Connecting with decision makers is critical to lifelong success. Unfortunately, the more important the person, the less accessible they can be. That is, unless you know where to look.
Using these simple steps, you can email virtually any decision maker, without previously knowing their email address.
Step #1: Download Sales Navigator for Gmail
To get started, you’ll need Google Chrome and Gmail. Next, open the Chrome store and search for “LinkedIn Sales Navigator.” LinkedIn Sales Navigator is the magician to this magic show. You’ll need to download this plug-in to unleash the magic.
Note: Sales Navigator offers a Lite version (free) and a Premium version (stupid expensive). Save your money and download the free Lite version of LinkedIn Sales Navigator.
Step #2: Determine the Email Domain
With LinkedIn Sales Navigator downloaded, you’ll need to determine the domain of the person you’re emailing, which is everything following the “@” symbol in the email address (e.g. “@nike.com,” “@redcross.org,” or “@harvard.edu”). Often, the email domain will be obvious, and you can skip immediately to Step #3.
If you don’t know the person’s email domain, simply Google the person’s name or company to which they belong. Once you’ve found the website, navigate to the page which contains the contact information – usually styled “Contact” or “About.” There you will see how the company formats their emails.
Step #3: Discover the Email Formatting
Lastly, you’ll need to know how the company or organization formats its email addresses. Fortunately for you, email formats commonly take the following forms. Here’s what I mean.
Suppose, for example, you want to connect with Nick Hungerford, CEO of Nutmeg, a London-based finance company. Actually, I did. Using LinkedIn Sales Navigator and educated guesses, I found Nick’s email address by watching his LinkedIn bio appear in the sidebar of my Gmail interface upon entering his correct email address. This occurred because, upon inserting the address connected with the LinkedIn profile, LinkedIn Sales Navigator automatically produces a sidebar depicting his LinkedIn profile.
Here are several common email formats upon which I relied to find Nick’s correct email address:
Sure enough, on my second try, thanks to LinkedIn Sales Navigator, Nick’s LinkedIn profile popped up inside my Gmail screen, meaning that I had found his correct email address. By using this trick, in less than 30 seconds, I scored a CEO’s email address.
Don’t allow red tape or bureaucracy to cut you off from reaching critical people. Use these three simple steps to reach virtually any decision-maker, even if you previously didn’t know their email address. That means, enhanced job opportunities, better networking, and greater success.