ignore
Unless you desperately needed a job, this kind of message automatically raises an eyebrow. There are no details about what the job involves, nor does the sender mention why he thinks we are a right fit for the job – our “talents” doesn’t specify anything, so this generic message could’ve been sent to anyone… if anything, this looks like it was taken straight out of a scammer’s playbook. Furthermore, the use of “great talents” and “truly magnificent” sounds like a poor attempt to butter us up. It might work on someone with an overwhelming ego, but most rational people would be suspicious when a stranger starts handing out compliments like candy.
According to Esther Choi (a Forbes contributor and CEO of Leadership Story Lab), the lack of personalisation, specification and sincerity are major reasons why many cold-call messages get ignored. However, these are just basic elements of messaging etiquette – they alone will not help you score those connections!
Warming up cold-calls
· Do personalise each message
Greet your recipient by name (and if applicable, by their doctorate or official title).
That’s not all – you also need to do a bit of research on this person to study their background. You obviously have a reason to connect, but if you know nothing about them, how do you expect to write a customised greeting?
Don’t just run with the first thing that you find about them either. If you saw that they recently entered their 5th year of work at an agency, it can be tempting to use this as an opening… but it can easily be interpreted as tacky and disingenuous if you don’t know anything else about them. Save it for later after making the acquaintance!
What might be a good opening would be something interesting about their previous works and why you think they are relevant to you. However, do be wary about this next point if you decide to go with this.
· Avoid being transactional
Everyone knows that cold-callers are trying to get something out of the recipient, but when you are too upfront about your requests, it has the tendency to push people away.
“I need X, you have X, I’ve got credentials, so give me X,” describes Choi. Instead, she suggests a conversational approach that “demonstrates joy or geeking out” over the subject or a shared interest. Not only is that more enjoyable to read, it also shows that you are passionate about said subject!
· Be specific
Going back to our earlier example, vagueness is a big contributor to doubt. Instead of saying “potential business opportunity”, specify what it involves. Does it involve hiring us to work on above the line marketing copy for an upcoming project? In a nutshell, what is the project about?
Furthermore, when introducing yourself, give the recipient a bit of background about you and who you are representing. Avoid overexaggerating or giving false information, as anyone who’s even remotely interested may want to confirm your claims. Even if you are in a high rank or position, a bit of humility can do wonders… otherwise, you risk the following point.
· Avoid pompousness
Are you a top recruiter? Do you have a PhD in business administration? Do you own the latest Ferrari convertible?
It’s important to be able to discern what are and aren’t relevant details. Even if you are the top recruiter and have won awards for it, this isn’t something your recipient needs to know unless you are trying to represent and help them find a new job. How about a doctorate degree? While impressive, but unless it’s relevant to the cold-call, it’s better saved on your CV and LinkedIn profile. Like flexing with a Ferrari, people who feel the need to show off their background and status often risk appearing pompous – that’s definitely not the way to go if you want to make a positive first impression!
Choi also points to an example where a cold-caller says the following: “Do you mind if I have my assistant Alan reach out to schedule 15 minutes for us to get acquainted?”
Although it appears innocent, you begin to question why this person is reaching out only to have their assistant follow up. “The forced formalities and phony ‘I’ll have my people call your people’ language make it appear that the sender is parading around in attempts to sound important – important enough to have an assistant named Alan,” explains Choi. If you were sincere about connecting, you wouldn’t leave it to your assistant!
· Don’t be sorry, be assertive
If you’re one of those people who like to apologise for taking up someone’s time, this is a habit that needs to be changed.
Assuming that what you’re doing is important enough to warrant soliciting a stranger, there’s no reason you should feel sorry for approaching them. On the contrary, be confident with your pitch and thank them for their time. Even if they decline or ignore you, it won’t be because you were putting yourself down.
With these points in mind, let’s revamp Jim Steven’s message to make it more inviting:
Before
“Hello Wordsmith, I have an exciting potential business opportunity for you that I’m sure writers with your great talents would appreciate – I’ve seen some of your works before and they are truly magnificent. Please add me if you’re interested, thanks!”
Revised
“Hello Wordsmith, I’m Jim Stevens from AMN Recruitment. We have a prominent client in the banking industry who needs English copywriting services for an upcoming rebranding campaign – it will involve writing content for their webpage, scripts for TVC and additional above-the-line marketing. After checking your company website and prior works, we think your portfolio and hefty experience in working with banks will be perfect for this job.
If you are interested or have any questions, please add me and I’d be happy to provide more details. Thank you and hope to hear from you soon.”
Cold-calls can indeed provide an exciting opportunity for you and your audience… but only if you tailor the message carefully. The moment you rely on cookie-cutter templates and treat recipients like a faceless mannequin, any meaningful engagements will be forfeit – a bit of planning and consideration can make all the difference!