How to Use Warm Introductions

Here’s one of my favorite networking tricks. It helped me land more conversations than anything else I did. And I never had to email a "stranger" again. First, I’d land an informational interview. You have to find a way to land at least one to start. During the conversation, I'd be a sponge. I’d take in everything this person was saying, ask good questions, and build a rapport. Then I’d pull out the ace up my sleeve. At the very end of the conversation, I’d ask one specific question: “Is there anyone else you think I should talk to?” The results? Pure gold. Usually they'd recommend a friend / colleague and offer to make an introduction. Warm intros typically mean guaranteed responses, way better than my cold email rates! But sometimes they’d give me a name without an intro. In that case, I’d ask if I could mention them in the email - then I'd drop their name right in the subject line: "Referral from [Name]" That also led to a significantly higher response rate. The best part about this tactic is that it creates a flywheel effect. Every person you meet will lead to you a new connection or two. Over time, you'll be sending fewer cold emails and landing tons of warm conversations. Just make sure to thank each person who makes an intro for you along the way!

Most sellers do referral prospecting backwards. Smart referral prospecting is NOT asking your warm network "Is there anyone in your network who might find value in taking a look at our Legal Time Tracking software?" You're almost always going to hear "Hm, nobody immediately comes to mind, but let me think about it." (They're not gonna think about it) Asking someone to scan through their entire mental rolodex of every single person they know isn't going to get you good referrals. You're asking for too much of the referrer.  -- Here's how I do outbound referral prospecting: 1. Start with the end in mind. Identify the prospect you want to talk to. (If you don't start with the end in mind, you're going to get a bunch of random non-ICP or out of territory intros, if you get any at all) - 2. Find mutual connections who actually know your target prospect. I like mutuals who have shared work history (you can find this in Sales Nav). If that fails, I'll look for shared membership in trade association groups or folks who have spoken on a panel/event together. - 3. Ask your shared contact for permission to make the introduction. Here's what I send: 𝘕𝘈𝘔𝘌, 𝘸𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩? 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 30 𝘔𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘗𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵'𝘴 𝘊𝘭𝘶𝘣 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘕𝘈𝘔𝘌 𝘢𝘵 𝘈𝘊𝘔𝘌. 𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘵, 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘐 𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘧𝘵 𝘢 𝘮𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯? - 4. If your referrer says yes, ghostwrite them a message in THEIR voice. This helps remove as much friction as possible for the person who is making the introduction. Don't worry about including pleasantries in the message you draft (Ex. "Hope you have been well since our days working together at ACME!). I've found that most people delete the pleasantries you write on their behalf so it's not a good use of your time. - 5. If someone makes a referral for you, send them a thank you note + a gift. Seems obvious but this goes a long way. - 6. If you start to find success with outbound referral prospecting, consider adding an "outbound referral blitz" to your weekly prospecting cadence. -- Anything else you'd add re: prospecting for referrals?

Old GTM: Spend $50,000 on tools, spray inboxes, pray. New GTM: Ask your team who they know. Still, most sales teams treat referrals like a favor. I’ve hosted over 70 episodes. Talked to CROs, VPs, founders, and frontline sellers. But this line hit different: “Go-to-network is the new go-to-market.” That’s what 🏄🏼♂️ Scott Leese said on the show. Then 🏀 Stephen Oommen said the same damn thing. And I haven’t stopped thinking about it since. Because here’s the truth: The funnel’s broken. Cold emails are getting Ignored. Cold calls are being Blocked. Personalized messages? Maybe. But still a gamble. But what if... You didn’t start cold? What if... Pipeline started from warm trust instead of forced outreach? That’s go-to-network. And it’s criminally underused. It’s not a big-budget thing. It’s not a tech stack thing. It’s a human thing. It works like this: You ask someone in your circle, “Do you know Sarah from XYZ?” They say yes. You say, “Mind introducing me?” They say yes. That’s it. That’s the play. And it works. Deals close faster. Sales cycles shorten. ACVs grow. Post-sale headaches shrink. Here’s the kicker: Anyone in your company can do this. Engineers. Designers. Ops. Everyone’s sitting on warm intros. And yet, we sleep on it. We treat referrals like some magical thing only VCs or happy customers give. Why? Why not make it a motion? Why not structure it? Why not compensate it like a real GTM channel? Go-to-network isn't new. It's just finally getting the respect it deserves. It’s repeatable. It’s scalable. And it's already in your org. All you have to do is ask. Referrals are your fastest path to revenue. Start using them like a strategy, not just a favor. PS: How are you using your network in GTM today? Follow me → Heath, for more real strategies from the best in sales.

A single coffee chat changed the game for me. ☕️ Not because it led to a job. But because they asked one simple question at the end: "Is there anyone else you think I should talk to?" 🤯 Wow, why had I never thought to ask that? I introduced them to another person in my network who I thought would be a good connection for them. The next time I had a coffee chat, you better believe I used this same strategy. That one question turned one conversation into two. Then those two turned into ten. Before I knew it, I had a full calendar and a growing circle of people who knew my name and my story. Most people stop after one chat, then go back to cold outreach and get frustrated when people don't respond. But networking isn’t about collecting names. It’s about building relationships. And some amazing relationships can be ignited through a warm intro. People want to help. They just need a nudge. The next time you’re on a coffee chat, don’t just say thanks and sign off. End with: 👉 “This has been so helpful. Is there anyone else you think I should connect with as I explore [insert your goal]?” If you're a clinician navigating this networking thing for maybe the first time in your career, this approach can change everything. You don't need to know everyone—just someone who knows someone. Keep the chain going. One chat at a time.