I'm about to do a NY Trip so I can do coffee chats to be in a stronger position for recruiting this Fall. Would it better to meet with bankers I have already talked to over the phone or try to reach out to new people?
So strengthing a single relationship at a bank or having 2-3 contacts at a bank?
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Strengthening
Why not both?
I'll be doing at least 1 meeting of both, but I wanted to know what I should be prioritizing and doing more. I'll only be able to network for 2 full days, so I can only fit in so many chats.
With just two days, try to maximize your utility by meeting with people who... a. Are able to make the difference alone (VP and above) b. People at firms where you might be on the cusp of having a good enough network to get an interview; i.e., you have a strong connection with an analyst or two, so try to meet with one of their groupmates to have a few people in that group who know your name.
Two days may not seem like a lot — and I admit that it'll be difficult since you don't have much room for flexibility — but with careful planning, you can easily fit in 5 or 6 meetings a day. The most I have ever done in a single day was 9; that took a lot of luck and careful coordination, but try to make the most out of those two days.
Definitely agree. Prioritize the most senior connections you have (VP and above) and foster existing relationships and expand on them
Thanks for the advice. For the day that you did 9 chats, did you start them early in the morning (7/8 am)? Did you have multiple chats in the same place to save time? Did you just do them at coffee shops or what other places did you do? Possibly a lunch meeting?
Why are these mutually exclusive?
How do you guys go about setting these up? Just cold-emailing? Or do you chat with them on the phone beforehand?
Start a week or two before going. Cold email. Keep it short, snappy and to the point. They won't typically respond. So after 3-5 days or so, send a chaser. Most will not respond. Then you call them and make a case for a 5-10 minute coffee (on you) where it is convenient for them. If they reject you over email and its more than a sentence long, it usually means they will meet, you just have to call and convince them (the indication is that they spent more than 3 seconds saying "no" which means there is a "maybe" possibly).
Sometimes it doesn't work, but the track record is better than one thinks.
Echo to the emphasis to focus on VP and above if possible and to chase both cold leads as well as people you have met before.
I've said this before in other threads. Banking at its core (and so much of finance) is sales. Doing stuff like this shows initiative, desire and traits for sales.
For others out there who are new to the industry or are thinking about entering it: Close your eyes for a second and think. What do MDs often do? Fly around, meet clients etc. Why? They are pitching their services/bank/themselves in a brutally competitive industry to clients, that, frankly have a lot of choices. What you are doing above (cold email, call, flying in to meet them and pitch them) is not very different, at its core.
Good Luck
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