# How intros work

An intro is a meeting between your team and a buyer Alium interviewed. You request it from the buyer's interview, Alium reviews the request and sends it to the buyer, and the buyer decides whether to meet. If they agree, Alium books a Zoom meeting and sends a calendar invitation to both of you.

## How does an intro work, step by step?

1. A team admin opens the interview of a buyer who is [open to intros](#what-does-open-to-intros-mean) and clicks the green **Request Intro** button at the top right of the interview.
2. They write a short pitch explaining why this buyer would want to meet, choose who on the team will take the meeting, and offer at least five time slots.
3. Alium reviews the request, then sends the pitch and the time slots to the buyer.
4. The buyer picks one of your times, suggests other times, or declines.
5. Once a time is set, Alium creates a Zoom meeting and sends a calendar invitation to the buyer and to the person taking the meeting.
6. After the meeting, the recording is available on the intro's page in Alium. See [Where do I find the recording of an intro?](#where-do-i-find-the-recording-of-an-intro)

You can follow every intro from the **Intros** tab in the top navigation. Team admins see all of their team's intros there.

## What does "open to intros" mean?

A buyer who is open to intros has told Alium they are willing to be contacted about meetings with vendors. Only these buyers can receive intro requests through Alium.

- **Is this an introduction from Alium?** Yes. Alium passes your request to the buyer, and if they agree, Alium books the meeting.
- **It doesn't last forever.** A buyer's opt-in lasts six months. In the last month, Alium asks the buyer whether they want to renew. If they don't renew, they are no longer open to intros.
- **Buyers can opt out.** A buyer can stop accepting intros at any time.
- **"Not accepting intros"** means the buyer either never opted in, opted out, or let their opt-in lapse. You can still use insights from their interview in an outbound campaign to the company, but you can't request an intro to them through Alium.

Your weekly Alium email may group new interviews under **Open To Intros** and **Not Accepting Intros** using the same rule.

## How do I find buyers who are open to intros?

- **Search filter:** on the interview search page, set the **Open to intros** filter to **Yes**.
- **Search results:** team admins see an **Opted into Intros** badge on interviews with buyers who are open to intros.
- **Account pages:** team admins see an **Open to intro** mark next to interviews with buyers who are open to intros.

## Who can I request an intro to?

You can request an intro to any buyer who is currently open to intros, from their interview page.

If there's an account you'd like to meet that isn't open to intros, contact [help@alium.io](mailto:help@alium.io) and we'll talk it through with you.

## Who on my team can request an intro?

Only **team admins** can request intros. Anyone on the team can take the meeting: when a team admin requests an intro, they choose who will take it, and that person receives every email about the intro.

If you aren't a team admin and find a buyer you'd like to meet, ask one of your team admins to request the intro and select you as the person taking the meeting. To make someone a team admin, see [How do I make someone a team admin?](https://docs.alium.io/using-alium/adding-and-removing-users#how-do-i-make-someone-a-team-admin)

## How do I request an intro?

1. Open the buyer's interview and click the green **Request Intro** button in the top right corner of your screen.
2. **Write your pitch.** Using what the buyer said in the interview, explain in a few sentences why they should want to meet your team. Tie it to the challenges and goals they described.
3. **Choose who will take this intro.** Pick a teammate from the list. They will receive all emails about this intro. If they aren't on Alium yet, choose **Can't find someone? Add someone new to your team** to [add them just for this intro](https://docs.alium.io/using-alium/adding-and-removing-users#can-i-add-someone-just-to-take-an-intro). They will only see the interviews behind the intros they're assigned to take.
4. **Set availability.** Add 30-minute time slots on the calendar for the person taking the meeting. You need at least five open time slots in the future to send a request. Spreading them over at least three days makes it more likely one works for the buyer.
5. Check the note above the button. It shows how intros work on your team's plan, for example how many intro credits you have left.
6. Click **Send Intro Request**.

If your team has had intros with this buyer before, the request form lists them so you can see what happened last time.

## What happens after I request an intro?

Each intro shows a status on the Intros tab and on its own page. Here is what each one means on your side:

| Status | What it means |
|---|---|
| **Pending review** | Alium is reviewing your pitch and time slots before sending them to the buyer. |
| **Awaiting reply** | Alium approved your request and sent it to the buyer, and they haven't answered yet. You also see this after you ask to reschedule, while the buyer picks a new time. |
| **Interested** | The buyer wants to meet but none of your times worked. Alium is waiting for them to share their availability. |
| **Pick a time** | The buyer sent times that work for them. Open the intro and choose one. |
| **Scheduled** | The meeting is booked. The Zoom link is in your email, in the calendar invitation, and on the intro page. |
| **Completed** | The meeting took place. |
| **Declined** | The buyer chose not to meet. |
| **Cancelled** | Your team cancelled the request. |
| **Expired** | The buyer didn't respond to the request. |
| **No-show** | The buyer didn't attend the meeting. |

Alium emails the person taking the meeting when the request is approved, when the buyer accepts, when the meeting is scheduled, and if the buyer declines, sends new times, or the request expires. If a team admin requested the intro for someone else, the admin receives these emails too. While an intro is waiting on your side, for example when the buyer has sent new times, Alium also sends the person taking the meeting reminder emails until they respond.

## How long does the buyer have to respond?

There is no fixed deadline. While a request is waiting on the buyer, Alium sends them reminder emails. If a request goes unanswered for a while, the Alium team may mark it **Expired**, and you'll get an email when that happens. If the buyer gets back to us after that, we'll let you know.

