Effortless Networking

Many people use business networking as a tool to market their business. And yet, a common challenge seems to be a general discomfort with participating in “networking” activities or events. For instance, here is a recent comment I got from a reader:

Am shy with new people and hate the thoughts of attending anything that may have a networking element to it.With the focus now clearly on the new buzz word of “networking” in todays business arena I feel that my shyness is starting to impact on my performance.

So I asked Bonnie Ross-Parker, CEO and Founder of the Joy of Connecting® to describe their approach to business networking and marketing. Because I think they’ve taken commonly used networking concepts and put them to use in a fresh and engaging way. Read on and tell me what you think — post your comments below.

The Joy of Connecting®: Marketing with Joy
by Bonnie Ross-Parker, CEO and Founder of the Joy of Connecting®

Bonnie Ross-Parker

At a time when the world feels competitive and impersonal and building a business can seem overwhelming and lonely, Bonnie Ross-Parker, Founder & CEO, and Dawn Billings, President of The Joy of Connecting®, together with their licensees, provide opportunities for women to meet, share and encourage one another.

Women are natural net-workers. They love to inspire and encourage each other. And the Joy of Connecting® monthly gatherings are designed as a tool to aid women in connecting to resources, building relationships and growing their businesses.

Women participate in an arena that is welcoming, nurturing, supportive and respectful of one another in all areas of their personal and professional lives.

The evening begins as a social where over dinner women have time to settle in, get to know one another and relax. Eventually we convene for the more formal part of the evening. After a brief introduction and overview, we begin our circle of sharing…We close out with testimonials and announcements. Once our get together is formally over, most women stay to continue dialoguing, make appoints and “connect” with women who attended. Everyone receives a roster so that connections can continue beyond the evening.

The Joy of Connecting® gatherings are designed to meet the needs of female entrepreneurs, business owners and professional women. And this approach is fast becoming a role model for the best way women can network collaboratively and comfortably.

Taking place in intimate settings, participants feel accepted, listened to and encouraged as they share with each other their passions, dreams and desires for their future.

Women take turns having 3 minutes to tell about themselves, talk about their business and ask for what they need. For some women, they are looking for an opportunity. We have participants who have just moved into the area and eager to meet other like minded women. Collectively we are business owners, entrepreneurs and professional women who recognize the strength of open sharing.

As we move around the circle and stories unfold, each participant is drawn to the person sharing, to their story and to their needs.

When The Joy of Connecting® was originally launched it existed as the only location in suburban Atlanta. Since its beginning, participants have requested that the concept be expanded so other women in other communities could experience the same value. In January, 2006 there existed 15 Greater Atlanta, Georgia locations when Dawn and Bonnie began the process of creating The Joy of Connecting® as a national licensed program. Currently there are 48 licensees in 9 states who each month bring together like minded women eager to build their business while helping others expand theirs.

Licenses are available wherever one doesn’t currently exist.

The best way to find out about this unique marketing tool is to visit on line at: www.TheJOYofConnecting.com. There are articles, written and audio testimonials and licensee stories/profiles to enjoy.

If you’re interested in information about becoming a Joy of Connecting Licensee, simply click here to fill out an online application. List EffortlessNetworking.com as the referral.

If you have questions, Bonnie can be reached in Atlanta at: 1-877-411-6611.

Women have choices when networking. They can participate at an existing networking event or be a player at their own. The Joy of Connecting offers both!

Here’s success story from Cindy Caldwell, a creative consultant for Randstad Creative.

To put things in perspective: Cindy’s big breakthrough came after attending just ONE Effortless Networking Q&A call.

This proves that the solution is simple. And you can do it too.

Here’s Cindy’s story in her own words:

One week after participating in one of the [Effortless Networking] Q&A sessions I attended a “High-Speed Networking” Event.

I figured it might be a good way to get me out of my comfort zone and apply some of the techniques we talked about in our call. I positioned myself so that when people rotated every five minutes, I was staying put and people came up to me to talk. This was fantastic and I found it very easy to talk to most people.

It was a great way to practice saying what I did, without being pressured to give a sales pitch (in fact the group that runs the event — Networking for Professionals, advises against any sales pitching during the exercise).

So, what did you do differently, Cindy?

One of the main things I brought with me from the Q&A call was “Ask for what you want.” It seemed other people I met were following this practice, because without any subtlety people were asking me, “What do you want? What did you come here for?” And I was able to give them set answers, “To find appropriate clients and talent. To find referrals. To get the word out about our business.”

From this networking event,

• I wound with 25 new contacts who I had had a conversation with that night
• I also interviewed a talent on the spot
• found a realtor for me personally
• got an invitation to join another networking group, and
• made an appointment to have lunch with a software professional and
• introduced him to my IT recruiter.

Wow — that’s an amazing list of accomplishments for one event! What were you doing before you found this new approach?

Before joining [the Effortless Networking] newsletter group and attending that one Q&A call, I was doing the usual cold calling and visits. This was working, a little. But it felt so unnatural for me. I would go to the occassional event, but feel I couldn’t have a conversation with people unless someone else went with me.

Was there a particular networking concept or principle that helped you find this new approach?

