Now that we already talked about the difference between warm and cold emails, showed you some email templates, while discussing the 10 core components of effective email outreach plus the 14 + 1 Must-have Components To Get Cold Leads To Say “YES” , it's time to talk about how to set up an appointment with busy decision-makers?
Unfortunately the person who you are trying to meet typically won’t respond. However, his boss will. The boss will usually delegate down and write something like:
“Thanks for reaching out. Sounds interesting. Jeff Smith is the right guy to talk to.”
Or “Talk to Jeff.”
This is everything you need. It means you got connected from above. The person you want to talk to can’t simply ignore you.
What to do next? 2 things you want to do:
1) Send a short thank-you note
2) Setup an appointment
Write a thank-you note
Email the referrer a thank you email. You want to open up dialogue in case you need their help in the future. (Three sentences max)
- Thank them for the referral
- Tell them after your meeting you will report back
- Report back after the meeting
Schedule your meeting
- Email the target to schedule your meeting
- Forward the referral email
- Change the Subject from forward to reply: “Fwd: Appropriate person” to Re: Appropriate person” because Fwd has lower response rates
- Write: “Jeff, (insert referral name) thought it would make sense for us to talk. If so, let me know how your calendar looks.” (Include your signature). Trust me. Don’t write anything else - this is all you need. Jeff has to take the meeting because his boss asked him to.
- Schedule the meeting. Use Calendly, cut the back-and-forth emailing to zero. Asking “when is it suitable for you” without a calendar invitation is lame and your meeting will never happen.
What if you don’t get any response?
- Use sequences instead of just one-off email. More than 50% of the meetings happen after the 2nd email.
- Connect on other platforms: LinkedIn or Twitter.
- Send a video message. Usually decision-makers are extremely busy. Try Bonjoro or Useloom.
- Find common connection and get introduced. Leadberry has a social box designed to show common connections without wasting your time on research.
- Go offline. Seriously, send them something using good-old mail. This move will really differentiate you.