“You should talk to my accountant.” Most of us have said it, and most of us have heard it. It feels like a referral. Sound familiar? It rarely becomes one.
A mention puts all the work on the person receiving it. They get a name, maybe a number, and no idea whether the other side expects their call. An introduction does the opposite: the work is done before anyone picks up the phone.
Three checks that turn a mention into an introduction
Before you pass someone on, run three checks.
- Does the other side know you’re coming? If the first they hear of you is a cold message, it’s a lead with a nicer label.
- Do both sides know why it’s worth their time? “You two should meet” is not a reason. “She needs a bookkeeper who works with builders, and that’s all he does” is.
- Have both said yes? An introduction one side never agreed to leaves the person who made it exposed when it goes wrong.
Miss the first check and you have a name. Miss the second and you have a polite coffee that goes nowhere. Miss the third and you have spent someone’s trust without asking them.
Why this matters more than it looks
Recommendations from people we know are still the most trusted form of marketing. In Nielsen’s 2021 trust study of 40,000 people across four regions, 88% said they trust recommendations from people they know most (Research Live, Dec 2021).
That trust only transfers when the recommendation is specific and expected. A vague mention borrows the trust and gives nothing back.
Alan, who co-founded V8, has spent fifteen years in business networking in London and Hong Kong. Ask him what he has learned and he gives the same answer every time: the introductions that close are the ones where both people already knew why they were talking.
How we introduce people at V8
- We describe each side to the other first, in plain business terms.
- Names and contact details move only once both have said yes.
- After the conversation, we check back with both of them.
Next step
Tell us who you would like to meet: Find me introductions. Your first introduction is on us. If you prefer meeting people in a room, our Nexus evening in Piccadilly runs most months.
Gina Cheng is co-founder of V8 Global and leads V8 Nexus. Community Intelligence posts share what works in building business relationships.