Overpersonalizing your first outreach message doesn’t work.
And yet, I still see companies spending huge amounts of time crafting that very first message. They research where someone used to work, what they posted last week, what their hobbies are, and then try to turn all of that into the perfect opening line.
But that’s not how networking works.
When you meet someone at an in-person event, you don’t walk up to them and say, “Hey Merlin, I noticed you shared an article about AI three months ago and used to work at company X.”
You just say, “Hey, how are you?”
And that’s where the conversation begins. You know, like normal people do. 😉
There’s no reason online networking should be any different.
Your first outreach is simply about planting a seed. Maybe it leads to a conversation straight away. Maybe it doesn’t. Maybe someone is interested, but the timing just isn’t right.
“After the summer.”
“After Christmas.”
“Give me a call in January.”
“Too busy right now, but definitely interested later.”
Sound familiar?
And that’s where I believe the real work begins. Around 80% of the new business we generate from our network comes from follow-up over a period of at least six months. Not from that one perfectly crafted first message.
That’s why your follow-up is where you should focus on personalization.
Remembering what someone told you. Knowing when to reach out again. Engaging with their content. Sharing something relevant from time to time. Gradually building a relationship until the timing is right.
That’s why I always tell our team: the people who clearly tell you when something will become more relevant to them are often your future customers.
Because they’re not saying “no.”
They’re saying: “not yet.”
Thanks, Merlin Melles for the great conversation. This is exactly what networking should look like.
