Asking a client for an intro

Your happiest clients are the best intro source you have, and most services firms barely use them. The ask feels awkward, so it doesn't happen.

But a client who's seen your work up close carries more weight with a peer than any case study. When a CIO tells another CIO that your team saved their project, the conversation starts on trust. Cold outreach can't buy that.

Why sellers don't ask

The usual worry is that asking for an intro burns goodwill. The client is paying you. Asking them to do sales work for you feels like overstepping.

That worry is mostly wrong. Senior people make intros all the time. It's part of how they help their peers, and it builds their own reputation as someone who knows good partners. The ask only burns goodwill if it's vague, heavy or badly timed.

So the job isn't to avoid asking. It's to ask well.

When to make the ask

Ask right after a win. When a project hits a milestone, when the client says something nice in a status meeting, when a quarterly review goes well. That's when the value is fresh and they're happy to help.

Don't ask in the middle of a crisis on their project. Don't ask in your first month working together. And don't ask during contract renewal, where it'll feel like a trade.

Timing on the target side matters too. The best intros land when the buyer you want to reach has a reason to talk. Maybe they just started a new role. Maybe their company announced a cost program. Pair your client's goodwill with a real signal at the target account, and the intro has a much better chance.

How to ask

Be specific. "Do you know anyone who might need our help?" puts all the work on the client. They have to think of a name, decide if it fits and figure out how to make the intro. Most won't.

Instead, name the person. Do the mapping first. Look at who your client knows at the accounts you're after. Then ask about one person.

Something like this in person or on a call. "I noticed you and the new CIO at a regional bank we're watching worked together a few years back. They just started, and we think we could help with the core banking work they're likely inheriting. Would you be open to forwarding a short note from me?"

That's an ask with a name, a reason and a light lift.

Write the forwardable note

Never ask your client to write the intro. Write it for them. Keep it short enough to forward without editing.

The note should say who you are in one line, why you're reaching out to this person now, and what you think you could help with. Make it easy for the recipient to say yes or no. And make your client look good for sending it.

Something like this, written to the target and sent to your client to forward.

Congrats on the new role. I lead a team that's been working with your former colleague's group on their data platform for the past year. With the core banking work your team is likely inheriting, my guess is the reporting layer is going to be the first thing that breaks. If that's on your list, I'd welcome twenty minutes. If not, no worries at all.

Your client reads it, adds a line of their own, and hits forward. Two minutes of their time.

What to avoid

Don't ask the same client for intros every month. Once or twice a year, tied to a real win, is plenty.

Don't follow up on the intro by pestering your client. If the target doesn't reply, that's on you, not them. Reach out directly after a week or two and mention the connection.

And always close the loop. Tell your client how it went, whether or not anything came of it. A thank-you and an update make the next ask easier. This walkthrough of the forwardable note covers the writing in more depth.

The return on one good ask

A single warm intro from a happy client can open a $300K engagement at a company that would've ignored ten cold notes. The client spends two minutes. You spend twenty on the note.

That's the best trade in services sales. Make it more often.