warm-path

name	warm-path
description	Map every warm path into a target account — LinkedIn connections, internal intel, customer networks, investor overlap, partner relationships, alumni, and pre-warm engagement. Use when the AE wants to find the easiest doors before going cold. Combines LinkedIn Co-Pilot, Pre-Stage company branching, Stage 1, and Stage 6.

Warm Path Mapper

Use this skill when the AE wants to exhaust every warm path into a target account before resorting to cold outreach. This combines the LinkedIn Co-Pilot, company context qualifier, internal intelligence (Stage 1), and Warm Path Activation (Stage 6) into a focused workflow.

Required Context

Before running, collect:

• Company name
• What you're selling
• Your company size (startup / growth / enterprise)
• Whether you want to export LinkedIn connections (CSV)

Guardrails

Read and enforce:

• QUALITY_GATES.md — Stage 1 and Stage 6 checkpoints
• VOICE.md — anti-slop rules
• VERIFICATION.md — verification discipline

Workflow

Step 1 — Open

Say exactly:

"Let's find the easiest doors into [Company] before you go cold. We’re not starting with blind outbound — we’re starting with the warmest path that’s actually available. First: are you at a startup, growth-stage company, or large enterprise? That changes which warm path assets we check first."

Step 1a — Branch examples

• If the AE says "We’re a 60-person startup" → start with investors, founders, advisors, and accelerator paths before anything else.
• If the AE says "We’re at a large enterprise" → start with product footprint, alliances, alumni, and internal relationship surface area.

Step 2 — LinkedIn CSV Decision

Ask:

"Do you want to supercharge this with your LinkedIn connections? You can export your connections as a CSV in about 10 minutes — it lets me cross-reference your entire network against this account and everyone in their orbit. Want to do that now, or should we work with Sales Nav searches?"

If yes → provide the exact LinkedIn export instructions from GREENFIELD.md and wait for the CSV. If no → proceed with Sales Nav search strings.

Step 2a — Branch examples

• If the AE says "Yes, I’ll export the CSV" → pause the rest of the workflow and wait for the paste before moving on.
• If the AE says "No, just use Sales Nav" → continue immediately with manual warm-path searches.

Step 3 — LinkedIn CSV Analysis (if provided)

When the AE pastes the CSV, run the full 5-step analysis immediately:

1. Direct connections at the target — scan Company column for matches
2. Second-degree warm paths — cross-reference against exec prior employers, investors, customers, partners
3. Likely change agents — scan for target-adjacent signals (mark UNVERIFIED, generate validation actions)
4. Warm intro chain — identify connectors with multiple links to target orbit
5. Connection recency scoring — weight by connection date

Output the LinkedIn Warm Path Report in the format defined in GREENFIELD.md.

After parsing, state the privacy note: "I'll use this for warm path analysis in this chat. I don't retain it myself beyond this analysis, but storage and retention depend on the AI product you're using."

Step 4 — Company-Type Branch

Based on the AE's company size, run the appropriate branch:

Startup (under ~200 people):

• Investor network sweep
• Founder LinkedIn check
• Advisor ask
• Cap table cross-reference
• Accelerator alumni search
• Co-investor introduction

Growth Stage (~200–2,000):

• Partnership team ask
• Customer overlap sweep
• Executive connection check
• CRM warm path filter
• LinkedIn employee search
• Board and investor overlap

Large Enterprise (2,000+):

• Product and customer overlap
• Partnership and alliance sweep
• Corporate venture and investment
• Alumni network search
• Research and standards body connections
• Geographic and physical proximity
• Industry analyst relationships

Step 5 — Internal Intelligence (Stage 1)

Ask the Stage 1 questions one at a time. Wait for the AE's answer before asking the next question:

1. Has your company ever touched this account?
2. Any departments with existing relationships you don't know about?
3. Is there a Slack channel or internal forum to post in?

Generate the internal bat signal message as paste-ready copy.

Step 5a — Branch examples

• If the AE says "We had a closed-lost here already" → stop and mine the prior contact history before searching for lower-probability paths.
• If the AE says "Our partnerships team knows them" → surface that relationship and draft the intro request immediately.

Step 6 — Warm Path Activation (Stage 6)

Ask one question at a time. Wait for the AE's answer before asking the next question:

1. Do you already have any first-degree or second-degree connections into this account or its orbit?
2. Do any existing customers know someone there?
3. Have you asked your manager, SE, exec sponsor, or CSM team if they know anyone there?
4. Are there shared investors, advisors, or board members?

Run this order exactly:

1. Direct LinkedIn connections
2. Change agents
3. Customer-network paths
4. Investor / board / advisor overlap
5. Event / conference overlap
6. Pre-warm engagement

Generate specific asks for the AE's top opportunities in each category.

Step 6a — Branch examples

• If the AE says "We found a first-degree connection to their VP" → draft the intro request immediately and pause the lower-probability warm-path work.
• If the AE says "A customer knows their Head of Ops" → promote that path above generic LinkedIn outreach and write the exact ask now.

Step 7 — Pre-Warm Plan

Generate the engagement-before-outreach plan:

• Follow the key executive on LinkedIn
• One genuine comment on their post
• One relevant content share with no ask
• Do this once each — never more.

Step 8 — Output

WARM PATH MAP — [Company Name]
Date: [Today]
AE Company Type: [Startup / Growth / Enterprise]

TIER 1 — DIRECT CONNECTIONS (act today)
[Ranked list with DM drafts]

TIER 2 — SECOND-DEGREE (act this week)
[Ranked list with specific asks]

TIER 3 — INTERNAL INTEL
[CRM findings, internal bat signal results, partner team results]

TIER 4 — CUSTOMER NETWORK
[Champion connections, customer overlap]

TIER 5 — INVESTOR/ADVISOR OVERLAP
[Shared investors, board connections, advisor network]

TIER 6 — CHANGE AGENTS
[Ex-employees from AE's company at target, and vice versa]

PRE-WARM SEQUENCE
1. Follow [Name] on LinkedIn — [date]
2. Comment on [specific post] — [date + 2 days]
3. Share [specific content] — [date + 5 days]
4. First outreach — [date + 7 days]

WARM PATHS EXHAUSTED: YES / NO
If NO: [specific paths not yet activated]

COLD OUTREACH RECOMMENDED: YES / NO
[Only YES if all warm paths exhausted with no result]

Step 9 — Checkpoint

Run the Stage 1 and Stage 6 checkpoints from QUALITY_GATES.md.

Step 10 — Completion

STATUS: DONE | DONE_WITH_CONCERNS | BLOCKED
WARM PATHS FOUND: [count]
TOP PRIORITY PATH: [one sentence — the single warmest path and the action to take today]

Routing

"Warm path mapping complete. Want to run a full Greenfield, or focus on leadership intel for your top exec target?"