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Startup Business Development Posts

life-longlearner.com

54 pointsswombat10 comments

I grabbed one at random and thought it was a pretty sleazy thing to do (my opinion only)

http://life-longlearner.com/business-development-quick-trick...

It's more risky than sleazy if used wrongly.

Any particular cold email can (and probably will) be forwarded on to the person you've just named. So you'd need to think very carefully before considering the name in subject line gimmick unless you've had a real conversation with that person, and avoid using words like "X recommended" unless they're true.

On the other hand, finding out the right person to speak to is sales prospecting 101, and making it clear you're not just randomly approaching them is introductions 101.

"I understand from X that you're responsible for Z" is a good intro, unless there's a reason for X to object to the phrasing.

(Sleazy, by the way, is an approach more along the lines of "I'm looking at working together with X and noticed you're connected on LinkedIn, just wondered if in your opinion he was someone I could rely on... OK, that's good. Mind if I mention your name next time I call?" Next call: "Hello X. I've been speaking with Y and he recommended I speak to you about our...")

I think it can be sleazy if done subversively, however it can be a less-abrasive than a regular cold call if intention/purpose is stated up front. Finding the right person in an organization can be hard, and it's much less of a waste of time for all parties if you find the relevant person quickly. It would also be important that you don't give the impression that the person referred to you believes the higher-up referred you because they endorse you.

The tip here, as written, suggests that it works because there is an implicit endorsement:

"As soon as your prospect sees you were referred by their superior, you become important. The likelihood they respond skyrockets. Put yourself in their shoes…what’s worse than someone potentially wasting 15 minutes of their time? Blowing someone off who their boss wanted them to talk to."

Good point. I think the sleazy factor dwells on how deceptive the approach is. I prefer to use a warm contact method and be upfront about things. It tends to soften people and helps lower their defenses.

Yeah, I read that one about "finding anyone's email address" and thought "what an asshole!" Here's a quick tip: if you can't find someone's email address (especially their personal address), maybe they don't want spam from you.

Great post (oops just said what you explicitly said not to in one of your posts)! My main takeaway from your articles was that most of these skills only come to people who very pro-actively develop them. As a college student, I used to think that what I needed to learn for my career would be eventually taught to me in college. Boy has that been wrong. This has been a pretty good kick in the behind for me to really start developing these skills if I ever want a shot at becoming a great entrepreneur.

Ok, some of his stuff is really good, and some of his stuff would never have flown at all, and possibly been down right destructive.

Implying, but never confirming, that you have a competitor as an account - in certain businesses this can get you flagged and then black balled from the entire market.

But some of his other comments are pretty useful hacks.

This are all very good resources. Even better than anything some paid consultants know. But they are a bit generic, and enterprisey. Not a bad thing in itself, but it might tend to turn people off.

Thanks for the post, I've been looking for this kind

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