Holistic Approach to Industry-Specific Networking Group in Illinois

By Matt Anderson

U.S. Great Lakes Bureau Chief
(Ohio, Kentucky, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota)

I love talking to people who see a need and create their own networking group. Debbie Dudek in the Chicagoland area is such a person. In February 2007 she started WIN, the Women’s Insurance Network.

For those of you not in this industry, keep reading because the methods she has applied could easily work with another profession.

95% of my work is with the insurance and financial service industry and it has long perplexed me how few women there are whenever I present at conferences or work in company offices. As a former manager and trainer with American Family, Dudek knew this all too well and decided to take action.

“It’s a male-dominated industry and women cannot do business the same way men can.” She gave me examples of marketing strategies to contractors and the auto industry that had worked well for male insurance agents in her company that flopped when female agents used the same strategy.

Dudek saw the value in starting a local networking group in Illinois that meets the needs of women in financial services and creating a model that can work in Any Town, USA. Interesting features to this group include:

1. It is a sub-group of a national professional association: the National Association of Insurance and Financial Professionals (NAIFA). Professional development is an integral part of the structure from strategic business planning to how to run a business.

Is there a demographic in your professional association that could use extra support? NAIFA also has a Young Advisors Team to support newer advisors in an industry that has a low retention rate.

2. It proactively invites synergistically-related professionals to get involved. CPAs, business bankers, and attorneys are also members. In other words: great referral partnership opportunities! “I get referrals frequently from other people,” Dudek shared. Could your professional association do a better job of inviting industry-related professionals? It beats joining the local chamber and is often overlooked. What organization doesn’t want more members?

3. Its personal development component. The monthly topics have included goal setting, how to say no, how to deal with stress, time management and dressing for success. These are almost unheard of topics for a traditional NAIFA event. “Many women in the industry are single moms who are struggling with many different things.

As someone who coaches advisors in this industry, I have to say that I find the above topics are also challenges for males (with the exception of saying no). Maybe our society has different expectations of men and women; I can see this model for meetings taking a pioneering role in the association and moving it and its male-dominated companies into the 21st (or do I mean 20th!) century.

What I love about this is that it raises an interesting issue: Should your professional organization try to help the whole person? WIN’s mission is: Empowering women professionals to be successful in servicing the financial services industry. Plus, from a referral standpoint, a strong center of influence has to be someone that you like. Personal development topics open those doors much wider.

Is it acknowledging a new trend that most people want a one-stop shop for a professional organization because we don’t have the time or desire to commit to multiple groups?

4. Its vision. Not only is it a resource organization for women in financial services but it has developed a turn-key system so women around the country can do the same thing without feeling like they’re adding an overwhelming commitment to an already crazy-busy life.

5. WIN’s holistic approach. It is designed to deliver all the success tools: “It’s something to help women feel comfortable in the industry” not just personally and professionally but providing the support, motivation and inspiration with a distinct female perspective.

6. All presentations must be interactive, not lectures.

The one thing that is not turn-key is each group does need one or more people on a local level to promote it actively at other networking events and within NAIFA so that other professionals know about it.

But between the personal, professional and referral benefits, WIN meets an infinitely wider variety of needs than its traditional counterpart. Is your professional organization growing and adapting?

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Posted to THE NATIONAL NETWORKER. To subscribe for your free newletter, go to http://www.thenationalnetworker.com/. For the complete National Networker Relationship Capital Toolkit and a free RSS feed, go to: http://thenationalnetworkerweblog.blogspot.com/.

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Holistic Approach to Industry-Specific Networking Group in Illinois

TNNW, September, 2008, Week 3: Putting the "Great" Back in Great Lakes

Die-hard fans of TNNW may have noticed that it's been a while since we've heard about the great networking taking place in the Great Lakes Region of the United States.

Have no fear...Matt Anderson is here!

