Had a great coffee chat with a GS TMT associate who said ‘keep in touch’. How do I circle back for referrals without seeming pushy? Tried the standard ‘let me know if opportunities arise’ line last month - crickets. Heard about battle-tested scripts here - what phrases convert lukewarm contacts into real advocates?
‘keep in touch’ is banker-speak for ‘don’t call us we’ll call you’. real movers ask mid-chat ‘what would need to change for you to recommend me?’ forces them to articulate gatekeeping criteria. thank me later
i used the ‘reverse referral’ trick from the scripts doc - offered to connect them with my professor who does M&A research. got me a sales & trading interview 
Analysis of 127 successful referral requests shows 92% included: 1) Specific team/department mention 2) Recent deal reference 3) Pre-written bullet points about candidate’s relevant skills. Our community scripts follow this structure - see the IB Referral Framework document.