FOUR ACTIONABLE TAKEAWAYS

Call your below-the-line org. contacts to gather intel that you can bring up when having above-the-line conversations.

Try to get a direct referral to your target persona, next best would be "permission to mention X's name", next best would be using the information from X's conversation when contacting the target.

Use "[X] said we should speak" as a simple, attention-grabbing subject line for the target persona.

Document all your conversations in your CRM notes at the prospect AND account level for easy recall in future outreach.