Three Introduction Blunders to Avoid

Stay away from these mistakes if you want to receive effective introductions from your clients and centers of influence.

By Bill Cates, CSP, CPAE

Iblew it and I knew it. I had botched an introduction and I should have known better. You might as well learn from my mistakes. Here are three blunders I have personally made — the first one very recently — and the lessons I’ve learned. (Yes, even “the referral coach” gets it wrong from time to time.)

Blunder 1 — I Did Not Discuss What the Introducer Would Say

This was my blunder a couple of weeks ago. During a phone call, I asked a colleague to introduce me to someone. I suggested that he not just send an email to the contact, but to create an “email introduction” as well. Later, in an email, I suggested we discuss what he might say to the contact to present me in the best light possible and peak his interest.

Before this conversation went any further, my colleague emailed me to let me know that he has sent a message to the contact and would let me know when he received a reply. A day or two later, my colleague forwarded a response from the contact that he “wasn’t interested” (in so many words). In this exchange, I learned that my colleague had not provided the type of introduction that would have been the best in this situation — an introduction with the right message, the right angle, and the right next step.

Lesson Learned: Tell your referral source: “Here’s what I’ve found works the best” and then get their agreement to make the introduction in the manner that truly works the best for you (and will still be comfortable for the other parties). Never assume that someone knows how to describe your value in the right way for any circumstance.

Always keep your referral source in the loop.

Blunder 2 — I Did Not Learn Anything About the Prospect

I was on the phone with a very happy client. Before I could get the words out of my mouth to discuss a possible introduction, he was already telling me about someone I should contact. I could tell that he was in a bit of a hurry and was about to end the phone call. Should I keep the call going, learn more about the prospect and suggest a true introduction or do I respect these signals that he was sending to me and settle for a name and phone number?

You could say that I “wimped out” or that I “respected his time,” but either way, I hung up with insufficient information to increase the chances of making a good connection with this new prospect. Instead, I went to the prospect’s LinkedIn profile and his firm’s website and learned a few things. I called the prospect twice, leaving short but hopefully effective messages. I never heard anything back from him.

Lesson Learned: If you don’t have the time to learn some good information about the prospect that will allow you to leave more relevant and compelling messages, don’t just rush off and call or email the prospect. Don’t settle. Find a way, either by phone or email, to query your referral source for more information. The most effective questions I like to ask are:

1. What’s going on in his business right now that’s the most important to him?

2. What do you think you will say to him (assuming an introduction) that will peak his interest in hearing from you?

Blunder 3 — I Did Not Keep the Introducer in the Loop

This one happened many years ago and I have not made this mistake again. A client provided me with three decent introductions, one of which resulted in a new client for whom I was going to give a speech about six months from the time of the introduction.

Knowing that I wanted to thank the referral source, I learned that he was a cyclist and rode every week. I purchased a very nice cycling jersey, which I would present to him in front of the group. This would show that we should always “thank the referral source.”

About five to six weeks before the event, I received an email from the referral source acknowledging that he would see me in a few weeks, but written in a tone which suggested that he was surprised to learn that I “got the engagement” when he saw the promotion for the event.

When I saw him before the presentation, he was slightly distant, which was uncharacteristic of him. What saved me in this situation was the presentation of my thank you gift to him. He appreciated the fact that I had taken the time to learn about his passion for cycling and tailored my gift to him. The audience applauded, and his demeanor was back to normal.

Lesson Learned: Always keep your referral source in the loop. You don’t have to overdo it, but an occasional email update is usually highly appreciated by the referral source.

How you get introduced, what you learn, and how you follow through with referrals and introductions truly do make a difference to the results you will produce and your ability to remain referable or “Introducable” in the eyes of your clients and centers of influence.

Bill Cates is the author of Get More Referrals Now!, Beyond Referrals, Radical Relevance and the founder of The Cates Academy for Relationship Marketing. Subscribe to his free referral tips and other free resources at www.ReferralCoach.com/resources. Cates works with financial professionals and their companies to increase sales by attracting high-quality clients through a steady and predictable flow. Contact him at BillCates@ReferralCoach.com.

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