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Sphere and Referral Asks

When to use this

Past clients, neighbors, friends — people who already like you and would happily send a referral if you came to mind. The tricky part is asking without making it feel like a pitch. Use this to write a message that's warm, specific, and easy to say yes to.

The prompt

Paste this into ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini. Fill in the brackets. Leave a line blank if it doesn't apply.

You're helping me write a short referral-ask message to someone in my sphere.
Write a warm, natural message that makes it easy for them to think of me —
without feeling like a sales pitch.

About the relationship:
- Who I'm writing to: [e.g. past client from 2022, neighbor, college friend]
- Last time we talked: [e.g. ran into them at the block party last summer]
- Any recent touchpoint or occasion: [e.g. they just liked my post, holidays,
  a local event, their home anniversary]

What I want to say:
- The ask: [e.g. "If you know anyone thinking about buying or selling, I'd
  love to help"]
- Anything I want to mention about my work: [e.g. slow market right now but
  I'm active, I just closed one down the street]
- Optional gift or offer: [e.g. I'm sending a market update, I'll do a free
  CMA]

Format:
- Medium: [text message / short email / handwritten note]
- Tone: [warm and casual / professional and friendly / genuine and brief]
- Length: [2–3 sentences for text, short paragraph for email]

Rules:
- Do NOT use hype phrases like "hot market," "now's the time," or "don't
  miss out."
- Keep it human — it should sound like me, not a script.
- The ask should be a soft door, not a hard pitch. The reader should feel
  good about hearing from me.
- Use ONLY the context I gave you. Don't invent shared history.

Before and after

What you start with — your rough idea:

Hey Sarah, hope you're doing well! Just reaching out to see if you know anyone who might be looking to buy or sell. I'm always looking for referrals and would love to grow my business. Feel free to send anyone my way!

What you get back:

Hey Sarah! I was just thinking about the Maple Street house — hard to believe that was almost two years ago. I hope you guys are settling into fall well. I'm still out here helping folks in the area, so if you ever hear of anyone thinking about making a move, I'd be so grateful if you'd pass my name along. No pressure at all — I just love getting to work with people you know.

The before asks Sarah to do something for your business. The after reminds her you two have history, and the ask lands as a favor between friends.

Make it yours

  • Use a real touchpoint. The more specific the occasion — a home anniversary, a neighborhood event, a social post they liked — the less it reads as a blast.
  • Vary the format. Run it as a text for close contacts, a short email for older clients, and a note prompt if you're mailing cards.
  • Send in batches, not blasts. Pick five people a week. A quick personalized message lands better than anything sent to your whole list at once.
  • Save the base prompt. Once the tone sounds like you, keep it. Swap out the relationship and occasion for each send.