115 min
Send one real follow-up, today. Pick someone from a recent conversation, or one of your three. Reference something specific, using the script that fits the situation (1, 2, or 3). Aim for the 24-hour window from now on.
Week 9 of 13Phase 2: Get seen and connected
Follow through, build toward an advocate, and the day-60 check
The read (3 minutes)
The conversation went well. You both said "we should keep in touch." And then nobody sent the message, and a real connection quietly went nowhere. Most professional relationships fade in exactly that gap. A follow-up isn't a performance; it's just the next sentence after a conversation that got cut off by the end of an event. Two things make it land: send it within 24 hours when you can, and reference something specific you actually talked about.
Then you build toward the kind of relationship that moves your target: a sponsor, not just a mentor. A mentor advises you. A sponsor uses their influence on your behalf, puts your name forward, advocates in the room you're not in. You find a potential sponsor at the overlap from last week: someone with access who has seen your work. If no one fits yet, that's not a dead end, it's the instruction: your first job is getting your work in front of someone with access, which is exactly what phase 2 has been doing.
The one rule that protects all of it: don't only reach out when you need something. The relationship has to exist before the ask. Today is roughly day 60, the end of phase 2, so you also take your second checkpoint score. By now visibility and relationships should be moving, and the case you'll build in phase 3 has an audience that already knows your work.
This week's moves
220 min
Name your potential advocate, and make one small point of contact with no ask attached. On your circle map, find the overlap and write the name with script 4. If no one qualifies, write the visibility-first sentence. Keep it small and genuine, script 5.
310 min
Day-60 score. Take the same four-statement score and set all three columns side by side: baseline, day 30, day 60.
Script bank
Word for word, ready to use. Edit any script to make it yours, then copy it.
1.The event follow-up
"Hey [name], it was great meeting you at [event]. I really appreciated your take on [specific thing they said]. I'd love to stay in touch." No pitch, no ask. The specific reference is what makes it real.
2.The brief-moment follow-up
"Hi [name], we met briefly at [event]. You said [the thing they said], and it stuck with me. I'd love to learn more about your work if you're ever open to a short conversation." Almost no one says "that stuck with me," which is exactly why it's memorable.
3.The small no-ask touch
Pick the one that fits. Send something useful with one line: "Saw this and thought of you." Leave a real two-sentence comment when their post actually lands for you. Or before a shared event: "I see you'll be at [event]; would love to catch up if you have a minute."
4.The advocate-identifier
"The person with access who has actually seen my work is [name]." If no one qualifies: "No one with real access has seen my work yet. My first job is to change that with [name or group]."
5.The no-ask check
A question to ask yourself, not to send: "When did I last contact this person, and was it only because I wanted something?" Make one small point of contact with no ask attached before any ask.
Friday debrief prompts
Your Friday email carries the reply template. These are the prompts inside it.
- Who did you follow up with, and what specific thing did you reference?
- Your potential advocate, or your visibility-first move if no one qualified yet?
- Day-60 score across all three columns: which statement moved most this phase?
Your self-score: Day 60
Score each statement from 1 (not true) to 5 (true).
Re-entry note
However much of phase 2 you finished, name your advocate or your visibility gap (move 2). Phase 3 builds the case you'll put in front of exactly that person.