Networking Outreach Methods

You know you should network. But you probably don’t know what to say or how to get on people’s radar. Here’s an easy 7-step LinkedIn networking strategy (that anyone can use): 1. The 3 Principles Of Good Networking If you want to network effectively, you need to: - Have a way to reach people - Have a way to add value to them - Have a way to keep the engagement going This strategy does all three! 2. Make A List Of Job-Related Keywords Think of keywords, skills, phrases, and jargon that align with your target role. Ex: If you’re in sales, that might be “sales,” “leads,” “pipeline,” “sales cycle,” etc. Make a quick list of these. 3. Run A “Post” Search On LinkedIn Start with one keyword (or the job title itself). Run a search for it on LinkedIn. From the “Filters” option, select “Posts.” Then change “Date Posted” to “Past Week.” 4. Filter By “Author Company” Click on “All Filters” to find the “Author Company” filter. Add all of your target companies to this filter. This will give you a list of all the posts related to your target role, written by people at your target companies, posted in the past week! 5. Analyze Posts & Authors Scroll through the posts. When you find one that resonates? Click the person’s profile and check to see if they post consistently (at least once / week). If they do? Bookmark their profile in your browser. 6. Leave A Value Driven Comment For each author you find that posts regularly in your target space? Leave a comment on their post recent post that is: - Supportive - Postive in tone - Offers your own take / value - Is more than one sentence Repeat for each author. 7. Rinse & Repeat Daily Every day, click through the author profiles you have bookmarked. See a new post? Leave a new comment. Repeat this process every weekday if you can. But aim to leave at least one comment / week at minimum. 8. Why This Works Content creators love engagement. By cosistently offering that in a positive way, you’re going to get on their radar. And when you’ve done this for a week or two, the likelihood of getting a “yes” to a coffee chat, or even a referral, goes WAY up. Give it a shot today! 📣 Want help turning this 7-step networking routine into a system that turns cold contacts into referrals and interviews? 👉 Book a free 30-min Clarity Call with our team and we’ll walk you through exactly how: https://lnkd.in/gdysHr-r

I attend 30+ data and AI conferences every year, and for the longest time, outreach was complete chaos. Spreadsheets everywhere, notes scattered across tools, follow-ups slipping through, and the worst part was sending generic emails that got ignored. It did not matter how many events I attended, the system just did not scale. So I rebuilt everything inside Airtable. I created a simple but structured system with conferences, sponsors, and contacts all connected in one place. Now I could actually see who I met, where, and what needed to happen next. That alone made things cleaner, but it still required a lot of manual work. The real shift happened when I connected it with Claude. Now I start my workflow in Claude. It pulls context directly from my Airtable base, understands the sponsors I am targeting, the events I am attending, and the history of interactions. Then it goes out, does research on each company, looks at what they have recently announced, and brings back insights that actually matter. From there, it writes everything back into Airtable. New sponsor ideas get added. Outreach emails are drafted with real context. Follow-ups are created automatically based on status. Everything stays structured, tracked, and easy to act on. The biggest change for me is I am no longer jumping between tools or starting from scratch every time. I think in Claude, execute in Airtable, and then go back to Claude to refine messaging or strategy. That back and forth is what makes this powerful. This is how I now manage conference partnerships at scale. Not by adding more tools, but by connecting the right ones in a way that actually works. Learn more about it here – https://lnkd.in/gFCDbR7T #airtablepartner #data #ai #claude #theravitshow