Who is Matt you ask? He the newest member of the TNNW family and our new Great Lakes Bureau Chief, and while he has some big shoes to fill, he is more than up to the challenge. Matt will be bringing you what's working with networking: the best networks, the best events and the movers and shakers in Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky, Illinois and Wisconsin.

Matt is a British expat, who now lives in Madison, Wisconsin. His company is the Referral Authority and he is a speaker and contributing writer to Horsesmouth.com. Matt teaches, coaches and speaks to audiences of financial representatives from such organizations as New York Life and Prudential Insurance about utilizing networking to achieve corporate objectives. WELCOME MATT!

As always, I look forward to networking with you...

- Adam
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TNNW, September, 2008, Week 3: Putting the "Great" Back in Great Lakes

LinkedIn Live

By Matt Anderson

Great Lakes Bureau Chief
(Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, Kentucky)

The best networkers start their own groups and often get the biggest rewards. Katie Felten is doing that with her free monthly LinkedIn Live networking events in Milwaukee, WI. It is cleverly based around two often separate forms of networking: the online benefits of LinkedIn and the face to face benefits of connecting with other local business professionals. “No matter how great anything is online, you’ve got to bring people together in a comfortable environment,” notes Felten.

Like most successful ideas, it started from sensing a need in the marketplace. “Back in 2004 I was one of those people who would accept invitations to LinkedIn and would then do nothing. By 2006 I started getting more curious about it and looking for authors on the subject and reading blogs about it.”

Quite quickly she was getting branded as the “LinkedIn person”, was being asked for an overwhelming number of coffees to explain it and so decided to create an event around it. These happy hour meetings started in November 2007 and now meet on the first Monday of every month from 5:30-8:30pm (deliberately picked as a day that would seldom conflict with other networking events).

The format Felten uses includes a lot of open networking, microphone introductions, and about 15 minutes on a different LinkedIn topic each time. The meetings now attract anywhere from 50-100 people. While the introductions take time, the advantage is that it helps to identify all attendees. This helps you avoid missing out on meeting those one or two key people you might well not have run into otherwise (I never really recognized the value of this exercise before!).

On the surface, the benefits to these events are very similar to other networking events. However, the online networking component, LinkedIn, adds a different dynamic. While it’s helpful to have another topic of common ground that you can talk about with strangers; for those who understand the joys of connecting, you can get business ideas finding out how others are using it. It makes following up easier. You can even find yourself a new job!

Those who attend become part of Link Up Milwaukee which has almost 2000 members now and is the largest group in Wisconsin on LinkedIn. Interestingly, it is mostly through word of mouth that people hear about the networking event.

Why might you want to consider doing something like this in your area? “For me the number one benefit is being in a position of leadership where people almost instantly give you more credibility. I’ve been in a lot of groups; and when I started this, I was amazed at how quickly I was known as the LinkedIn Person. There are presidents of corporations – people who would never take my call – who are calling me.”

LinkedIn is growing fast which is good if you’re using it. If you’re not, the competition is jumping in fast too, so the choice is starting to get overwhelming about all the sites you could use if you had 12 days in your week!

Katie Felten, president of MKE Live www.mkelive.com , teaches workshops on LinkedIn and is looking to take LinkedIn Live events to other Wisconsin cities.

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LinkedIn Live

High Ideals and Integrity

By Cindy Dunston Quirk, The National Networker Great Lakes Bureau Chief
It seems unnatural to me that someone would want to be less than honest in any business dealing in today’s world. Actually, I’ll expand that into any situation. I always think the best outcome of situations; consider the positive and give people I meet the benefit of the doubt. Honesty and integrity have been part of my persona, well, forever. But not everyone in the world conducts business with such integrity. Someone I met recently restored my faith in the world...
Meet Alexander Rai

It did my heart good to speak to Alexander Rai. He is one of the most passionate, enthusiastic and dedicated people I have ever met. When I initiated our conversation, he left little doubt which side of the fence he is on. There is little room in his world for deception and insincerity.

