Turn a trusted introduction into a paid first engagement with a five-stage process for replying, qualifying, scoping and asking for a decision.
Short answer: Reply within one working day, thank both people, ask the prospect for a 20-minute conversation, diagnose one costly problem, and offer one paid next step with a price and date. Treat the introduction as permission to talk, not as proof that the prospect should buy. If two useful follow-ups over 10 working days produce no meeting, close the loop politely.
A warm introduction removes some suspicion, but it does not remove the buyer's uncertainty about the problem, your ability or the timing. The common mistake is to jump from “You two should speak” to a long proposal. That asks the prospect to make a large decision before either of you has established what the decision is.
Your first sale is more likely to come from a small, well-defined commitment than from an ambitious pitch. The introduction opens the door. You still have to earn every step through it.
Use the Five-Commitment Introduction Chain
The Five-Commitment Introduction Chain moves the prospect through five decisions: permission, conversation, diagnosis, paid scope and purchase. Each commitment should be smaller than the one after it. If a link breaks, repair that link instead of pushing harder at the final sale.
- Permission: What the prospect is deciding: Whether to engage with you; Your next action: Reply and suggest a short conversation; Common mistake: Sending a brochure or life story
- Conversation: What the prospect is deciding: Whether the issue is worth discussing; Your next action: Ask about the current situation and consequences; Common mistake: Delivering a rehearsed pitch
- Diagnosis: What the prospect is deciding: Whether you understand the real problem; Your next action: Restate the problem with evidence; Common mistake: Agreeing with every assumption
- Paid scope: What the prospect is deciding: Whether a limited first step is worth buying; Your next action: Define result, boundaries, price and date; Common mistake: Offering unpaid exploratory work
- Purchase: What the prospect is deciding: Whether to continue after initial proof; Your next action: Show the result and propose the next engagement; Common mistake: Assuming the follow-on sale
This chain matters because warm leads are often socially polite. A prospect may take a call to respect the introducer, not because the problem is urgent. Your job is to distinguish courtesy from commercial intent without making either person regret the introduction.
Reply to both people, then reduce the social pressure
Use “reply all” for the first response. Thank the introducer in one sentence, acknowledge the reason they connected you and suggest a specific next step. Then say you will move the introducer to blind copy or continue directly, so they do not receive every scheduling message.
Keep the message under 120 words. Offer two possible times within the next five working days, or a simple way for the prospect to suggest another. Do not attach a proposal. Do not ask the introducer to restate your credentials.
A useful opening sounds like this in substance: you understand that the prospect is dealing with a particular issue, you would like to ask a few questions, and 20 minutes should be enough to decide whether another step makes sense. Write it in your own voice. The specificity matters more than polished phrasing.
If the introduction contains no context, ask the prospect what made the conversation timely. Do not ask the introducer to disclose private details behind the prospect's back.
Diagnose before you prescribe
On the call, spend most of the time understanding four facts:
- What is happening now, in observable terms?
- What does that cost in money, time, risk or missed capacity?
- What has already been tried?
- What has to change, and by when?
Ask for examples. “Our records are a mess” is not yet a workable problem. “Three months of transactions are unreconciled and the bank wants current figures in 18 days” is. The second statement gives you a result, a boundary and a clock.
My view is that you should not send a full proposal immediately after most warm introductions. That may feel responsive, but it rewards the prospect for giving you little information and forces you to price uncertainty. A tightly scoped paid first step is usually better when the work cannot yet be estimated responsibly.
There is an exception. If the offer is standardised, the buyer's need is clear and the variables are already known, quote it directly. A domestic cleaner pricing a two-hour weekly visit does not need to invent a diagnostic project.
Make the first paid step easy to judge
The first engagement should produce a useful result even if the prospect buys nothing else. State five things in writing:
- the outcome you will deliver;
- what information or access the customer must provide;
- what is outside the scope;
- the fixed price and payment timing;
- the delivery date and decision point afterwards.
Small does not mean free. Charging tests whether the problem has commercial weight and changes the prospect from a helpful contact into a customer. It also gives you a real delivery experience from which to improve your service.
Avoid reducing the price merely because the lead was introduced. If you want to recognise the lower selling cost, add a bounded benefit such as faster scheduling or an extra review call. A permanent discount becomes an awkward reference price for later work.
Worked example: Alder Bookkeeping
Alder Bookkeeping is a one-person York business. A web designer introduces its owner, Nina, to a café operator with three months of unreconciled transactions. Nina does not quote an ongoing package from the introduction. She offers a records review for £180, delivered within four working days.
