Coach Mike,

How would you respond to someone who says “I’m exploring options but I don’t want to talk to someone who just calls me out of the blue.”? Laurie D. AZ

Hi Laurie!  I would send her a LinkedIn invite, give her a chance to view my website and my LinkedIn profile to build some credibility.  I would wait a couple of days and send a brief note, through LinkedIn inviting her “to explore an opportunity that might be potentially stronger than her current situation.”  This way you back-off a bit as my sense is she’s perceiving this approach as very aggressive.