How To Make A Good Introduction

If you could meet any living person, who would it be?

While this is the sort of question you might answer on an online dating profile, it’s an important consideration for entrepreneurs. And as a business matter, this question requires a follow-up: What would you do to secure this coveted meeting?

What most people don’t realize is that the most critical aspects of business introductions happen before the handshakes. They aren’t like online dating, and they’re way more complicated than writing a 30-second email. Rather, introductions are based on the strength of relationships.

Steps To Making A Good Introduction

Here are five steps you should take to improve the chances that your introduction will go off without a hitch:

1.     Build Trust

When a contact agrees to make an introduction for you, she’s giving you her stamp of approval. She’s now directly invested in both parties and how the meeting goes.

That being said, before you even ask for an introduction, you must gain her trust. It takes a lot of work for someone to build a strong connection with an industry leader, and she won’t be willing to risk those years of effort on a person she doesn’t trust. You’re much more likely to get that coveted introduction if your contact considers you a friend and wants you to be successful.

2.     Choose Wisely

You probably spent hours brainstorming different investors you’d like to meet, so why not spend just as much time choosing your introducer? The best way to make a solid connection is to ask somebody you trust. If a person you don’t know very well makes an introduction, it could set a negative or awkward tone for the relationship.

Be wary of people you don’t know making unsolicited connections for you — they probably have ulterior, self-serving motives. What’s more, they’re devaluing your relationship. If the person doesn’t appreciate you enough to be thoughtful and build a relationship with you, she isn’t the kind of person you want arranging introductions.

3.     Vet Your Request

If you have a strong connection with your contact, she may naturally try to vet the reasons behind your introduction request. This is a good sign. By asking questions about the goals of your introduction, she can ensure that the parties involved will fit well together.

For instance, if you’re looking for an investor and want to be introduced to Mark Cuban, she might ask questions that deconstruct your request, such as:

• “What is your criteria for an investor?”
• “What are your goals?”
• “What stage are you at?”
• “What terms are you seeking?”
• “Why do you think Cuban is a good fit?”

Based on your answers, you and your contact will be able to determine whether Cuban is the best investor for your situation. It’s possible that she might actually know someone who would suit your needs better, but the only way to know for sure is to dive into the motivations behind your request.

4.     Incentivize

In some instances, your contact may simply want to make an introduction for you to improve your chances of success. In other cases, however, you might want to incentivize the introduction so your colleague will be better inclined to help you execute a solid deal.

You need your contact on your side during the introduction, and incentives like advisory shares, equity, cash compensation, and other referral bonuses can make the introduction mutually beneficial. It’s ethical and fair to include these incentives, and it may also increase your probability of success.

But keep in mind that your contact isn’t going to sacrifice her relationship with the person you want to meet no matter how great the incentives are. This person carries weight with the person you want to meet, can prepare you for the meeting, and can get the other side excited. So she’s going to make sure it’s actually a good fit, which is the best type of partnership outcome you could have.

5.     Send Your Info

Once your contact agrees to make the introduction, the final step is to send her your company information so she can forward it on.

Sending your information is a way for you to do the work rather than putting all the work on the introducer, as well as control how you’re presented to the other person. If edits are required, the person who’s introducing you at least has something to start with and improve upon when making the connection.

Shared contacts will typically send an email with the provided information, a reinforcement that the company is worthwhile, and a request to see whether the other party is interested.

At that point, if the other party agrees to the introduction, your contact will arrange the connection. From there, it’s up to you to seal the deal.

People ask for introductions all the time, but fostering the relationships needed for good connections takes years of hard work. Making strong associations isn’t solely about whom you know; it’s about how you know them. The best introductions don’t come from a transactional place. They occur when the parties involved have a strong relationship and the best possible understanding of what you need to succeed.