Hi Folks,
I posted a thread earlier in the month and there was a lot of interest in techniques and tips for cold contacting investment bankers so I thought I would share what I know.
First things first, I'm not an investment banker. I'm a data room sales rep with an extensive background in cold contacting (email/phone) investment bankers internationally. If you're working on M&A teams in North America there is a good chance I've called you. I've managed to create a pretty big network primarily from cold contacting so I'm here to offer basic sales tips and insights on methods that may work for you.
Note: I highly recommend reading the book How To Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie. It's a pretty quick read that will help you understand how people communicate and how to leverage it to your will.
Disclaimer: I know very little about the recruiting cycles in banking and less about what specific traits/achievements recruiters look for. If anyone who has been through the process wants to chime in I will be happy to edit this post to create a better resource.
Getting Started
Before we get any further I wanted to emphasize that landing an interview will have very little to do with Investment banking. Sure, you may be able to pump out DCF models faster and more accurate than anyone else but it's irrelevant if you aren't given the opportunity to display your skills. In reality, getting an interview is a sales process in which you are selling yourself.
Cold Contacting Strategy
Anyone who tells you they enjoy cold calling and emailing people are lying to you. The reality is that you're going to interrupt someone and it's uncomfortable. The big thing to remember is that as long as you are polite and aren't overly aggressive with your contact volume very little bad can come out of cold contacting. Think about it, the last time someone cold called for a service you weren't interested in how long did you remember them for? 20 seconds? the same applies here.
There are 4 main topics relating to cold calling: tools, targets, timing and content.
Tools
Contact Information Gathering
Zoominfo/data.com are the two go to tools for getting phone numbers and email addresses. It's important to put an emphasis on direct phone lines. If the email isn't there it's alright, banks follow a uniform email format so a quick google search can land you any email(i.e [email protected])
Email Tracking
Email tracking is a very important tool that has become common practice in sales and marketing. There are a lot of providers but the only one I’ve tried and can vouch for is Yesware.
The service is about $15/month but completely worth it. You will be able to track when/how many times your email was opened, if the email has been forwarded, and if any attachments have been clicked or opened. This is all useful information in gauging interest and gives you a better idea of where you are gaining traction.
Targets
Admittedly, this section is the weakest in the guide. I know my targets in my sales process, but I know this probably changes in terms of recruitment. If anyone wants to chime in here I would love to edit this to be as accurate as possible. Anyways, I've taken my best guess and added insight on what I know.
Analysts: Probably not decision makers in hiring
-From experience, Analysts are understandably the least likely to donate their time. In the case of recruitment they aren’t your best target.
Associates: Worth contacting but shouldn’t be your first target
- Associates are usually more willing to spend a minute or two to help you out. I may be wrong but I would imagine their role is more evaluating people already in the recruitment funnel. As a non- target you may want to aim slightly higher.
VP/Director/Principal: These guys are your sweet spot and my recommendation for targets
- My initial thought was these titles would be too busy/senior to get a hold of and generally not willing to give you the time of day. I was wrong. Internal data proves that these targets spend the most time on the phone and have the highest conversion rates. These guys have more pull and may be able to help you make meaningful progress. Don’t be afraid of their titles.
Managing Director: Obviously your ideal target, MD’s are generally pretty social and definitely have the pull for you to create meaningful opportunities
- Unfortunately, these guys are heavily gated and hard to contact. In BB firms it’s near impossible that a cold request actually gets seen by an MD. They literally pay secretaries to protect their time and to act as a filter to make sure only important inquiries get seen. In boutique firms you might have better luck, use your judgment for these guys.
Timing
Timing and follow-up are very important when trying to get in touch with someone.
in terms of specific timing, the best time to email/call someone is from 4-5pm and the best days are Thursday/Friday.
In sales we use a term called cadence, which is pretty much consistent steps to attempt to contact someone. I would recommend the following cadence:
Attempt 1: Email
-wait 1 week-
Attempt 2: Call & leave a voicemail. Explain that you are following up on an email from attempt 1
-Wait 3 business days-
Attempt 3: Call - No voicemail
-wait two business days-
Attempt 4: Follow-up email (make sure to send it as a reply to your initial email)
Move on.
