Strategies for Effective Virtual Introductions

Tired of your networking introductions going nowhere? You send an email connecting two people who should meet… and then? Crickets. 🦗 You're not doing it wrong—you’re just doing it the lazy way. Here’s the deal: inboxes are a war zone—full of spam, promos, and chaos. If you casually toss an intro over the fence, it will get buried. Example of a dead-end intro: “Hey Larry, meet my friend Dennis. You two should talk. Go make magic happen!” No context. No value. No action. If you really want to make powerful, outcome-producing connections, here’s the playbook I’ve refined over 20+ years: 1. Know who’s who. Decide who benefits most (the beneficiary) and who’s the generous connector (the benefactor). This gives your intro purpose. 2. Prep the benefactor. Before firing off the email, call or text the benefactor. Give them a quick, compelling reason why the intro is worth their time. 3. Send the intro with intent. Subject line: Introducing Dennis to Larry to connect about [topic] In the body: - Pitch why they should meet. - Sell each other's value. Include LinkedIn links. - Keep it short, relevant, and motivating. 4. Coach the beneficiary right after you hit Send. Make sure they respond quickly, keep it brief, and propose a call or meeting within the week. 5. Follow up. Text the benefactor to say the intro email is in their Inbox. If the connection is important, follow up a week later. If the beneficiary hasn't responded, remind them that you are doing a favor and they need to follow up! Done right, this approach works. Not every intro will convert, but your hit rate will skyrocket—and your reputation as a SuperConnector will grow. As I wrote in Love is the Killer App: 💡 “Your network is your net worth. And it grows as you share it intelligently with others to promote their success.” Let’s raise the bar on how we connect people.

Please STOP asking for introductions the wrong way! Every day someone comes to me on LinkedIn, email, or text with: "Hey Steve do you know Julie McLean? I saw you were connected with her. Can you intro me?" or "Steve - been way too long. how well do you know Jamie Shanks?" This is the WRONG WAY! I'm 44 years old and have been working in the professional world since age 21. I think I got on LinkedIn in 2007 during the early days. I've had over 200 companies as clients and trained 5,000+ on prospecting. I've spoken at more than 500 events, webinars, podcast, etc. Duff Man knows a lot of people. Oh yeah! But Duff Man also has four kids, so the memory is going on me. I don't have the brain capacity to remember all of them by name only right off the top of my head. Can you remember all the people you ever met in the real world that you connected with on LinkedIn? Added to that my profile is more of the politician flavor. What do I mean by that? If someone sees me speak and I never met them, they will send a connection request. I accept the connection request. The alternative is to have a closely held network where you know everybody you are connected with. But if you're the public face of a company, that's not a good idea. This leads me to the CORRECT WAY to ask for an introduction. 1) When you get in touch with the secondary connection, include name, title, and company of the person you want to be connected with. 2) In the messaging include a link to their LinkedIn profile. 3) Bonus points if you actually look at my profile compared with the person you want to meet to try to figure out how I might know them. If you mention that in the request, it makes my job a lot easier. 4) In your message to me, include why you think an introduction to them would be a good use of their time. Not a good use of your time. They don't care about you. A good use of THEIR TIME. I can't believe how infrequently this happens. It's shocking. Do your dang 3x3 Research. 5) Finally I strongly recommend that when you make the request, include the email address and mobile phone number of the person that you want to be introduced to. of course if you don't have it that's okay, but most of you probably have a data tool that provides it. why? now I can text them really easily. I can ask if they are cool with me connecting the two of you. or I can email them. In short make it SUPER EASY for the second degree connection to help you! Most people with a massive network are probably at the stage of their career where they want to start to give back. They are probably more than happy to help even if they're not going to get a referral fee. Don't include a lot of friction for them. Make it as easy as you possibly can for them. #salesintroductions #linkedInconnections #seconddegreeconnections

Stop asking "Is there anyone else you could introduce me to?" Getting people to introduce you to others in their network is a powerful networking tactic, but asking in this way usually doesn't work. Here's why: Suppose you ask me "Is there anyone else you could introduce me to?" Think about what you're actually asking me for: I need to: 👉 Remember your experience, skills, and job/company preferences. 👉 Remember your personality, values, and communication style (if I even know these about you). 👉 Scroll through my own network (which has 1000s of potential contacts). 👉 Find ones that perfectly match all those things about you I'm trying to remember. 👉 Craft a message to them (including reminding them who I am and catching up if it's been minute since we spoke). 👉 Write up info about you and hope I represent your experience well. 👉 Find the person's email, copy you, and hit send. Asking someone else to introduce you to others in their network is a BIG ask and something that many people just won't have the time to actually do. So if you actually want an introduction, Make it EASY for them. Here are 3 ways to do this: ✅ Instead of asking who someone else knows, go find them yourself! One of the coolest parts of LinkedIn is that you can go and search/filter someone else's first connections. You literally have everyone else's network at your fingertips. Find the exact people who fit your target companies or job functions or background. Someone is MUCH more likely to say yes to introducing you if you come to them with a specific person vs. if you don't. ✅ Give them content for an intro email. "Here are 3 bullet points about my background and what kinds of roles I'm targeting." Especially if the person doesn't know you that well, this takes the guesswork out of it. ✅ Offer to introduce yourself! Say something like, "I am planning to reach out to ________ and I noticed that you all used to work together. Do you mind if I mention that I know you when I reach out?" This is an easy yes for most people and namedropping the mutual connection makes it more likely the recipient responds. You also get more control over this email actually going out (no more pestering your contact if they sent the intro or not yet). If you want someone to make an introduction for you, you need to do everything you can to make it EASY for the other person to say yes. Take as much "work" of their plate as you can, and that potentially life-changing connection is much more likely to happen. How do you typically ask for introductions, or if you've introduced others, what made it easier to do so? 

Oh man I’ve had some awkward introductions lately… here’s how to NOT SUCK at making intros… Introductions should come with intentionality, permission, and context. Here’s why that matters: 1️⃣ Permission: Before connecting two people, always ask each party if they’re open to the introduction. Respecting their bandwidth and priorities shows consideration for their time and ensures they’re ready to connect meaningfully. 2️⃣ Context: When you make the introduction, offer insight into why you think it’s valuable for both parties. A few sentences about mutual interests or potential synergies can go a long way toward setting up the connection for success. 3️⃣ Respectful Boundaries: Blind introductions without context or consent can lead to awkward exchanges or missed connections. By approaching introductions with respect and providing context, we help build stronger, more aligned networks. It’s not about the number of introductions we make but the quality and relevance of each connection. Prioritize intentionality to create opportunities that truly benefit everyone involved.