CK

How to make effective introductions?

July 3, 2019

How to make intros should be common sense. This is not a rant, but believe it or not, there is a right way to make an introduction. I’m sure most people reading this get inundated with email and email intros. Someone you know sends both you you and someone you don’t know an email with a request; maybe to grab coffee or have a call about a certain topic. I send and receive many emails like this. People connect that way and it is very simple and powerful way to expand networks. However, as you will see, how this is executed matters.

What type of intro emails are out there?

Let’s break introductions down into three groups

What is a 0-sided intro?

This is the worst type of intro someone can do. You decide to introduce two people without asking either for their consent and consider your job done. You leave both parties in an uncomfortable situation and walk away.

What is a 1-sided intro?

Unfortunately this is very common practice and I’d like to make a case against using this approach. It makes sense in some contexts, such as when you expect or know that the recipient is very slow in terms of response time. I have seen this quite often with communicating with the government. For most other cases, it usually goes something like this:

Peter: Hey Mark can you introduce me to Chris? Mark: Hey Chris, meet Peter. The two of you should talk. Bye. Chris: Hey Peter, nice to meet. Thanks Mark for the introduction (moving to bcc)… Peter wants something from Chris but does not know him. Mark likes Peter and thinks there is mutual benefit in making the intro.

This is not optimal for a multiple reasons. Most of the time these emails are composed very quickly with lack of context. Additionally, it could annoy the recipient because it was sent without consent.

A 2-sided intro with a forward-able email

This is the typical way people expect an introduction - a technique coined the ‘double-opt-in’ by Fred Wilson. I try to follow this all the time. To write an email from scratch takes time. Easily 10-15 minutes can be spent on explaining the business, why connecting makes sense and what the request is. A forward-able email reduces work for the introducer and makes it far more likely to be sent.

Lets close this article with a couple of points on what I believe what makes up a good forward-able email:

Something like this:

— — — — Forwarded message — — — 

From: Alex F.
Date: Thu, Jun 01, 2019 at 14:35
Subject: CueUp intro to Brad F.  (investment opportunity)
To: Chris Ked
Hey Chris,

I think Brad F. would be an amazing investor for CueUp.

I am a follower of Brad for years and love his emphasis on 2-sided marketplaces. I would like to get feedback on our business and talk about a potential investment.

Here’s a bit more about our company:

CueUp (YC19S) is building a digital platform for restaurants, a $3B market that has remained stagnant and fragmented since the ‘90s. They are bringing the world’s restaurants online, unlocking …

We now have over 200+ top Berlin restaurants as customers including most of the ABC Group, Pineapple Shop, Dark Cold Beer, etc. The restaurants on the platform are seeing a significant increase in conversion and reservations. We’ve been growing rapidly our key metrics around 44% MoM and are now expanding to Munich and Cologne.

(PERSON) is leading our seed round, we’re oversubscribed but can make room by reducing the allocation on Angel List. I’d love to connect with Brad soon to explore if this is a good fit.

Thanks Chris!
Alex

— — — — Forwarded message — — — 

When I get this email, I add a few lines at the beginning and forward it:

Hi Brad,

Alex graduated the YC19S this year. He is a very knowledgable serial entrepreneur. I highly recommend him and the team for a potential investment. Find the details below in hope you find time to connect:

(INSERT TEXT FROM ALEX)

Chris

How to make effective introductions? - July 3, 2019 - Christian Kedzierski