Part 02 — Relationships Pipeline

Everyone you know, you'll know for the rest of your life

Let's begin with the key pillars of business development.

In this section, we are going to explore how to build a pipeline based on these core truths.

Part 02.01 — It's Who You Know

You know it's true

The first step is we need to asses and map out who we know.

You need to build a wide, warm, and active network. You know a lot more people than you realize and you can't predict where opportunity will come from. Because of how connected the world is now, everyone you know stays in your orbit. People change jobs, careers, and continents — I still get referred work from people I worked with 15 years ago. And I get work through people I would have never thought to reach out to.

You are inevitably going to focus on people and companies that feel "high value" and prestigious like people you know who work at Google or Anthropic. But know that those opportunities are very competitive and will take a long time to develop and materialize. Don't forget that the market is huge and opportunities are everywhere. You should prioritize people who you know better and have stronger relationships with at any size company that will be easier to get into and quicker to say yes.

Part 02.02 — Your New Relationship-Led Sales Cycle

How deals actually happen

Right now you have a spreadsheet that tracks the status of your RFP proposals with estimated budget and deadlines. Instead of that, you should be tracking and developing a strategy for how to engage people at each level of this funnel.

You are losing people after you meet them because you don't have a good answer for how to demonstrate value and how to work on a pilot project together. You can meet people all you want, but I'm sure you've noticed that without an immediate and obvious next step, the meeting falls into oblivion. You have a call, walk them through your capabilities deck and then it falls off a cliff. Remember how I said that demonstrating value is not demonstrating your capabilities. It's offering something of value. You need something to do next.

The other mistake you are making is that you are focusing all of your time and energy on trying to convince people you want to know instead of focusing energy on the people you already do know, already have demonstrated value to and already worked on pilot projects with. Its faster and easier to convert those folks. Don't sleep on who you know in the name of new and more.

Part 02.03 — Map Out Who You Want to Meet

Be strategic with your outreach

One of the most important growth moves is intentionally mapping who you want to meet. Not just companies you admire, but specific roles, thinkers, and operators you'd love to learn from or work alongside.

When I was in the band we would look at our friend's tour schedules and then email all the venues, coffee shops, local newspapers, DIY promoters, college radio promoters -- anyone who we thought might like us.

Early in my professional career, I used to apply for jobs I didn't actually want just to meet people at competitive companies and hear what they were up to. When I worked in both production and sales & business development, I used my role as a calling card to reach out to dream organizations I wanted to connect with.

You don't wait for access; you design it. When you get clear about who's in your future ecosystem, you can reverse-engineer proximity to them.

I want to remind you again that you are not going to be able to resist thinking of the biggest, most prestigious names out there when you do this. I challenge you to look right under your nose for an opportunity that could be passing you by. Something you would have never thought of, that will be quick to close and fast to start.

Part 02.04 — How to Do Outreach

It's just an email

When we wanted to meet another band, we didn't cold email them, we invited them to play a show with us. That's both demonstrating value and working on a pilot project together from the business success equation. We'll get to that strategy more in the next section.

But for now I want to talk about what to say when you are reaching out with a more general ask. I am adding a couple of email templates I've used to great success below. Notice that they are friendly and human not formal or irrelevant. They don't push they suggest.

I generally think it's good to coordinate email outreach with a launch. Even if it's not really, just make something up. Launches are new, fun and exciting. People respond to that energy. These work best as a mass BCC email. That way you create inbound and you aren't writing to people who aren't interested in what you're talking about at the moment.

Always send these on a Tuesday at 10 am. Launch day. The mass BCC email I am sharing below got 77 responses out of ~300 sends. That's a 25% response rate!

A One on One email is better if you are reaching out to someone with a specific ask or opportunity. This example got a response and led to a meeting. Understand the difference between the two types and learn how to use which email outreach when.

How to Ask for Referrals

One of the quickest and easiest ways to find new projects is to either retain your current clients or ask them for referrals. People who have already worked with you and trust you are your strongest growth channel. Don't overcomplicate it — a simple, direct ask goes a long way: "If anyone comes to mind who could benefit from this kind of work, I'd love an introduction."

And if asking feels uncomfortable, flip it. Offer referrals first. Introduce them to someone helpful. Share an opportunity. Make generosity your default. When you position yourself as someone who connects and adds value, referrals stop feeling transactional and start becoming a natural extension of the relationship.

