How To Email Influential People 101

When we start out on our hero’s journey, most of us would love to get some help and guidance by someone who’s done it before. Whether we admire someone who we’d love to become our mentor, or find a training program that is just what we need right now, there’s always somebody out there that has done what we have yet to achieve.

But for a lot of us there’s all kinds of fear that get in the way of getting the help we need. We either think “Who am I to be mentored by them?” or “I could never afford training.” Either way, it keeps us from taking action and we just stay stuck where we are right now. 

What if instead of feeling sorry for ourselves, we’d just plain ask for what it is that we want? I’ve been in this situation before, and I figured that the likelihood of getting what I wanted would increase by approximately a gazillion if I took some action and just asked for it. It helped that I’d learned a few handy things along the way to make it more likely that the answer to my question would be “yes”.

Overcome Fear and Just Ask for Help

Here’s one example of how I went about getting what I wanted when it seemed impossible to attain:

When I realized I wanted to be a coach a little over a year ago, I wanted to be part of a coaching school. I found a beautiful program which got me all excited: “This feels like it was made for me!” And then I saw the price tag and immediately lost all hope. As much as I believed the program was worth it, there was no way I could afford it. 

Then an idea popped into my head: What if instead of closing down my laptop and feeling sorry for myself, I just asked the lady if I could be part of her program? Maybe she’d offer me a scholarship if I could find a way to help her with something else. 

At the time I had been working for Sensophy for more than half a year, and I knew how valuable it was for Jacob to have someone reliable on his team that he could delegate tasks to. I knew that his most valuable asset was his time, and since I was saving him a lot of it, my work was valuable. 

I assumed that the lady from the coaching school would appreciate having an assistant to save her some time and hassle as well. And since I had lots of time and no money, I decided to offer her my services in exchange for a scholarship. 

See what I did there? 

Putting Your Value Out There Pays Off

Instead of simply asking the lady if she would give me what I wanted, I thought of a way to add value to her life in return. Instead of making it about her doing me a favor, I found a way to make it a win-win situation for both of us. More on that in the video below. 

Turns out that her business had grown by leaps and bounds and she had been looking for an assistant the whole time. Win-win. 

From that experience I’ve made it a habit to challenge my assumption whenever I thought that I couldn’t have or do something. I’ve learned a few tricks along the way and I want to share them with you. 

Watch this video to learn:

• How to make qualified requests for what you want (and likely get it)
• Why you can add value to even the big people’s lives
• How to figure out how exactly you can help
• How to contact these people in a way that feels genuine & gets results

#1 Just ask

I know you’re thinking that there’s no way that this is gonna work in your case. Challenge that assumption, and decide to go for it anyways. Make it a game, and don’t worry about how it’s going to turn out. You’re going to learn and grow from it whether it works out or not. 

#2 Always add value

This is the most important rule here. If you can find out how to genuinely add value to someone else’s life, you’ve done the main work. Don’t put yourself in the weak position of simply asking them to do you a favor – the only value they could get out of that is feeling like they’ve done a good deed. That’s okay, but not very strong. Instead find a way to turn this into a win-win situation where they clearly see that they’re going to benefit from your offer.

Remember, you’re not just asking them for a favor, you’re adding value and getting something in return. I found this really helpful when I made my requests; I knew that I was adding value to them too, so it felt better to ask for what I wanted. 

#3 Make it easy for them to help you

You’ll dramatically increase your chances of getting a good reply when you make it convenient for the other person to help you. So when you send your email with your request, keep it very short and on point. Think of any concerns or logistical questions they might have and do your best to address them in your email. This should be a simple “yes” or “no” decision for them, not another complicated thing that they have to spend time on before they make a decision. 

Emailing Influential People 101

Email is our communication model of choice here. Remember, your prospect likely doesn’t have a lot of time or energy, and most people hate looking at their inbox. They immediately get red flags when they see a new email by someone they don’t know, especially when it feels like there could be work in it. 

Again, make it convenient for them. Keep your email super short & to the point. Make it all about them and spare them your lengthy story of why you can’t afford their product and why they should help you. Make it obvious what value you can provide. The most important thing you need to convey in this email is how they are going to benefit from taking you up on your offer. And make sure your offer doesn’t include a lot of work on their side. Make it as easy as possible for them to say yes. 

When I crafted my emails, I referred to the guidelines I learned from Danielle Laporte and Derek Halpern. I highly recommend you check those out and have them handy when you write your emails. Derek is gonna teach you the strategy and Danielle shows you how to keep it light hearted and authentic. 

• Derek Halpern: Simple Framework For Emails That Get to Yes
• Danielle Laporte: Qualified Requests: How to Ask For Stuff

Have you ever asked someone online for something you wanted?

Did you get a yes? We’d love to hear your story, and if you have any best strategies, please share with our fellow Sensopeeps. 🙂