Hi,
Whichever department of publicly traded companies I try to get in touch with, I always end up being declined. Sometimes they state the reason why. Sometimes not. The most success I had so far is only getting the permission to send email to Corporate Communication departments and I trust them that they really forward my email message to the wanted department or even board member. However, it always ends up that I'm declined. Sometimes stating the reason why, which is extremely complex to bypass and light years away from regular sales objections (I'm not selling anything!), sometimes they just decline without giving the reason. Sometimes they never respond. Even if I try to get in touch with someone from wanted department on my own using direct phone number, they sometimes decline picking up the phone just because of my unknown number. Sometimes they decline speaking with me after two or three seconds on the call, before I even finish introducing myself. It's because they don't know me. They don't know the firm I'm representing and are not willing to listen to find out what kind of gigantic benefit would they have out of our value. So I was trying to leverage someone else's trust and already built well established relationship but failed. The farthest I came is getting partner of law firm to agree to forward my email message but I would need by far more than that. I'm referring to the firm they advised to the ''wanted'' company I want to get in touch with and get their willingness to talk. I was also approaching, besides law firms, bankers (who are unfortunately in my case competitors), PR agencies, etc. but no progress. Could anyone please explain what should I do and what should I say to get them willing to help and use their already created well known name (known to the company I want to get in touch) so they would be willing to do the discussion with me and our firm?
Dear Writer,
thanks so much for taking the time to write this. To answer this a) I need the background on what you are trying to sell, e.g., are you a law firm and b) what your ultimate objectives are - eg., you write getting attention, what I mean with is it important to have this type of client or do just do this to get some branding. Since I don't have this I'll do my best and give the following tips:
- Network using LinkedIn, many times positive experience can be done using these platforms
- if it is generally a sales exercise, and you werent successful experiment with lead agencies that give you qualified leads
- if it is important for you to leverage their specific brand, offer a smaller free service package in return for using their logo or if you can afford give them your full service for free - and important for professionality reasons it should still be optional for them to give you the reference, so find someone who is willing to but offer it optionally
- work heavily with testimonials and give referees they can call from other client segments than you have
Of course I can tailor my advice much better to your situation in a call. I would be delighted to help.
Experience:
15+ years in financial services, strategy, and stakeholder management. Certified Capital Markets & Securities Analyst (CMSA) and founder of AUROCKS Finance, advising startups and executives on strategic positioning, investor communication and finance.
Answer:
When trying to reach decision-makers at large public corporations, the challenge isn’t access — it’s credibility transfer. Even when you have a trusted intermediary (like a corporate law firm or advisor), you’re still asking the company to take a reputational risk on someone they don’t yet know.
To make that bridge work, you need three layers of positioning:
1. Relevance over relationship: Instead of relying solely on introductions, frame your outreach around a specific, time-sensitive issue that aligns with the company’s current priorities (regulatory change, innovation mandate, ESG target, etc.). The clearer the overlap, the easier it is for your intermediary to justify the connection.
2. Authority through association: Prepare a short positioning brief — one paragraph that shows your expertise, key achievements, and what makes your perspective useful to their leadership. The intermediary can forward this as a value add, not a favor.
3. Controlled escalation: If the law firm is hesitant to directly connect you, ask them to mention your name during their next touchpoint or include you in a related discussion rather than forwarding a cold email. It’s often the softest but most credible entry point.
Ultimately, your goal is to minimize friction — make it easier for the intermediary to look good by introducing you than by declining to do so.
If you’d like, I can help you draft a short credibility packet and introduction script that maximizes trust transfer and raises your success rate with corporate gatekeepers.
