Home / Playbooks / Networking Plan Template
Networking plan template: who to contact and how often
A networking plan template sorts your contacts into tiers and gives each tier a set cadence, channel and message. Key clients and referral partners hear from you monthly, active prospects every two to four weeks, past clients quarterly, and your wider network twice a year. Add a 12 month calendar and a 20 minute weekly routine, and the plan runs without heroic effort.
If you sell, recruit, advise or raise money, your network is your pipeline. Most people in these roles do not lack contacts. They lack a system that tells them who to call this week and what to say. Without one, the loudest deal gets all the attention and everyone else goes quiet.
This plan keeps the list honest. Dunbar (1992, Journal of Human Evolution) suggested people hold about 150 stable relationships, so tiers matter. Granovetter (1973, American Journal of Sociology) showed weak ties carry new information, and Levin, Walter and Murnighan (2011, Organization Science) found reconnecting with dormant ties produced valuable advice. Your plan should cover all three.
On this page
Who to contact and how often
| Tier | Who | How often | Channel | What to send |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tier 1: Core relationships | Your top clients, active champions inside key accounts, and the referral partners who actually send you business. Usually 15 to 30 people. | Monthly touch, plus a live conversation (coffee, call or lunch) every quarter. | Phone, text and in person first; email for anything with a link or document. | Useful intel about their market, intros to people they want to meet, quick congratulations, and a quarterly check-in on their priorities. Never just "checking in." |
| Tier 2: Active pipeline | Prospects in conversation, warm leads, and decision makers you have met but not yet worked with. | Every two to four weeks while the opportunity is live. | Email and LinkedIn messages, with a call when there is a real next step. | Follow-ups that answer their last question, a relevant case or article, an invitation to a small event, or a clear proposed next step. |
| Tier 3: Past clients and alumni | Former clients, former colleagues, people who changed companies, and anyone you worked closely with more than a year ago. These are your dormant ties. | Quarterly, plus any trigger event (new role, funding, promotion, move). | Email or LinkedIn message; a call once they reply. | Reconnect notes, congratulations on news, a short update on what you are working on, and a direct question about what they are focused on now. |
| Tier 4: Connectors and centers of influence | People who sit in the middle of your market: association leaders, event hosts, investors, consultants, journalists and well-known peers who know everyone. | Every six to eight weeks. | Email, events and LinkedIn. | Intros that help them, shares of their work, invitations to speak or collaborate, and thanks when they send someone your way. |
| Tier 5: Wider network | Acquaintances, event contacts, second-degree connections and moderately weak ties you would recognize but rarely talk to. | Twice a year, plus light engagement with their posts. | LinkedIn, newsletter or a short personal email. | A mid-year or year-end note, congratulations on milestones, and your occasional update. Rajkumar and colleagues (2022, Science) found moderately weak ties were the most useful for job mobility, so do not skip this tier. |
The 12-month plan
| When | Focus | Actions |
|---|---|---|
| Q1 (January to March) | Reset the list and reconnect. | Clean your contact list and assign every name a tier. Book a planning call with each Tier 1 contact to learn their goals for the year. Send ten reconnect notes to dormant Tier 3 contacts. Pick two industry events to attend this year. |
| Q2 (April to June) | Build the pipeline and meet in person. | Host or join one small gathering (breakfast, roundtable or dinner). Follow up with every new Tier 2 contact within two business days. Make at least three introductions between people in your network. Send a mid-year note to Tier 5. |
| Q3 (July to September) | Deepen key relationships and refill referral sources. | Hold a quarterly check-in with every Tier 1 contact. Thank each referral partner who sent business this year, specifically. Review which Tier 4 connectors went quiet and invite two to coffee. Move stalled Tier 2 prospects to Tier 3 so they stay on your radar. |
| Q4 (October to December) | Show gratitude and set up next year. | Send personal year-end notes to Tiers 1 through 4, written by hand for your top 20. Ask happy clients for referrals or testimonials. Note who moved companies this year and send congratulations. Draft next year's tier list and event plan. |
Messages to send
One message is easy. Hundreds of people, all year, is the hard part. Capstone Outreach puts everyone you know on a rhythm you pick, from weekly to every three months. When someone is due, a message like these is already written in your voice from your history with them. You approve it, and it goes from your own email or phone. See how it works.
