THIS WEEK’S BRIEF • 3 MIN READ
Your network is there, seeing the full thing in real time is the challenge.
The person you need right now is probably sitting in your contacts, two years untouched.
84% of B2B deals start with a referral. Most founders spend their time competing for the other 16%.
The default networking playbook is missing something.
Build a bigger network. Go to more events. Post more. Meet more people.
All reasonable advice, the leverage just isn't there.
84% of B2B decision-makers say their buying process starts with a referral. The people who actually move things forward are almost never strangers. Most founders are spending the majority of their energy competing for the 16% of deals that start cold. The easier path sits in their existing contacts, unworked.
The pipeline you're grinding to build is shorter than you think.
The right person exists, your brain just can’t find them
Your network probably has everything you need in it already. The problem is you can't hold all of it in your head at once.
The relationships are there. People in your network are moving into new roles and dealing with challenges that would matter to what you're building right now - they all exist.
Your brain just can't surface them on demand.
Most founders reach out to the obvious names and then default to cold outreach when those run dry. The network gets partially worked, just never fully seen.
The cost is real with 79% of professionals having lost a tangible opportunity because a relationship went cold. Not from a lack of connections, but from the right one never coming to mind in time.
The founder who almost missed it
A founder we know spent three months working a cold pipeline for her first ten customers.
She wrote sequences, tested subject lines, and followed up six times. Meanwhile, a former colleague she'd worked with two years earlier had been dealing with exactly the problem she was solving.
He would have said yes on the first call. She just hadn't thought of him.
When she finally reached out, his response was ready: "I've been waiting for your call." The relationship had done all the work already, she just hadn't seen it.
81% of professionals say they regret not keeping in touch with people who mattered. The right relationship was there, it just never came to the surface.
Do this before you close this email.
Open your contacts. Scroll back further than feels comfortable, past the people you've been in touch with recently, past the obvious names, and into the ones you haven't thought about in a year or more.
At least one of them is relevant to something you're working on right now.
Maybe they just moved into a company you've been trying to reach. Maybe their new role puts them directly in front of the problem you solve. Maybe they're the referral you've been trying to manufacture through cold outreach.
Pick one. Send this:
"Hey [name], been a while. I've been thinking about [specific problem you're solving] and your name came to mind because of [specific reason tied to them]. I'd love your take on what we're building. Up for a quick call this week?”
Short. Specific. No pitch, just a genuine reason why they came to mind and one easy ask.
Put your network to work
You already know the people who can move things forward - the challenge is seeing them at the right time.
Goodword helps you:
Reconnect with people who’ve become relevant again
Spot who’s in a position to help right now
Turn everyday conversations into real opportunities
The relationships are already there, we’ll help you see them.
— Team Goodword