“I’ll have to run this by our CFO.” That line has killed more deals than bad pricing, long sales cycles, or weak demos. Here’s the truth: Your champion isn’t trained to sell. And yet 99% of reps hand them a 25-slide vendor deck and pray it somehow gets executive approval. That’s not enablement. That’s deal suicide. In enterprise sales, you will not always be in the room. Your champion—no matter how well-intentioned—has to carry your deal up the chain. And if you don’t equip them to do it in executive language, you’ve already lost. Executives don’t care about feature sets. They care about: - Profitability - Risk - Market share - Growth But most sellers send over jargon-filled PDFs that die on the first scroll. Here’s what I do instead: I build what I call a Champion Selling Aid (inspired by The Challenger Customer and refined through years of $1M+ deals). It’s a one-page executive memo—co-created with your champion—that distills the entire deal into the only things execs actually care about: 1. The core issue → One line that frames the problem at the highest level. 2. Why it matters → Translate the pain into executive KPIs (profit, revenue, churn, risk). 3. Desired outcome → What success looks like in their words. 4. Background → Proof of work already done (pilots, security checks, stakeholder interviews). 5. Options → Do nothing, hire more people, or implement your solution. 6. The ask → Clear, simple, and budget-aligned. Sometimes I even rebrand it into their internal template so it feels like their deck, not mine. Lately, I’ve been using AI to help champions polish these into crisp, executive-friendly emails and memos. But the principle stays the same: Don’t just sell to your champion. Sell through your champion. If your deal lives or dies on whether a mid-level manager can pitch your product… you’re not just rolling dice—you’re throwing them away. Stop handing over vendor decks. Start equipping champions to speak the only language that matters: executive outcomes. That’s how you turn “I’ll run this by my CFO” into “My CFO already said yes.”

🤦🏼♀️You don’t know what networking is. Sending a cold dm to a stranger on LinkedIn isn’t networking, it’s asking a stranger for help. It’s telling someone you need a job. And that’s fine and you need to do that but don’t get it twisted that is NOT networking. 🟢Networking is building relationships. 🟢Networking is getting to know other people. 🟢Networking is not about YOU. Here are some tips on how to network 1. Shift Your Mindset 🧠 Give first: Don’t just ask for favors; ask, "How can I support you?" or share helpful resources.   2. Be Selective 📈 Quality over quantity: One meaningful conversation is better than cold emailing 50 cards strangers. Personalized outreach: Never send a generic connection request. Add a note mentioning a shared interest, a recent article they wrote, or a mutual connection.   3.Long-term focus 📆 Networking is a marathon. Cultivate relationships before you actually need a job or a favor.     4. Be Ready 💃 Have your pitch down. Know your unique value proposition. Be memorable. 5. Leave the house 🚗💨 Go to in person industry events, conferences and happy hours. Play pickle ball. Go with your friend to their work event. Join a chamber of commerce. Make friends at a café. 6. Don’t be shy 🤝 How to break the ice: Approach people standing alone or in groups of three (they are easier to enter than pairs). Introduce yourself simply and ask open-ended questions like, "What brought you out here tonight?" or "What exciting projects are you working on?" 7 Follow Up 📱 The 48-hour rule: Always follow up within 48 hours of meeting, send a thank you note or a thank you. Better yet send an article or resource that connects back to the conversation you had. (Go back to step 1 be a resource) Mention something specific you discussed (e.g., "I loved hearing about your experience transitioning into tech") to jog their memory   8. Be active on social 👩🏼💻media: Share industry insights, comment on others' posts, and reach out to professionals for 15-minute informational interviews.   9- Nurture consistently 🎯 Check in occasionally with a quick text or email just to share a relevant article, say congratulations on a milestone, or see how they are doing   10- It’s not about YOU🤗Networking is about building a relationship that is mutually beneficial. GIVE VALUE. #howtonetwork #careeradvice #jobsearchtips #linkedin

