Asking a partner firm for an intro

A partner firm will make an intro when it helps them win too. If your ask only helps you, it goes to the bottom of their list.

Partners can be software vendors whose platform you implement, other services firms with a different specialty, or advisors who work the same accounts. They know the buyers. They've been in the room. The trick is making the intro worth their time.

Why partners say yes

A partner makes intros for three reasons. It helps their client. It helps their own deal. Or it builds goodwill they can call on later.

The best asks hit the first two. A software vendor who just sold a platform wants the implementation to go well, since a bad implementation becomes their problem. If you're the firm that makes it go well, the intro helps them.

Another services firm might be strong in strategy and weak in delivery. If their client needs delivery, introducing you keeps the client happy and keeps the strategy firm in the room.

Find the version of the intro that serves them, and lead with it.

Pick the right partner contact

Partner relationships live with people, not logos. The alliance manager at a software vendor is not the same as the account executive who owns the client.

Ask the person who's closest to the account. Usually that's the vendor's account executive or customer success lead, or the engagement lead at the other services firm.

If you don't have that relationship yet, start by being useful to them. Refer them business. Share what you're seeing at a shared client. The intro comes after the relationship, not before.

Make the ask specific

Name the account, the person, and why now. A partner can't act on "anyone at your manufacturing clients."

Say what you think the client's problem is. A partner who knows the account can tell you whether you're right, and their correction is worth a lot.

And say plainly what you'll do and what you won't. Partners worry that an intro will lead to you competing with them or overselling. Tell them where your work starts and stops.

Write the forwardable note

Make the intro easy by giving them something to forward. A short note, written to the buyer, about the buyer's problem. The forwardable note post covers the structure.

Say a cloud data platform vendor just closed a deal with a regional health plan. The vendor's account executive mentions the client has a tight timeline to move off an old data warehouse, and a new VP of Data started this fall.

You started as VP of Data this fall, right as the move to the new data platform got signed. Leaders in your seat usually end up owning the cutover date without having picked it. My guess is the hard part isn't the platform, it's moving the claims and member reporting without breaking what the business runs on today. Is that right, or is the bigger risk somewhere else?

The vendor can forward that without worrying. It's about their client's success, and it doesn't pitch against them.

Tell the partner what happened. A short note after the first conversation, good or bad.

If the engagement goes ahead, make them look good. Mention them to the client. Keep them informed. Send them the next opportunity you see where their product fits.

Partnerships run on reciprocity. A partner who sends you two intros and gets nothing back stops sending.

What to avoid

Don't ask a partner for intros at accounts where you'd compete with them. That ends partnerships.

Don't ask for intros you can't deliver on. If the partner introduces you and you fumble the work, their reputation takes the hit.

Don't ask for a list. One account, one person, one reason. Lists feel like a chore.

And don't skip your own network first. A partner intro is great. A client or former colleague who knows the buyer directly is usually better. See asking a client for an intro.

Partner intros work when both sides win. Build the relationship, make the ask about their success as much as yours, and return the favor every time.