How to Network with Millionaires via DM

20 years ago, when you wanted to sell your services to someone else, you had to show up to an in-person event, with a stack of business cards in your pocket, and a well-rehearsed elevator pitch ready to go after you charmed your way through a few minutes of small-talk.

The Internet has broken down all physical barriers that existed in the past.

Today, a skillful DM can lure the curious party to your profile, which establishes authority and does the heavy lifting for you.

A well thought-out DM process can lead to an incredible business relationship that can yield a lifetime of value.

But anyone active on social media with a significant amount of influence, fame or wealth is being bombarded by DMs daily. They’ll never bother to read it, right? DMing them is a waste of time, no? Wrong.

Do you want to know a little-known secret? Even the largest accounts skim their DMs, in case there is something of value to them. They don’t want to miss an important opportunity.

How can you increase your chances of standing out? Let me show you.

The Power of the DM

I’ve seen it all. Agency owners who have landed a lucrative client via DM. Smaller creators who’ve had their work shared by larger creators. Videographers who’s outreach led to a full-time job. The list in endless.

Yo Gotti was right. It goes down in the DM.

But 98% of DMs are a waste of energy. For you, and the recipient.

• “Hey how are you?”

• An immediate sales pitch or ask

• “Can we hop on a call?” shudders

• A wall of text that no one in their right mind will read

• Everything else in the screenshots below (real examples from my inbox over the last few weeks)

Or, the DM is semi-well crafted, but it leads to a horribly optimized profile. Here is an example:

The DM wasn’t terrible, but the profile it led to was just a complete waste of both of ours time. His bio nor content has nothing to do with what he is offering, nor does he have a link with more information.

5 Steps to a Well-Crafted DM Strategy

The first step to a great DM strategy, is to build, be, or have done something great.

The best networking happens by doing cool shit. The best relationships are founded on a mutual respect for what each other have built.

Sorry. Did you think this was going to be an easy hack? A simple sentence you could generate through a secret ChatGPT prompt?

Nah.

This will take time, patience and commitment. A business relationship is just like the romantic relationship you want – you have to be worthy of the partner you aspire to have.

1) PROFILE

The first step to this puzzle is to craft a good profile. You have to strengthen your personal brand.

This doesn’t mean that you need a lot of followers. On the contrary. All you need is to be able to prove that you are legitimate. Someone that can be trusted. That you are good at what you do. That you are someone that can overdeliver in solving a problem for the recipient of the DM.

We go into extreme detail on how build a strong personal brand in Unsigned, but here are the ultra basics on how to craft your profile.

A) A succinct bio explaining who you are, and how you can be of value. And an informative link for those seeking more information. Let’s use my friend JT as an example:

B) Strong, effective content that builds authority. Strategically pinning posts is important as well. Most people pin the posts that got the most views. That’s not necessarily a bad strategy as it shows your ability to drive attention.

I recommend pinning the posts that most effectively help to build trust. Here’s a loose strategy you can use:

• Pin one post that tells your story.

• Pin one post that builds your authority.

• Pin one post that promotes your product/service or lead magnet.

2) COMPLIMENT

People love compliments. In a sea of pitches, asks and salesmanship, an actual compliment is refreshing. Especially if it’s heart-felt.

It can be as simple as the one I just received today.

Perhaps this is someone with something to sell, pitch or ask for in the future.

But the fact that they took the time to lead with a compliment, is important. It’s appreciated. A compliment of course doesn’t guarantee a yes to anything in the future, but because of basic psychology, it improves the chances.

Try to put some effort into the compliment. Here’s where you can show real interest in them. Make it genuine. Make it heartfelt. Instead of “love your work” you can go into detail what makes you like it.

This will increase your chances of getting a response.

A response is very important.

Any sort of lower-effort response, like a basic thank you, opens up a line of communication.

A reciprocated compliment is fantastic. That means you’ve optimized your profile well. That means that you’ve done cool shit. They are impressed.

Now a little bit later down the line, you can follow up with value.

3) VALUE

Just because you receive a response – do not go directly into pitch mode. Especially if a compliment wasn’t reciprocated.

Most people will be immediately turned off.

Here’s where you can add value.

Offer a resource or connection that they may find useful. Perhaps it’s someone in your network that may be of mutual benefit. Maybe it’s an actionable tip with proven results.

As an example:

“I noticed in that last video you were trying to direct traffic to your podcast. I recommend ManyChat to assist with this. I heard that Jane Doe was able to drive 300% more listeners using this tactic.”

Ideally you want to tailor the value add to your expertise.

4) EVEN MORE VALUE

Here’s where you could ask for a 15-minute call to get to know them better.

I would only recommend this if a follow-back was earned or if a compliment was reciprocated.

Otherwise, I would add even stronger value.

If you do this right, you won’t even need step 5. They might just be asking you if you’re available for hire.

5) ASK

At this point, you’ve been a valuable asset to them. They have developed an affinity for you, and appreciate the connection that you’ve built.

They respond thoughtfully, and you have engaged in meaningful.

They are ready to return the favor. It’s time for the ask.

Just like posting content frequently expands the surface area of your brand, so does DMing.

And they both require you to jump over mental hurdles.

Posting consistency requires you to defeat overthinking and fear of what other people may think.

Nonstop DMing requires you to overcome a fear of rejection.

But both are important. Some of my most important relationships have been sparked by a DM. And so will yours.