What makes a decision-maker actually reply to your LinkedIn message? I wanted to find out. So we ran an experiment. At my recent Get Paid To Speak Bootcamp, I invited Brian Tee, Head of Sales at SingPost, as one of our corporate guests. Why? Because I wanted my aspiring speakers to hear directly from someone who hires speakers: what gets their attention, what turns them off, and what actually gets you booked. So here’s what we did: Everyone in the room had to reach out to Brian on LinkedIn. No scripts. No templates. Just thoughtful outreach. Brian received 95 connection requests and he took the time to go through every single one. Then he shortlisted the messages that stood out to him and shared WHY they worked. That’s what this post is about (you might want to bookmark this post!) Here are five things the best outreach messages had in common: 1. They anchored to a real, shared moment. “I really appreciated your insight at GPTS, especially when you said ‘leadership today requires empathy and adaptability.’ That stayed with me.” 2. They focused on Brian first not their pitch. “May I ask what business challenges you're currently facing? How do you envision inspiring your sales team in 2025 and beyond?” 3. They asked meaningful, open-ended questions. “What’s your take on vulnerability in the workplace? Does it have a place in leadership today?” 4. They aligned their offer with Brian’s values and goals. “Given your focus on transformation, I believe my talk on resilience could complement your vision at SingPost.” 5. They offered to add value without sounding transactional. “If there’s any way I could contribute to your work at SingPost, I’d be happy to explore how.” One big lesson from this? The best outreach doesn’t try to impress, it tries to connect. Respect. Curiosity. Relevance. That’s what opens doors. A huge thank you to Brian Tee for being so generous with his feedback, this was GOLD for every speaker in the room. And now, for you reading this: If you’re trying to reach high-value contacts, use the above five insights as your blueprint. Your turn: if you were a potential client, how should we reach out to you that will elicit a positive response? #LinkedInTips #GetPaidToSpeak

Directors and VPs: Your network is expiring right now, and you do not know it. I see this every week with the senior professionals I work with. They have impressive titles, strong track records, and a LinkedIn connection count that looks healthy on paper. But the moment they need their network, they discover the truth. It was never a network. It was a contact list. Here is what separates the professionals who get called first for opportunities from the ones who are still waiting: 𝟭. 𝗔𝘂𝗱𝗶𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗻𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗼 𝗮𝗻𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗲𝗹𝘀𝗲 Identify the ten people most relevant to where you want to go next. Then ask yourself one honest question: when did you last add value to any of them without needing something back? A contact list waits to be activated. A network grows whether you need it or not. 𝟮. 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝘀 Before asking for anything, give something first. Share a relevant article, acknowledge a genuine win, or offer an introduction that benefits them. The senior professionals with the strongest networks are not the best askers. They are the most consistent givers. 𝟯. 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽𝘀 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘁𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲𝘁 Most professionals network laterally. The ones who grow fastest network upwards. Identify five people who are already where you want to be in three years. One relationship at that level is worth more than fifty connections at your current one. 𝟰. 𝗠𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗰 Never send "I would love to connect and explore opportunities." It signals zero preparation and zero respect for their time. Reference something specific about their work, their company, or their recent activity. Specificity signals you did the work. Generality signals you did not do it. 𝟱. 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘆 𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 Networking is not a series of one-off interactions. It is a presence you maintain over time without an agenda. Comment meaningfully, respond to updates, and check in without needing something. The professionals who get called first are not always the most qualified. They are simply the most present. A network is not built when you need it. It is built long before that moment arrives. And the professionals who understand this are never the ones caught starting from zero. Save this post if you are a Director or VP who knows your network needs attention. If you are ready to work on your positioning and your network intentionally, send me a message. I want to make sure it is the right fit before we start.

How many times have you logged on to Linkedin and found yet another email that starts with: "Hey [First Name]," followed by a generic pitch that does not concern your interests or needs. Sound familiar? We've all been there. And it's frustrating. As a fractional CMO/Consultant, I've seen this happen repeatedly. Businesses think they're doing personalization right but need to do better. It's not enough to use someone's name or company. 👉🏾 True personalization is about understanding their challenges, goals, and needs. For example, on LinkedIn, scroll through their feed and see what they post, talk about, like, and comment on. This helps as a starting ground on how to approach them and what to discuss. So, instead of sending a LinkedIn message that says: "I'd love to connect and learn more about your business," try something like: "I noticed you're working on [specific project]. I have some ideas on how you could [achieve a specific goal]. Would you be open to a quick chat?" See the difference? It's not just about being personal; it's about being relevant. And when you're relevant, you're not annoying — you're helpful. 👉🏾 So, think about this the next time you craft a personalized outreach campaign. →"Would I find this message valuable? →Does it address my specific needs and interests?" If the answer is no, it's time to return to the drawing board. 👉🏾 Also, tools like Crystal Knows help you fine-tune your message and tone when reaching out to maximize the impact of every conversation. Let's aim for genuinely helpful messages, not just another annoyance in their inbox. What do you think about personalized outreach? #b2bmarketing #demandgeneration #leadgeneration #ABM

