The 60-Second CMO, by Juli Anne Patty, Fractional CMO
In brief: A new survey is reminding us of something that most of us probably already know: your relationships and your own selling time are still the cheapest source of B2B pipeline you have. In the 2026 State of B2B GTM survey of 300 software go-to-market leaders, networks and introductions ranked as the most effective channel, and small in-person events came second. The survey underscored that cold outreach (surprise!) is oversaturated, and AI SDRs (AI sales development reps) fall short of expectations. In this post, we’re going to discuss how to build a simple system that turns the people you already know into conversations every week.
We all know our networks should be wellsprings of potential business leads. The problem is that "use your network" sounds like advice, not a plan. It turns into a few awkward LinkedIn messages, a coffee or two, and then back to hoping the outbound tool works.
This post is the plan. It covers how to map who you know, how to ask for introductions people are happy to make, how to post so your network remembers what you do, and how to protect the selling time that makes all of it work.
Why your network beats cold outreach right now (aka always)
How many cold emails and LinkedIn messages have you gotten this week? Now: how many were clearly 100% AI-written? When every inbox fills with messages that sound the same, the ones that get answered come from a name the buyer knows or a person they trust.
That's why an introduction does so much work. It arrives with trust already attached. The buyer takes the meeting because someone they respect said it was worth their time, not because your subject line was clever. (But if your subject line IS clever, it’s probably because you wrote it yourself!)
Small in-person events work for the same reason. A dinner for 12 people builds more trust in two hours than a month of email sequences. (There’s a time and place for email sequences, and we’ll get to that in another post.)
AI SDRs and new sales hires aren't bad. They just can't borrow your relationships yet. Early on, the founder is usually the most credible person in the company, and the people who already know you are the warmest market you have.
The founder's network playbook: 6 steps
Step 1: Map your network in one afternoon
You can't work a network you can't see. Export your LinkedIn connections (Settings & Privacy → Data privacy → Get a copy of your data), then add your best customers, past colleagues, investors, advisors, and anyone who's bought from you before.
Put them in one simple spreadsheet with four columns (this is a GREAT use for AI):
Name and company
Type: buyer, connector (knows buyers), or champion (already loves you)
Warmth: 1 = would take my call today, 2 = remembers me, 3 = we've barely met
Who they know: the companies or roles on your target list they could reach
Chances are pretty good, if you’ve been paying attention at all to building your network, that you can find 30 to 50 people who are a 1 or a 2 and know buyers. That's your starting list.
Step 2: Stay in conversation with your happiest customers
Your warmest intros come from people who already got results with you. But few people can name a referral on the spot. Intros happen later, when someone mentions a problem in another conversation and your name comes to mind. Your job is to be that name.
Check in regularly, without an ask. Send an article, a useful contact, or a quick “how’s it going since launch?”
Tell them what to listen for. Instead of asking who they know, describe the moment: “If you ever hear a CEO say [the problem you solve], I’d love to talk with them.”
Make it easy to act on later. Once they know the trigger, they’ll remember you when it comes up.
Step 3: Make every intro easy to say yes to
One of my favorite things to do is to connect someone I respect and value with someone who I know is going to make their life better or easier. I love to be a connector. But people often avoid making introductions because they’re busy and articulating your value proposition to someone else is time-consuming. You can eliminate all the obstacles, though.
Ask for one person, by name. Look through their connections first and say, "I noticed you know Dana at Acme. Would you be open to introducing us?"
Say why it's good for the other person, not just for you.
Send a forwardable email. Write a short note they can forward as-is: who you are, the one problem you solve, a result, and a clear, low-pressure ask ("Would a 20-minute call in the next few weeks be useful?").
Make it easy to say no. "If it's not a fit, no worries at all" protects the relationship either way.
Close the loop. Thank them, then tell them how it went. Connectors who hear back make more intros.
Step 4: Post so your network remembers what you do
Introductions only happen when people remember what you do and who you help. That's what founder posts on LinkedIn are for. As a founder, your job isn't (typically) to go viral. It's to make sure the right 500 people know exactly what problem you solve.
Post two or three times a week. Consistency matters more than polish.
Write about your buyer's problem, not your product. Share what you're seeing in customer calls, mistakes you've made, and lessons from deals.
Name the person you help. "If you're a CFO at a 50-person company dealing with X…" makes it easy for readers to think of someone.
Spend 15 minutes a day commenting on posts from buyers and connectors. Thoughtful comments keep you visible to the people who matter most. Everyone is out there just trying to make progress, and they do appreciate comments and engagement.
Follow up on engagement. When a target buyer likes or comments on a post, that's a reason to start a real conversation. (Be careful of swooping into their DMs and offering a demo after one comment, though. Your engagement has to be authentic—not transactional—for this to work.)
Step 5: Host small, in-person events
The survey ranked small in-person events second only to networks, and the word that matters is small.
Keep it to 8 to 15 people. Everyone should be able to talk to everyone.
Mix it up: about two-thirds prospects and one-third happy customers or connectors. Your customers will do the selling for you.
Make it about a topic, not a pitch. A dinner on "what's actually working in [your buyers' industry] this year" draws people who'd skip a product demo.
Ask each guest to bring a peer. Every event grows your network.
Follow up within 48 hours with a personal note or a small thank-you gift.
If you don't want to host, co-host with a partner who sells to the same buyers, or join a small group someone else already runs.
Step 6: Protect your selling time
None of this works if it only happens when you have a free afternoon. Put it on your calendar like any other priority.
Block 3 to 5 hours a week for network selling: intro asks, follow-ups, calls, and comments.
Set a weekly target, like five intro asks and three new conversations.
Track it in your CRM, and tag where each deal came from (intro, post, event, or cold outreach). That's how you'll know what's working.
Review it monthly. Double down on the sources that produce real conversations.
When to hand off to a sales hire or automation
This isn’t a forever strategy! Founder-led selling is phase one. Hand it off when you have something that works and can be repeated, not as a way to find out whether anything works.
You're probably ready when:
You can explain why customers buy, in their words, and it's the same few reasons every time.
You have a pitch, a set of common objections, and the answers that work.
Your network sources are producing more good conversations than you have time for.
You know which deals came from which source and what each one costs.
When you hire, hand over the playbook, not just the contact list. Keep doing the parts only you can do, like intro asks to your closest relationships, your LinkedIn posts, and hosting events. Use automation for the busywork around them, such as reminders, tracking results, and CRM updates, not to replace the relationships themselves.
Your 60-second move
Open your CRM and pull last quarter's closed deals. For each one, write down where it started: an introduction, a referral, your LinkedIn posts, an event, or cold outreach. Then pick the three happiest customers on that list and send each one something useful this week, with no ask attached.
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