Sometimes when we are doing our research we struggle to find someone to contact or call on. An IMPAX client recently had this very experience. He was coming up short with his contacts, needed someone new to call on, and didn't know where to turn. 

He tried a unique strategy. He put together an email listing of his personal and professional network. He then sent an email to the entire list. It was a simple email, stating that he was calling on XYZ Inc. and could use some help. He asked his network if any of them knew anyone at XYZ, or knew anyone that knew anyone at XYZ.

It took only a couple of minutes to do this, but the payback was significant. He got a number of responses to his email. The most important response was from a friend who said that his next door neighbor, who was also a close friend, was the CFO of the company. Our client was able to leverage this relationship to continue his research and to gain access to the decision maker. 

It was a great reminder that one of our greatest assets is our network, which is useless unless we leverage it.