The Playbook | No. 32
Not all intros are created equal. Most waste time. A few change everything.
Here’s the exact framework I use to filter conversations, protect my calendar, and turn my network into a real sales engine. Includes the Airtable system I use to track energy, leverage, and deals.
“Not all intros are opportunities.”
The Playbook | Intro Audit
The Intro Audit
Every intro sounds good in theory.
“Smart founder.”
“Great operator.”
“Would love for you two to connect.”
So you say yes.
You book the call.
You show up prepared.
And three weeks later, nothing happens.
No deal.
No follow-up.
No leverage.
Just another 30 minutes logged under networking, quietly stealing time from building.
I learned this the expensive way.
For years, I treated introductions as a matter of good manners rather than a business decision. If someone vouched for me, I showed up. If the meeting was “interesting,” I counted it as progress.
It wasn’t.
What finally clicked for me was this: intros don’t fail randomly. They fail predictably.
Once you see the pattern, you can’t unsee it.
Here’s how I filter intros now, and why it completely changed how I sell, partner, and grow without feeling slimy about it.
The Only Framework That Matters: Energy vs Opportunity
Forget titles. Forget resumes. Forget how impressive someone looks on LinkedIn.
Every intro lives on one axis:
Energy and Opportunity.
Energy
Speed of reply. Clarity of ask. Preparedness. Momentum.
Energy is behavior, not personality.
Opportunity
Revenue. Distribution. Credibility. Optionality.
Not “could be cool,” but “if this works, it compounds.”
Put those together, and you get a brutally honest 2x2.
The Four Types of Intros (And What I Actually Do With Them)
1. High Energy + High Opportunity
These are rare. Gold standard.
You feel them immediately.
Fast replies. Clear reason for the intro—specific next steps.
These get:
• Same-week meetings
• Clear agendas
• Immediate follow-ups
This is where partnerships, retainers, advisory roles, and long-term flywheels come from.
If your calendar isn’t protecting space for these, you’re doing it wrong.
2. High Energy + Low Opportunity
These are dangerous in a different way.
Great people. Fun conversations. Tons of momentum.
Very little leverage.
I don’t avoid these, but I reframe them.
These are relationship deposits, not pipeline bets.
I take fewer of them, and I don’t confuse them with selling.
If you treat these like deals, you burn time.
If you treat them like long-term equity, they make sense.
3. Low Energy + High Opportunity
This is the trap most people fall into.
On paper, these look incredible.
Big titles. Big brands. Big potential.
In reality:
• Slow replies
• Vague asks
• Endless “circling back”
I probe once. I try to raise energy.
If it doesn’t rise, I move on.
This category taught me a hard truth: opportunity without energy is just a story you tell yourself.
4. Low Energy + Low Opportunity
Polite no.
No guilt.
No overthinking.
Your time is an asset. Treat it like one.
The Exercise That Changed How I See Networking
Most people never do this, and it’s why they keep repeating the same mistakes.
Look back over the past 12 months and audit your intros.
Ask yourself:
• Which ones actually led to revenue, distribution, or repeat work?
• Which ones felt “productive” but produced nothing?
When I did this, the numbers were uncomfortable.
Roughly:
• 70% of real outcomes came from ~15% of intros
• Almost every win showed high energy early
• The most “impressive” intros underperformed consistently
This wasn’t a personality issue.
It was a filtering issue.
Once I saw it, I stopped blaming the market and started fixing my system.
Why Memory Is the Enemy (And How I Fixed It)
If you’re relying on your inbox or your brain to manage relationships, you’re lying to yourself.
Memory lies.
Inbox hides context.
Notes don’t create action.
So I built a simple personal CRM in Airtable. Not fancy. Not automated to death. Just useful.
Here’s what I track:
• Who made the intro
• Why it was made
• Initial energy score after first interaction
• Opportunity type (revenue, distribution, learning, optionality)
• Last touchpoint
• Clear next action
The secret isn’t the fields.
It’s the review cadence.
Once a month, I review:
• High-opportunity intros that stalled
• Warm relationships I haven’t followed up with
• People who consistently create leverage for others
This turns networking into a living pipeline instead of a graveyard of good intentions.
The Real Shift: From Polite to Professional
Here’s the uncomfortable part.
High performers aren’t nicer.
They’re clearer.
They don’t say yes to everything.
They say yes to what compounds.
Filtering intros doesn’t burn bridges.
It builds credibility.
People trust:
• Fast decisions
• Clear follow-through
• Outcomes
If you want to “always be selling” without feeling gross, this is how.
You stop chasing conversations.
You start designing leverage.
Your network isn’t your net worth.
Your ability to activate it is.
And that starts with admitting a simple truth:
Not all intros deserve the same energy.
I’ve turned my exact system into a plug-and-play Airtable that I use to run my network and drive deals.
If you want it, steal my Airtable template and start treating intros like the revenue lever they actually are.
Because the best sellers don’t hustle harder.
They filter better.
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