7.6 Network Growth Plan
(Or: "How to turn LinkedIn from a graveyard into a goldmine")
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7.6.1 Quarterly Network Growth Targets
The 5-10-5 Rule for Strategic Networking
Goal How to Execute (Indian Context) Success Metric
Add 5 High-Value Contacts Target: Investors, policymakers, potential enterprise clients. Indian Hack: Attend niche industry weddings—where deals happen over biryani. 1/5 becomes a warm lead within 90 days.
Reactivate 10 Dormant Ties Reconnect with ex-colleagues, batchmates, vendors. Script: "Hey [Name], saw [mutual connection] and thought of you. Let’s catch up over chai?" 3/10 lead to actionable intros.
Prune Dead Weight Archive contacts who: ❌ Ignore 3+ messages ❌ Never reciprocate ❌ Are irrelevant now. Tool: Use Cleaner.ai to auto-identify inactive LinkedIn connections. Reduce network clutter by 20%.
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📅 Quarterly Networking Playbook
1️⃣ Month 1: Hunting New Contacts
• Target: 5 high-value connections.
• Tactics:
o Investors: Attend Angel List India meetups.
o Mentors: Leverage IIT/IIM alumni directories.
o Clients: Comment on target CEOs’ LinkedIn posts for 2 weeks → Then DM.
2️⃣ Month 2: Rekindling Old Ties
• Target: 10 dormant but valuable contacts.
• Tactics:
o Ex-Colleagues: "Remember when we [shared memory]? How’s life at [their company]?"
o Batchmates: Use college reunion WhatsApp groups.
o Vendors: "We’re expanding—know anyone like you?" (Flattery + incentive).
3️⃣ Month 3: Pruning & Organizing
• Target: Remove 20% dead weight.
• Tactics:
o Archive non-responsive contacts.
o Tag remaining connections (e.g., “Investor,” “Mentor,” “Regulator”).
o Update CRM with latest interactions.
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🔥 War Story: The 90-Day Network Glow-Up
A Delhi founder:
1. Added 3 VCs via a mutual friend’s birthday party.
2. Reactivated a dormant tie with a GST officer (saved ₹12L in penalties).
3. Pruned 200+ dead contacts → Cleared mental clutter.
Result: Closed Series A 3 months faster than competitors.
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🛠️ Tools for Execution
Task Free Tool Pro Tool
Find New Contacts LinkedIn Advanced Search Apollo.io (₹5K/month)
Track Outreach Google Sheets HubSpot CRM (₹8K/month)
Prune Dead Weight Cleaner.ai (Free) ContactFix (₹2K/month)
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📌 Founder’s Networking Toolkit
1. The "5-Minute Rule"
o Spend 5 mins/day engaging with target contacts (Like, comment, DM).
2. The "Favor Bank" Tracker
o Note who you helped → Casually “withdraw” favors later.
3. The Quarterly "Network Audit"
o Grade contacts A-F:
A: Crisis lifelines
C: Nice, but not critical
F: Dead weight → Archive
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🎯 Final Thought
"Networking is like farming—you plant seeds (new contacts), water relationships (reconnect), and harvest (ask). Skip a step, and you starve."