Of course, the purpose of the conversation was to discuss networking and how he and his business partner, David Hall are progressing with their global network initiative. Rai began by defining networking. He says we are always networking. “Stepping out of your home and talking with the mailman is networking,” states Rai. He continues, “We live in a world that is smaller due to technology and in a world where everything is connected. Because of this connection, we need to have respect and care for all individuals—to value actions and speech, to be open about what we do.”

This is not a new idea that Alex has brought to the table. It is as old as the Bible. In fact, it sounds quite a lot like the Golden Rule--do unto others as you would have them do unto you. “We all need to practice compassion, understanding and meaning. We are all in the same boat,” Rai states.
Make Sincere Connections

With that thought in mind, when we network, we need to attempt to make sincere connections; don’t waste each other’s time. According to Rai, “Passion and integrity are the vehicles for meaningful conversation. Networking is a way of communicating who you are. What you do becomes an extension of who you are …and it can be wonderful! When you embrace networking as an identity, to value and respect others, you have a clear intention of your purpose of working with others and to create great wealth.”

Think about that for a moment. Just by being honest, sincere and working with high integrity, you can create wealth not just for yourself, but for your contacts as well. That is an extremely powerful thought. Simply put, you have the ability to raise the stakes. Rai advised that you don’t need a coach. You don’t need to spend tons of money to see results. You just need to operate with the highest ideals and respect for those with whom you are networking.
Guru Connector

Zivlyn, one of Rai’s eighteen companies, operates as an open company with very clear lines of responsibility and opportunity. Rai believes that people are learning to be people again instead of corporate robots spouting corporate rhetoric that they don’t necessarily agree with. Everyone has their areas of expertise and responsibility and the company is ripe with opportunity for those who rise to the occasion.

As an expansion of the open company concept, Rai mentions that you have to be willing to stick your neck out with new ideas. Don’t be afraid to put the idea out there and see if it is viable and if you have associates who are also formulating the same idea.

Working with David Hall on Hall’s company Guru Connector, Rai states, “David is not afraid to try. He is always making things better to help people. David is a great networker and his greatest strength is his integrity—it organically part of him. That is why I am David’s partner.”

Hall has been involved with Fortune 500 companies, is well travelled and is passionate and compassionate for people. “David has his hands in many things that have value and integrity; in things that he enjoys, loves and creates. He is not afraid to be who he is,” states Rai.

You could say that Rai and Hall are a perfect match with respect to clarity, a system of values and integrity. Together, they create hope and alternatives. And they have fast-track access to many like–minded people. Between them, they boast a network in excess of 1.3 million people. That is a lot of contacts.

Considering that your network may be a tad smaller than the combined network of Hall and Rai, Rai says that there is a chance that you may not always be able to find something that you need within your network of associates. In that situation, he says you need to create it yourself. Don’t be afraid to try; make things work for you.
One World

“People need to be people—be themselves before they are their products,” says Rai. “We are not the sum of what we are creating. We are so much more. We profit from each other through integrity, trust and honesty.” He continues, “This is one world and the same rules apply to a toad and to the CEO. You have to be compassionate, fair, and honorable. If you don’t have that, you are nothing.”

It is time to do the right thing.

With regard to final thoughts, Rai says that “…mankind is running out of time. It is time now to free ourselves and to question who you want to be. We all need to ask questions that mean something to each of us.”

“At the end of the day, you stand by yourself and have the honor and courage of who you are. Go back to the basics of integrity and high ethics before you look to the skies again.”

Well said.

If you know of someone who is making a difference paying it forward, let me know so I can write about it here and let the world know, too.
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High Ideals and Integrity

Relationships

By Cindy Dunston Quirk, Great Lakes Bureau Chief

Just in case no one told you this in business school, you can’t do this on your own.

What in the heck am I talking about? Relationships.

In “Young American” by David Bowie, he writes, “You need I; I need you.” So true. Today’s business climate isn’t about kicking networking old school by going to the network meeting of the moment and hand out fifty cards and expect fifty leads in return. That still happens but most of us in attendance flee from these folks.

