Peter Sims writes:  Expect a 50-90% failure rate the first time you cold-email someone – i.e., no response. If you don’t get a reply, don’t worry – it’s hardly as bad as calling someone cold and having them hang up on you.

It’s not hard to guess or find an email address. Email addresses are usually firstname.lastname@company.com or, if it’s an entrepreneur, firstname@company.com. You can always call the main phone number and say you’re trying to email something to the CEO, and they will usually give the address.

You are politely persistent if you email once every two days, but probably should give up after 3 or 4 tries if there’s been no reply.

For busy execs, the weekends are by far the best time to try to get a note to them since they typically have more time to read something on a computer screen, rather than a device. And a surprising number of executives do read all their email – especially the personal notes. (Schultz famously does, and imagine how many messages he must receive.)  Is A Cold Email to an Important Person Worth Your Time