The worst introduction request is "Do you know anyone who might need our services?" It hands your contact homework. The best one names the person you want to meet, asks permission before anything is sent, and arrives with a short paragraph about you that your contact can forward without editing a word.
That's a double opt-in introduction: the connector says yes first, then the other person agrees to be introduced. Below is the blurb template, three scripts (email, text and LinkedIn), what to do when someone goes quiet, and how to close the loop afterward. The examples follow Jamal Whitfield, who owns Sunny Fork Catering in Raleigh and wants to meet facilities managers at coworking spaces.
Why a warm introduction does what cold email can't
A cold email asks a stranger for attention. An introduction borrows it. The person reading already has a reason to answer: someone they trust vouched for you. You still have to be worth meeting, but you skip the longest part, which is convincing them you're real. If you don't yet have people to ask, how to find your first customer when you have no network starts earlier in the process.
Here's the arithmetic of asking, with made-up but plausible numbers. Jamal asks 10 people for introductions. Six say yes. Four actually send one. Two of those turn into a meeting, and one meeting becomes a customer. So ten asks produce one customer. That isn't a benchmark. It's a reminder that you need to ask more people than feels comfortable, which only works if each ask is easy to say yes to.
Who to ask, and who not to
Ask people who would vouch for you over dinner. That's usually one of three groups: customers who are happy with you, people who've watched you work (a vendor, a partner, a colleague), and professionals who serve the same people you want to meet, such as a commercial real estate broker or an office supplier. Skip people who barely know you. A lukewarm introduction can be worse than none, because it signals you're not important to anyone.
Check one more thing: does the connector actually know the target? Look at LinkedIn or ask. "I think you know Dee Okafor at Brightwork Spaces" is better than guessing. And if you want a more general "who should I talk to" conversation, startup first customer, nobody knows you has other angles.
The forwardable blurb
This is the part that sets a good request apart. Write a short paragraph about yourself in the third person, so your contact can paste it straight into an email to the target. Keep it to 60 to 80 words, with one link and no attachments. Template:
[Your name] runs [business], which [does what for whom]. They've worked with [one proof point, such as a type of client or a result]. They're hoping to meet [target's role] because [one reason it's relevant to the target]. The ask is a 15-minute call. More at [link].
And filled in:
Jamal Whitfield runs Sunny Fork Catering, which supplies weekly lunches for offices of 20 to 100 people in Raleigh. He's catered for two coworking spaces and a law office for over a year. He'd like to meet Dee because her members have asked about on-site food, and he'd like to offer a trial lunch with no commitment. The ask is a 15-minute call. More at sunnyfork.example.
Notice there's a reason that the target would care ("her members have asked about on-site food"). If the blurb only explains why you want the meeting, the target has no reason to agree.
Script 1: email, with the blurb below the line
Subject: Intro to Dee Okafor?
Hi Rhonda, quick favor, and it's fine to say no. I'd love to meet Dee Okafor at Brightwork Spaces, since I think her members would use what we do. I know you've worked with her on the building lease. Would you be comfortable introducing us? Below is a short blurb you can paste. If it's easier, just forward this and I'll handle the rest.
---
Jamal Whitfield runs Sunny Fork Catering, which supplies weekly lunches for offices of 20 to 100 people in Raleigh. [rest of blurb]
Three things are doing the work. The subject line is the target's name, so Rhonda knows the ask at a glance. "It's fine to say no" gives her an easy way out, which makes yes more likely. And the blurb removes the effort. If she says yes, the intro can go out in two minutes.
Script 2: text, permission first
For a close contact, a text is lighter. Ask permission first, then send the blurb only if she says yes.
Hi Rhonda, it's Jamal. Would you be okay introducing me to Dee Okafor at Brightwork? I think her members could use our lunches. Happy to write the intro for you to forward.
When she says "sure," reply with the blurb as one message she can copy. Don't send the long version cold, because a text that scrolls for three screens feels like a form.
Script 3: LinkedIn, when email isn't how you talk
Some contacts only respond on LinkedIn. Send a message to the person you're asking, not a connection request to the target. Keep it a little shorter than the email:
Hi Rhonda, I saw you're connected to Dee Okafor at Brightwork Spaces. I'd like to offer her members a trial lunch. Would you introduce us? I can send two lines you can paste. No worries if the timing isn't right.
If she agrees, paste the blurb into the same thread. Email is still better for the actual introduction, because the target can reply to both of you at once, so ask your connector to move it there.
When the connector says "send me something" or "not sure"
"Sure, send me something I can forward." That is the best reply, and it is why the blurb exists. Send it within the hour, while the yes is fresh.
"I don't know her well enough to introduce you." Take that at face value and don't push. Say: "Totally fair. Is there someone on her team you know better?" or "Would you mind if I mention your name when I write to her?" A name-drop that the connector has approved is lighter than an introduction, and often enough.
"Just email her and say I sent you." Fine, but make it precise: "Rhonda suggested I reach out. She said you might be curious about on-site lunches." Then send the blurb as your first email, written in the first person, with one line saying who sent you.
If they say yes, then go quiet
Give it five business days, then nudge once, in the same thread: "Hi Rhonda, no rush, just wanted to make this easy to do. Want me to draft the note to Dee for you to send from your email?" That's usually enough. If a second week passes, let it go and thank her anyway. Forcing a third message costs more goodwill than the intro is worth. The same logic applies to referrals, covered in how to ask for referrals, and in how to follow up on a referral once one arrives.
Thank them, then close the loop
When the introduction goes out, thank the connector the same day. Then, once you've spoken to the target, tell the connector what happened, even if nothing came of it. Connectors remember whether you reported back. Here is a short version:
Hi Rhonda, thank you again for the intro. Dee and I spoke Tuesday, and she's trying a lunch for her team next week. I'll let you know how it goes. I owe you one.
If the target declined, say so briefly and thank her anyway. Connectors who hear back become repeat connectors. When the intro leads to a meeting, meeting request email templates have wording for the next step, and how to get meetings with decision makers covers the cases where nobody can introduce you.
Introductions are slow and personal, which is why they work, and also why you can't do enough of them alone. Rocketship finds the buyers, emails them from your own Gmail, follows up, and books the meeting on its own. Plans that get you customers start at $24.99 a month (Launch), and every monthly plan starts with a 7-day free trial, card required. See how the AI workers cover the people nobody can introduce you to.