David A. Fields Consulting Group Bernie’s Bagel Empire (BBE) is the perfect client for your consulting firm. They’re in an industry your consulting firm targets, and Bernie himself revealed in a recent trade magazine article that his company is struggling with the wheaty weighty challenges your consulting firm solves. There’s just one problem:
Even though you’ve consumed their products a time or two (hundred), you don’t know anyone at BBE.
You could try cold messaging Bernie or someone else at BBE via LinkedIn, of course, but it’s unlikely you’ll connect to your target or receive a call back.
You could send a provocative email, but since they don’t know you or your consulting firm, your missive is probably destined for the Trash folder, unread.
You could snail-mail some sexy consulting collateral, but in most cases, that receives a quick glance before becoming waste-basket filler.
Cold outreach of any kind is extremely ineffective for consulting firms. Particularly if you’re chasing one, specific target. Even if you can secure a conversation, you’re starting with zero Trust, and that’s tough to overcome.
You need to warm up the relationship.
Fortunately, you know Golda, a scion of the Scottish-Israeli Lochs-Shmears family, and industry socialite who is bound to have a good relationship with someone in the upper crust of BBE.
You ask Golda if she’ll introduce you to someone at BBE and she enthusiastically agrees to recommend you to Logan, their COO, whom she knows well. “Logan will love you,” she gushes, “and I know BBE could really use your help.”
A couple of days go by without an introduction. Then a week… a couple of weeks. You feel awkward about asking Golda again—after all, if she really wanted to introduce you, she would have.
Dropping Golda’s name in an email from you is vastly inferior to receiving an introduction from Golda.
Yet, mentioning to Golda that she didn’t make the introduction calls her out for failing to live up to her promise, and that’s not great for your relationship with her.
Your warm path into Bernie’s Bagel Emporium has grown cold and stale.
Ouch. If you had offered Golda an email introduction template, you could have secured the introduction from Golda to Logan, the COO, leveraged the dose of Trust that accompanies a personal introduction, and created instant momentum with BBE.
You: “Golda, would you be willing to introduce me to Logan over at Bernie’s?”
Golda: “Sure. Of course. I should see him at the Holey Roller fundraiser in a couple of weeks.”
You: “That’s terrific. If you don’t mind, though, an introduction by email would be great. I’ll send you our standard introduction language. You can use it or not use it – but it usually makes the introduction easier.”
Golda: “Okay, sure. That sounds great.”
Following up on your introduction request with an email template serves four, important purposes:
- It solves your contact’s “what do I write?”
barrier to taking action on your introduction request. - It reminds them that they promised to take
action. - It makes their obligation to you more concrete.
- It demonstrates that you’re paying attention to
this introduction request and taking it seriously.
Your follow-up to Golda provides her with a very short, easy to edit, four-part email template.
The Works-Every-Time Consulting Firm Introduction Email Template
Part 1: Opening sentence.
Part 2: One sentence with the target’s name, what they do, a statement about their awesomeness. Optionally include a statement about where they could potentially add value for you.
Part 3: One sentence with your name and the name of your consulting firm and a statement about your awesomeness. One sentence with a statement about where you could add value. Optionally include a personal endorsement.
Part 4: Specific direction to take action.
In practice, the works-every-time email introduction looks like the example below. We’ll pretend you’re Bob of Strategically Tactical Consulting.
Golda, you can use the email below to connect Logan and me. Edit as you see fit, of course. I look forward to receiving your introduction then connecting with Logan. Thanks!
Hi Logan and Bob. Quick introduction since I think you’ll find value in knowing each other.
Logan is the COO of Bernie’s Bagel Empire and is, unquestionably, the reason BBE has toasted their competition. His insights and experience in the industry are absolutely worth hearing.
Bob is Managing Partner at Strategically Tactical Consulting, a boutique firm that delivers practical solutions to manufacturers with rising costs. I’m positive Bob’s team could help you address that yeast problem you’ve mentioned a few times, and I’ve heard sterling reports about his work from other players in the industry.
Email addresses are above. Please reach out and connect with each other.
Golda
That’s all it takes to dramatically increase your success rate with introduction requests.
Are there other lines or approaches you’ve found effective for introduction emails?
Text and images are © 2025 David A. Fields, all rights reserved.
Great tip David!
Thanks, Doc. I appreciate the feedback! Let me know how it works for you.
Good idea! But how about including links to each person’s LinkedIn profile and to their website? I often do that in email introductions. This offers social proof.
