Hi there,

each company has their standardized syntax in how they set up their e-mail addresses. Often it is firstname(dot)lastname @companyname(dot)com. So you might as well try that. Sure, there could be multiple people with the same name at the company - then it's ambiguous. 

But more importantly, I'm not sure why you'd need their business e-mail if you could just message them via LinkedIn. I realize this is a personal preference and might not align with what others will say on here, but I was much more inclined to respond to  networking inquiries via LinkedIn than to a random message from someone I didn't know that landed in my work inbox. 

Plus I would also get a lot of e-mails from research companies and expert networks trying to sell me subscriptions to their services. To me, this was all the same bucket that I mostly ignored.

Just food for thought.

Good luck

Hi there,

I think this is an interesting question that may be relevant for many people. I would be happy to share my thoughts on it:

• First of all, all companies have a standard email format, such as [first name].[last name]@[company name].com. Moreover, you may check the consultant's LinkedIn page for their contact information.
• Nevertheless, I would highly advise you to reach out to people you do not know (well) via LinkedIn for the simple reason that LinkedIn was built for professional networking purposes and receiving e-mails without having shared one's own e-mail address might feel intrusive.
• Lastly, please keep in mind that it is way more important what you are going to write and tell them than contemplating about the first contact medium.

If you would like a more detailed discussion on how to address your specific situation, please don't hesitate to contact me directly.

Best,

Hagen

Hi there,

while Consulting firms usually have a standard convention of email addresses, I'd strongly suggest you don't just cold-call consultants, as

• … it comes across as rude & intrusive; AND
• … yields low response rates

Instead, suggest you use LinkedIn / other social networking tools, or ask people already in your network to put you in touch with Consultants in their network. The latter is much more effective.

Hope this explains. Please feel free to reach out, if you'd like to learn in more detail about how to best network with the top consulting firms.

Regards, Andi

You shouldn't.

Message directly on LinkedIn.

If that's not working, you're doing it wrong.

Please make sure you message in the right way.

I would say 80% of the messages I see are terrible and result in no response.

You need good English/grammar. You need to be short/concise. You need to demonstrate your Ethos. And you need to give them a “feeling” of wanting to respond.

(editiert)

Ideally you don't, as it comes out as a bit intrusive / aggressive. You should reach out through linkedIn. They'll get your message and will reply if they want to.