More times than not, our most promising referral opportunities send us on a Fool’s Errand and turn out to be a colossal waste of time. Countless emails and follow-up phone messages go unanswered. You even drop the names of highly respected sources who recommended you, and still—you get nowhere.
There are two very simple reasons we hit a brick wall in these situations: The person you’re trying to reach doesn’t know you, and with that—has no way to gauge the nature of your relationship with your referral source. For all they know, you might just be name-dropping to get yourself in the door. How would this person know otherwise?
When you successfully address these details, the likelihood of your landing an initial meeting will go up exponentially.
Opportunities for these types of introductions and connections arise during networking meetings, referral partner meetings, client meetings, and even some social media exchanges. Keep in mind the Givers Gain Philosophy. You are far more likely to receive sterling introductions when you have a history of providing the same for others. With this in mind, I will share four ways for you, as the referral source, to boost the chances of an associate (whom you are recommending) landing an initial meeting.
Note: These methods are good for describing how you would prefer to be introduced as well!
#1 Phone Introductions
What you might do: “Sure, here is Bob’s number; you can use my name when you reach out to him.”
Instead, try this approach: “Yes, I’ll reach out to Bob for you. I’ll call him by the end of the week, and put in a good word for you. And I’ll call you next Wednesday to let you know whether or not I reached him and how the conversation went, etc.”
#2 Email Introductions
What you might do: “Sure, CC me on the email you send to Rebecca.”
Instead, try this approach: “Let me email an intro letter to Rebecca, and I’ll cc you on it. Send me the information you’d like for me to include, and I’ll get it out by the end of the week.”
Here’s an example of a good intro letter:
“Rebecca: I’d like for you to meet Ted. Ted is a recruiter at Joe’s Recruiting Inc., a company that specializes in placing accountants in central Virginia. Ted recently asked if I know of any hiring managers in the area, and I recalled your mentioning you were looking for a few candidates for a position in Florida.
Ted: Rebecca has been a good friend for years. We did corporate trainings together back in the day, and now she heads up the HR Department at Trust Your Money Accounting. I think she would be a good contact for you as they are constantly expanding their territory and have ongoing hiring needs beyond that of accounting. Happy Networking. -Chris
#3 In-person Introductions
What you might do: “Sure, I’ll see if Liz is willing to meet with you at Charlie’s Restaurant for lunch.”
Instead, try this approach: “Let me see if I can set up a coffee meeting with you and me and Liz so I can introduce you guys. I love your idea, and I think she might love it, too. I’ll call her and give her the skinny on what you’ve got in mind. She is wildly busy, so let’s be sure to keep the meeting short and to the point. She’ll only have about 30 minutes on weekdays, first thing in the morning around 6:00 AM.
#4 Written Introductions
What you might do: “You’d like me to draft a handwritten introduction for you? Why don’t you just email Sheri yourself and drop my name?”
Instead, try this approach: “You really need to partner with Sheri. She is the best real estate attorney in town, and she left me a stack of referral pads for this very purpose. She actually only does for a handful of local professionals she really trusts. She is in high demand and doesn’t take calls from people she doesn’t know. Let me jot down all your contact info and explain why I’m recommending you. You can call her assistant to let her know you’ll be stopping by with this referral note. She’ll get back to you promptly; she always does.”
You can use these methods individually or in various combinations. They also can easily be adapted for use with Skype, texting and various forms of online messaging. Also, if you want to get the most out of these methods, think of yourself as less of a networker and more of a professional relationship broker. You would do well to adopt the mindset of being the person responsible for everyone’s reputation, integrity and trust—(including your own).
Obviously, the strength of any introduction hinges on how well the nominator (the referrer) knows and trusts the person you are trying to reach. None of these strategies will work if everyone is a stranger, so invest time in getting to know the people seeking the referral or offering a referral for you. (See my article on how to develop a Referral Partnership). Your willingness to go out of your way to introduce someone in this manner will pay dividends down the road, especially when someone returns the favor and asks how you specifically prefer to be introduced.
