Most owners can't answer this question. Allie can.
Alignable Method Step 3 of 5: Identify / Invest
Every business owner I talk to is carrying the same question. Not "how do I get more customers." Something more specific, and more urgent:
Who in my network is closest to sending me a referral right now — and do I even know they're there?
Most of us can't answer it. Not for lack of networking. We've got contacts in our phone, connections on LinkedIn, people we met at the chamber breakfast. What we don't have is a way to see which of those relationships is six inches from paying off.
That's what this week is about. Step 3 of the Alignable Method is Identify and Invest: figure out who your real referral partners are — the complementary, non-competing people serving the same audience you do — and put your time into them. This is how you build your Active 50, the core group who know exactly what you do and refer you without being asked.
Here's what it looks like when someone actually does it.
PROOF: GREG'S NETWORK, THIS WEEK
Greg is a marketer who works with nonprofits. Good at his job, active networker, been at it for years. This week he sat down with Allie and asked the question most owners never think to ask: What does my network actually look like, and where are the gaps?
Three deals already in motion had gone quiet — two fundraising clients and a $5M nonprofit lead. Not new names. Existing relationships with no next step attached. Allie flagged them. Greg sent the follow-ups. Things started moving again.
Then a gap he didn't know he had: zero connections to homeless-shelter organizations, a real blind spot for a nonprofit marketer. Allie found a two-hop path through one of Greg's highest-trust contacts to a warm introduction at Emmaus Inc. One ask. New vertical opened. A podcast guest as a bonus.
None of that was in Greg's head. All of it was already in his network. He just didn't have a way to see it until he asked.
YOUR PLAY THIS WEEK
Greg's story isn't the exception. The same analysis Allie ran on his network — surfacing quiet deals, mapping two-hop paths, flagging the gaps he didn't know he had — is running on yours right now.
You don't need to know the right question to ask. Allie's already done the Identify/Invest work. Your plan is there when you are.
Comments (1-4)
Allie is highlighting what so many business owners overlook: the relationships already in our network that are just inches away from becoming real opportunities. Seeing quiet deals, gaps, and two‑hop paths mapped out like this is a game‑changer. As someone who helps families and businesses build stability, I know momentum comes from nurturing the right connections. Identify & Invest isn’t just a step — it’s a strategy that keeps referrals flowing and impact growing.
Eric, I like the Identify > Invest framing.
One of the things I’ve learned is that the initial connection rarely produces the outcome by itself. Relationships usually need nurturing. The challenge is deciding what level of attention each relationship deserves; and what the next appropriate touchpoint should be.
AI can help us notice where attention may be useful. Human judgment still determines how we invest that attention.
I've started engaging Allie to help distinguish referral partners from the direct contacts that I want to make presentations to. This is an important distinction given that I only work directly with brokers in the loan process. Allie can help T-up those referral partners that work with mortgage brokers.
Now this is a good use of AI: let it find the next human touchpoint, then reach out yourself.
Thanks for sharing this new level of discovery. I can’t wait to make it part of the process of meeting great people and making business happen!