Reinventing You. Dorie Clark

just a few years out of university.” If you really want to get to know what an industry’s like, you have to talk to seasoned veterans.

      The CEO—the public face of the company—is bombarded with requests. That’s why Elizabeth started her initial research one notch lower, with the office of the chief operating officer, “because that secretary knows everybody,” she says. Her goal wasn’t actually to score an interview with the COO, which was probably unlikely. Instead, it was to get his imprimatur: “You can say, I know the COO is probably not the right person to talk to, but who is your best salesperson, or your rock-star marketing person? And then you can say the COO’s office recommended them, and they’re not going to blow you off.”

      Elizabeth learned quickly that the typical request (thirty or sixty minutes of someone’s time) was usually rejected. Busy executives aren’t going to crack open their calendar for someone they have no real connection to. Instead, she would warm them up with context, letting them know the COO’s office recommended them and that she had read about them online.

      Says Elizabeth, “If they have a book, read it, because no one writes to these people and says, ‘I read your book.’” Then tell them, “I was impressed by XYZ, and I’d like to ask you some questions about how you became so successful. Is it possible to schedule a ten-minute phone call? Or, if you’re free, I’d be happy to take you to lunch.” Most people will opt for the phone call, which seems easy in comparison to lunch, and now you have an appointment on the books.

      Another crucial point is timing. Most professionals’ schedules are heavily booked for the next few weeks, so Elizabeth discovered if you ask for a calendar slot “in the next week or two,” you’re likely to get turned down. Meanwhile, asking to connect with them “sometime this year” won’t seem urgent and, even if they agree, may result in an eventual brush-off. Elizabeth suggests the best time frame to request may be “this month or next,” because there are likely to be unscheduled blocks still available.

      Elizabeth often had to persevere through blow-offs or rejections. “One guy said I needed to talk to someone more junior, so I said, ‘I’d like insight from the most successful person in the department, and that’s you.’ ” That line won him over. Another person, in real estate development, screamed at her and said, “I don’t have time to talk to some f#*$@ student; I’m up to my neck in lawsuits!” and hung up on her.