Sellers, meet Go-to-Network: the framework that helps you build stronger networks (founded on actual relationships), close more deals –– and enjoy the process without feeling like you’re being a sleazy seller with a terrible taste of commission breath. (Seriously, if I had a nickel every time I met one of those…well, I’d have a lot of nickels).

I love the term “Go-to-Network” for a ton of reasons, but one of my favorites? It’s a noun (Go-to-Network as a framework) and a verb. This blog post is all about the action of “Go-to-Network:” AKA Network Activation, the next best step after you build and strengthen your network with qualified leads (and awesome relationships).

What is network activation?

Network activation is the act of turning the people and relationships in your network into business value –– and that's something every salesperson needs to do if they want to hit quota (at least, in today's economy).

In a world where outbound sales is becoming increasingly costly and ineffective, mastering the art of leveraging your network to drive pipeline and sales is critical. There’s been a 5x increase in outbound touchpoints to get one deal in the pipeline since 2019…that means sellers are currently averaging 1,400 touchpoints to book one single meeting! 

Having trouble visualizing that number? No problem, we've got you:

(Are you making the yikes-emoji face? Yeah, me too…)

That's a ton of cold calls and cold emails, with a low probability of consistently connecting with potential customers. By contrast, successful warm introductions increase meeting booking rates to 50% (sometimes even closer to 75%, depending on your industry). It makes sense, considering recent reports tell us that 84% of B2B buyers start the process with some form of referral or recommendation.

Not every dino has a neck long enough to get to the top of the funnel on their own – and that’s why B2B sales is all about who you know and trust. It’s up to us sellers to leverage the trust of our network to find the right buyers. When done right, we can skip the funnel almost entirely and go from intro to closed deal in a way shorter time.

How to activate your network through warm introductions

"Your network is your net worth" is Commsor’s fave saying for a reason – research shows that people are 92% more likely to trust recommendations from friends, family, or other valuable connections than they are to trust something from cold inbounds. So, how can you activate your professional networks and ensure a steady stream of warm sales leads?

There are four main steps to activating your network: identifying connectors, understanding the connector types, actioning connector relationships according to their type, and creating a repeatable process for incorporating warm intros and referrals into all areas of the sales process. 

The 4 network activation steps

1. Identify potential “connectors”

Connectors are folks in your network with whom you’ve built enough trust and rapport and who would be willing to make warm intros or referrals on your behalf. 

It’s important to note that these are not just your friends. Think about these categories:

• Team members
• Investors and advisors
• Your executive team
• Tech and ecosystem partners
• Happy customers
• Influencers
• Friends and former colleagues 

If possible, select three strong relationships in each category. The aim is to have a strong pool of people with mutual connections to valuable leads that you could leverage to offer up your product, service or solution in various scenarios. Diiversity is key here––you can’t ask the same person every time you need a warm introduction or you’ll burn out that relationship. Also, don’t be afraid to think creatively; if the “oddball dinosaur” researchers just found in Mongolia can use its claws for eating and self-defense, you definitely can find a way to leverage that influencer’s connections to their former boss.

2. Understand the 3 connector types

Now that you know who your valuable connections are, it's as simple as asking them to make introductions, right?

Well...not quite.

If you have extensive networks of professional contacts and contacts through your company, you may have a wealth of warm opportunities before you –but you have to understand how to leverage each of those opportunities.

Before you start sweating and saying “no pressure” while, in fact, feeling the pressure – I gotchu. Break down each of the relationships you identified from the above categories into these connector types:

• Organic advocates: People who will make unprompted intros on your behalf, such as happy customers, friends, or fans 
• Willing connectors: People who will make intros if you ask for them, like customers, friends, fans investors, advisors, or company executives
• Incentivized partners: People willing to make intros if you give them an incentive (think influencers or ambassadors)

3. Use the best method to “action” each connector type. 

Regardless of the connector type - MAKE 👏 IT 👏EASY 👏TO 👏REFER👏. Always be upfront that you’re looking for referrals and happy to receive them. After all, if you don’t say you're open for business, how will people know? 

Then, ensure you provide all the necessary items to make it easy for them to send the right people your way - give them a one-pager or landing page explaining exactly what you’re looking for, as well as example messaging for those warm intro emails they’ll be sending.

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Depending on the nature of your request, it may also make sense to share a pitch deck or give your connector an idea of your ideal customer profile. Tailor your approach to them, and remember: the aim is to be as clear, concise and convenient as possible. Make it easy for them to connect you with potential customers, and they'll be more willing to do so!

4. Make warm intros and referrals a repeatable process

Contrary to what most salespeople say, warm intros are not just a one-off Hail Mary you should use when you’ve run out of other ideas to build your pipeline, bring in more high-quality intros, or network within your existing pool of options.

You can and should be leveraging your network and your company’s network whenever possible––and doing so at every stage of the sales cycle.

Luckily, once you’ve built a network, identified potential connectors, and understand how to best activate them, warm intros can be permanent fixture. You can either save time by purchasing software like Commsor to enable warm intros on an ongoing basis, or you can deploy the following methods manually:

• Seek out warm intros to target accounts by searching through relationships in your network to find links to your prospects. 
• Multi-thread with new stakeholders into existing sales opportunities to increase the stickiness of your opportunities. 
• Source new potential leads by asking existing customers and connections who they know that may benefit from your product or services. 
• Expand current accounts by sourcing intros from current points of contact into mutual contacts in other departments or team.
• If you work with companies that receive funding through venture capital firms, look at the portfolio companies associated with those firms and see if any of those organizations fit your ICP
• Track job changes from current customers. When someone departs one organization for another, connect with them to congratulate them and ask for a referral to someone within their new organization.
• Backchannel intel from someone who knows the account or person for insights into preferences, priorities, or procurement processes.
• Leverage your real-life connections (i.e,. people you hang out with when you're not scrolling LinkedIn) and ask if they know anyone from their personal or professional circles who are looking for your product or service.

Want more specific ways of activating your network? Check out Commsor’s Go-to-Network for Sales guide here. 

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