How to Build a GTM Engine Fueled by Generosity
Shift your focus from moving prospects through a sales pipeline to moving contacts through “columns of giving” to build a network of advocates.
Most sales organizations obsess over moving prospects through a pipeline. On a recent episode of The Go-to-Market Podcast, host Amy Osmond Cook, Co-Founder and Chief Marketing Officer at Fullcast, sat down with Dr. Jeremy Weisz, Co-Founder of Rise25. Weisz takes a different approach.
Instead of tracking where contacts sit in a sales cycle, his team focuses on something far more powerful: how they can give value to every person in their network.
The “Columns of Giving” A Framework for Authentic Engagement
Weisz’s fundamental shift away from traditional sales thinking is built on a simple question: “How do we give to this person? We’re not trying to sell them or anything like that.”
This turns “building relationships” from a vague idea into a process you can actually follow. The five core columns include:
- Platform: Featuring partners on a podcast to amplify their voice and expertise
- Introductions: Connecting people who can benefit from knowing each other
- Gifts: Sending thoughtful, often food-related items to show genuine appreciation
- Promotion: Sharing a partner’s content or celebrating their wins on social media
- Opportunities: Recommending network contacts for other podcasts or speaking engagements
“That’s why I gravitated towards podcasting,” Weisz shares. “I found no better way to give to my network of people.” This framework underscores the increasing importance of genuine human connection in business relationships.
Why a “Give-First” Approach Outperforms the Hard-Sell
This relationship-building strategy generates business organically, without aggressive tactics. Because you consistently provide value, your network understands what you do and trusts you. As Weisz puts it, “People know what we do, so if they know someone who has a need… they’ll contact us.”
This approach builds social capital that transforms your network into a community of advocates. They become invested in your success because you are genuinely invested in theirs. This philosophy echoes what fellow business leader David Homan shared on The Go-to-Market Podcast: “Trust is based on action. That’s the only thing I believe that actually earns trust.”
This giving-first model is a powerful example of what a GTM strategy can be when it prioritizes long-term relationships over short-term conversions.
Turning a Philosophy Into a Process
What separates this approach from vague networking advice is that it’s a repeatable process. “We have a pipeline call three days a week,” Weisz explains. But these calls focus exclusively on moving people through the columns of giving, not through a sales cycle.
This requires the right systems and processes to stay organized. Just as companies like Degreed use platforms to orchestrate their RevOps engine, Weisz’s team uses systems to track their giving activities, ensuring consistency and impact. Implementing this strategy at scale requires strong operational alignment, a key focus for Fullcast for RevOps.
Using Tech to Deepen, Not Dilute, Relationships
Use AI to handle low-value tasks and “polish” your work, freeing up your time to invest in the human-to-human interactions that build real trust.
The rise of artificial intelligence presents a clear challenge for relationship-focused businesses. Weisz demonstrates how to use technology to enhance, rather than replace, authentic human connection.
Why Trust Is the New Currency in an AI-Generated World
The conversation between Cook and Weisz highlighted a growing problem: distinguishing authentic communication from AI-generated content. Weisz recounted receiving a voice text from a colleague and immediately knowing it was fake. “I called him like, ‘That was not you. I know that wasn’t you. That was, like, your AI clone voice.'”
When asked how he knew, his answer was simple: “Your BS detector is becoming a critical business tool.” In this environment, genuine one-to-one interactions become exponentially more valuable. Technology can help here, not by faking interactions, but by providing AI relationship intelligence to better understand them.
Understanding the true deal health and win-rate relationship requires looking beyond superficial metrics to the quality of human connection.
AI as Your “Polish” and Boosting Productivity to Reinvest in People
Rather than viewing AI as a replacement for human interaction, Weisz sees it as a tool for reclaiming time. He draws an unexpected analogy: “It’s kinda like when I got married and met my wife. She polished me up.”
He applies this philosophy practically in his daily work. “I use Whisperflow and Gemini inside of G Suite. I don’t wanna type anymore. I’m just, like, push the button, talk into Whisperflow, and it polishes up a little bit. It’s still me, but it definitely polishes it up.”
The goal is using AI for efficiency in low-value tasks so you can reinvest time in the highest-value activity: building relationships. This mirrors how Copy.ai uses technology to scale GTM efforts while maintaining strategic focus. The right technology, like Fullcast Revenue Intelligence, can analyze signals to help teams focus their human energy where it matters most.
How Personal Discipline Fuels Professional Performance
A demanding, relationship-first strategy is unsustainable without personal discipline; your professional performance is directly fueled by your health and well-being.
Weisz connects high-level strategy to the personal habits required to execute it consistently. A demanding relationship-building strategy requires sustainable energy and clarity.
Win the Morning, Win the Relationship Game
Weisz shares his transformation from a “sleep when I’m dead” night owl to an early riser whose morning routine includes swimming a mile daily. “It gives me thinking time,” he explains. “It gives me a release.”
This disciplined start provides the mental space and energy required to consistently show up for his network. Without personal well-being, maintaining a generous, relationship-first approach becomes unsustainable.
The Undeniable ROI of Sleep and Health
“If we don’t have our health, we really have nothing,” Weisz emphasizes. He actively tracks his sleep with an Oura Ring, and the results surprised him: “I was like, ‘Oh my God, this is how I’m supposed to feel? This is crazy.’ I’m not tired all the time.”
The lesson for leaders is clear: you cannot give what you do not have. To build strong external relationships, you must first invest in your own health and energy. This personal accountability is similar to the data-driven accountability needed for accurate sales forecasting. Just as personal health data helps optimize performance, a data-driven revenue operations strategy provides the insights needed for business health.
Your Most Powerful Strategy Is Human
Dr. Jeremy Weisz’s success demonstrates that the most effective relationship-building strategy is not a complex sales methodology but a simple, profound commitment to generosity. His “columns of giving” framework provides a blueprint for turning this philosophy into a repeatable business process.
In a world rushing to embrace AI, the ultimate differentiator will be genuine connection. By using technology to become more efficient, we can free ourselves to become more human. The future of go-to-market does not belong to the best algorithm. It belongs to those who build the most authentic relationships.
What is one action you can take this week to “give” to a key partner or prospect without any expectation of return? Start there, and watch how it transforms your business.
