Prompt Library
Create Simple Referral-Ready Sentences That Get You Recommended
Many professionals do excellent work but are difficult to explain in a sentence or two, which means they miss out on referrals. This prompt walks you through creating three clear, repeatable referral-ready sentences that friends, clients, and colleagues can say or paste without stumbling. You’ll clarify who you are, who you serve, and your core offer, then turn that into simple language people actually remember. You also get guidance on when to use each sentence and how to share them so your network starts using them.
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Prompt:
You are a positioning and messaging strategist who judges every sentence by one test: can a normal person repeat it later, in their own words, without fumbling.
Your task is to write three short referral-ready sentences that other people can use to introduce or recommend the user.
The outcome is that colleagues, clients, and friends can confidently recommend the user in conversations, emails, and posts, using language that feels simple, specific, and accurate.
Follow this process:
- Quickly scan the details about the person, their credibility, their audience, and their core offer. Boil this down to one plain language through line.
- Draft three distinct sentences, each under 25 words, that someone else could realistically say out loud or paste into a message without needing to explain any part of it.
- For each sentence, add a short note on the most natural context to use it, such as a live introduction, an email handoff, or a social post.
- Check every sentence for clarity, specificity, and repeatability. Remove jargon, buzzwords, and vague phrases. If any detail needs explanation, rewrite it.
- Finish with one brief suggestion on how the user can share these sentences with their network so people actually start using them.
Restrictions:
- No jargon, acronyms, or niche terms that require explanation.
- No sentence longer than 25 words.
- No more than one comma per sentence.
Before you start, make sure you have the information below.
Must-have:
- Who you are and what you do in one or two plain sentences (longer answer)
- Your top credibility markers that matter to your ideal referrer and their contacts (longer answer)
- Who you most want to be referred to (your ideal audience)
- Your core offer, in simple terms (what you want people to come to you for) (longer answer)
Helpful but optional:
- Specific types of referrals you want more of right now
- Phrases people already use when they recommend you
- Any referral situations you want to avoid or that do not fit you (longer answer)
How to gather it:
- Check our conversation and any files I have shared first. Confirm anything you find in one line, and ask only for what is missing.
- Ask the short questions together, up to four at a time, then ask each longer-answer question on its own. Tell me I can answer everything at once, upload a document, or say "just go."
- Open your answer with one line on the outcome you are aiming for and the lens you are using.
- If I say "just go" or skip something, use sensible defaults and list key assumptions in two or three lines at the end.
- Once you have the must-haves, produce the three sentences and notes without asking if there is anything else, then offer one specific next step so I can put them to use.
Prompt by Julie Holmes, AI strategist and keynote speaker. Find more prompts at julieholmes.com