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Cold-Emailing Guide.
 

Culcet's picture
EN
 
Points)
 on 12/31/12 at 6:00am
ColdEmail.jpg

Hi guys,

I figured I would give this whole free online advice thing a try and articulate my thoughts on online networking.

In my experience, the success of a "cold call" is largely determined by the communication that precedes it. I’ve never actually had to “cold call” in the normative sense; every unsolicited phone call I have made has always been preceded by a respective "cold email". As such, this thread is dedicated towards the drafting and sending of those emails.

Keys to a Cold Email

1) Background info - Contact people with a similar background. Don’t limit yourself to alumni- think deeper. Think about what defines you on a superificial level. If you go to UCLA and want to work on Wall street, email Cal alums in New York. Williams College? Why not email alums that went to Swarthmore, or any other liberal arts college alum that might have had to teach himself the technicals? Ivy kids- you know what to do. And if you’re a non-target… email other non-targets. Simple. The sky is the limit.

Emailing someone with a similar background reminds them of themselves. They are therefore that much more happy to help you. Remember though, you are entitled to nothing, and even if the guy is a complete d-bag, thank them in a dignified manner anyways.

2) Content- Keep the email short and sweet. I usually send emails explaining who I am and what my intentions are, a sentence explaining my “story, and then a graceful thank you. For what it’s worth, the whole ‘copy and paste’ thing has never been a big problem for me at the bulge brackets. For boutiques, target carefully based on the above advice and try not to email too many people. Again, if you target the right demographic, this shouldn't be a problem.

Again, keep in mind that what you're doing essentially amounts to begging. These people have no obligation to help you. As such, unless its a very specific job, I think it's more of a numbers game and wouldn't spend too much time individually tailoring these emails.

3) Timing - http://news.cnet.com/8301-13880_3-9929823-68.html
Here is a link explaining how to send an email at a certain time using Microsoft Outlook. I personally have not tried this yet, but its worth looking into. People might have differing opinions about when the best time to send an email is, but I try to send them 9-10ish in the morning.

Now, what you actually have to do:

1) Create a list of the banks you want to email- Methods include: Search function on this site, google “investment banks [enter city]", Linkedin, etc. Not hard.

2) Locate the email addresses - If they are regional boutiques, chances are the email addresses are on the websites. If not, use the tried and true method of piecing together the email address ([email protected]) through contact information found on Linkedin. Don't forget alumni databases as well.

3) Send.

4) Remember to follow up - Bankers are busy people. Sometimes they just forget to write back. There is nothing wrong with politely sending up a follow-up email to someone that just didn't get back to you. I usually wait a couple of days to send one, but make sure that when you send this you're actually read to get on the phone. And if they don't respond to that, pick up the phone

Hope this was helpful. Happy to edit this based on user feedback and questions people might have. Will write another section on the actual cold-call conversation part if there is interest. Feel free to PM me with any questions.

Cheers,

Tags:
Sandhurst's picture

Well done. The piece about

IB
(King Kong, 1,242
 
Points)
 on 2/4/12 at 4:12am

Well done. The piece about beginning with a cold email is key - a decent part of the time, you'll get an emailed response about setting up a conversation, saving a lot of effort in getting through secretaries on the phone. And even if there is no reply, you have a basis to begin your conversation: "Hello Mr. X, my name is Y - I had reached out to you via email the day before last..."

Having things in common is key as well, but not just background. A contact of mine who heads a product group at a BB has absolutely nothing in common with me except I interned with an analogous group at a lesser firm that beat him out for a fairly large deal while I was working there. We were able to connect over this alone - I simply mentioned the specific group and firm I was with in the email, and when I called him two days later he said "oh, you were the intern from ABC Co, when you poached XYZ deal. I'm busy this week but let's connect next Thursday."

"There are three ways to make a living in this business: be first, be smarter, or cheat."

nauprillion's picture

Thanks for posting. I have 2

ST
 
Points)
 on 2/4/12 at 4:52am

Thanks for posting.
I have 2 questions:
1. When should I give them a call. I'm on the trading floor from 6:15am until 7-8pm every day. I don't exactly want to make a call like that in the hallway.
2. Would you be willing to proof read my email?

Relinquis's picture

Culcet, Good post. A good

RE
(Neanderthal, 2,186
 
Points)
 on 2/4/12 at 6:08am

Culcet, Good post. A good overview of how to initiate contact with people. It's useful for when you are already at work and want to reach out to people to do business with.

relinquis... Killing the GMAT this December; Over/Under set at: 725 GMATs.

bossman's picture

Pretty good advice.

