Warm Introduction Request Template: 3 Forwardable Blurbs
A warm introduction request template with 3 forwardable blurbs: to an owner, a broker and an investor. The ask, the blurb anatomy, and a send checklist.
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.
A warm introduction request template has two parts: a short ask to your connector, and a separate forwardable blurb they can send to the other person without editing. The blurb says who you are, why this person, one small ask and an easy no, in under 100 words.
Below is the warm introduction request template I would use, plus three versions of the blurb: to a business owner, a broker and an investor.
Here is the problem it solves. A lender you know says, “Sure, I will introduce you to Maria.” Then she has to write something. What do you do again? What do you want from Maria? Is this a sale, a job, a favor? She means to do it tonight. A week later it is still in her drafts, and you do not want to ask twice.
Why send a forwardable blurb at all?
Because it moves the work from the connector to you, and lets the other side decide first. That second part is the one that protects everyone.
Fred Wilson, who named the double opt in introduction on his blog AVC, explained why: when intros arrive unasked, he often takes meetings he does not want, “And that means I’m less available to meet with people I do want to meet.” His friends’ advice was to “keep track of who is giving me bad intros.” Your connector knows they are being scored the same way. A blurb that the other side can read and decline privately is how you keep your connector’s score clean.
I have facilitated over 1,000 introductions. The asks I act on the same day are the ones where the person already wrote the note. I read it, I fix a word, I forward it. Thirty seconds.
What goes into the blurb?
Four lines. Each has one job.
| Line | Job | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Who you are | Make you real in one sentence | “I buy and run home services businesses in Texas.” |
| Why this person | Prove it is not a mass ask | “Dan mentioned you built your company over 25 years.” |
| The small ask | One step they can say yes to | “Would you take a 20 minute call?” |
| The easy no | Let them decline without a reason | “Totally fine if the timing is not right.” |
No attachments on the first pass, no links to a deck, no paragraph of background. If they want more, they will ask, and that question is itself a yes.
The warm introduction request template: the ask to your connector
This goes first, by text. It is illustrative. Swap in your own details.
Thanks for offering to connect me with Maria. I wrote a short note you can forward as is, so she can decide first. Sending it now. Edit anything.
Then send the blurb in its own message or email, so they can forward it in one tap. Here are the three versions.
Version 1: to a business owner
Use this when a CPA, lawyer, lender or peer operator knows an owner who might sell someday. Never mention price, multiples or “selling” in the first note.
Subject: Intro from Dan
Hi Maria, Dan suggested we talk. I buy and run home services companies in Texas for the long term, and I keep the team in place. Dan mentioned you built your business over 25 years, and I would love to hear how. Would you be open to a 20 minute call? No agenda beyond that, and totally fine if now is not a good time.
That is about 70 words. It asks for a story, not a sale. Most owners are years from a decision, which is why the 18 month seller is the one to plan for.
Version 2: to a broker or M&A advisor
Use this when another buyer, a lender or an attorney can introduce you to an intermediary you want on your side. Brokers screen buyers fast, so give them the facts that decide whether they will call you.
Subject: Intro from Priya
Hi James, Priya suggested I reach out. I am a buyer focused on B2B services in the Midwest, $1 to $3 million in EBITDA, with committed equity and an SBA lender lined up. I would value 15 minutes to learn what you are seeing and what you need from a buyer. Easy pass if your plate is full.
About 60 words. The numbers here are placeholders. Use your real criteria, and only claim capital you actually have. After the call, the work is staying in front of him, which the business broker relationship playbook covers.
Version 3: to an investor or capital partner
Use this when you are raising for a search, a deal or a fund and a contact knows an investor who fits.
Subject: Intro from Alex
Hi Sarah, Alex mentioned you back searchers. I am raising for a traditional search focused on industrial services, and I have a one pager ready if it is useful. Would you be open to a 20 minute call in the next few weeks? Completely fine to pass if search is not a focus right now.
About 60 words. Offer the one pager, do not attach it. Let her ask.
What should you check before sending?
Run this list on every request. It takes a minute.
- You are recent with the connector. If you have not talked in six months, reconnect with a real reason first and ask later.
- The reason has a date. “You mentioned last week” beats “I always thought.”
- One ask only. A call. Not a call plus a deck review plus a referral.
- No pitch. The blurb earns a conversation. The conversation does the selling.
- Under 100 words. Read it on your phone. If you scroll, cut.
- An easy no. Every version ends with one.
- You know what you do next. If she says yes, you reply within 24 hours, move the connector to bcc, and propose two times.
The connector’s side of this exchange, asking both people before connecting them, is in the double opt in intro template. This page is your half: making that yes easy. If you run intros for a community, how to find people in your network to introduce covers picking the match.
Where intro requests break
The template is not the hard part. Timing is. You ask for three intros after a conference. One connector says yes on Tuesday while you are on a site visit. You mean to send the blurb that night. By Friday the yes has cooled, and the connector has quietly filed you under people who ask and do not follow through.
At volume, you also lose track of who you asked, who said yes, and who is still waiting on your note. That is the part worth a system, the same way tracking introductions and referrals is.
The system that keeps the asks moving
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 at an event days ago and never followed up, 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.
Capture the yes the moment you get it. Say a name and a sentence out loud, “lender said yes to an intro to Maria,” and it is filed. Ask Liala “who do I know that is an M&A advisor” and get the right people with why.
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.
Before you send the blurb, read how to ask for an introduction to a business owner. After the intro lands, use this follow up timeline.
Start free with your first 25 contacts and 1 intro, and see who comes up first.