Try Valley
Put your outbound workflow to work.
Saniya Sood
Published:
Updated:
Published October 8, 2026 · Updated November 11, 2026
The answer in 60 words: the warmest path to a buyer is a person you both know. Valley's introduction request play takes a CSV of first-degree connections positioned near your buyers, verifies that everyone is a real connection, writes each referral ask personally in your voice and grounded in your real relationship, sends one gentle follow-up, then stops for good. Every message waits for your approval.
This article describes the play exactly as published on joinvalley.co/playbooks on October 8, 2026. Valley makes the product, so read it as the maker's own guide, not a review.
Valley is an AI outbound platform that finds the people most likely to buy from you - from live buying signals, natural-language search, or your own lists - qualifies them against your ICP, researches each one, and sends personalized messages across email and LinkedIn that get 15-45% reply rates, against a category average of about 2%.
► Run this play on your own ICP: 7 days free, every feature on
Give your sales team
an unfair advantage.
Who this play finds, and why they reply
A referral ask is the highest-converting message in B2B and the one people are worst at sending, because it feels like imposing. The play's design removes the imposition: one honest ask, easy to decline, never a pitch. Champions who can say no without awkwardness say yes more often.
It is first-degree only by construction. Valley verifies everyone on the CSV is a real connection, so the ask never goes to a stranger, and the message is grounded in the real relationship rather than a template about networking.
How the play runs
The flow, as the product shows it: 1st-degree champions › Personal ask › LinkedIn DM.
Pick your champions. A CSV of first-degree connections positioned near your buyers. Valley verifies everyone is a real connection.
Valley writes each ask personally (AI step). A direct message in your voice, grounded in your real relationship. One honest ask, easy to decline, never a pitch.
A single gentle follow-up. Then it stops for good. Every message waits for your approval.
Before you launch
Upload a CSV with LinkedIn profile URLs for the people you want to reach.
Setting | Value |
|---|---|
Audience | 1st-degree only |
Cadence | One-time |
Cadence tag | One-time |
Sending channel | LinkedIn only |
Review the audience, message and sending settings before starting. The channel shown is the sending channel for this play, not the source of its prospects.
Give your sales team
an unfair advantage.
What the message says
A direct message in your voice, grounded in your real relationship, with one honest ask. The play's own words. It says who you are trying to reach and why this person might know them, and it makes declining easy.
One gentle follow-up, then it stops for good. Every message waits for your approval, which matters more here than anywhere: these are people you know.
Pick champions by proximity, not seniority. The best person to ask is the one who sits one step from your buyer: a peer, a former colleague, an investor in the same company. A senior contact who does not know the buyer can only forward a message; a peer who does can vouch, and the ask should name the specific person or company you hope to reach so the champion can answer in one line.
When this is the wrong play
You want to nurture the whole network, not ask for intros. Engage your first-degree network is a slow personal drip with no ask.
The champions are not actually connected to you. Non-connections are verified out; the play cannot reach second-degree contacts.
You want to reach former colleagues as buyers. Former colleagues in buying seats messages them directly.
Related plays
Engage your first-degree network: A slow, personal drip to people already in your network.
Reach ex-colleagues at new companies: People who worked where you worked, now sitting in buying seats elsewhere.
Re-engage a previous campaign: People who accepted your connect but never replied get a fresh motion, by stage reached.
Open the play itself: Ask your network for intros on the Valley playbook library, or browse all 58 plays.
Related: LinkedIn Testimonial Posts · Competitors' LinkedIn Company Followers · LinkedIn Profile Views · Valley pricing
See also: How to Reach Everyone Engaging a Competitor's Product Launch Post · Followers on LinkedIn: How to Find the Ones Worth Messaging · LinkedIn Company Page Followers: How to Message the Ones Who Fit Your ICP
► Book a demo: see how Valley would find, research and message your buyers
FAQ
How do you find warm leads instead of buying cold lists? Start from people who already have a reason to hear from you: mutual connections, people who engaged with your content, and accounts showing a buying signal. Introductions are the warmest of these; this play asks first-degree connections near your buyers for a referral, in your voice, and every message waits for your approval. The warm leads guide covers the other sources, and the warm outbound explainer shows how to work them.
How do I ask a LinkedIn connection for an introduction? One honest ask in your own voice, grounded in the real relationship, easy to decline, with one follow-up. Valley writes it per person and waits for your approval.
Who can I send it to? First-degree connections only. Valley verifies connection status from your CSV.
How many follow-ups? One gentle follow-up, then it stops for good.
Does the message pitch my product? No. It is a referral ask, never a pitch.
Can I review each message? Yes. Every message waits for your approval.