At any point in this process, if they contact you, take them off the cadence. Use Excel to track each person and which step of the process they are on.
Content
General: Investment bankers are among the most intelligent and skeptical people on the planet. In general try to be concise and avoid bullshit.
Email
The goal of your emails should be to try and get someone on the phone or out for a beer/coffee. In person contact resonates 1000x greater than an email or call.
General Format:
Intro
Explain who you are and why you are reaching out.
Body
Explain why you want to work at X firm and why you should be considered.
If you are trying to advertise yourself stay away from subjective terms. I.e “I’m hardworking/motivated/etc” This is literally meaningless bullshit and everyone applying for any job will say it. Instead, provide objective examples that demonstrate this behavior. I.e I achieved an x GPA/I lead my schools finance club to achieve x/etc. You get the point.
Close
Now we go ahead with our “ask” which is for a call or meeting.
Avoid a general asks such as “I would love to meet for a coffee or beer”. Instead, do some research. Find a place near their office and make your request specific. I.e “I would be willing to meet up and buy you a beer. How does X bar on Thursday or Friday evening work?”
Your complete email should be no longer than a paragraph. Once you’re done email it to yourself and read it on your phone. How does it look? If you received an email like this would you read it? If not, make some changes.
Cold Calling
Plain and simple cold calling sucks. With that said, stats prove calling has a greater impact than email and can be a very powerful process when trying to achieve our goal.
You have to accept that you are going to interrupt someone but that’s okay. Just like the email we want to keep this quick. Make sure to quickly identify yourself, bankers get called frequently by clients and it’s important you bring down their guard asap.
In terms of wording, stick to a format similar to the email. briefly explain who you are and how you believe you can help their firm/team.
I hope this helps. I will be sticking around to answer any questions you guys have. The process can be pretty daunting, but keep in mind you only need one opportunity to work out to land a gig.
Mod Note (Andy): Best of 2016, this post ranks #43 for the past year
Thanks for the guide, as a student at a non-target, I want to chime in on some of the things you said. I may be wrong, but this is just in my experience:
Contacting analysts / associates are probably the best point of contact coming from a non-target. They were most recently in your shoes and are really willing to stick their neck out for you if you can prove yourself to them. The way it seems, they're the main points of contact when it comes to recruiting at the non-target, and have significant pull.
Also, regarding the "objective examples," it seems that some people take that poorly. Especially the "I achieved a x.x GPA." I think some of the objective examples are best saved for the phone call when you actually get the chance to speak (or meet). If you want to show them you have a high GPA to try to prove your worth, what I do is attach my resume and say "if you want to learn more about me, I've attached my resume" or something along those lines.
I think most of the other information you've posted is really helpful. Thanks a lot for this.
I think you're right on this one. As i mentioned, roles in recruitment isn't something i'm familiar with.
I also agree with the GPA point that may not be the best example, however, stand by the logic of providing objective examples of how you can help.
Thousands of people apply for IBD roles, you have to create value and provide a reason for people to give you a chance.
Thanks to OP for this post - wish I had this when I was going through the process.
I want to echo what dartzrip is saying. I'm also from a non-target, and after quite a bit of rejection and preserving recently was offered full-time at a BB in IBD. I've found that contacting junior people can be so helpful for two reasons. First, there's the chance they like you (for reasons above) and they're willing to set something up with someone more senior. Second, even if there's not much he/she can do, at least when you do have the chance to speak with someone more senior you can share what you've learned about the role and let them know you've put in the time to meet some of the people you'd (potentially) be working with. This is especially relevant for us who have to rely more on networking to get a seat at the table.
This was my strategy - meet with as many analysts/associates as I could so that when the time came to speak with the VPs and MDs I had a much better understanding of analysts' work, and I could show them that I've put a lot of effort in to learn.
