I ghostwrote a blog post for a sales training organization this week. Much of the post focused on the best practice of personalizing any messaging you send to prospective buyers.

It should go without saying that personalization is a no-brainer, but surprisingly most people don’t see it as more than just using the person’s name.

With all the tools at our disposal now, it is the height of laziness to not take the time to look for meaningful ways to connect with someone else on a personal level. Surely you can find something of interest that will resonate with the person.

If not, be advised that your cold or lukewarm outreach attempts will likely fail. I know they do with me. I can’t tell you how many times I get pitched from people who obviously haven’t taken even five minutes to learn something about me or confirm that I’m even a good prospect for them.