The review identifies a nine-hour clean-up and a suitable monthly service. The customer accepts both. Over the first 90 days, the revenue is:
- Records review: Calculation: Fixed price; Revenue: £180
- Clean-up: Calculation: Fixed price; Revenue: £420
- Monthly bookkeeping: Calculation: 3 months × £220; Revenue: £660
- Total: Calculation: £180 + £420 + £660; Revenue: £1,260
Nina allows for 22 delivery hours across the review, clean-up and three monthly cycles. At an internal labour allowance of £30 an hour, that is £660. Software and transaction costs add £45. Her 90-day contribution before general overhead and tax is therefore £1,260 minus £660 minus £45, which equals £555.
The interesting result is not merely the £1,260 sale. The £180 first step lets Nina inspect the records before committing to the £420 price. Had the review revealed a 25-hour clean-up, she could have declined or repriced it without breaking a promise made too early.
These figures are illustrative. Use your own delivery time, direct costs and tax treatment.
Ask for a decision without borrowing the introducer's authority
At the end of the conversation, agree one of three outcomes: a paid next step, a specific later date, or no fit. Do not say, “Because Sam recommended me, I assumed we would proceed.” The introducer has lent you attention, not purchasing authority.
When you send the scope, include a decision date. Three to five working days is an indicative starting range for a small owner-managed purchase, not a market benchmark. Ask what the buyer's own approval process requires and lengthen the range when more people, procurement or material risk are involved.
If the prospect declines, ask one short question about the main reason. Accept the answer. Then thank the introducer separately, without sharing confidential details, and say whether the connection was relevant. That feedback helps them make better introductions later.
Related guides
What to do in the next 48 hours
Reply to the introduction today and offer two conversation times. Before the call, write down the four diagnostic facts you need and the smallest paid result you could deliver independently. Hold the call, send a written scope within one working day, and put a decision date on it. If the prospect is not ready, agree when you may contact them again. If there is no response, make two useful follow-ups within 10 working days, then close the conversation and return to building your prospect list.
Frequently asked questions
Should the person who introduced us join the first call?
Usually, no. A direct conversation lets the prospect speak candidly and prevents the introducer from becoming an unpaid salesperson or project intermediary. Invite them only when they hold essential context, will be involved in delivery, or the prospect explicitly wants them present.
If they do join, clarify at the start who is buying, who is advising and who will decide. After the call, send the prospect your commercial follow-up directly. Thank the introducer separately, but do not share the prospect's budget, operational problems or reasons for declining without permission.
What if the introducer expects a commission?
Clarify it before you discuss commercial details with the prospect. Ask whether a fee was agreed, who would pay it and whether the prospect knows about it. An undisclosed financial interest can change how both parties interpret the recommendation.
If you did not agree a fee, you do not have to create one after the introduction, but address the expectation directly rather than hoping it disappears. Referral payments can carry disclosure, tax or regulated-sector requirements. These vary by country and industry, so obtain qualified local advice before accepting or paying one.
Should I ask the introducer what the prospect can afford?
Usually, no. Ask the prospect about budget, constraints and decision criteria during your own conversation. The introducer may not know, may be guessing or may disclose information the prospect did not intend to share.
You can ask the introducer for non-confidential context about why the connection seemed relevant, but avoid using them as a private source of negotiating advantage. An exception arises when they formally represent the buyer or are part of the purchasing team. In that case, establish their authority and information-sharing role openly with everyone involved.
What if the prospect asks for references before speaking to me?
Provide one or two relevant references only when those customers have agreed to be contacted. Explain what comparable work each reference can verify and protect their time by confirming the prospect's fit first.
If you have no customer references, say so plainly and offer other honest evidence, such as relevant prior experience, a bounded paid first step or a clear delivery process. Do not give a friend's details and imply they were a client. Some procurement processes require references before a conversation, so a new business may simply be ineligible for that opportunity.
Can I offer a different service from the one mentioned in the introduction?
Yes, when your conversation reveals that a different offer solves the actual problem and you explain the change. Do not use the introduction as permission to pitch every service you provide. Restate what you heard, show why the original offer is a poor fit and ask whether the prospect wants to consider the narrower alternative.
If the different work sits outside your proven capability, refer or decline rather than improvising. Tell the introducer only that the conversation found a different direction, and share details solely with the prospect's permission.
What if the introduced prospect becomes a difficult customer?
Manage them under the same scope, payment and conduct boundaries as any other customer. Do not accept late payment, abusive behaviour or uncontrolled revisions because a mutual contact is involved. Address the issue directly with the customer and keep confidential commercial details away from the introducer.
If you must end the work, follow the written agreement and explain the decision professionally. You may tell the introducer that the engagement has ended if necessary to protect the relationship, but avoid recruiting them to take sides. A warm introduction does not make them responsible for the customer's behaviour.
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