OP, thanks again for this post. And good luck to all my fellow non-targets
How do you suggest people win at this game when you've revealed the game plan for new potential players in this realm who are cold emailing that adds to the queue of cold emails of existing players using similar strategies?
What will make one cold email jump above another cold email vs work emails and other casual emails of this individual?
How come there is no mention of using "Read Receipt" or "Delivery Receipt" to ensure logistically the email got sent, delivered, and received?
Where would you suggest the audience to go if existing markets are crowded already and they are looking for new fertile grounds to cultivate their own individual and respective careers?
thanks for the post!
Always happy to contribute where I can. Thanks for the formatting help if that was you.
Thanks for the advice. I am in the process of cold emailing PWM firms for a summer internship. I have gotten a couple of responses from VPs and one MD. How can I turn the informational interview into an internship?
edit
Nice guide. Thanks for putting it together. I actually wasn't aware about that email tracking service. That's pretty sweet, and I will certainly think about using it in the future.
Cold calling/emailing is probably one of my least favorite things to do, and I used to avoid it like the plague when I was younger. Always made me feel uncomfortable. Social phobia is a bitch. But once you buck up and learn to do it, it's an invaluable tool.
With all due respect, I completely disagree with 90% of your post.
Your Tools section offers great advice. I would add that Mailtester.com is a good way to verify emails. For tracking, I just used Excel, but can see why a sales person would need something more high tech.
I would suggest to never ever cold call an investment banker. Think about how busy they are and in the middle of their work, some random college student calls them to network. I have probably spent 100 hours in the past year helping college students out because I know how tough it is to break in, but even I would be extremely annoyed if I got an unsolicited call. This is even more annoying for senior bankers because they spend all day on the phone. When you call them unsolicited, you are literally preventing them from doing their job (i.e. speaking with clients).
Your Targets section is probably spot-on for sales, but I would not recommend this strategy for college students. College students should be contacting analysts and associates. VPs and up are the only ones who can walk into HR an almost guarantee you an interview, but most of them are too busy, too far removed from the process, unable to identify with you, broke into the industry when it was not as competitive, etc. I would still network with VPs and above (the best advice I have received came from them), but focus 95% of your effort on analysts an associates. They are closer to your age, most likely networked like you are doing, went through the process in the past two to three years, have more time to devote to helping you, etc.
My experience with timing was different. I had the best luck sending cold emails Tuesdays at 10AM. My logic was that if the emails are sent on Tuesdays, you are not bombarding anyone on a Monday morning, but there still is plenty of time during the week to connect. Thursdays and Fridays are too close to the weekend, and it is easier to write your cold email off as “I’ll contact that guy next week”.
I would not suggest contacting bankers four times. That is a recipe for disaster and a clear demonstration that you cannot take a hint (a terrible quality for an analyst). I would suggest one email and a follow up email a week later. That’s all. By contacting them more often, you’re risking your email getting forwarded to everyone with a “do not hire” note.
I think that your Content section is not correct for college students. Don’t send a novel. All you need is a quick “Hi, I’m a junior at Harvard. I am interest in pursuing a career in IB and was wondering if you had some time this week to discuss your career and experience at Goldman Sachs. Thank you.” That’s all. Everyone who gets your email knows exactly what you want. Writing more than what I suggested is waste of your time (a terrible quality for an analyst) and a complete waste of time for the person reading your email. You want the email to be just long enough to get the message across, but short enough where I get the gist by just looking at the lock screen on my iPhone or the Outlook new email pop-up. Your wording for meeting up sounds very awkward. You’re not meeting with your grandfather- you’re meeting with some guy close to your age.
I hope this does not sound negative because it’s not supposed to. I just wanted to point out what I think does not apply to college students. And, please, stop cold calling me about data rooms ;) You’d have more luck if you took my group out to a bar, a golf course, bowling, etc.
Sil,
Thanks for your feedback. I'll try to address each point.
Mailtester is great, I will add that to the tools section.
