One Networking Team…Ten+ Years of Membership – Now THAT is Commitment!

By Anne Kelley
Southeast Bureau Chief
(the Carolinas, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi)

I wonder how many of us have made the kind of commitment to a networking team that several members of the Buckhead PowerCore Team have made. I was a member of this team nearly ten years ago. Imagine my surprise when recently talking with a current member of this team to learn that five of the members I had known were still on the team. I began to wonder what made this kind of “stick-to-itiveness” possible. This team has had an average of 30 members and meets in a part of the city that is full of tall buildings and business is booming!

Looking at a list of the members, one realizes that the team is very strong in B to B members. Also in looking through the business categories represented I realized that the more personal services that were represented were the kinds of services that busy business people would need.

A phone call to Wendy Kinney, www.PowerCore.net founder, gave me the insight into the team member’s commitment. Success! -- Both for the long term members as well as this team. It sounds simple…almost too simple. These teams meet weekly at 7:00 a.m. There is an attendance policy to maintain membership, so no sleeping in! If you are going to join a PowerCore team you better be serious about networking and supporting your team. There is a wonderful structure in place for each team, active membership participation in leadership roles and a lead tracking system that rewards those members that are working to recruit and support team members.

The first part of the meeting is about education. Each person, including guests, has one minute to tell everyone attending about their business, ending with, "A good referral for me is..." The idea is not to "pitch" the people at the table. Next two Members of the Team give 7-Minute presentations, where they share more detailed information about their businesses.

Following 7-Minute presentations, there is a Referral Trigger exercise. Everyone on the team will answer to the same question. The question changes every week, and the Participation Coordinator will announce the question, so you have a chance to think of an answer. The final part of the meeting is passing referrals. Team Members pass referrals to each other, and you hear invitations to coffee and lunch.

If you are struggling with finding your place to network, I would encourage you to visit the PowerCore website and read some of Wendy’s articles and reading recommendations. Every networker has a different idea about what works, but considering all the options and input from the experts while evaluating the true “cost” of networking is a good investment of your time.

Please let me know of interesting and successful networking opportunities in the Southeast. I would love to contact them for an interview and spotlight in my column.