Work · Community report
Build a personal CRM for intros
Build a personal CRM for intros. Build a personal CRM that surfaces who you know for a given ask, and sends out only the filtered, approved version.
What you can get
Reaches your accounts Creates or changes things in accounts you connect, with your approval.
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It does
- Reads the contact or network data you provide
- Prepares filtered, private lists for specific requests
- Sends a list only after you've reviewed it, unless you've approved otherwise
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It stops and asks
- Before it's built: confirm what contact data is in scope and what's off-limits.
- Before any list is sent: review who's included and why.
- Periodically: check that the relevance explanations still reflect how you'd actually describe each contact.
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You approve
- Your review of each filtered list before it's sent
- No default authority to share a contact's details without that review
Derived from this task's own brief and steps, not from the source.
- Scope the dataStops for your approval
Which contacts and details are in, which stay private.
- Build the CRM
Queryable by space or ask, with relevance explained per contact.
- Filter per request
A shortlist built for the specific requester and ask.
- Review before sendingStops for your approval
You check the list and the relevance claims before it goes out.
Editorial, not from the source
Works when
- People regularly ask you for intros or 'who do you know in X.'
- You have contact data in a form it can read.
- You're willing to review each filtered list before it goes to a specific requester.
Does not work when
- Your contacts haven't agreed to be shared or introduced, even selectively.
- The network data is too sensitive or scattered to consolidate safely.
- You want lists sent automatically without your review.
Build a personal CRM for intros: review template
| Item | Details | Status |
|---|---|---|
| [CRM scope] | [Contacts and data included/excluded] | [Confirmed by you] |
| [Query result] | [Who, with relevance explained] | [Checked for accuracy] |
| [Filtered list] | [Specific requester and ask] | [Reviewed before sending] |
The source case
On X, @DavidPawlan reports: "I just had Instinct build me a personal CRM that it can selectively send to friends/family". They describe the problem it solves: "I get constantly asked about who I know in XYZ space or for intros, HUGE mental energy to think of the people and send a list every time", and the result: "Now I can just tell Instinct to send them a filtered, private version". They add that "It takes care of coming up with all the people, can outline the relevance for the intro, and provides it in a viewable dashboard". The post does not show the dashboard, say what data the CRM was built from, or say whether every sent list was reviewed before going out. This is one person's report, checked on 2026-10-09; it has not been reproduced by this directory.
A public report by someone outside this library. Not independently reproduced here.
From the source
Source excerpt
I just had Instinct build me a personal CRM that it can selectively send to friends/family
Source excerpt
I get constantly asked about who I know in XYZ space or for intros, HUGE mental energy to think of the people and send a list every time
Source excerpt
It takes care of coming up with all the people, can outline the relevance for the intro, and provides it in a viewable dashboard
Quoted from the original posts. Not written by this guide, and not a result produced here.
Suggested prompt
Bring Contacts or network data, Guidance on what's shareable versus private, The specific ask or space for a given request. Acts Reads the contact or network data you provide. Prepares filtered, private lists for specific requests. Sends a list only after you've reviewed it, unless you've approved otherwise. Source community report, checked 2026-10-09.
Written by this guide as a starting point, not quoted from the source. Your edits stay in this browser.
Other ways to ask
Editorial rewrites of the brief above, for a different emphasis. Copy them separately.
What you need
Editorial, not from the source
You supply
- Contacts or network data
- Guidance on what's shareable versus private
- The specific ask or space for a given request
Connected
- Wherever your contacts live (address book, spreadsheet, CRM export)
- A way to send the filtered list (email, message)
How to try it
Editorial, not from the source
- Give it the contacts or network data it should draw from, and say what you're comfortable sharing versus keeping private.
- Ask it to answer 'who do I know in [space]' with the relevance of each contact explained, not just a name list.
- When someone asks for an intro or a referral, have it prepare a filtered version for that specific request.
- Review the filtered list before it's sent; check that nobody is included who wouldn't want to be shared in that context.
The problem it's solving
@DavidPawlan describes a specific, recurring annoyance: being asked who they know in a given space, or for an intro, and having to spend real mental energy recalling the right people and assembling a list each time. Their report says Instinct built a personal CRM from their network that can be asked that question directly, with the relevance of each person outlined, and the result delivered in a viewable dashboard. The post frames this as removing a repeated task rather than a one-off favor, which is the more useful way to think about it: a standing resource you query, not a list you rebuild from memory every time someone asks.
What goes in, and what doesn't
The report doesn't say what the CRM was built from, so treat that as a decision you make explicitly rather than something to assume works itself out. Decide which contacts and which details are fair game before anything is consolidated, and keep clearly private relationships, or anyone who has told you they don't want to be introduced around, out of the pool it draws from entirely. A dashboard that can explain why a contact fits a given ask is more useful than a flat list, but that explanation is a claim about a real person's willingness and relevance, and it deserves the same scrutiny you'd apply if you wrote it yourself, not a pass because a system generated it.
Filter per request, and review before sending
The value described in the report is a filtered, private version prepared for a specific requester, not a single master list handed out repeatedly. Treat each request as its own filtering decision: who is actually relevant to this ask, and who among them would be comfortable being named to this particular person, given who is asking and why. Review that filtered list yourself before it goes out, every time, rather than only the first time, since the right answer for one requester may be wrong for the next. Sharing someone's contact information is a decision about them, and the convenience of a dashboard doesn't change whose call that ultimately is.
Open Instinct to try it. That is the product's own site; this guide is not part of it.
Limits and confirmation points
- The report doesn't show the dashboard or say what contact data it was built from (an address book, a CRM export, something else).
- Sharing someone's contact details with a third party is a decision about that person, not just about you. Review every filtered list before it's sent, especially to someone you don't know well.
- A 'relevant' explanation for why a contact fits an ask is a judgment call; check that it's not overstating a connection or a person's willingness to help.
- This directory has not independently tested how well the relevance explanations hold up against contacts' actual wishes about being introduced.
Editorial, not from the source
- Before it's built: confirm what contact data is in scope and what's off-limits.
- Before any list is sent: review who's included and why.
- Periodically: check that the relevance explanations still reflect how you'd actually describe each contact.
Editorial, not from the source
- A filtered list includes someone who shouldn't be shared with that requester
- Remove them before sending and tell it the rule that applied, so future lists for similar requests respect it.
- The relevance explanation overstates how well you know someone
- Correct it before sending; a confident-sounding but inaccurate description can put a weak connection in a bad spot.
- You're not sure what data the CRM was built from
- Ask for the source list it drew from directly, and confirm nothing was added from outside what you provided.
Common questions
Can an agent build a personal CRM from my contacts?
One user reports it built a dashboard that answers 'who do I know in X' with relevance explained for each person, filtered and shared selectively. This directory has not reproduced that build.
Does it send contact lists automatically?
It shouldn't by default. Review each filtered list before it's sent, since sharing someone's details is a decision about them, not just about you.
What data does it need?
The report doesn't specify. Decide explicitly which contacts and details are in scope, and keep clearly private relationships out of it.
How accurate are the relevance explanations?
That depends on what it's given and isn't verified here. Check each explanation before it goes to a requester; don't let a confident-sounding summary overstate a weak connection.
Can I use this for sensitive or private contacts?
Be deliberate about it. Keep contacts who haven't agreed to be shared out of the pool, regardless of how useful including them would be.
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