The Referral Ask

A vague referral request puts the entire burden of thinking on the person being asked — who might fit, whether it's appropriate to bring up, how to word an introduction — and that burden is usually enough to ensure nothing happens, even from someone genuinely willing to help. A specific, low-effort ask removes almost all of that burden and converts a vague, well-meaning "sure, let me know if I think of anyone" into an actual introduction far more reliably.

Vague asks fail for a specific, fixable reason

Weak     "If you know anyone who might benefit from what we do,
         I'd love an intro!" — asks the other person to do the
         entire targeting and framing work themselves
Strong   "Would you be comfortable introducing me to [specific
         person/role] at [specific company]? Happy to send a short
         note you could forward if that's easier."

Naming a specific person or a specific, narrow type of person the requester should already know reduces the cognitive and social effort to almost zero — the other person doesn't have to scan their entire network and make a judgment call; they just have to say yes or no to one clear, bounded request.

Make forwarding effortless