+1 on Lee’s comment. I usually include website and/or LinkedIn links too.
Cool beans, Sean. (You can see my response to Lee, too, which isn’t 100% supportive of including LinkedIn and website links.)
That’s an interesting idea, Lee, and it’s worth testing. Instinctively, I lean against that a little bit for two reasons: 1) Adding the link to the profile may make the introduction request feel more transactional and salesy, which will reduce your likelihood of receiving the introduction; 2) implicitly asking your contact to visit a link (else, why would you include the link) adds to their burden which, again, will reduce the likelihood of success.
The aim is always to reduce friction. It’s not clear to me that a LinkedIn connection creates any social proof, because being connected to someone doesn’t imply endorsement in any way.
Regardless, it’s an intriguing idea and I look forward to hearing how it works for you when you add the LinkedIn links, Lee!
Fair questions, David.
I use the links when I make introductions myself … but you could be right that including the links when asking someone else to copy and paste an introduction may create friction.
Probably a case-by-case situation, Sean. There may be contacts for whom including a link reduces friction; though in most cases we’re trying to stress a Trust-based relationship, and the more that relationship exists in “meat-space” vs. virtual space, the more reliably that Trust is transferred.
Sure, it could introduce friction, David, but there is no request that the links be visited. They are only offered if the recipient wants to learn more about the person being introduced. Nonetheless, I heartily endorse your “worth testing” comment. With a large enough sample size, A/B testing this is a good idea.
If you decide to A/B test the links/no-links approaches, let me know what results you see, Lee!
FWIW I agree adding a LinkedIn link *in this context* runs the risk of making the introduction too transactional. The intro itself, being a personal one, should suffice to clear the credibility bar. If someone wants to follow their curiosity into LinkedIn, that’s an easy next step – but one they take of their own volition.
We’re in the same place intuitively, Richard. I can’t say I’ve tested it, though, and I don’t have enough feedback from clients and readers to say for sure. There may also be a generational effect–youngsters in their 20s may feel affronted or like there’s greater friction if someone’s name comes without the social links!
Thanks for adding your voice on the topic, Richard!
Interesting point David. I think I agree with you about the LinkedIn part. But My thought process is that my services and offerings have a fair bit of depth. An email inevitably is a very brief summary of what I offer. I don’t want to burden the recipient with too much info, but I want to give them the option to do more research and delve deeper if my email does entice them to do so.
So I feel that adding a link to my website is useful, serves the same purpose as attaching a brochure for example.
I see this as reducing (not adding) friction, because if the recipient does want more info, the alternative is to email me and have a discussion, or google me. Whereas clicking a link is easier (less friction).
I see it as creating a smooth onboarding flow for the prospect.
(If ones LinkedIn contains lots of detail and informative posts then I’d say that a link to that is also useful).
Yoni, it all depends on whether your BD approach is based on relationship-building or selling. If the link is working for you, keep using it!
David, what do you think of using the same approach you’ve described above, but as a way to indirectly market yourself to existing acquaintances? The thinking here being that it could be untactful and undignified to try and promote your services to people in your circle, and it could make your acquaintances uncomfortable.
But asking your acquaintance to simply introduce you to someone else is a small and reasonable request that most would gladly oblige. And as a byproduct your acquaintance learns about your offerings in a way that could pique their interest without putting them in an uncomfortable position?
Depending on the context it might even be obvious that your request for an intro is actually a disguised ploy to promote yourself to an acquaintance, but there’s no pressure on him to take the bait and he can simply indulge the ruse if he doesn’t need your services..
Great question, Yoni. Asking for an introduction could certainly serve as a rationale for “inadvertently” creating more awareness of what your firm does.
However, a more reliable and direct route is to simply have relationship-building conversations and use The Turn, as appropriate, or The Overture.
Either way, you won’t go wrong and you’re building your network, Yoni!
I think this is really important. Make it as easy as possible for the person to make the reference. Plus, your email is an immediate reminder of their commitment. They will want to get it off their plate.
Exactly, Chuck. “As easy as possible” is absolutely essential when you’re enlisting someone else’s help.
Thanks for chiming in!
I do this every single time. It also has another, perhaps more helpful, purpose. If your connection is not willing to make these sorts of referrals when you have made it easy, they probably are not a true friend of the firm.
I also ask for a first person draft when someone asks me for a referral. Apart from making it easy for me, it often shortens the list to the most important. (And it reminds me to get it done.)
Good points, David. Though even friends of the firm are sometimes just abysmal at follow-through!
I’m glad you joined the conversation!