A little while ago I was lucky to hear an excellent, well informed speaker give a great presentation.
Following the talk, myself and a few others were able to grab him and have a quick chat before he vanished out the door. When we exchanged business cards it was noticeable how he carefully chose careful which of his cards to give us.
Later I sent a follow up email thanking him for his presentation and was surprised to receive a “not known at this address” reply.
As someone who’s used to being given fake phone numbers scrawled on beer coasters, this is not an unknown disappointment but it was still surprising to receive it from a professional.
For busy people it’s understandable not wanting to give out a personal email address to someone you barely know. But giving a bogus address seems to be very risky.
In my case, it’s just a matter of slightly hurt feelings, although I wonder how many opportunities that person misses because they misjudge the value of the person they are speaking to.
A better option is to have a professional email address that your personal assistant monitors and deals with as they see appropriately.
Manners, respect and not burning down bridges before you’ve even approached them are all good ways of working in the business world.