CF
(Gorilla, 747
 
Points)
 on 2/4/12 at 7:30am

Pretty good advice.

Do what you want not what you can!

Culcet's picture

nauprillion wrote: Thanks for

EN
 
Points)
 on 2/5/12 at 8:41am
nauprillion:

Thanks for posting.
I have 2 questions:
1. When should I give them a call. I'm on the trading floor from 6:15am until 7-8pm every day. I don't exactly want to make a call like that in the hallway.
2. Would you be willing to proof read my email?

1) That's interesting. Can you get time off for lunch? You could also try calling bankers in different time zones? Perhaps weekends?

2) Sure.

AlsatianCousin's picture

Culcet, any examples of those

 
Points)
 on 2/6/12 at 10:06am

Culcet, any examples of those cold e-mails you send out?

I'm fairly confident in my cold e-mails, but jic.

Awesome post, man.

Culcet's picture

Alsatian, I'd be happy to,

EN
 
Points)
 on 2/6/12 at 9:58pm

Alsatian,

I'd be happy to, but I honestly don't think it would help because the "hook" paragraph is highly individualized towards my personal story and is 99.99% likely to be impertinent towards anyone else's. For what it's worth, I'd be happy to draft a "mock" email template based on details you provide (these don't even have to be real).

asianracist's picture

.

(Baboon, 145
 
Points)
 on 2/6/12 at 10:05pm

.

Culcet's picture

Just cleaned up my post a

EN
 
Points)
 on 2/6/12 at 10:06pm

Just cleaned up my post a bit. Trying to think of a catchy title...

Relinquis's picture

Culcet wrote: Just cleaned up

RE
(Neanderthal, 2,186
 
Points)
 on 2/7/12 at 6:36am
Culcet:

Just cleaned up my post a bit. Trying to think of a catchy title...

Stop changing the title name so people can refer to this thread without getting a broken link.

relinquis... Killing the GMAT this December; Over/Under set at: 725 GMATs.

Culcet's picture

Relinquis wrote: Culcet

EN
 
Points)
 on 2/7/12 at 7:53am
Relinquis:
Culcet:

Just cleaned up my post a bit. Trying to think of a catchy title...

Stop changing the title name so people can refer to this thread without getting a broken link.

My bad. The title stands.

Relinquis's picture

Culcet wrote: Relinquis

RE
(Neanderthal, 2,186
 
Points)
 on 2/7/12 at 7:55am
Culcet:
Relinquis:
Culcet:

Just cleaned up my post a bit. Trying to think of a catchy title...

Stop changing the title name so people can refer to this thread without getting a broken link.

My bad. The title stands.

No problem. I have a feeling lot of people are going to want to refer to this thread.

relinquis... Killing the GMAT this December; Over/Under set at: 725 GMATs.

Mat09's picture

Better late than never. I'm

 
Points)
 on 2/9/12 at 12:27am

Better late than never. I'm pretty much in a similar situation : "non-target, subpar GPA, no finance background". I plan on cold-emailing in the future weeks and am hoping for the best.

Also, a "mock" template email would be of great help, just to get a better idea of the type of information that should/shouldn't be included.

Sandhurst's picture

Mat09 wrote: Better late than

IB
(King Kong, 1,242
 
Points)
 on 2/9/12 at 1:47am
Mat09:

Better late than never. I'm pretty much in a similar situation : "non-target, subpar GPA, no finance background". I plan on cold-emailing in the future weeks and am hoping for the best.

Also, a "mock" template email would be of great help, just to get a better idea of the type of information that should/shouldn't be included.

You might want to move quicker than "future weeks." Superdays are happening.

"There are three ways to make a living in this business: be first, be smarter, or cheat."

bonks's picture

Posting to check back later.

CO
(Orangutan, 316
 
Points)
 on 3/8/12 at 10:15pm

Posting to check back later. Awesome information.

