Fostering Relationships in Tech

Fostering Relationships in Tech

More than ever, engineers need to be well-versed in creating and maintaining meaningful, professional relationships. I’ve met counterparts and colleagues that really know this well, but I’ve also met my fair share of individuals who struggle to initiate communication and foster much-needed connections with people in departments in and outside of the CTO’s purview.

Lacking communication skills can result in frustration and missed opportunities, usually because you will not get the attention and intrinsic respect from people that will mean the success of your goal, project, company and/or personal mission.

Below I’ve copy/pasted some real conversations I recently had with another CTO of a large, well-known and forward thinking real estate investment firm. I’ve included comments at stages within the conversation on some subtleties and explanations on why this works. I’ve also gone ahead and changed some names to protect the identity of partnerships.

In these examples, you’ll see how some careful consideration of the person on the other side of the conversation, and application of learned relationship skills, ended with Patch of Land getting a major new partner that we’re now working with both financially and in knowledge-sharing. Without these skills, it would have never happened.

Started with a cold connection request over LinkedIn:
I accepted his request and took a three minute look over his (impressive) profile. I took the first important step of reaching out while I was still fresh in his mind.

Jack,
Great to connect. I’m close with a couple of folks at your firm – Susan and Tom namely – great to see your history and looks like we’ve got a good bit in common. Can I help you in any way?

 

Best,
Brian Fritton
brian@patchofland.com

Subtleties and explanations:

  • This was a cold connect – I had no idea what he wanted so keep it general and don’t be assuming. Even if you can immediately see something you could do or get from them in a prospective deal.
  • If you have a genuine existing relationship with someone related to them (I did), make sure to mention it but don’t get too into details. It’s important to give them some people they can ask about you – get to the point after this.
  • Establish rapport – I know you’ve heard this one before, but it’s all too often a forgotten part of any introduction. If you don’t make an attempt to say something as simple as, “looks like we’ve got a good bit in common,” your communication can come across as brass, especially in written form.
  • The ask! Figure out what they want, or frankly state your intentions without putting too much of an ultimatum on them. You can see my “ask” clearly and how I leave it on his table since he originally connected with me. If you are the initiator, this works well: “I think there’s a good case for how xyz product/partnership/mentorship would help you. Can I buy you a coffee near your office?
  • Note the contact information and how I did not include my phone number. While I’m pretty good with picking up the line and chatting, it’s often a nerve-wracking experience if the person suddenly calls you and wants to talk. This is a good thing if it happens – it means they’re excited – but if this sort of think trips you up, or leaves you unprepared, I’d advise sticking to email first before entering the next step in the conversation.

His response:

Hi Brian,
Thanks. Just an investor and fan of your business model at patch of land.

I was thinking about a pet project looking at API’s of various platforms like yours. Do you have anything built out?

 

Best,
Jack

Now I know he’s got something going on the side and he’s interested in using our API (we’re the only P2RE site that has one) for a project. Mentally revisiting that he’s a bigwig with years of experience at a firm, I’m going to guess his “pet project” is at least serious enough to warrant fast forwarding the conversation instead of asking about the merits of the project. In my response, I quickly move him to the next step while continuing to put him in the pilot’s seat – something he’ll feel comfortable with.

My reply:

Hi Jack,
Great. Let me know if you’re ever in need of an investment reservation while you review the listing or anything. I’ll be glad to personally take care of you.

 

On the API, yes we do. We’re the only real estate crowdfunding platform out there with one surprisingly – not surprisingly the first though, given our focus on tech first. If you want to shoot me your email, I’ll send over a simple-form mutual NDA and then I can send you RESTful API docs that cover getting our listings, managing investor accounts, and ordering investments on behalf of investors.

 

Hope to meet you in person soon enough!

 

Best,
Brian Fritton
(312) xxx-xxxx

Subtleties and explanations:

  • To make sure he knows I’m still thinking of him first, I offer a simple courtesy to reserve his spot in a future investment at PoL. This also establishes that I know how to run these sorts of relationships and also says a lot about how our company operates: customer service is paramount.
  • I brag a little bit. At the point in the game where you know what you could prospectively do with your new contact, it’s important they get some early primers letting them know they’re talking to the industry “top dog.” In those circumstances, it’s good to talk about what you’re best at, but keep it in context and short.
  • Let them know you’re serious about getting them to the next step – I ask him to sign an NDA. If you need something from them, ask for their email in order to send over a more pointed needs list, or a quick call to get it.
  • Let them know what they’ll get after they do something for you. I plainly list off what I’ll be sending back after the NDA.
  • Finally, make it known you want to keep in contact and that you’re up for more. This individual is in my industry and goes to my conferences. Usually, it’s a good idea to include an offer for coffee, or something of that nature, if you’re in the same town. In this case, I just keep it fluid by saying it’d be good to meet him face to face soon.
  • This time I purposely included my direct mobile number (masked) since I know what he wants, and if he calls I could get to the next step faster and resolve any questions he has without feeling like I’m less prepared. It also says to him that I’m available through multiple channels; again keeping the importance of amazing customer service in mind.

The ending…. or, better yet, the beginning:

Make it easy for people to work with you and think about what you’d be impressed by if you were in their seat. In this case, Jack sent me his email address and I forwarded the NDA already filled out with his information. We had a few more conversations and now our API is serving its job well and we’re doing more business because of it. In a future post, I’ll write on maintaining relationships like this.

I hope this helps you forge great new relationships of your own!  If you have any tips on how to build and nurture relationships through the power of communication please leave a comment and let us know your thoughts.

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