The Three-Sentence Message

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Most corporate professionals who want to build Encore Income spend weeks preparing the wrong things before sending their first outreach message.

They polish their LinkedIn. They rewrite their bio. They draft a rate card. They spend three days on a two-page introduction email.

The message that actually gets a reply is three sentences. This week is about what each of those sentences needs to do.

The template first, because it is the anchor.

Sentence 1: A specific reference.

Not a compliment. Not "I've been following your work." Something only you could observe about their current situation. Something that proves you are not sending a template to a list.

"I saw you joined Meridian in January" is a specific reference. "I've been following your work" is not.

The test: if anyone could have written it, rewrite it. The first sentence has one job -- to make the reader feel seen before you ask them for anything.

Sentence 2: Their problem in their language.

Not your skill. Not your function title. The thing that breaks when someone with your expertise is not in the room, named the way they would name it at 11 PM when it is actively costing them something.

For a finance director: not "financial planning and analysis" -- "You are scaling fast but the numbers are not keeping up with the decisions." For an HR director: not "talent acquisition and org design" -- "You are adding headcount faster than your processes can absorb it." For an operations manager: not "vendor management" -- "Things keep breaking in the same places and nobody is fixing the system."

The test: if it sounds like a job description, rewrite it.

Sentence 3: A low ask.

Not a proposal. Not a deck. Not 60 minutes. "Would it be worth a conversation?" That is the entire ask.

The lower the ask, the higher the reply rate. Every increase in what you request in the first message reduces the probability that anything happens at all.

Three worked examples:

Finance Director: "I saw you took the CFO role at Beacon Partners in March -- congrats on the move. Companies your size often hit a point where the financial reporting cannot keep pace with the decisions being made. Would it be worth a quick conversation?"

HR Director: "I noticed you are building out the people function at Meridian -- impressive growth. When headcount scales that fast, the processes usually lag about 18 months behind. Would it be worth talking through it?"

Operations Manager: "I saw the announcement about the new distribution center -- that is a significant lift. Companies scaling into new facilities often hit vendor coordination problems before the systems catch up. Would it be worth a conversation?"

The common thread: a reference specific enough that it cannot be a template. A problem named in the client's language, not the sender's function title. An ask that costs nothing to say yes to.

Write the three-sentence message for one person on your list.

Not a template. One actual person you know, at a company you know, with a problem you can name.

Before you send it, three questions:

Is sentence one something only I could write? If anyone could write it, rewrite it.

Is sentence two their problem or my skill? If it sounds like a job description, rewrite it.

Does sentence three require effort to say yes to? If yes, lower the ask.

Pass all three. Then send it.

Not financial advice. Example only. Your results will vary.

Of 15 managers who landed their first Encore Income client, the average successful outreach message was 73 words. The shortest: 41 words. The longest: 110 words. None included a PDF. None asked for more than 20 minutes.

The average failed outreach message those same managers sent before finding what worked: over 200 words.

The content did not change. The length and the sequence did.

Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss is the negotiation book that changed how I think about every first conversation.

The core principle -- tactical empathy, naming what someone is experiencing before you ask for anything -- is exactly what sentence two of the three-sentence message is designed to do. The book makes the case that being heard comes before being persuasive, and that the best opener in any high-stakes conversation is one that makes the other person feel understood, not sold to.

This week's recommendation is at mycorporatesuperpowers.com/never-split-the-difference-book-review.

(Affiliate link - I may earn a small commission if you purchase, at no cost to you.)

The three-sentence message is not a shortcut.

It is the output of clarity.

You have to know what problem your expertise solves, who is most likely to have that problem right now, and how to name it in language they would recognize. Finding that clarity takes longer than writing the message. But once you have it, the message writes itself.

P.S. If you write the three-sentence message this week, hit reply and share it. I read every reply, and I will tell you whether sentence two is in your language or the client's.

A few things I've built, if any of them are useful this week.

No pressure on any of it. Take what's useful, skip the rest.

This newsletter is for informational and educational purposes only and is not financial advice. Any figures, projections, or outcomes mentioned are examples based on individual circumstances, not guarantees - your results will vary. Consult a qualified financial advisor before making retirement or income decisions. Some links in this issue are affiliate links, including Amazon Associates - if you buy through them, we may earn a commission at no additional cost to you.