Purpose of This Step: To organize your list of potential partners based on the strength of your existing relationship with them. This helps you tailor your outreach approach for maximum effectiveness—because not every partner should be contacted the same way.

What This Step Involves

Now that you’ve brainstormed potential partners, it’s time to sort them into one of three categories—or tiers. Each tier reflects how well you know the person or organization and determines how warm or cold your outreach will need to be.

Instructions

1. Review Your List from Step 1. Pull out your brainstormed list of potential partners. For each name or platform, ask yourself: What kind of relationship do we already have, if any?
2. Assign a Tier Based on Relationship Strength. Use the following criteria to sort them:
3. Tier 1: Close Connections. These are people you have a strong, current relationship with—trusted clients, referral partners, collaborators, or professional peers. You’ve had recent contact, and they know who you are. Example: A podcast host who’s already a client, or a chapter lead at a local SHRM group you’ve spoken to recently.
4. Tier 2: Warm Acquaintances. These are people you know, but not well—or haven’t talked to recently. Think former clients, old networking connections, LinkedIn contacts you’ve messaged before, or someone you were introduced to once. Example: Someone who referred a client five years ago or a local event planner you met at a conference.
5. Tier 3: Cold Contacts. These are people who don’t know you at all. You admire their work, respect their platform, and believe they’d be a great fit—but there’s no current relationship. Example: A popular HR podcast host you follow but have never interacted with.
6. Record Your Tiers. Whether you’re using the worksheet or your own document, clearly label each contact by tier. This will guide how you engage them in the next steps.
7. Aim for Balance. Try to identify 3–5 partners per tier to start. This gives you a well-rounded strategy:
8. Quick wins from Tier 1
9. Warm-up potential with Tier 2
10. Long-term relationship building with Tier 3

Pro Tips

• Don’t overthink whether someone is Tier 2 or Tier 3. Go with your gut, and adjust as needed.
• This is a living document. As relationships evolve, you can re-tier contacts.
• Avoid sending generic messages to every contact. Your relationship status should directly shape your outreach strategy.

What Success Looks Like

• You’ve sorted your contact list into three clear tiers.
• You have a solid mix of warm and cold opportunities.
• You’re ready to begin engaging with each contact in a way that makes sense based on your relationship.

Next Step

Move on to Step 3: Get on Their Radar. Before sending any messages, you’ll start warming up your cold and warm contacts through thoughtful, value-driven interactions.