I disagree with your statement "never ever cold call an investment banker". People are generally more receptive over the phone than you might think. I do agree that it would be wise to ask "is this a good time for you to chat for a minute" it gives your target an opportunity to exit the call if they aren't interested. I will add this above.
Based on yours/others feedback I'm going to completely change the targets section. As you mentioned, this is good for sales but not recruitment- thanks for the input.
Timing- I gathered all the numbers from internal data. I understand the logic behind your post, but based off experience I would stick to my suggested timing.
Contact: After second look, four times may be too many for a recruit. I've changed it to two emails and one call. As you mentioned earlier in your post, bankers are very busy. Many times you will be contacting someone who is willing to help, but not able to at the moment. Contacting three times helps combat this.
I also somewhat disagree your messaging for emails, if you're a target this will work. But Non targets didn't go to schools that will automatically have them considered for ibd jobs. They have to mention something very brief that sparks interest. I do agree that the messaging can be more casual now that the target has been changed to Analysts/Associated- initially when I wrote that I was under the impression that we would be shooting higher up. I will take a look.
Again, Thanks for the feedback. I'm admittedly out of my element in regards to recruitment and any feedback helps.
P.S On my downtime I will do my best to find out what firm you're with and give you a cold call :D
I agree that Tuesday is the best day to reach out. I normally send out emails around 3-5PM and get a lot of replies from senior bankers especially (day is winding down, etc).
Sil is absolutely spot-on.
To add, and this is just based on me personally so results may vary, but I hate receiving cold calls - I answer the phone assuming its a client, buyer/investor on an active deal, or one of my many bosses - if I want to talk to someone regarding networking I will respond via email and set up a time. Regarding the email itself, I agree that short and succinct is best, highlighting why you're reaching out, where you are currently, and asking for a time to set up a call. Guys in this industry generally aren't a-holes, their just busy...don't be annoying, but absolutely follow up, and then get to the point. I think most folks enjoy helping people out when they're genuine and respectful of the time they are asking for.
Thanks for the feedback. From what I've gathered I may have missed the mark on cold calls/targets. Cold calling does work in sales, I've had a lot of great conversations with bankers, but you're right, it may not work in terms of recruiting. I will take your/Sil's feedback and incorporate it in the changes.
yeah- this kids never had to work for anything. Cold calling works. period. The article was great.
Test comment.
hey please check your PM
Agree pretty much entirely with Sil on this one.
-Definitely do not pay for an email database site -Do not cold call me out of the blue -Analysts and associates should be your go to and can often have more pull in pushing resumes through than you might think -Do not email four times -The last thing I want to do is follow up on a random networking email late on a Friday. That is 100% going to wait until Monday -No need to send a novel
Also you should always attach a resume in my opinion.
On the content section -- "Harvard" is your spark. If you are applying from Blue Mountain State a basic email won't work.
Cold emailing non-alumni (random people) (Originally Posted: 08/21/2012)
I've been contacting alumni lately and had a lot of help. I've contacted very few (just started) non-alumns but can't help but feel I'm doing something wrong.
I usually keep my emails shorts. I usually introduce myself, explain my recent experience in 1 sentence and ask if I can speak to them briefly regarding advice and their backgrounds.
What would you guys do or adjust? How do you enthrall non-alumns into talking to you?
Disagree with a couple things but useful post.
Do you have a data set saying that Friday night was the best time to cold email? I've always assumed that is the worst possible time to cold email. They're in a rush to finish and get the fuck out, so they will push back responding to your email and probably forget about it.
The data set measures combined results for calls/emails. I will take a further look but there is enough feedback here to suggest Tuesday is a good day for emails. Will add it in
Unless you have some personal connections to them (e.g. your dad's a client), they won't talk to you. 90% of people won't reply - actually, that's an understatement. More like 95%.
Of the 5% that reply to you, maybe 1% (aka just one guy) will vouch for you. But hey, sometimes you only need one guy.
How do you feel about homeless people bugging you for change? At least they probably need help more than you do, and that takes less time and effort.
