Most owner-led firms have a few hundred people who already trust them and haven't heard from them in years. Writing to those people is the fastest business development there is, and most of it never happens, partly because nobody knows what to say.
So here are eight examples. Before you borrow any of them, three things I've learned the hard way.
Read the history first. Before writing to anyone, scroll back through what you've already said to each other. When I first wrote to my own network this fall, my note ignored real history I had with several people, including one who had asked me to reconnect after tax season. One reply told me, politely, that it read like a mass message. She was right. On a client's behalf, a few weeks later, reading back before a routine hello turned up a message from three years earlier that nobody had answered. That changed the note completely (see example 8).
Check the list, not just the words. My own first list was mostly people who had once pitched me. Good people, not buyers. A warm list and a buying list are different lists.
Don't open with flattery. "Your recent post really spoke to me" is the opening line of a thousand messages a week, and people can tell. Say plainly why you're writing. The real reason is almost always good enough.
Each example below has a line on when to use it. Replace everything in brackets with something only you would know.
1. A past client, project finished a year or more ago
When to use it: the work went well, you parted on good terms, and you simply lost touch.
[Name], it's been about [a year and a half] since we finished [the project]. I've thought about it a few times since, mostly about whether [the specific thing you built] held up once your team got busy. How has it gone? I'd like to hear, whether the answer is good or not.
2. A past client who said "let's reconnect later"
When to use it: they told you a time to come back, and that time has passed. Use their words.
[Name], when we wrapped up, you said to get back in touch after [your busy season / the reorganization / the new fiscal year]. That's come and gone, so I'm doing as I was told. What's on your plate now? If it's anything near [the area you helped with], I'd be glad to talk it through.
3. A former colleague
When to use it: you worked together years ago and they know your work firsthand. Don't pretend the gap didn't happen.
[Name], it's been a long time since [the shared job or project]. I still think about [one specific memory]. These days I run a small practice helping owner-led firms with their business development, mostly the follow-up that gets lost when client work is busy. I'd like to hear what you're doing now. Coffee or a call sometime this month?
4. An old prospect who said "not now"
When to use it: you had a real conversation, they gave a reason for waiting, and enough time has passed that the reason may have changed.
[Name], when we spoke in [season or year], the timing wasn't right because of [their reason]. I don't know whether that's changed, so I thought I'd ask rather than assume. If it has, I'd be glad to pick up where we left off. If not, no reply needed.
5. An old prospect whose call fell through on your side
When to use it: a meeting was set, something went wrong (a missed connection, a reschedule that never happened), and the follow-up was yours to make.
[Name], our call back in [month, year] fell apart on [a technical problem], and I never rescheduled it. That's on me. Since then I've been doing more of [the work relevant to them]. If it's still worth having that conversation, I'd like to finally have it. Twenty minutes sometime this month?
6. Someone who asked you a question you never answered
When to use it: you find a question from them in an old thread, still sitting there.
[Name], back in [month, year] you asked me how I go about [the thing they asked], and I never really answered. Late, but here's the short version: [two sentences, honestly answered]. I'd be curious how you're handling it now.
7. A referral partner who has gone quiet
When to use it: someone who used to send you work, or whose clients overlap with yours, and you've let it lapse.
[Name], I realized it's been the better part of a year since we talked, which is my fault. I'd like to hear what kind of clients you're seeing now, and tell you about a couple of situations where I've been useful lately, in case they come up for you. Lunch on me sometime in the next few weeks?
8. Apology first, for an unanswered inbound
When to use it: reading back through the history, you find that they wrote to you, maybe years ago, asked for something, and nobody answered. A friendly general hello here reads as "I didn't notice you then, and I still haven't." The apology is the only honest place to start.
[Name], I was going back through old messages and found the note you sent in [month, year], with your background and a request to talk. Nobody answered it, and I'm sorry about that. It deserved a reply. If the conversation you had in mind is still worth having, I'd be glad to have it now. And if the moment has passed, I understand.
A few habits that make these work
- One person at a time. If you could send the same note to fifty people without changing it, it isn't one of these.
- Ask one real question. Not "would love to connect." Something they can answer.
- Leave an easy out. People reply more readily when they know "not now" is an acceptable answer.
- Answer the same day. Warm replies to these notes come back about half the time in my experience. A reply that then waits a week for you undoes most of the good the note did.
- Write it down. Note who you wrote to, what they said, and the next step with a date. The conversation tracker is a simple way to do that.
Eric Burr, Lamprophony Enterprises, St. Louis