How to respond to email intros
I really enjoy introducing people in my network to one another. This is especially rewarding for me because I love connecting people. In fact, creating meaningful connections is one of the driving principles behind my startup, Social Tables.
My intro emails usually look like this:
Foo, meet Bar. Bar, meet Foo.
Foo, Bar is blah blah blah. I know her through blah blah blah. She’s awesome.
Bar, Foo is blah blah blah. I know him through blah blah blah. He’s amazing. He needs help with X.
I’ll let you two take it from here.
Happy connecting,
Dan
Even though most of my introductions usually take off, my batting average isn’t perfect. Here are several intro “best practices” I have identified through the many I’ve made:
- When you’re the person who needs the help/favor, try to respond as soon as you can (unless you’re a service provider - then you should respond fast so that they take you seriously).
- If you’re trying to schedule a meeting with the other person, offer several times to connect. If you know the other person is very busy, try to be considerate.
- Update the introducer (me!) about how the introduction went. It will make them feel warm and fuzzy inside (and make them want to introduce you to other people they know).
- It is customary for the person who responds to the intro first to move the introducer to BCC.
I am thinking of including a link to this post in all of my introductions going forward. Do you have any tips for making good intros?
