Warm Intro Sequence

This playbook is for SDR and AE managers looking to systematize warm introductions. Use this sequence when you have a mutual connection with a prospect, a referral from a customer, or an intro from an investor. It replaces ad-hoc, manual follow-ups with a structured, repeatable process.

This is a structured approach to a high-touch, high-conversion play. It focuses on making the ask easy for your connection and ensuring a smooth handoff to the prospect.

1. Steps: 5
2. Total Duration: 14 days
3. Channels: Email + LinkedIn

This flow is broken into two phases: (1) securing the intro from your connection, and (2) engaging the prospect after the intro is made.

Step 1: The Ask (Day 1)

1. Channel: Email (to the mutual connection)
2. Objective: Secure the introduction with minimal friction.
3. Example:
   Subject: Intro to [Prospect Name] at [Company]?
   Body: Hoping you can help. Saw you're connected to [Prospect Name]. Would you be open to a quick intro? Here's a blurb for them if so.

Step 2: Soft Bump (Day 4)

1. Channel: Email (to the mutual connection)
2. Objective: Gentle reminder without being pushy.
3. Example:
   Subject: Re: Intro to [Prospect Name]
   Body: Just bumping this up. No worries if the timing isn't right.

Step 3: Post-Intro Connection (Day 7)

1. Channel: LinkedIn (to the prospect)
2. Objective: Solidify the connection after the email intro is made.
3. Example Note: Hi [Prospect Name], [Connection Name] just introduced us over email. Connecting here as well.

Step 4: Engage the Prospect (Day 8)

1. Channel: Email (to the prospect, on the intro thread)
2. Objective: Start the conversation and state your purpose clearly.
3. Example:
   Subject: Re: Intro from [Connection Name]
   Body: Thanks for taking the intro from [Connection Name]. As mentioned, [one-liner value prop]. Worth a brief chat next week?

Step 5: Breakup (Day 14)

1. Channel: Email (to the prospect)
2. Objective: Final follow-up to gauge interest or close the loop.
3. Example:
   Subject: Re: Intro from [Connection Name]
   Body: Assuming this isn't a priority right now. Let me know if that changes.

This sequence lives and dies by the quality of the initial ask. Step 1 must be 100% manual and personalized. Reference your relationship with the connection and be specific about why you're asking for the intro to this particular prospect.

The rest of the sequence can be templated and automated. The goal is to apply structure to the follow-up process, which is where most manual warm intros fall apart. The value isn't in automating the relationship; it's in ensuring no opportunity is dropped due to a lack of follow-up.

A common mistake is running high-trust sequences like this through the same infrastructure used for high-volume cold outbound. Don't do it. This sequence should be run from your primary, high-reputation company inboxes (e.g., your personal john@company.com account).

For SDR and AE teams, mixing high-trust warm intros with high-volume cold outreach on the same domain is a critical error. If your cold outreach domains get flagged by Google or Microsoft, it can impact the deliverability of your AEs' primary inboxes, killing warm deals. This is why you must isolate cold outbound infrastructure (secondary domains, rotated inboxes) from your core sales communication channels.

While this specific sequence runs from a primary inbox, managing the rest of your outbound (10k-1M+ emails/month) requires dedicated infrastructure. Tools like SuperSend exist to handle the domain rotation, inbox warmup, and deliverability monitoring for your cold campaigns, protecting your primary domain's reputation.