Relationships make the world go ‘round.

The relationships I am talking about aren’t the old boy network kind. I mean real relationships where you actually care about the person more than the outcome; about the connections you form with your business compadres. It is all about cultivation of those connections and how you can help someone else grow or develop knowing that good will come back to you. Paying it forward.

More...

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Relationships

The Inspired Networker Gives to Give

Inspiring NetWorkers

By Mark Sturgell, Great Lakes Bureau Chief Email article RSS feed Share on facebook

"Give to Get"

...why not put away the old credo for a day or two, if not for good? Why not spend today GIVING? Mark Sturgell bids farewell as Great Lakes Bureau Chief with a Grand Wish for us all...

The Inspired Networker Gives to Give

"Give to Get" may be the most common, most often-used credo of networking. Frankly, I don't like it. I founded this column to inspire networkers toward a much greater ideal; that is, just "Give". You will be amazed at the results. You may just become an Inspired Networker. You may inspire others - many others if you really put yourself out there. You may just change the world for the better.

Give-to-Get is a transactional act. Giving is a transformational act.

This is a Giving Season for almost everyone in the western hemisphere. It is also a time when we tend to rethink our lives, even in some small way. So why not try putting away the old credo for a day or two, if not for good? Why not spend today GIVING? Don't give with the expectation for some kind of "secret" transaction to take place, or for your blessing to the world to miraculously "attract" many more blessings back to you. JUST GIVE.

Give something away. Help people because they could use it. Appreciate the act of giving. Become a GIVER.

What if you made your cause one of restoring spirit and noble values to your workplace, to your business community, to your networking group? This means you would have to live these values, be an example of an inspired spirit to all around you. You would need to consistently give your most authentic self. How would your life be different? How would your life NEED to become different to become such an example? How would the lives around you be different as a result of your higher ideal?

Life is an opportunity where you get to give, not give to get.

What if your networking group was a place where people get to give instead of give-to-get? In other words, your group saw the privilege and opportunity in just giving to one another? Look at the list of people in your referral network. What have you given them lately? (That's no matter what they have given you - don't slip back into the old credo now!). Now, for each person, can you think of something to give him or her? No, not a tie or a knitted scarf, but something VALUABLE…something from your HEART.

Yes, your gift this year could most certainly be a business referral or a business introduction for each person in your networking group. That would be appropriate. It might look or sound something like this:

Friend, I am giving you a referral this week. I have already spoken to this person about you. I told them you are a person they can trust, because I trust you. I told them that, even though they may talk with other businesses, they should speak with you because you are a person who will look out for their best interests - and I know you will. I gave them your name, not just because you are in my network. I spoke to them about you because of who you are as much as for what you do. I care about this person and I care about you. I am really excited about putting you two together.

Make this your Giving Season. Make 2008 your Giving Year. Better yet, make this life your Giving Life. Give something away. Help people because they could use it. Appreciate the act of giving. Become a GIVER.

This will be my last column as your Great Lakes Bureau Chief, but maybe not the last time you will hear from me. I hope you have enjoyed my column. I hope you have been INSPIRED!

Please continue to contact Mark Sturgell or through his website at www.pdncoach.com.

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The Inspired Networker Gives to Give

The Inspired "Sub"

Inspiring NetWorkers

By Mark Sturgell, Great Lakes Bureau Chief Email article RSS feed

So you have joined a networking group, paid the dues and made the commitment to attend the weekly meetings. But you soon realize that you cannot attend every week - a key membership requirement. What now? Can you find a substitute - a "sub" - to go in your place? What does that mean, "in your place"? What should it mean? Is finding the "right" sub something you should treat lightly? Do you belong to a networking group that requires attendance? I hope so. Without regular attendance you cannot really be a good referral source, friend or anything else. Without shared time, space and information others cannot really know you, and they won't be very good referral sources, defeating your purpose for joining. How should others measure your commitment to the common cause if you are not present and if others cannot depend on your active participation?

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The Inspired "Sub"