The best way to break the ice is also the most obnoxious

Most of us ignore cold calls, emails and post on autopilot.

According to blog Priceonomics, even if a cold sales email is really relevant and well written, only between two to five per cent of people will actually reply.

But it turns out the simplest way to get people to respond is also the most obnoxious: "gratuitous name-dropping" will make a recipient between 111 per cent to 468 per cent more likely to look at the email.

'Social proof' is the psychological phenomenon that causes someone to think you must be awesome purely because they know other people think you're awesome.

Hiplead, who tested out whether dropping names would work, found that the more famous the connections, companies and clients mentioned, the better. The number of people who emailed them back tripled.

Good news for anyone thinking about starting up a new venture. Bit rubbish for dinner parties.

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