Sales Intros
How to leverage happy clients without being sleazy.
The Danger Zone
Asking a current customer to introduce you to a prospect is dangerous. You are asking them to spend their social capital to help you make money. If the prospect feels sold to, your customer looks bad, and you risk churning your own account.
The "Value-First" Forwardable
You cannot use a standard forwardable for a sales intro. The blurb must be framed entirely around the value the target will receive, not the product you are selling.
To: [email protected]
Subject: Intro to [Target]?
Hi [Client],
Thrilled to see the Q3 results we hit together. I noticed you're connected to [Target Name] at [Target Company].
Would you be open to forwarding them a quick note? No pressure at all if you aren't close or prefer not to.
Blurb for forwarding:
[Client Name]'s team just used [Your Product] to cut their [Specific Metric] by 30%. Given [Target Company]'s recent expansion, I put together a quick 2-page tear-down of how they could replicate that specific workflow. Happy to send it over if useful.
Best, [You]
Rules for Sales Intros
- Only ask your champions. Never ask a client for an intro unless you have objectively proven ROI for them recently.
- Give them an easy out. Always include "No pressure at all if you aren't close." If they hesitate, drop it immediately.
- Offer collateral, not a call. The ask in the blurb should be to send over a high-value asset (a tear-down, an audit, a specific template), not "a 15-minute demo." Let the target opt-in to the asset first.