What to pay for an introduction
Paying for a useful introduction is more normal than people assume. The harder questions are whether it is appropriate, and what a fair amount looks like. Here is a straight answer to both.
Is it normal to pay for an introduction?
Yes, in plenty of contexts. Recruiters earn a fee for introducing a candidate. Advisers and brokers earn finder's fees for introducing a deal. Many people quietly send a thank-you when an introduction leads somewhere real. What changes from setting to setting is not whether money is involved, but whether it is open and agreed in advance.
The thing to avoid is a hidden incentive. An introduction is most valuable when the person making it is being honest about why. Paying for one is fine. Paying for one in a way nobody has agreed to is where it goes wrong.
What shapes a fair amount
There is no single rate, because an introduction is worth what the opened door is worth to you. A few things move the number more than anything else:
- How hard the person is to reach. A guarded, senior, or scarce contact is worth more than someone a search would find.
- The value of the outcome to you. A door into a large opportunity justifies more than a routine contact.
- The strength of the relationship behind it. A genuine, trusted connection is worth more than a loose acquaintance.
- Whether you are paying for the introduction itself, or for an outcome. Paying on a delivered introduction is cleaner than paying on a result no one controls.
A sensible reward is large enough to be worth a busy person's time and attention, and small enough to reflect that you are buying an introduction, not a guaranteed result. Treat it as a serious thank-you for access, not a payment for a deal that has not happened yet.
Pay for the introduction, not a promise
Be wary of anyone who offers to sell you an outcome. Nobody can honestly promise that an introduction turns into a meeting, a deal, or a yes. What can be delivered is the introduction itself: a real, confirmed person, willing to talk. Anchor what you pay to that, and you stay on the right side of both fairness and the law.
How a funded reward changes the conversation
The Intro Exchange is built around paying for the introduction, openly and only when it lands. You set a reward for the introduction you want. Your bank places a hold on it, and we never take custody of your funds. A connector who genuinely knows the person can offer to introduce you when they judge it worth making, and you review the offer without seeing a name. The reward is released only once the introduction is made, the person confirms their own identity when they accept, and you confirm. The platform takes its cut only on a successful introduction.
That structure does two useful things at once. It gives the one person who can actually make the introduction a real reason to spend their relationship on it, and it protects you, because nothing is paid until a named, confirmed person has accepted. See the full breakdown on the pricing page and the mechanism on how it works.