By Brett Kaufman. 8 years using relationships to build sales pipelines, from political fundraising to a 7 figure business to running matchmaking for two communities. Over 1,000 introductions facilitated.

Here is how to follow up after being introduced: reply within 24 hours, thank the connector and move them to bcc, and offer two specific times. After the call, send the connector a short update on what happened, and keep updating them when something real comes of it.

That is the whole method. Most people do the first step and stop.

Picture it from the connector’s side. A lender introduced you to an owner on Monday. You replied Tuesday, booked a call, had a good conversation. The lender never heard another word. Three months later another buyer asks her for an owner intro. She thinks of the one who told her how it went. That was not you.

I have facilitated over 1,000 introductions. The people I introduce again are almost never the most impressive ones. They are the ones who closed the loop.

Why does the follow up matter more than the reply?

Because the reply is visible to everyone, and the follow up is the only signal the connector gets afterward. Your connector is keeping score, whether they say so or not.

Fred Wilson wrote about this from the receiving end in his post on the double opt in introduction. His friends told him he should “keep track of who is giving me bad intros.” Connectors know the people they introduce you to are judging them by how you behave. When you report back, you prove their intro was a good one.

What is the timeline after an introduction?

This is how I would run it. The days are a working rhythm, not a rule anyone published.

When	What you do	Who it goes to
Within 24 hours	Reply, thank the connector, move them to bcc, offer two times	Both, then the other person only
Day 3 to 4, no reply	One short bump, direct, easy out	The other person
Day 10 to 14, still no reply	Last note, then stop	The other person
Same day as the call	Thank you with one specific thing you heard	The other person
Within 48 hours of the call	Short update on what happened	The connector
When something real happens	A deal, a hire, a referral, a fee	The connector
About 90 days later	A real reason to check in, not “just checking in”	The other person

The last two rows are where relationships come from. Everything above them is manners.

How to follow up after being introduced: the five texts

All illustrative. Swap in your own details. Each one is short enough to send from your phone.

1. The first reply (email, reply all).

Thanks, Dana, for connecting us. Moving you to bcc to spare your inbox. Mike, great to meet you. Would Tuesday at 10 or Thursday at 2 Eastern work for a 20 minute call?

Two specific times beat “let me know what works.” They also make it easy for an assistant to book.

2. The bump, if they go quiet (direct to them).

Hi Mike, wanted to make sure this did not get buried. Happy to work around your schedule, or circle back next month if that is easier.

3. The thank you after the call (to the other person).

Thanks for the time today. The point about keeping the service techs through a sale stuck with me. I will send the article I mentioned and check back after your busy season.

One specific detail proves you listened. It is also the note you will want to find in 90 days.

4. The update to the connector (text, within 48 hours).

Had a great call with Mike. Not a fit for a deal right now, but he gave me two names in HVAC. Thank you for that one.

This is the text most people never send. It takes 20 seconds and it is the one that earns the next intro.

5. The loop closer, when something real happens.

Wanted you to hear it from me. The intro to Mike turned into a call with his former partner, and we just signed an LOI. None of it happens without you.

If a fee or referral came out of it, this is also the moment to say so and settle it. More on that in the intro ledger.

What if it goes nowhere?

Tell the connector anyway, briefly, without blame. “We traded a few notes, timing is not right on his side” is enough. Never forward complaints about the other person, and never leave the connector guessing. The connector’s half of this problem, deciding whether to nudge a stalled intro, is covered in what to do when an intro you made goes nowhere. Your update is what saves them from having to ask.

If you want fewer dead intros in the first place, the connector should ask both sides before connecting anyone, which the double opt in intro template lays out, and should pick matches from a current need, as in how to find people in your network to introduce.

What do people get wrong?

• Leaving the connector on every email. Move them to bcc in the first reply.
• “Let me know when works.” Offer two times instead.
• Pitching on the first call. The first call is to learn. Ask about them.
• Thanking once, in the thread. The thanks that counts comes after the call.
• Going silent when it works. The connector should hear about the deal from you, not from a post.

Why this breaks for busy people

None of this is hard for one intro. It is hard for eight in a month, during diligence, with two conferences in between. The 48 hour update to the connector is the step that slips first, because nothing reminds you. Then the 90 day check in slips, and the person you met through a good intro becomes another name you would recognize but have not touched in a year. That is the gap the super connector’s operating system is built around.

The system that remembers the follow up

That is why I built FRONT OF MIND. It opens on your 10 minutes for today, and each person has a one line reason why today: a follow up is due, you met days ago and never followed up, they posted, or they are going cold. Every draft is a text style message, 40 words max. Nothing sends without your tap, and it learns from your edits.

After the call, say a name and a sentence out loud, “Mike, keep the techs through a sale, check back after busy season,” and it is saved for the next touch.

It runs in your phone browser, and you can save it to your home screen. Your contacts are encrypted. No one on our team looks at them. Export and delete anytime.

Asking for the next one? Start with how to ask for an introduction to a business owner and the warm introduction request template.

Start free with your first 25 contacts and 1 intro, and see who comes up first.

See how it works