In the Gift phase, you will contact your Target through email. If your Target works at a company and they have a private email, go to https://emailhunter.co to find their email address.

The goal of this outreach is to have your Target schedule a phone call or informal interview with you, so they can give you the green light to start working with them.

Your Homework: Watch the lesson below, email your Target using the template, then report your results in the form. If you don't have your Target's email address, read this article first so you know how to find it.

If you get stuck, you can always ask for feedback in our Facebook group. You can also schedule a 1-on-1 coaching call with Charlie via his Clarity page, or email charhoehn@gmail.com to request an upgrade to the premium coaching package.

Give Your Target a Gift (Free Work)! Email using the "5 Elements of Influence." Follow up Twice.

Remember: Getting hired isn't luck; it's a science.

Here's a 2-email sequence pitch template, which is very effective and difficult to turn down. In case it's not obvious, be sure to edit this to your particular situation.

SUBJECT: How [Your Company] can earn $2,000 more per month

Hi NAME,

I'm a long-time fan of your work, and I really believe in DESCRIBE THEIR MISSION. I have some ideas about how we can further that and make it even easier for you to INCREASE REVENUE BY $ AMOUNT, REACH # OF CUSTOMERS, ETC. Your work is important, and I believe I can help you get to the next level.

I understand you're busy, so here's my quick bio for reference:

"Charlie Hoehn is a PROFESSIONAL, IMPRESSIVE-SOUNDING TITLE. He has worked with LIST OF CLIENTS, and was able to LIST OF RESULTS WITH #'S (e.g. Increase revenue by $8,000 in the first 30 days, anything impressive). His work has been ["FEATURED IN" PRESS OUTLETS] and PAST CLIENT said "This guy is the best of the best."

Would a discussion about how to INCREASE REVENUE BY $ AMOUNT, REACH # OF CUSTOMERS, ETC. be of interest? If so, Who is the best person for me to connect with?

Email #2

Thank you so much for your response!

Here's my idea: I would love to help you INCREASE SALES / REDUCE COSTS / MAKE CUSTOMERS HAPPIER by doing PROJECT THAT CAN BE COMPLETED REMOTELY. The cost to you? Free.

I am an expert in YOUR IN-DEMAND SKILL SET. I've worked with CLIENTS OR COMPANIES YOU'VE HELPED, and helped them achieve RESULTS. Here is a sample of the quality you can expect from me: LINK TO YOUR ONLINE SHOWCASE, OR SAMPLE OF YOUR WORK

I don't normally discount my rates, but I'm willing to do this project for free. I'll send you a few brief updates on my progress for the next two weeks. If you don't like my work, you can scrap it and move on (no money lost, and no hard feelings from me). But if you do like my work, I'd love to discuss a few more ideas for helping you with your business, and the potential of a more formal work arrangement.

Would a discussion on how to help you ADVANCE YOUR MISSION be of interest? If so, let's set up a call. Does this Thursday @ 1:30p or 3:00p EST work for you? I can be reached at PHONE #.

Skeptical? Not sure this will work for you?

Just watch this TEDx talk by my former intern, Ed Druce, who used a variation of this email sequence to get hired multiple times by Targets he wanted to work with.

How to Present Your Gift

When you present your Gift to your Target, three things should be *immediately obvious* to them:

1. Your gift is RELEVANT. Your work should demonstrate that you have a clear understanding of your Target's mission and their current priority. Your gift should be timely (useful right now), or timeless (useful forever).
2. You are giving them READY-TO-USE WORK. Don't make your Gift into a homework assignment for your Target; if you're asking them to do more work on a "Gift" that you started but didn't finish, they will ignore you. For instance, people send me guest posts, and I almost never accept them. Why? Because they're creating an editing assignment for me. If the next step for your Target requires a lot of effort or time on their part, you're not doing the Gift right; do it for them!
3. You are DOING THE JOB ALREADY. What is the job that you're applying for require you to do? Don't wait for them to tell you it's okay to get going; just try your best and do the work, in a way that won't damage their brand or make you seem like a know-it-all.

Here's an example of a student who put together a solid presentation for his Gift, using Keynote's Record Slideshow feature. I provided feedback on how to make his Gift's benefits crystal-clear.

Aligning Your Gift with Your Showcase

This is a case study of student Darvinder, who wanted to give a gift to Tucker Max (founder of Book In a Box). In this lesson, I dissect his Showcase and Gift, and point out some of the subtle things that he can do to improve his chances. Even though I generally don't recommend reaching out to most people within my network, this is a good example with principles that apply to everyone.

What If My Target Doesn't Respond?

This is bound to happen to you at some point, especially if your Target is someone who is very busy and gets bombarded with messages all day long (e.g. Mark Cuban). The important thing here is to NOT throw a shit-fit and act like they're ignoring you. Don't continually pester them until you annoy them into a reply. Be professional, courteous, and respectful in your follow ups. Assume the best: that they are busy working on more important projects, and that they don't have the capacity to get back in touch just yet.

This is why doing a proper Audit is so critical. You need to know if your timing is good or not.

Here are the steps to take in order to confirm they've received your message:

1. Send a follow-up email 3-5 business days later. "Just wanted to make sure my message didn't slip through the cracks. If now is not a good time, would you mind replying back with 'No thanks'? :)"
2. Do they have an office? Have you tried calling?
3. Get on Linkedin and see if you have mutual friends that connect you. Ask your friend if they'd be willing to forward your message.
4. If they are on Twitter or Facebook, send them a quick message. Sometimes other channels are easier.
5. If they still don't respond, follow up in 2-4 weeks. Occasionally, people are focused on other projects.

Case Study: Here's an email that a student wrote to Shyp.com, which didn't receive a response...

My Comments:

Hey Jeff, this is pretty good but the messaging is a little verbose, doesn't make the gift super clear (it's buried late in the email), and it's not obvious what the next steps are for them or if you've fixed this issue already (always try to get as close as possible to fixing it on your own without their help).

Instead of EXPLAINING to them how this is a problem and talking about how smart you are, just SHOW them the solution and tell them exactly what they need to do -- with as little effort on their end as possible. Rather than saying "The best way..." and all that follows, you go straight into showing them the solution to this problem.

I'd write them another email and say:

"Hi Lauren, just following up in case this slipped through the cracks :)

Please consider using the attached document as a blog post titled "How to Use Shyp for Etsy." This will allow you to control the top Google result for that search (right now, the #1 result is a negative discussion about Shyp, which is hurting your brand).

If you prefer not to use it, I totally understand and no hard feelings from me. I really love Shyp, and I'd love to help advance your mission to make shipping a better experience."

Then write back to them a couple more times with other stuff you've worked on to help them, but DON'T expect anything back. Just keep giving and giving, not creating work for them or being obnoxious, always helping (never hurting) their brand. Eventually, they won't be able to ignore you.

The idea of getting bloggers to write about Shyp is nice, but unlikely. The better thing to do is create a video review of YOU using Shyp in a unique exciting way, then sharing it with bloggers / sites who might think it's cool.

When You Have an Interview / You're on the Phone with Your Target

Use this worksheet to guide your conversation and secure the gig!