I have spent too many years sending referral requests that made sense only to me.
“Can you introduce me to anyone in your network?” sounds reasonable when I write it. To the person receiving it, it is usually a small research project.
They have to decide who might be relevant, remember what I actually do, figure out whether I want a job, a customer, advice, or money, and then compose a message that makes me sound credible without overstating the relationship.
That is a lot of work to attach to a favor.
At coffee last spring, I was talking with Maya, an experienced operator who was moving from fractional work into a full-time COO role. She had a good reputation and at least ten people who would have been happy to help her.
She had also sent most of them some version of: “I’m starting to explore what might be next. Let me know if you hear of anything.”
Nothing happened.
Our conversation went like this:
“I know three people who could probably help you,” Maya said. “I still haven’t introduced you…
