THE WAY TO SELL YOURSELF

Our opening sentence is our most important. And too many of us are getting it wrong.

- JASON FEIFER

A man recently connected with me on LinkedIn and sent me this note: “Let me know if you ever need a writer.” I guess he’s a writer? I don’t know!

But I do know this: The phrase “Let me know if you ever need a…” shows up a lot, in my inbox and surely yours, too. I’ve come to think of it as the eight most deadly words in entrepreneurship— because that phrase is the death of opportunity. We should all step back and think: Have we used these words? Have we used similar words? And if so, have we failed to seize the moment?

“Let me know if you ever need a…”

Let’s break it down to understand.

First, consider the aspiration. This is written by someone hoping to provide a service. If they’re a writer, they’d like to write. Publicists or entrepreneurs might want press coverage, so they’ll tell me, “Let me know if you ever need a story about a dynamic CEO.” A B2B company might want Entrepreneur as a client, so they’ll say, “Let me know if you ever need a better customer service solution.”