Module 2.2: The Mindset Shift

Note: This module includes a short multiple-choice question You’ll find the question at the top of this transcript and the correct answer at the very bottom. Read through the module first before scrolling down for the answer!

Question:

3. What mindset shift does GTN encourage for sellers?

           A) Rely more on product demos to win trust

           B) Double down on volume and follow-up

           C) Focus on who already trusts you and can open doors

           D) Use only referrals and ignore outbound entirely

Transcript:

Most sellers are stuck in a mindset that feels productive but isn’t. They think, if I just send more messages, if I sharpen my pitch, if I follow up enough times… We’ve been trained to treat outbound like a game of attrition. Volume equals victory. Whoever out-hustles, out-sequences, and out-automates wins.

But here’s the truth: buyers are tuning it out. And honestly, can you blame them? Have you looked at a buyer’s inbox or phone lately? It’s chaos. Think about the last time you got a cold pitch that actually made you want to respond.

I’ll wait.

Now think about the last time you got a message from someone you trust; a colleague, a former boss, a friend; saying, “Hey, you should meet this person. They’re legit.” That’s the mindset shift.

Go to Market is about finding people to talk to.

Go to Network is about asking, who already trusts me enough to help open doors?

It’s not just a tactical difference. It’s a fundamental shift in how you see yourself in the sales process. You’re not just a rep with commission breath pushing a product. You’re part of a living, breathing web of relationships. Your job is to nurture and activate that network, not ignore it.

Here’s an example.
Outbound thinking: I need to break into this account. Let me cold email everyone and hope someone bites.
 

Go to Network thinking: Who do I already know that might know someone here? Do we have past customers at this account? Does an investor sit on a board with their CMO? Did someone from a recent event make an intro possible?

Another example.
Outbound: I need pipeline. I’ll spend the next hour sending 50 emails.
GTN: I’ll spend the next hour reconnecting with three trusted people who are well connected, and I’ll ask how I can help them.

In GTN, your biggest lever isn’t your script, your offer, or your messaging. It’s your connectors, your messengers. That’s where a new kind of sales rep comes in: the Network Development Rep.

NDRs aren’t measured by dials or email volume. They’re measured by doors opened. They treat their network and their company’s extended network; investors, advisors, team members; as strategic assets. They map it, grow it, activate it, and amplify it at the right time. Instead of calling 100 strangers, they figure out which connectors can get them to the right people with trust already built in.

It’s not that SDRs aren’t working hard. They’re just working in the wrong direction. The future of sales development looks a lot more like relationship development. And in fact, that’s what SDRs and BDRs originally were. Relationship builders, not cold dialers.

Whether the “NDR” name sticks or not, the mindset shift remains. You can call it what you want. The key is confidence. When you reach out cold, you’re hoping your words land. But when someone gives you a warm intro, everything changes. Suddenly you’re not a stranger. You’re pre-vetted. You walk in with trust already in the bank. You skip the line.

And this is not about killing outbound. Outbound isn’t dead. You won’t get every meeting through your network. The goal is to get 10 to 20 percent of your meetings this way. Outbound still has a role, but GTN makes sure you’re not ignoring the easiest, warmest paths just because they take a little more work up front.

And remember, you don’t need thousands of intros to replace thousands of cold calls. Because of the higher conversion rates, 10, 20, 30, 40, maybe 50 warm intros can transform your pipeline, your close rate, your annual quota, and your commission check.

This isn’t a playbook problem. It’s a perspective problem. You don’t win alone. You win with people. And people don’t help strangers. They help, and they buy from, people they know, like, and trust.

You already have access to trust. The question is whether you’re using it.

Answer:

3) C

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