Referrals help get things done.
After all, your network is often your greatest asset in any project and referrals increase your network.

More valuable than a single referral is someone who will refer you again—a goose that lays golden eggs. You want people like that in your world and you want them motivated to refer you more. Sometimes people get so enamored with a new connection they forget what created the connection: the person who referred them. If they gave you one great referral, they probably have more.
My policy for following up a referral:

Make the person who referred me glad to have referred me.

When someone refers you, they risk that you might hurt their relationship. Until they know their contact appreciates meeting you, they feel that risk. We’ve all made referrals that we came to regret.
I recommend making your priority in following up a referral the feelings of the person who referred you. It helps them and it helps you.
I also recommend telling the person giving the referral that policy. I often say,

“Opportunities come and go but relationships last. When I follow up your referral, my goal is to make sure the person appreciates you for referring me.”