The secret formula to speak to anyone you want (even Elon Musk)
So you want to talk to the man who is going to make us an inter-planetary species? AKA Mr. Elon Musk.
Where do you even begin?
Assuming you don't have his number saved in your phone.
And you aren't his next door neighbor like me (not literally but I do live in the same city as he does now!).
I asked myself a version of this question two years ago.
The pandemic was in full swing. I had just quit my job (smart, huh?). Without any solid backup plan. And I didn't know what to do.
It was a good old-fashioned mid-life crisis. And it happened (hopefully) way before the mid-point of my life.
My issue was this....
I needed money. My money tree was drying up. And I didn't have a reliable source of water and sunlight for it.
I decided that it would be a worthy pursuit to try to get a job in tech.
But why would any tech company hire me?
I had no experience in the industry. I didn't know anybody already working in tech.
I mean, sheesh, I could barely remember my password to login to my laptop.
Not a great start for wanting to break in to this industry.
Or so I thought...
You are probably thinking to yourself - "how is this possibly going to transition to a secret formula of getting to speak to Mr. Musk?"
You'll see.
Onward.
I wondered "what could I possibly offer a tech company that would seem intriguing? and "how am I ever going to stand out from the masses in such a hot and competitive field?
Have you ever asked yourself any of these questions?
You have? Good. You are not alone.
Let's continue.
I started the job search in the most productive way I knew how...
I created some accounts on Indeed, Monster, Ziprecruiter, etc. And started scrolling through the hundreds, scratch that, THOUSANDS of job listings.
It was overwhelming to say the least.
I could apply to most of them with a few clicks of a button which seemed convenient. I was thankful I could do this from the convenience of my couch.
And then I suddenly realized....
I am NEVER going to get a job this way.
If I can apply to dozens of jobs a day without even breaking a sweat then who knows how many other bright young millenials like myself are doing the exact same thing.
Easy suddenly = bad.
What could I do differently that might give me an advantage?
Do you have any ideas?
How could you find that dream job working for a company you truly admire?
Stumped?
Fine, I'll share the secret with you.
Email people.
Come on....
Now you're thinking "why did I decide to read this post?" "there goes 5 minutes of my life. gone. just like that." "this is his great insight?"
Yes it is. And you are going to thank me in just a few more minutes.
Stick with me.
I discovered that I could get in touch with just about anyone (at any company) by simply emailing them. Yes, even Elon.
But how do you email someone without knowing their email address?
Great question.
I will share a dirty little secret with you that I found out while on this journey.
You can discover 95% of people's work email addresses with a few attempts.
People may hate me for telling you this. And they may start to hate you too. But it's a risk I'm willing to take.
It will be one of 3 formats. No matter where they work. What their position is. Or how popular they are.
Here they are:
(first name)@(company name).com - for companies under 50 employees - Ex. elon@tesla.com
(first initial)(last name)@(company name).com - for companies with 50-499 employees - Ex. emusk@spacex.com
(first name).(last name)@(company name).com - for companies over 500 employees - Ex. elon.musk@boringcompany.com
No joke.
This is the email format used by just about everybody. Mwahahaha (evil laugh)!!!
Why do they make it so easy?
This I do not know. But I am grateful they do.
Let me walk you through a real life example to help this hit home.
Let's say you want to get a job in sales for your dream company. Somewhere prestigious. Such as.....
Wells Fargo.
My condolences if you work for them.
Instead of just going to their website, uploading your resumé and cover letter, clicking "apply", and praying to the gods that anyone ever reaches out to you.
There is a better way. That will improve your chances 10x. Let me show you my friend.
Email these three people:
VP of sales
Sales director
HR manager
Find out what their names are on LinkedIn.
Use the email formats I shared above.
And use this word for word script:
"Hi (name),
I just checked out your site and have been following (company name) for a while now. I was really impressed to see the press release announcing that your team just hit a record high revenue number last quarter. Great work!
Curious if you are looking to add another top performer to your sales team? Because I am sure you are expected to hit an even higher mark this quarter. And continue this impressive growth trajectory for (company name)? If so, would love to connect.
Because I think I have the perfect candidate for you. And that candidate is me, (your name). I have been working in sales for 5+ years and have been able to drive $5,000,000 in new revenue. And I think I could do the same for you.
I would love to learn about your current goals and see if I could help you achieve them quicker.
Are you open to having a quick chat this week or next? I have some time on Tuesday at 10:00am or Thursday at 2:00pm.
Best,
(your name)"
There ya go.
Not as hard as you thought, huh?
What's the key to this message?
One of the biggest insights I have ever learned (thanks to Neville Medhora):
People don't care about YOU, they care about THEMSELVES!
I can't believe I am sharing this gold with you. For free. Am I crazy? Most assuredly.
Focus on how you can be useful to them. Give them an enticing reason to respond to you. Make it as clear as possible as to how you can improve their life. Not yours.
Doing this will give you a significantly higher probability of hearing from them. And you don't even need to submit an online application.
You bypass that whole useless process.
And get straight to the decision maker you want to speak to.
Doing this one simple step will set you apart from 90% of the competition out there.
What about the remaining 10%?
Glad you asked.
Follow up.
You would be amazed how few people ever do this.
Simply follow up 2 days later.
And your chances of a response go up even higher!
People are busy. Don't take it personally if they don't respond to you after one attempt. Do you always respond to every message you receive? Didn't think so.
It can take multiple follow ups to get a response. But if you stay persistent, I promise you, you will get a response.
It shows how important this is to you. And how much you want it.
Most people are too scared to follow up after hearing nothing but crickets after one attempt.
Don't be most people.
Send this if you haven't heard back from Elon (or anyone else you need to talk to) after 48 hours:
"Hi (name), I am sure you are busy so I wanted to make sure my previous note didn't get buried!
Thanks,
(your name)"
That's it.
And if you want to be a legendary follow up-er (one that will be remembered for eternity) then add this before signing off:
"I understand you have tremendous demands on your time. So if you are too busy to respond, no problem. But even if you could reply with a word or two, it would mean a lot to me."
People appreciate you when you acknowledge how busy they are (even if they aren't that busy). It makes them feel important.
Following up is one of the most important skills you can ever learn in life.
And trust me, you are not being annoying.
You are doing what it takes to get ahead.
If you are willing to follow up multiple times to just have a quick conversation with someone you don't even work with yet, then you have proven you are willing to stand apart from the crowd. And get the job done. Whatever the obstacle.
This exact method saved me at least 6 months of mind-numbing hours of scrolling job boards and applying to jobs. And it is what I will use for the rest of my career.
But it can also be used in your personal life.
Reach out to any stranger you want to get connected with. With this basic personalized format:
1st: mention something specific about the person by doing a little research on them (not creepy)
2nd: introduce yourself (briefly) and tell them exactly how you hope to be useful to them
3rd: give 2 specific times you would like to chat
4th: give them an out by letting them know they don't have to respond
Summary: you can get in touch with ANYONE in the world thanks to two earth shattering inventions - the internet and email.
All it takes is a little out-of-the-box thinking.
5 minutes of prep work to find out something interesting about the person.
Mention it in your first message to them.
Specifically show how you could be useful to them.
And most importantly, respect their time.
Then watch the responses and conversations flood over you like Niagra Falls.
The end.
P.S. - I am curious to see who actually read to the end of this long post. Or who is smart enough to just scroll to the bottom and read this. Venmo request me @armank and I will send you $1 as a thank you. And you will be providing me with valuable data. Cheers!