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

A Network for MicroBusinesses

By Matt Anderson
Great Lakes Bureau Chief (Ohio, Kentucky, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota)

Since most small business owners need to know the same thing, it does seem odd that there aren’t more organizations out there like the American Association of MicroBusinesses.

Based in Minneapolis and founded in 1995, its primary purpose is to offer monthly educational events for the 94.7% of companies in the US – those with 10 employees or less. Common ground topics are generally ‘how to’ presentations rather than motivational in content. They could be anything from legal or accounting needs to last month’s seminar topic: 3 Ways to Recession-Proof Your Business. Annually there is a spring expo and conference, the next one slated for April. The speaker line up for 2008 was an impressive one.

The format for meetings does include networking time so that people have opportunities to make contacts to develop beyond the meetings. Multipreneur board member Curtis Stanley describes the membership base as “everything from technology to Tupperware.” Events typically appeal to a wide range of business owners from veterans to those who have not yet even launched.

Business isn’t the only consideration of the AAM. In order to encourage a family-friendly environment, meetings are typically held during the lunch hour so as not to keep already-busy business owners away from their families in the evenings. Also, two fundraisers are held annually that allow for more networking, including a Toys for Tots drive in December.

In addition, the AAM is different from other organizations in a couple of other ways. Firstly, it is run by a board of volunteers who are also small business owners rather than a paid administrative staff (who often are not fully empathic to the true needs of its membership). “We feel we’re more connected,” says current president Bonnie Stanley.

Secondly, the culture of the organization is one of sharing. Group interaction at meetings is designed to help people even from competing companies and industries to share best practices. When I asked how they were able to develop this, Bonnie described it as the “Minnesota Nice: The Mid-Western culture. It’s more trusting and open and people are more willing to collaborate. With a group setting you don’t feel like you’re stealing information.”

If you’re interested in starting your own chapter, the American Association of Microbusinesses does have designs to grow beyond Minnesota (hence its national name). Currently it has over 100 members on its social networking site MeetUp.com at www.smallbiz.meetup.com/760. Board member Curtis Stanley says “This could be used as a vehicle to start other chapters. Otherwise get some people in a room and once you have enough interested, that could lead to starting a board.” The AAM has few expenses and already has bylaws in place.

Membership is currently only $119/year which includes all meetings and a listing in the member directory. In addition there are retail benefits to membership as well as the opportunity to offer your discounts to members. The association website can be found at www.usamicrobiz.org.
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Posted to THE NATIONAL NETWORKER. To subscribe for your free newletter, go to 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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A Network for MicroBusinesses

Networking for a Difference in Kentucky

By Matt Anderson

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

“People see you at your best when you’re doing things for charitable causes.” This point, made by Thomas J Stanley in his outstanding audio program Networking with Millionaires, has been stuck in my head since I first heard it over six years ago. A marvelous example of networking this way is the Altrusa club in Lexington, KY.

Altrusa is an international organization founded in Chicago in 1917 for professional and business women. Kelli Newman, an insurance professional for Midland National, coordinates her group’s major annual event called Mighty Moms. “We bring moms in the Central Kentucky area into Lexington for a weekend of pampering. These are moms of severely handicapped or sick children who spend 24/7 taking care of their kids with no time for themselves.”

Local businesses donate various services from hotel stays to massages, haircuts, movie trips, and visiting local attractions. Organizing this is a great way for Kelli to network more with club members as well as with other local business owners in a non-sales environment where the focus is on serving these mothers and giving them a chance to bond with other moms in similar situations.

The primary mission of Altrusa is literacy and education, and the Lexington club has a monthly program called Brains and Bellies. “Once a month we meet with underprivileged children and read to them, feed them, and give them a book to take home with them. We encourage their parents to participate and to read to them as well.”

Why network this way? “The community service work is so appreciated. It feels good to help.”

Plus there are business benefits. Sure, you could try networking to meet local women business owners at a chamber of commerce or a NAWBO event, but working for a cause greater than yourself speaks volumes for your integrity. It also brings you more credibility and it helps you develop stronger relationships in a much more favorable environment where business people can get to know you first and not your product or service. Kelli clearly ‘gets’ this. Comfort is one of the main reasons why people do business with us.

In his most recent book called YES!, Arizona State professor Robert Cialdini explains that you can get ahead much faster in life NOT by asking ‘who can help me?’ but instead by asking yourself ‘whom can I help?’ This is because you are leveraging the rule of reciprocation which states that when you help people in an authentic way, others feel obligated to reciprocate.

Altrusa’s yearly event, Make a Difference Day, is coming up very soon on October 25^th. The organization has 15 districts around the world and many other at-large clubs. Check out www.altrusa.org if the mission appeals to you and you like the idea of meeting some of your community’s leading professional women. ____________________________________________________________________

Posted to THE NATIONAL NETWORKER. To subscribe for your free newletter, go to 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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Networking for a Difference in Kentucky

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