Warm intro

An introduction to a decision-maker made by a mutual contact the buyer already trusts, so you arrive pre-vouched rather than unknown. Because the trust transfers with the introduction, warm intros convert far better than cold outreach and skip most of the silent vetting a stranger has to survive. For WPH — working roughly eighty named accounts that can never be re-approached cold — a warm intro from an advocate is the single most valuable way through a new door.

Source: Course usage, grounded in professional-services referral research (Hinge) and the widely reported warm-versus-cold conversion gap. The common “10–20x” multiple is directional practitioner consensus, not a single sourced study — the reliable point is that the lever is trust transfer, not persuasion.

First used in: 2.5 · Referrals & champion tracking