STEP 3

DO SOME RESEARCH BEFORE MAKING CONTACT

Before reaching out to make a new contact of any kind, do a little research (or a lot) about the people you are trying to reach, their organization, and the work they do. Do you know anyone who is already familiar with those people or their organization or at least their industry? Maybe that person could answer some questions for you. Are there any relevant articles or books you could read? Maybe the people you want to contact have published material that you could find and read. Do they have homepages? Does the company have a website you could check out? Maybe there’s a different organization, a professional association, or a government agency that could answer some of your questions over the phone. Or, you could call the office of one of those people before launching your contacts, speak with the person’s assistant or co-worker without identifying yourself, and ask a lot of questions. You’d be amazed at how much you can find out.