You better be bringing something pretty great to the table if you're going to bother me randomly in real life. On WSO, I think that's kind of the understood point, and either I'll respond to PMs, or I won't. But if someone did this on LinkedIn then there's a 1% chance I'd respond.
I am looking to RE finance, but I email everyone. A guy from a target in the RE group at a top bank just forwarded my resume around for their analyst program, so don't limit yourself.
I pretty much just blast out tons of emails. Cast a wide net and you'll definitely find some helpful people. I say something along the lines of "hi my name is XX, I worked at XX this summer and am trying to transition over to (their industry), was wondering if you would be willing to take some time to talk about your experiences in the field, appreciate the advice and hope to hear back from you." I'd say my response rate is probably 15-20%. Also RE generally has need-based hiring and not structured programs, but a lot of the guys who are working at firms with structured analyst programs have offered to forward my resume.
I can tell a lot of these guys have never had a college kid cold email them before. It might be different for general IB/consulting judging from the posts on this site, but this is what I've experienced.
If they don't respond, I will send them another email a few days later. If they still don't respond, shoot for someone else. The worst in when you know they read your email because they view your linkedin profile (after you don't look at theirs), but never give you a response.
I've gotten some good feedback and even have met some MDs at top MM firms. But I also call to "follow up on the email I sent" as well.
There's def. an art to cold-emailing people with no visible connections. Just b specific with y u are connecting with him/her and only her. As opposed to some other random MD at the same firm. Response rates are low tho, def. below the 30% line.
You probably aren't doing anything wrong. It's very hard to get people you have no relationship with to respond unless you can really bring something to the table. And that's pretty unusual at the undergraduate level. You'd probably get a better return on investment if you spent the time finding more alumni to email.
Non-Target, Cold e-mailing to Multiple BB / MM SA Offers -- Yes it can be Done! (Originally Posted: 02/14/2012)
All,
I've been reading WSO for quite a long time, but this is my first and perhaps my last serious post about myself.
A bit about my background: I am a junior studying finance at a 200% Non-Target university (yes, there are baby sitting positions on my school's career site, that's how non-target it is!).
I originally wanted to work for the federal government, but after couple of internships with a very well known Senator and a lesser known Congressman, I decided it was not for me. I had a friend pull a CapIQ screen of all broker/dealers in NYC and started cold calling right away.
I landed my first M&A internship at some bull shit no-name boutique and was literally cold calling high net worth clients asking if they wanted to invest in $2mm deals. It was bull shit, but it builds character and helps you build your story when you do informational or first round interviews.
Second, and a more relevant internship was with a decent (at the time) boutique in FIG. No offense to you FIGers, but that shit sucks. I learned a ton, but it still is boring. I built a great relationship with a senior VP but he is no longer a banker.
Finally, I had my most recent internship. This time around, it was no joke. I was actually working on live deals, building real models, and talking to CFOs explaining my models. Shit got real. Two weeks in, I got chewed out for not formatting a spreadsheet the way a MD wanted. I thought they were going to tell me to pack my shit and leave. Instead at the end of the chew out, he sat me down and explained that he really cared about my career development and wanted to see me do well. I'm still not sure whether this was true or just for him to save face, but whatever.
At the end of my third banking relevant internship, it brings me to the make or break point: Junior SA recruiting.
When I started to reach out to new people, many essentially told me to fuck off, but others gave me a hand.
I met and spoke with many successful bankers via means of introduction and referrals including many of Ken Moelis' deputies and Frank Quattrone. Yes, the famous Quattrone and others.
While I was networking with the hard-hitting bankers, I also cold e-mailed many Senior Associates and Junior VPs. I knew they were the ones running the campus recruitment process, so my e-mails were very brief. I included my GPA, relevant internships, and why they should hire me.
My e-mails were VERY good and still, I was only getting about a 40% response rate. Cold e-mails led to responses, responses led to informational interviews. Informational interviews led to more informational interviews, and then, the first round phone interview. At one BB, I had 5, yes, FIVE rounds of informational interviews before they officially put me into the process to be considered for a first round.
