A typical note in my inbox on a daily basis: “Can we hop on a quick call? It’ll be easier to discuss that way.”
My response: “You mean you couldn’t take the time to distill your idea down to 1-2 sentences so I could decide whether to spend my time on this? No.”
Look, I have the same 24 hours in the day that you do. You wouldn’t take that call if the situation was reversed, why should I? Or anyone else?
I get hundreds of pitches each week — sometimes they’re for startups, other times they’re for people trying to sell me something. In all cases, they only suck because the sender didn’t take the time to distill the idea down to the core. And that just screams “we’re going to shoot the shit on the phone for an hour with nothing actionable at the end” to me.
If you want someone’s time, respect it. Don’t ask for more than you need. And always lead with something that’s beneficial for them.