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I got big dogged hard on a call last month.

The prospect came highly recommended from someone in my network. I was pumped for the meeting.

Five minutes in, I knew we weren’t going anywhere.

Normally, I’d have wrapped it up and moved on.

But he was a nice enough guy — and he’d mentioned how well-connected he was across other top service firms in my vertical.

So I shot my shot…

I’m not sure this is the best way to ask for referrals, but it works for me:

Anchor with a little honesty. Stroke the ego. Then, get down to business.

He hit me back with:

“Look through my connections. If there’s anyone you want to talk to, drop my name and they’ll take your call.”

So I did.

Connected with him on LinkedIn and started stalking (respectfully) his network.

Then I saw it — one of my “white whale” partners I’d be eyeing for months.

I reached out and used the name drop.

They replied.

Fast forward to August 30.

I’m on the call with the target partner and agree to kick off a pilot with 3–5 customers.

All from one ask at the end of a “dead” call.

Reminder — always ask for the referral.

Until next Thursday,

TSG

P.S. I reply to all emails.