Networking Pro-Tip: The Unsolicited Email Intro

I received an email from a VC last week asking if I had the time to chat with his daughter to chat about her next career move. He did not include his daughter in the initial outreach - she was included in an email only after I had enthusiastically said yes. The yes, was fast because his daughter is fabulous. The yes was easy, because, yeah, no assumptions - as in no assumption that I was available, capable or willing to meet.

And this recent experience was the prompt for re-posting a networking tip I've dished out before.

The “you two should know each other” email (or the “dump and drive” as I refer to it) may JUST be one of the world's greatest networking irritations.

I'm not joking on this one.

When I was writing my first book, I asked around to see how others felt about these types of unsolicited introductions— and the irritation of seeing a "hey, X meet Y thought you two should know each other" type email in their inbox, was expressed in what I can only describe as rather "colorful" ways.

 To get to the point: always ask before you introduce.

Always.

Not most of the time or when you remember. Make always asking the rule, and not the very, very, very rare exception.

Always ask their permission first, and give them detail and background about why you are making the introduction.

Pulling from Build Your Dream Network (in the Chapter of Networking #Fail), so you know it's not just me who thinks this way:

Back in March 2013, First Round Capital’s Chris Fralic wrote a post for Forbes.com on the topic of e-mailing busy people (like venture partners). I still refer people to Chris’s timeless post, “The Art of the Email Introduction: 10 Rules for Emailing Busy People.” As Chris states in rule 1, “The Ask”:

Sometimes it makes sense to just make the introduction when asked, but in most cases I think it’s a best practice to ask for and receive permission before an introduction is made. This makes it a choice for the recipient and doesn’t create an obligation.