What if They Don't Respond?!

With the band we used to send out 100's of emails. Most people never responded or even wrote back to say no, but all we needed was 1 yes to achieve what we were hoping for. Never forget you only need 1 yes.

Doing outreach can be scary — whether it's cold emailing, asking someone you know for help, or trying to sell something — but it really doesn't have to be. People want to hear from people. They're actively looking for collaborators, solutions, and opportunities all the time.

Seriously stop over thinking this and start doing it in a way that feels comfortable and human for you.

I once worked with a colleague who was terrified of outreach. The way she got over it was to reframe it as offering something genuinely useful instead of asking for something. Not only did people respond, it changed her entire relationship to business development and eventually gave her the confidence to start her own company.

Also: no response doesn't always mean no. It usually means busy, wrong timing, or lost inbox. Most people in sales have stories of sending multiple emails before the moment finally clicked. Outreach isn't rejection — it's timing, persistence, and being human. Think of it like sending updates and something of value rather than bothering someone to buy something.

I also want to mention that sometimes we think we know a brand from the outside and we identify it as someone who could be a good fit as a partner, but we don't really know what their strategy and priorities are on the inside. A lot of times if you don't get a response it's just misaligned. Learn more, tweak your value offer and try again.

Follow Up After No Response

Following up isn't annoying, it's how real relationships actually work. Most people don't respond because they're busy, not because they're uninterested. The key is to have something useful to send: a new project launch, an article, a thought, an update, or a relevant connection. Think of it as checking in, not chasing. Timing matters more than intent, and something that isn't relevant today might be perfect three months from now. Keep going, stay human, and let consistency do the work.

Get Over Feeling Scared

Outreach feels scary because we make it mean way more than it actually does. You're not doing anything wrong — this isn't a scam, a pyramid scheme, or some shady LinkedIn hustle (is it?). You're reaching out about a legitimate opportunity, conversation, or idea. Start with people you feel safest with first: friends, former colleagues, warm connections. The first positive response is everything — once you get one "yes," it's like, we got one, baby! — and suddenly the fear subsides. Confidence comes from motion and you build it by doing.

Permission to Fail

Truly. I've worked with so many brilliant people who hold themselves back because they're afraid of getting it wrong or waiting for everything to be perfect. I'm here to tell you that failure is inevitable and that you learn by doing, not by thinking.

Every successful person you admire has had a host of bad ideas, awkward moments, and things that didn't work. I can think of a million times I failed, and every single one taught me something useful that made the next thing better. Most people won't notice, and even fewer will remember. What matters is that you take action and keep going.

Part 02.05 — Find Your Work Friends

Who turns the light on when you're walking around in the dark

No one builds anything meaningful alone. Solo entrepreneurship is a myth, and isolation is a growth limiter. What you actually need is more like a personal board of advisors. Call it your "work wife" or your mentors, call it whatever you want. But call 3–5 people who you'll have around you that you can intentionally grow alongside. These are the people who tell you the truth, make the introductions, pressure-test your ideas, encourage you when you're tired, and help you execute when things get real.

My Work Friends

I have 4 or 5 friends who are brilliant and talented across different industries and perspectives. Some are senior executives at major companies, some are independent consultants, some are entrepreneurs building their own thing. When I need to gut-check an idea, when I'm stuck on something, or honestly when I just need to vent, these are the people I call.

We catch up every 3-6 months or so — not on any formal schedule, just when it makes sense. Sometimes it's a long call, sometimes it's a quick text thread. But every time we talk, I learn something. I hear what's happening on the ground in their industries. I get new information that informs my thinking. They tell me when I'm being lazy or making excuses. They encourage me to keep going when I'm doubting myself.

These aren't transactional relationships. I'm not calling them only when I need something. We're genuinely invested in each other's success. And because we work in different spaces, we each bring something different to the table — different networks, different expertise, different perspectives.

That's what a personal board of advisors actually is. Not some formal advisory structure with quarterly meetings. Just a handful of people you trust completely who make you better at what you do.

If you are doing this for the first time, look at who's around you and who has complementary skill sets. Do you have an existing trust based on a previous work experience? The goal is to build alongside people who make you better, braver, and more effective than you'd ever be alone.