The opening sentence of our pitch1 is our most important. And too many of us are getting it wrong.

自我推銷的开场白最为重要。而我们当中有太多人都做错了。

A man recently connected with me on LinkedIn， and sent me this note： “Let me know if you ever need a writer.”

最近有位男士在领英上与我联系，并向我发送了这样的信息：“您若需要撰稿人请联系我。”

I guess he’s a writer? I don’t know! But I do know this： The phrase “Let me know if you ever need a…” shows up a lot， in my inbox and surely yours， too. I’ve come to think of it as the eight most deadly words in entrepreneurship—because that phrase is the death of opportunity. We should all step back and think： Have we used these words? Have we used similar words? And if so， have we failed to seize the moment?

我猜他是一位撰稿人?我不知道!但我确实知道的是：“您若需要请联系我”这样的措辞在我的收件箱中出现过很多次，当然你的邮箱里肯定也有。我将其视为对创业最为致命的八个字，因为这段话意味着机会的丧失。我们都应该回想一下：我们用过这些词或类似的词吗?如果用过，我们是否未能抓住机会?

“Let me know if you ever need a…”

“您若需要请联系我”

Let’s break it down to understand.

为了便于理解我们分析如下。

First， consider the aspiration¹. This is written by someone hoping to provide a service. If they’re a writer， they’d like to write. Publicists or entrepreneurs might want press coverage²， so they’ll tell me， “Let me know if you ever need a story about a dynamic2 CEO.” A B2B company might want Entrepreneur as a client， so they’ll say， “Let me know if you ever need a better customer service solution.”

首先，考虑愿望。这是希望提供服务的人写的。如果他们是撰稿人，他们想写东西。公关人员或创业者可能希望获得媒体报道，所以他们会告诉我：“您若需要有关充满创新思维的首席执行官的报道请联系我。”企业对企业的公司可能希望发展《企业邦》为客户，因此他们会说：“您若需要更好的客户服务解决方案请联系我。”

But now consider the approach. These people are being standoffish3. Rather than selling themselves， they’re shifting the burden onto someone else to make the sale. If I need a writer， I should reach out to them. If I need a story， I should ask them for an interview. If I need a customer service solution， I should ask them for details. “Let me know if you ever need a…” sounds like an invitation， but it’s really a shrug³. It’s like putting a dollar on a table and hoping someone picks it up， buys a winning lottery⁴ ticket with it， and then gives you the spoils4.

但是现在推敲这种方法。这些人有些傲慢。他们不是在推销自己，而是将推销重任转给其他人。如果我需要撰稿人，我应该联系他们。如果我需要一篇报道，我应该请他们接受采访。如果我需要客户服务解决方案，我应该向他们询问详细信息。“您若需要请联系我”听起来像是邀请，但实际上却满不在乎。这就像在桌上放一美元，希望有人拿起它，用它购买彩票，然后给你分大奖。

I understand where these people are coming from. They don’t want to seem pushy5. They don’t want to appear needy6. They’re afraid of sounding too self-promotional. I can appreciate the instinct. I don’t want to look pushy⁵ either! I’m also turned off by people who appear needy⁶! But their approach misses something critical. “Let me know if you ever need a…” doesn’t propose any value. Is this person a good writer? Is this CEO worthy⁷ of a story? Is this customer service tool beloved by others in my field? I don’t know， because when this person shifted the sales burden onto me， they also shifted the research burden onto me. They gave me no knowledge. They gave me nothing to be excited about. They showed me no opportunity.

我知道这些人的本意。他们不想表现得急于求成。他们不想显得毫无自信。他们害怕听起来过于自吹自擂。我能理解这种天性。我也不想显得咄咄逼人!我也不喜欢没自信的人!但是他们的方法缺少一样关键的东西。“您若需要请联系我”不会彰显任何价值。这个人是不错的撰稿人吗?这位首席执行官值得报道吗?这个客户服务工具是否受到我所在领域其他人的钟爱?我不知道，因为当这个人把推销的重任转嫁给我时，他们也把调研的任务转移给了我。他们没有让我了解情况。他们没有呈现让我感兴趣的东西。他们没有向我展示机会。

Imagine the situation in which I’d assign a story to the writer who said， “Let me know if you ever need a writer.” I would have needed… a writer. Just any writer. Anyone who can string words together. I would have needed to be in a panic， so desperate for someone to contribute to our magazine that I’d stopped thinking about great writers， or good writers， or even serviceable writers， and simply settled for： writer.

想象一下我将报道任务安排给对我说“您若需要请联系我”的撰稿人。我得需要……一位撰稿人。任何撰稿人都可以。任何可以将字词串在一起的人。我得是处于慌张状态，迫切希望有人为我们的杂志撰稿，以至于不再考虑出色的撰稿人、令人满意的撰稿人，甚至是有用的撰稿人，而只是随便抓一个撰稿人。

This is not a situation that exists. The world is full of good options! Me， and you， and everyone else—we are not living in times of scarcity⁸. If we need a job done， there are plenty of qualified⁹ people to do it. Our question is： Who’s the best?

这种情形不会出现。世界充满了不错的选择!我，还有你，还有其他所有人——我们不是生活在人才短缺时期。如果我们要人完成一项工作，有很多人可以胜任。我们的问题是：谁能做得最好?

If you want to create opportunity for yourself， answer that question convincingly.

如果你想为自己创造机会，那就要给出令人信服的答案。

The first thing to do is show someone that you are the opportunity. Hiring you can help them. Telling your story is good for them. Opportunity is not a handout¹⁰. It’s a symbiotic7 matching of needs—you need what I have， and I need what you have， and now we’ve got an opportunity for each other.

首先要做的是表明你就是机会。雇用你可以有助于他们。发你的报道对他们有益。机会不是施舍。这是需求的共生匹配，你需要我所拥有的，我需要你所拥有的，现在我们相互给了对方一个机会。

We need to stop hiding behind ourselves. Get out in front! Sell yourself and your amazing abilities. Understand someone’s problem， and explain exactly why you’re the solution.

我们无须遮遮掩掩。要开门见山!推销自我并展现自己的不凡实力。洞悉问题所在，并详细说明为什么你能解决问题。

“Let me know if you ever need a...”? No. Never. Instead， start with： “Let me explain how I can help you.”

“您若需要请联系我”?不，千万别這么说。你的开场白应当是：“我来说说我能如何帮到您。”

Now I’m listening.

现在我正洗耳恭听。