The forwardable ask in Stage 1

Most intro requests fail before anyone says no. The ask is vague, the connector has to write the introduction themselves, and the seller never tells them how it went. The connector does it once and quietly stops helping.

Stage 1 runs the whole introduction as one flow. Six steps and five emails, and only one of them goes out under your connector's name.

The ask

The day you approve an account, Stage 1 sends the ask to your mutual connection on LinkedIn. It names the person you want to meet and, when Stage 1 can tell, how your connector knows them. With review before sending on, it waits for your approval like any other message. It gives a specific reason for 20 minutes, built from the hypothesis about the buyer's problem.

Then it makes yes easy and no easier. It says it's fine to say no. It says nothing would land on them, you'd send everything so there's nothing to write, you'd treat the buyer the way they would, and they'd hear how it went either way. It ends with a clean out. If it isn't something they're comfortable with, they can just say so.

The ask carries one more thing. A short line they can send the buyer first to check, so nobody gets an introduction they didn't agree to.

The handoff after the yes

The drafted introduction waits for the yes. Sending it before they agree is still a push.

When your connector says yes, Stage 1 drafts the handoff. A thank-you, and an email they can copy straight to the buyer with you copied. The subject line is the two names with a <> between them, the way a real introduction looks. The body introduces you, uses your vouch line if you saved one, names the buyer's role and steps out.

The handoff says it plainly. Change anything that doesn't sound like them, and if they'd rather write their own, that's better.

The same-day reply

When the introduction happens, you mark it Introduced and Stage 1 hands you the reply. You thank your connector and move them to bcc. You give the buyer the problem you think they have, in one line, with a proof point if your Brain has one. You offer a time. And you give them an out. If that isn't happening at their company, they can say so and that's the end of it.

Send it the same day. Speed is the first thing the buyer learns about you, and your connector sees it too.

The report back

Within a week, you tell your connector how it went. Stage 1 drafts the note from what happened. A meeting booked or an interested reply gets a thank-you that says it was a good call. A no gets an honest note that it wasn't where your firm is strongest. Silence gets a note that you wrote the same day and haven't heard back, and there's nothing for them to do.

If it doesn't happen

With the ask out, the direct opener to the buyer waits six days. If your connector says yes, the buyer never gets the cold opener. If they say no, the direct sequence starts right away. If they don't answer in six days, the opener goes out on its own. Either way, the direct note never uses your connector's name.

Why it matters for services

Your connector is spending a little of their own credibility on you. A services firm lives on that kind of credibility, and you'll want the same person's help again next year. The flow is built so they look good at every step. They never write anything, they never get surprised, and they always hear back.

For where the introductions live once they're out, see tracking intros as pipeline. For the craft, see double opt-in intros done right and how to thank a connector.

The point

An introduction is a favor. Stage 1 asks for it cleanly, does the writing, and closes the loop every time.