Start 14 days free, then $25/mo
Everyone on a rhythm. Who is due, and when. Recorded in the app on a demo account.
1. Reconnecting with a dormant contact
Subject: It has been a while, [Name]
Why it works: It gives a real reason for reaching out and asks for advice, which dormant contacts are often glad to give.
2. Follow-up after a first meeting
Subject: Great meeting you at [Event], [Name]
Why it works: It proves you listened and delivers on a promise within days, which is what people remember.
3. Thanking a referral partner
Why it works: Specific thanks plus an offer to return the favor keeps referral sources sending business.
4. Quarterly check-in with a key client
Subject: Quick check-in on [their priority]
Why it works: Anchoring the check-in to their stated goal makes it a working conversation, not a sales touch.
5. Congratulations on a new role
Why it works: New roles are the best trigger for a touch because people are building fresh networks and remember who reached out early.
6. Asking for a warm introduction
Subject: Intro to [Target Name]?
Why it works: A forwardable blurb and an easy out make it simple for your contact to say yes.
7. Year-end thank you
Subject: Thank you for this year, [Name]
Why it works: A specific year-end thank you stands out from generic holiday cards and sets up a first-quarter conversation.
Write yours in 20 seconds
Free, no signup. The example is filled in: press the button, then replace it with your own situation. In Capstone, a message like it is written for each person you know when their check-in is due.
The weekly routine
- Monday, 5 minutes: scan news, LinkedIn and your calendar for trigger events (new roles, funding, promotions, wins) among Tier 1 to 3 contacts.
- Pick five people due for a touch based on their tier cadence and note one reason to contact each.
- Send those five messages using the templates, personalizing the first line every time.
- Follow up on any meeting or call from the past week that has not had a next step.
- Friday, 5 minutes: log who you contacted, who replied, and move anyone whose status changed to a new tier.
Mistakes to avoid
- Treating every contact the same, so your best referral partners get the same generic newsletter as a stranger from a conference.
- Only reaching out when you need something, which teaches people your name means an ask.
- Letting past clients go silent because there is no open deal, even though they are often your best source of referrals.
- Sending "just checking in" messages that give the reader nothing to reply to.
- Collecting new contacts at events without following up within a few days.
- Keeping the plan in your head instead of a list, so it collapses the first busy month.
What to track
- Last contact date for every person, and whether they are overdue for their tier's cadence.
- Introductions and referrals received, and who sent them.
- Introductions you made for others.
- Replies and meetings booked from outreach, by tier.
- Dormant contacts reconnected this quarter and what came of it.
- Trigger events you spotted and acted on.
Who on your list has gone quiet? Capstone shows the people you have not talked to in a while. Pick one, and it drafts a short note that picks up where your last talk left off.
Start 14 days free, then $25/mo
A study of 20 million LinkedIn members found that acquaintances, more than close friends, led to new jobs (Science, 2022). Capstone keeps those people warm. You approve every message, and it goes from your own email or phone.
Frequently asked questions
What should a networking plan template include?
A networking plan template should include your contacts sorted into tiers, a contact cadence for each tier, the channel you will use, and what you will send. Add a yearly calendar with quarterly focus areas, a short weekly routine, and a simple log of last contact dates and referrals so nothing slips.
How often should I contact people in my network?
It depends on the tier. Contact core clients and referral partners about monthly, active prospects every two to four weeks, past clients quarterly, connectors every six to eight weeks, and your wider network about twice a year. Trigger events like a new role or a company win are always a good reason to reach out between scheduled touches.
How many contacts should be in a networking plan?
Most people can actively manage somewhere around 150 relationships, a figure often linked to Dunbar's 1992 research on group size. Keep your top tier small, around 15 to 30 people, and let the outer tiers hold the rest. Anyone beyond that can sit on a newsletter or social list.
Is it worth reconnecting with old contacts?
Yes. Levin, Walter and Murnighan (2011, Organization Science) found that executives who reconnected with contacts they had fallen out of touch with got advice that compared favorably with advice from current contacts. Old colleagues and past clients already trust you, and they often know things your daily circle does not.
What is a good networking plan example for a busy week?
A good example: on Monday, scan for news about your top contacts. Send five personal messages to people due for a touch, follow up on last week's meetings, and log everything on Friday. That takes 20 to 30 minutes and keeps every tier on schedule without blocking a full afternoon.