Nothing short of everything will really do.

lovepark's picture

Thanks for the post. What do

 
Points)
 on 3/9/12 at 1:28am
BigTalkinWalker's picture

tag

 
Points)
 on 3/9/12 at 1:44am
Culcet's picture

lovepark wrote: Thanks for

EN
 
Points)
 on 3/19/12 at 10:18am
MonkeySuit's picture

Hey Culcut, great post, very

EN
(Baboon, 103
 
Points)
 on 3/28/12 at 2:27pm
Culcet's picture

*Culcet *Proofread Yes

EN
 
Points)
 on 4/3/12 at 3:33pm
timezone41's picture

Awesome post. Very

 
Points)
 on 6/28/12 at 9:41am
pickle's picture

Good stuff

(Monkey, 44
 
Points)
 on 6/28/12 at 11:09am
kmess024's picture

Do you think this will work

EN
(Orangutan, 312
 
Points)
 on 6/28/12 at 4:43pm

The Four E's of investment
"The greatest Enemies of the Equity investor are Expenses and Emotions."- Warren Buffet

Onyxcap's picture

Culcet, Can I email you my

CO
 
Points)
 on 6/28/12 at 4:52pm
Moneyball's picture

wow thanks, i'm definitely

ER
 
Points)
 on 6/28/12 at 6:37pm

Moneyball
See my other WSO blog posts

ALF.'s picture

Nice stuff. I'm a rising

O
(Gorilla, 612
 
Points)
 on 6/28/12 at 7:25pm
Culcet's picture

Wow, that's a lot of comments

EN
 
Points)
 on 6/29/12 at 7:28am
Culcet's picture

-

EN
 
Points)
 on 8/22/12 at 2:43am
Culcet's picture

And thanks for the SBs

EN
 
Points)
 on 6/29/12 at 7:47am
ewlang's picture

During what upcoming month

IB
(Baboon, 174
 
Points)
 on 6/29/12 at 10:44am
alittleextra's picture

Sandhurst: Mat09: Better

(Chimp, 7
 
Points)
 on 6/29/12 at 11:45am
thepman's picture

I appreciate you putting this

ST
(Monkey, 57
 
Points)
 on 6/29/12 at 3:41pm
BigCockJerome.'s picture

Culcet: Wow, that's a lot of

(Chimp, 7
 
Points)
 on 6/30/12 at 9:16pm
kmess024's picture

Do you know if I can use this

EN
(Orangutan, 312
 
Points)
 on 7/1/12 at 2:26am

The Four E's of investment
"The greatest Enemies of the Equity investor are Expenses and Emotions."- Warren Buffet

Culcet's picture

kmess024: Do you know if I

EN
 
Points)
 on 7/4/12 at 8:49am
Culcet's picture

ewlang: During what upcoming

EN
 
Points)
 on 7/4/12 at 8:51am
alittleextra's picture

culcet, you cool if I pm you

(Chimp, 7
 
Points)
 on 7/4/12 at 11:23am
Culcet's picture

Sure. Re: Who to email. For

EN
 
Points)
 on 7/7/12 at 1:37pm
Culcet's picture

ryan.stern611: Culcet: Wow,

EN
 
Points)
 on 7/7/12 at 1:40pm
BigCockJerome.'s picture

Culcet: ryan.stern611: Cu

(Chimp, 7
 
Points)
 on 7/8/12 at 10:27pm
oowij's picture

Great advice! How would you

 
Points)
 on 7/29/12 at 5:51pm
chicandtoughness's picture

oowij: How would you phrase

CS
 
Points)
 on 7/29/12 at 6:17pm

"Accept no one's definition of your life; define yourself."
Currently: quantitative marketing/business development
Previously: management consulting, investment banking

phpmvk's picture

Culcet: Will write another

 
Points)
 on 8/21/12 at 3:38pm
SwerveBack's picture

Wow, fantastic advice for

ST
(Orangutan, 306
 
Points)
 on 8/22/12 at 1:38am
Culcet's picture

Will write out my thoughts

EN
 
Points)
 on 8/22/12 at 2:40am
er17's picture

This may be useful to some

(Monkey, 34
 
Points)
 on 12/31/12 at 6:54am
mrb87's picture

I've had a lot of success

PE
 
Points)
 on 12/31/12 at 9:31am
etherlord's picture

In terms of content - the

CF
 
Points)
 on 12/31/12 at 2:27pm
mrb87's picture

etherlord: In terms of

PE
 
Points)
 on 12/31/12 at 3:01pm
BTbanker's picture

Are you guys attaching your

IB
 
Points)
 on 12/31/12 at 3:04pm

"A man generally has two reasons for doing anything. One that sounds good, and the real one." - J.P. Morgan

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