# Networking outreach Human Guide

## What This Is For
Relationship-first networking skill for identifying the right people to connect with and drafting value-add outreach — not sales, not referral asks. It gives the agent a clearer input/output frame for networking outreach: what context to ask for, what decisions to make, and what usable artifact to return.

Use this as a human-readable version of the Networking outreach agent skill. It is meant for marketers, operators, founders, and other non-coders who want the workflow without reading agent-specific implementation instructions.

## When To Use This
- Use this when you need a repeatable process for networking outreach.
- Use this when the task needs judgment, examples, constraints, or a clear output format rather than a one-off prompt.
- Use this when you want to hand an AI assistant enough context to produce a usable marketing artifact.

## When Not To Use This
- Do not use this when you only need a quick factual answer.
- Do not use this when the work depends on private data you cannot share with the assistant.
- Do not use this as a replacement for legal, compliance, financial, or medical review.

## What You Need Before Starting
- The goal or business outcome you want.
- The audience, customer segment, or market context.
- Any source material the assistant should respect, such as notes, briefs, examples, URLs, or brand guidance.
- Constraints such as tone, length, channel, deadline, region, or approval requirements.
- A clear definition of what a good final answer should look like.

## Step-By-Step Workflow
1. State the job clearly: "Use the Networking outreach guide to help me with..."
2. Add context: audience, goal, offer, channel, source material, and constraints.
3. Ask the assistant to identify missing inputs before producing the final output.
4. Have the assistant follow the skill-specific guidance below.
5. Review the result against the final checklist and ask for revisions where needed.

## Skill-Specific Guidance
- Tell me your networking purpose (e.g. "break into AI safety", "find hiring managers at fintech startups")
- I'll build a target persona matrix and suggest 5–10 specific people to reach
- Share their LinkedIn URL (or screenshot if profile is private)
- I'll research them + their company via the web
- We'll pick the best value-add angle together
- I'll draft: email (≤200 words) + LinkedIn connection request (≤300 chars)
- Share their LinkedIn URL + the role you applied for
- Tell me any referral context and your core proof points
- I'll draft a personal follow-up email that leads with a specific reference to their work, states your value clearly, and ends with a soft CTA
- **Warm path** — mutual connection, shared community, same alumni network
- **Content match** — they've written or spoken about your exact interest
- **Accessibility** — they respond publicly, actively post, have open DMs

## Decision Points And Nuance
The original skill emphasizes: Workspace Context, Operating Contract, Quick Start, Mode 1: Identify Targets, Intake Questions, Target Persona Matrix, Target Prioritization, Output Format, Mode 2: Research & Draft Cold Outreach, Step 1: Pull Their LinkedIn Profile.

Use these questions to steer the work:
- What is the intended audience or buyer?
- What source material must be preserved?
- What should the assistant optimize for: clarity, persuasion, accuracy, speed, creativity, or conversion?
- What examples represent the desired quality bar?
- What should the assistant avoid?

## Common Mistakes
- Generate 5–10 ideas. Every angle must answer: **"What's in it for them?"**
- | 4 | Offer a skill/perspective they don't have | Fresh context from a different industry |
- Never ask for a referral or coffee chat in the first message
- Must fit in 300 characters — count before sending
- CTA: calendar link or "15 minutes" — never "let me know if you're interested"
- **Admit the obvious about yourself** — state the thing that's been true all along that makes you the right fit, as if you're finally saying it out loud. Don't hide behind credentials. Open with identity, not job title.
- Personalization must connect to a real point — not filler
- Admitting what you don't know

## Copy-And-Paste Prompt
```text
Use the Networking outreach human guide.

My goal:
[Describe the business outcome]

Audience:
[Describe who this is for]

Context and source material:
[Paste notes, examples, links, or existing copy]

Constraints:
[Tone, length, channel, timeline, must-include items, must-avoid items]

Before producing the final output, ask me for any missing information that would materially improve the result.
```

## Final Checklist
- [ ] The output matches the original goal.
- [ ] The audience and context are reflected in the answer.
- [ ] Important constraints and source material were preserved.
- [ ] The assistant made the relevant decisions explicit.
- [ ] The final artifact is ready to use, review, or hand to the next person.

## Source
This guide was generated from the manojbajaj95/claude-gtm-plugin skill entry for `networking-outreach`.

## Source Skill Notes
These notes preserve the nuance from the original skill. Use them as supporting reference when the workflow above feels too generic.

# Networking Outreach

## Workspace Context

Read bootstrap context before asking questions: `strategy/brand.md` for brand, audience, offer, channels, tools, constraints, and metrics; `about/me.md` for personal voice; `content/ideas.md` and `content/calendar.md` for content planning. Use legacy product-marketing context files only as fallback. Save generated drafts to `content/<platform>/drafts/YYYY-MM-DD_short-topic-slug.md`, and route durable learnings back to `strategy/brand.md`, `about/me.md`, or `content/ideas.md`.

## Operating Contract

This skill is self-contained for its frontmatter scope: use its local instructions, references, scripts, and assets as the playbook; ask only for missing task-specific inputs; hand off to adjacent skills instead of expanding scope; and return an actionable artifact, decision, plan, draft, or diagnostic.


Relationship-first outreach built on research and value. The goal is to start a conversation by giving something, not asking for something.

## Quick Start

**Mode 1 — Identify targets:**
1. Tell me your networking purpose (e.g. "break into AI safety", "find hiring managers at fintech startups")
2. I'll build a target persona matrix and suggest 5–10 specific people to reach

**Mode 2 — Draft outreach for a specific person (cold networking):**
1. Share their LinkedIn URL (or screenshot if profile is private)
2. I'll research them + their company via the web
3. We'll pick the best value-add angle together
4. I'll draft: email (≤200 words) + LinkedIn connection request (≤300 chars)

**Mode 3 — Hiring manager follow-up:**
1. Share their LinkedIn URL + the role you applied for
2. Tell me any referral context and your core proof points
3. I'll draft a personal follow-up email that leads with a specific reference to their work, states your value clearly, and ends with a soft CTA

---

## Mode 1: Identify Targets

### Intake Questions

Before generating targets, establish:

| Question | Why It Matters |
|----------|----------------|
| What's your goal? | Job, partnership, learning, visibility |
| What's your current context? | Title, company, background |
| What industry/function? | Narrows the search |
| Do you have any warm connections? | Starting point for introductions |
| What's your timeline? | Urgency affects strategy |

### Target Persona Matrix

| Dimension | Options |
|-----------|---------|
| **Seniority** | Peer / +1 level / +2 levels (max) |
| **Accessibility** | Active on LinkedIn, writes publicly, open profiles |
| **Relevance** | Working on what you want to learn/join/partner with |
| **Warmth** | Shared community, school, company, mutual connection |

### Target Prioritization

Rank targets by:
1. **Warm path** — mutual connection, shared community, same alumni network
2. **Content match** — they've written or spoken about your exact interest
3. **Accessibility** — they respond publicly, actively post, have open DMs
4. **Seniority fit** — close enough to relate, senior enough to open doors

### Output Format

For each target:
- Name + LinkedIn URL
- Why they're relevant
- Best angle to approach
- LinkedIn search query to find similar people

---

## Mode 2: Research & Draft Cold Outreach

### Step 1: Pull Their LinkedIn Profile

Use whatever browsing or screenshot tools are available in the host environment to read the full profile. If direct LinkedIn access is unavailable, ask the user for profile text or screenshots instead of inventing details.

**Extraction steps:**