Having relevant experiences on your resume, especially transaction experiences can be a curse, so you have to know technical questions cold and be ready to talk about the deal(s). Some of the questions I got were probably more appropriate for a first year lateral hire rather than a summer intern.
In the end, I interviewed at the following banks:
Citi CS (HQ and two regional offices) BarCap DB Rothschild RW Baird BMO Capital Markets Jefferies
Of all the shops above, Rothschild was the only one that I did not make it to a super day and strangely enough, Rothschild M&A was actually my first choice.
Of all of my "getting through the gatekeepers (HR), CS was the most interesting. One campus recruiting lady essentially told me to stop annoying / calling her. In retrospect, I should have told her to fuck off on the spot, but I refrained from doing so. Instead, I went above her head and e-mailed actual bankers that got me in for the first round interview.
And of all of my interviews, the most memorable one was the super day at Baird Chicago. One of the VP looked at my resume and asked me, "what the fuck is University of xxxx / xxxx University, and how did you get here?" I knew from that point on, no matter what I said, I would not have gotten the offer. So I told him I took a cab from the hotel to get there. No smile, no smirk, you could smell the tension in the room. Whatever, dickhead.
Its a very long post (maybe WSO longest post?), but I want to mention the select few I met here on WSO whom I consider friends.
Flake, WallStreetOasis (Patrick), Determined, WellPlayed and Febreeze (yes, even you two), Gnome, Nouveau Richie, and some other guys I forgot.
In fact, Flake was actually the first person to know about my decision.
Hope this write up is a bit of inspiration for some of you all who are trying to break in either as a SA or first year analyst. I promise, it is possible.
I'd be happy to provide guidance / advice to those still trying to break in, but do not ask me to share my 'networking' secrets. If everyone sounded the same with the same pitch, we'd sound like robots.
Cheers, Whiskey
This entire thread is pretty useful but one question I have for all of you... What would you suggest as a Subject to a cold email? I don't want the email to get filtered to spam or sound like some dumb match making spam email lol. The best I came up with is "Looking for more information" or "Looking for info session". I think "Looking to connect" sounds weird. Any thoughts on this aspect?
Great question, I would recommended using something like "Quick Question". It has a pretty high open rate and it's pretty genuine to the subject of your email.
First off, what you did takes more than two balls. I think even the experience of just cold calling makes a huge difference, and at the same time can be extremely humbling. It was not really clear in the post but did you get an offer?
"School Name Student looking for Career Advice" or "Company Name Intern looking for Career Advice"
I guess I missed the most important part in my post, lol.
Yes, I did get multiple offers.
kill it gratz op
Post made me wet.
no really, very impressive and good for you. glad to see more people with balls on wso.
This is what more people need to emulate. Congratulations to you, well-earned.
Congrats!
how did you acquire everyone's email...linkedin? Or people's name.
Where did you start actually?
also how did you ask for referrals?
Congrats Whiskey.
Thanks all for the kind words!
Well if this doesn't put shit in perspective I don't know what does. Congrats!
...
Is anyone else wondering how this guy got internships w. congressmen and senators going to University of Bumfuck nowhere?
No, not really.
Congressmen and senators tend to hire from their home districts. Not too hard to figure out.
As I've told you before, congrats man. Fuck you for not putting me under friends though. :(
Well done Whiskey, you've earned this. Now just kill it this summer and get the offer, it gets even better from here.
Appreciated the shout-out.
Congrats man! This indeed is inspiring.
congrats dude--love hearing these stories
Silver Banana for you. Although I am a few years older than you, stories like these inspire me and challenge all of us to be better. I scour these boards and waste hours of my time every week but even a single story like this makes everything worth it in the end.
GATDAMN WHISKEY!
I thought you slithered in via URM channels... Or tennis...
jk. Congrats dude. WELL deserved.
P.S. "So I told him I took a cab from the hotel to get there." I would not work for someone who didn't at least crack some semblance of smile at that.