## How do intro credits and limits work?

How many intros your team can request depends on your plan. The note above the **Send Intro Request** button tells you which of these applies to your team:

- **Intro credits.** Your plan includes a set number of intros, and you can request as many as you have credits available. Each request holds one credit while it's in progress, and the credit is used when the meeting takes place. If the intro doesn't happen because the buyer declines, the request expires, you cancel it, or the buyer doesn't show up, the credit is returned to your team.
- **Unlimited intros.** Your team can have up to three intros in progress at the same time. An intro stops counting toward the limit once it's completed, declined, cancelled, expired, or marked as a no-show.
- **Billed per intro, or included with your plan.** There's no limit on how many intros you can request. If you're billed per intro, the note shows the price, and you're only billed if the meeting takes place.

For questions about your team's credits or limits, contact [help@alium.io](mailto:help@alium.io).

## Why can't I click Request Intro?

| What you see | Why | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| No **Request Intro** button on the interview | The buyer isn't open to intros, or their opt-in has lapsed. | See [Who can I request an intro to?](#who-can-i-request-an-intro-to) |
| No **Request Intro** button on any interview | You aren't a team admin. | Ask a team admin to request the intro and select you to take the meeting. |
| No **Intros** tab and no **Open to intros** filter | Intros aren't turned on for your account. | Contact [sales@alium.io](mailto:sales@alium.io) to turn them on. |
| Grayed-out button: **Intro already in progress** | Someone on your team already has an intro in progress or scheduled with this buyer. Hover over the button to see who. | Follow that intro from the Intros tab. You can request a new one once it's over. |
| Grayed-out button: **Outstanding intros limit reached** | Your plan includes unlimited intros, and your team already has three in progress. | Wait for an intro to finish, or cancel one you no longer need. |
| Grayed-out button: **No available intro credits** | All of your team's credits are used or held by intros in progress. | Contact [help@alium.io](mailto:help@alium.io). |
| Error after clicking **Send Intro Request**: you must add at least 5 availability slots | The person taking the meeting has fewer than five open time slots in the future. | Add more time slots on the calendar and send again. |

## How do I reschedule an intro?

**If you need to change the time:**

1. Open the intro and click **Ask to Reschedule**.
2. Add new time slots on the calendar.
3. Click **Send Availabilities**.

Alium cancels the current Zoom meeting and calendar invitation, and emails the buyer to pick one of your new times. The intro shows **Awaiting reply** until they do. You need at least one open time slot in the future to ask to reschedule.

**If the buyer needs to change the time:** you'll get an email saying the buyer would like to reschedule. Open the intro (it shows **Pick a time**) and choose one of the times they sent.

The person taking the meeting, the person who requested the intro, and your team admins can all reschedule.

## How do I cancel an intro?

Open the intro, click **Cancel Intro Request**, and confirm. You can cancel at any point before the meeting, including after the buyer has accepted. Alium notifies the buyer right away, and a cancelled request can't be undone.

Cancelling returns the intro credit or frees up a spot under your team's limit. The person who requested the intro and the person taking the meeting can cancel it.

## What happens during and after the meeting?

- **Joining:** use the Zoom link in your email or calendar invitation, or click **Join Zoom Meeting** on the intro page. Alium sends reminder emails before the meeting.
- **Recording:** intro meetings are recorded automatically. See [Where do I find the recording of an intro?](#where-do-i-find-the-recording-of-an-intro)
- **Completion:** when the meeting ends, the intro is marked **Completed** automatically. This is when an intro credit is used.
- **If the buyer didn't join:** email [help@alium.io](mailto:help@alium.io) with a link to the intro.

## Where do I find the recording of an intro?

1. Click **Intros** in the top navigation.
2. Open the intro. Team admins find it under **My Intros**, **Intros I Requested** or **My Team's Intros**. Everyone else finds it under **Past Intros**.
3. Click **Download Recording**, then choose **Video** or **Audio Only**.

![The Download Recording menu open, showing the Video and Audio Only options](https://docs.alium.io/img/using-alium/intro-download-recording.png)

- **Video** is the full recording of the meeting, including any screen that was shared.
- **Audio Only** is just the sound of the meeting.

Both download as MP4 files named with the buyer's company, your company and the meeting date. The person who took the meeting, the person who requested the intro, and your team admins can all download the recording.

## How long until the recording is ready?

When the meeting ends, Zoom processes the recording and Alium adds it to the intro page, usually within an hour. The **Download Recording** button appears once the recording is ready and the intro shows **Completed**.

If the intro shows **Completed** and there's still no **Download Recording** button a few hours after the meeting, email [help@alium.io](mailto:help@alium.io) with a link to the intro.

## Do I need a Zoom account to get the recording?

No. You download the recording from Alium, so you don't need a Zoom account or access to Alium's Zoom.

Alium records the meeting at the Zoom link in the calendar invitation Alium sent. That recording is saved even if your own note-taker or recorder failed during the call. If you met on a different link or another video platform, Alium doesn't have a recording of that meeting.

## Is there a transcript of my intro call?

No. Alium doesn't transcribe intro calls. Each intro has a video recording and an audio-only recording, and nothing else is saved from the meeting. Files and messages shared in the Zoom chat aren't saved either, so download anything you need before you leave the meeting, or ask the buyer to send it again.

## Can I request another intro with the same buyer?

Yes, once your team's previous intro with that buyer is over (completed, declined, cancelled, expired, or a no-show) and the buyer is still open to intros. While an intro with that buyer is in progress or scheduled, the **Request Intro** button stays grayed out for everyone on your team.

## Need help?

Email [help@alium.io](mailto:help@alium.io) with a link to the intro you're asking about.