You spend 20 minutes researching someone, write a personalized message, hit send, and get blocked. That's not bad luck. You triggered something in the first three lines without realizing it. Here's what actually happened: Your message felt low-intent. Even though you researched them, even though you used their name, even though you mentioned their company, something in how you structured it made them think: "This was sent to 500 people." And when someone feels like target #247, they don't just ignore you. They block you. Here's the S.E.E.D framework we use to book calls without getting blocked: 1. Situational context-  ⤷ Start by showing you understand something happening in their world right now. ⤷ A market shift. A new hire. A product update.  ⤷ Not a compliment, a signal that says "I noticed." 2. Evidence of insight  ⤷ Drop one thought that proves you understand their landscape.  ⤷ "Usually when companies ship X, Y bottleneck shows up next."  ⤷ Insight is the new personalization. 3. Earned Permission  ⤷ Don't ask for a call. Ask for a micro yes.  ⤷ "Want the breakdown?" "Should I send it here?"  ⤷ Make it easier to say yes than to ignore. 4. Directional CTA ⤷ Your CTA shouldn't demand time; it should direct momentum.  ⤷Let them pull the conversation forward, don't push it. Outreach doesn't fail because people hate messages. It fails because people hate being treated like targets. When your message reflects thought, timing, and relevance, people don't block you. They engage with you. PS: Have you ever been blocked after sending what felt like a thoughtful message? #SalesTips #OutreachStrategy #ColdEmail #Personalization #SEEDFramework

99% of LinkedIn messages get ignored. Why? Because they sound exactly the same.” I see it every day, professionals sending cold, generic lines like: ❌ “Please check my profile.” ❌ “I saw your job posting.” ❌ “I have 5+ years of experience in…” These aren’t conversations. They’re copy-paste fillers. And decision-makers delete them in seconds. If you’re serious about standing out, here’s what actually works in 2025: ✅ Focus on mutual value. ✅ Show how your skills solve their problems. ✅ Align your message with their business priorities. ✅ Make it personal. ✅ Reference their recent post, project, or achievement. ✅ Mention a specific challenge their company is facing. ✅ Bring enthusiasm. ✅ Share why you want this role, not just any role. ✅ Convey energy that makes them feel you already belong on their team. Because here’s the truth: authentic connection is the new cover letter. The right message doesn’t just get read, it gets remembered. And remembered is what gets you opportunities. So let me ask you: Are you sending messages that sound like everyone else or ones that actually connect? 👉 If you’re ready to learn how to write LinkedIn messages that open doors instead of getting ignored, connect with me on DM if interested. Let’s craft your brand messages that lead to real opportunities. #PersonalBranding #CareerSpotlight #LinkedInTips #Networking

Here's a lesson I learned the hard way in my own sales career. Not all stakeholders carry equal weight and some have hidden agendas. A skeptical CFO can quietly torpedo a deal, while a procurement team can delay approval indefinitely. Being single, or even multi-threaded, in a complex sales cycle can be terminal. I used to say that business to business (b2b) sales is a fallacy. Because the reality is that businesses don't buy from each other, people do. But increasingly what I've realised is you’re not actually selling to a person - you’re actually selling to a committee (full of lots of different people, often with competing agendas) Except you rarely get access to the whole committee. And that’s where most deals fall over. It’s not just one “yes” you need. It’s six. Sometimes ten. And every one of them has the power to say “no.” Here’s what we’re seeing in the data: ❌ 70% of lost enterprise deals involve stakeholders with conflicting priorities ❌ One skeptical CIO can derail a deal from the shadows ❌ No internal champion = no internal momentum And yet, too many sales reps still sell to one person and hope for the best. If you're seeing deal slippage, ghosting, or late-stage “no decisions”… this is probably why. In my latest blog, I break down how to: ✅ Map the full buying group ✅ Build consensus with tailored messaging ✅ Equip champions to sell internally (when you're not in the room) Read the full post here: 👉 https://lnkd.in/et8vSZNR