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tags: A2, Prospecting
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# ✍️ Assignment 3: Engage in a conversation
If you've followed our recommendations so far, chances are you will start gaining new connections fast!

Once someone accepts your connection request, they will receive your connection note as a personal message, and you will be able to message them directly.

💪 This is where the conversation begins.

**As soon as you see someone has accepted your connection, it's time to send a follow up note!**

As always, there's no magic formula for the most effective message, but there are some do's and dont's that will help you get more favourable responses.

Let's have a look at best practices for follow up notes, and some case scenarios that might happen and what to do in each case.

Let's dive right in!

## ⭐ The three pillars of engaging conversations
Every time you’re engaging in conversation with a lead, keep these 3 things in mind:

- Make it personal.
- Offer value.
- Have a common ground with your leads.

And remember, as always, your objective and call-to-action here is to close a meeting!

With this in mind, let's look at the main do's and dont's with some examples of effective messages.
 
## ✅ What to do

### Customize your message for the individual.
Address them by name, not with a general greeting. Mention something specific about the profile that drew you to them, so they feel like they were specifically chosen, not part of a mass messaging campaign.

Compare this quote:

> Hi there. I saw your profile and I believe you could be interested in hiring sales reps from us. If you’re interested, i'd be happy to chat.

With this one:

> Hi David, thanks for connecting! I was browsing LinkedIn and saw you're currently hiring SDRs. I know how hard it can be to find great sales talent first-hand.
>
> In fact, this is the reason we launched Hyrise Academy - to help companies like yours hire great sales talent to help them scale effectively.
>
> We actually have some candidates right now that I believe would be a great fit for your company - do you have 30 minutes to chat?

### Start with a question...
Sometimes you want to be subtle and engage them before even bringing up your product. Once they reply, you can continue the conversation and mention how you can help solve their pain point.

> “Hey David, pleasure to connect. I saw your post saying you struggle to find great sales talent - I've suffered that problem myself first hand. I'm curious - what channels have you been using to source candidates?

### ...or go straight to the point
You can also be more direct and go straight to the point. As long as you're following the three pillars above, it's completely fine.

> “Hey David, pleasure to connect. I saw your post saying you struggle to find great sales talent - I've suffered this personally first-hand for many years and I think I can help.
>
> In fact, this is the reason I launched Hyrise Academy - to help companies like yours hire great sales talent to help them scale effectively. The best part is if they don't work out after 3 months, you pay nothing. We actually have some candidates right now that I believe would be a great fit for your company - do you have 30 minutes to chat?
>
### A little flattery goes a long way
Show your appreciation for the work someone does, and they’re likely to respond in your favor. (Just be sure they’ve done something worthy of the call-out, otherwise it can seem disingenuous.)

> Hello [name],
>
> It’s a pleasure to “meet” you! I have been following your work with [lead’s company name] for some time, and was really impressed to hear about [something recent and notable they’ve done].
>
> I’ve worked with companies like [lead’s company name] to bring similar projects to life, and if you’re open to it, would love to discuss. Are you available for a quick phone call later this week?
>
> Thank you!
[Your name]

If you read them again, you'll see all the examples above follow the three pillars:

- They're personalized.
- They offer value.
- They establish common ground.

We encourage you to try out different tactics and kind of messages and see which one works best for you - but remember - make sure they check the three pillars!

Before sending anything, let's have a look at some red flags that are likely to leave you without a reply.

 
## ☠️ What not to do
### Don't jump straight to your product.
Make sure you're taking the time to establish some common ground and acknowledge their pain point before jumping to the solution. Jumping straight to selling your solution is a hard "no".

### Don’t apologize.
Starting your message with filler like “sorry to bother you” or “apologies for this message” just makes your recipient disregard it entirely. You’ll get more attention and more respect from a hard-hitting intro.

### Avoid too much jargon.
You should know the relative education and skill level of the person you’re targeting. Too little industry terminology makes it sound like you don’t respect their skill, while too much can be overwhelming. Tailor your use of jargon for the person.

### Avoid overly-wordy phrases.
People don't read long messages - be direct and say what you mean. Your goal with your cold message is to hook them and get them interested. If they want to learn more, they can reply and ask for more details.
 

## 🦗 What to do when there's no reply
**Follow up, of course 😉**

Some tips:

- Reiterate what you said in your previous email.
- Ideally, if you can: Add value by sharing content, facts etc.
- Keep it short.
- Don't be too pushy. Wait at least a couple of days before following up.
- Follow up as often as needed until you get a response. Use your own judgement to know when to stop (ideally you set yourself a 2-3 week horizon)

Here's an example:

> Hey David, I'm sure you get many messages here and mine has just drowned in your inbox. Does it still make sense to talk about [xyz]?

 
## 🙅‍♀️ What to do when there's a negative reply
**Dig deeper.**

Use this as a chance to dig a little deeper and clarify why they're not interested.

- Is this just not a high priority now? Would it make sense to reach out in a couple of months from now?
- Is this not the right person to speak to? If so, who would be?

Chances are when you dig deeper you will gain new insights into their pain point that can help you close a meeting. If not, at least you have more information as to why they're not interested and can use it to fine tune your messages moving forward.
 

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