3/12/2025-Ask for an intro, then act fast!

Once you get inside an org, flip the switch that unleashes your referral monster. Ask every customer with whom you meet to help you meet others inside their org.

You gotta act fast when doing the "can you introduce me to so-and-so" thing.

Your opportunity window is a millimeter open…max.

If your buyer doesn’t act within 24 hours, fuhgeddaboudit, there are just too many things s/he will be distracted by.

While you need to ask for referrals in every meeting – F2F and Zoom – realize the asking is easy. The hard part is getting your customer to act.

Make it as easy for them as possible and you’ll increase your odds for success.

Within ten minutes after your next pitch meeting, send an intro note for your customer to use. (Skip the silliness about, "Do you want me to write the note for you?" Just do it.)

Make your email short and emphasize what’s in it for them.

Nudge your customer doing the intro once before the end of the day and again the next morning. If they don’t respond within a few days, send another nudge within a week and pray that’s what it takes to get them to act.

It is so much easier to get an appointment through a warm referral than to bang your head against the wall by cold-emailing prospects.

Writing "Jeff sent me" in the email header can do wonders in opening doors.

Once you get inside an org, turn on the referral monster that lives inside of you: ask for an intro to another buyer in the org at every meeting.

The asking is a good first step, but you’ll also want to qualify to learn insights about your new buyer. Ask your client friend to give you insights about the individual you’ll soon be meeting with…how about stuff like:

1. How much power (influence) does wield?

2. What do you know about <Susan’s> opinions and biases of offerings like ours?

3. What’s the working relationship between you and ?

Intros and information are powerful forces in sales. Tactics are important, too. Get as much upfront info as possible while your buyer-friend agrees to make an intro.

In this charming montage, you’ll notice that personal introductions can be simple and nuanced. But in all cases, an enthusiastic smile, a firm handshake, and sincere eye contact go a long way.

The same applies to how you treat your referrer.

Thanking them for their pledge with a warm handshake and a smile at the end of a F2F meeting shows gratitude, and it may add a subtle dash of obligation to get them to act.

Can’t hurt!