Know What You Want. This could be as simple as “I want people to know about my business.” But the more specific you are, the more apt you’ll get what you want. And in an environment like the “Hi-Speed Networking” you get exactly 2 1/2 minutes to tell someone what you’re looking for.

When and/or where did you get this insight or learn this concept?

As I said, the [Effortless Networking] Q&A session…they are so helpful. Even if you don’t have a specific question in mind, I would advise anyone who has some difficulty in business social situations to sign up.

Is there anything specific that helped you apply this concept?

Going to an event that was made for networking (not boozing it up, not standing around in little cliques) and applying the techniques I learned such as “Asking for what I want” and saying simple things like, “Have you met anyone here that might interested in what we have to offer?” was a real confidence booster.

Because of this networking event, I was invited to join Powercore, in which a member of that group asked me to join another (more intimate) professional group, and because of that group, I was invited to another free event this week. The more I get out there, the more my natural contacts will develop.

Cindy, this is excellent! So tell us about your business.

I am a creative consultant for Randstad Creative. Randstad Creative/IT is a division of Randstad Work Solutions. Randstad is the fourth largest staffing organization in the world with over 2,200 offices in 13 countries.

Randstad Creative/IT is a fairly new division and we have offices in Atlanta (that’s where I am), New York, Philadelphia, Boston and DC. You can learn more about our services on: www.us.randstad.com

What do you offer your clients or customers?

Randstad Creative offers top creative talent, assessed by professional agents, in areas of expertise such as: Graphic Designers & Production Artists, Web Designers & Developers, Printing & Pre-press, Art Directors, Creative Directors, Copywriters, Proofreaders & Editors, Technical Writers & Instructional Designers, Traffic & Production Managers, and Marketing & Public Relations. We offer a range of flexible workplace options: short term or long term contract work or direct hire.

Who are the people who *most* benefit from your services?

Two kinds of people: Those creative professionals looking for work and creative professionals looking to hire. Our clients tend to be Creative Directors, small business owners, Art Directors, production departments, but we also will help out human resources as well.

In what way(s) do they benefit?

We take the work out of finding good freelancers and potential job candidates for you!

We do NOT get paid on a commission, so we would never just send you a “warm body” just to send someone. We work very hard at getting to know you and your environment, as well as our talents’ goals. Randstad Creative agents are also creative professionals.

My background is in print & web marketing and writing & editing. My fellow agents come from production, photography and graphic design backgrounds.

In-depth knowledge of the creative industry ensures we can best evaluate talent portfolios and resumes. We additionally qualify talent through interviews, behavioral event questioning, testing and detailed reference checks.

If anyone wants to contact you for more information, or to send you a referral, how might they do so?

Please call or email me with any questions:
Cindy Caldwell
+1-404-351-7885
cindy.caldwell@us.randstad.com

If I can’t help you, then I will find you someone who can–we have many offices in North America and Europe. We handle all sorts of placement from creative and IT to administrative and light industrial.

Thanks for sharing this story, Cindy. And congratulations!

###

Cindy’s spectacular success is based on the simple concept covered in Lesson 1: Know what you want.

This concept may seem “simplistic” at first, but as you see from Cindy’s experience, it’s actually very powerful.

Try it yourself!

Alice Olivier, of Aleeco’s House of Flowers, Plants and Fine Things landed herself an open-ended, ongoing order for her business through some pretty “effortless networking”!

Here’s her networking success story:

“I met a lady at church on Christmas Eve, and we had a friendly chat. I wasn’t soliciting business. However, I gave her my business card so that we could get together in the future. A couple of weeks ago, her husband, who is the minister of this church called and asked me to supply his church with plants and flowers on a ongoing basis. Needless to say, I was thrilled!”

So what did Alice do that was different from her usual networking approach?

Well, according to Alice, previously she had always been afraid to talk about her business freely, and it showed. People would tell her that she showed no emotion.

On that particular day, Alice was talking about her business to simply connect with another person.

She had met the minister’s wife at a previous engagement at their home. Alice had noticed then that the woman had been clearly uncomfortable in her own home with a lot of people she did not know, and had reached out to her. They discovered they were both from the same area of the country, which got their conversation going.

So on Christmas Eve, Alice chatted with the minister’s wife simply to connect with her. She was relaxed, and excited to share her interest and enthusiasm about what she did. As Alice mentioned, she was not looking for business.

What allowed Alice change her approach?

Well, Alice has attended one of my workshops, and also reads my weekly Effortless Networking articles. From these, she realized that the worst thing she could do was not believe in her business and herself.

This realization allowed her to express and share her enthusiasm and passion for her work, freely and naturally, when she was talking with the minister’s wife about her business.

And the minister’s wife probably picked up on this right away!

So when the minister heard about Alice’s business from his wife, he too probably got the same sense of passion, care and enthusiasm that is behind Alice’s business.

Alice believes that this, along with her connection to his wife, got her this ongoing order from his church. (And I think she’s absolutely correct!)

Here’s what Alice’s business is all about:

Aleeco’s House of Flowers, Plants and Fine Things provides floral designs, living plants and decorative designer products for the enrichment of personal, public and commercial environments.

Alice incorporates Eastern and Western design, and mixes live flowers with plants. As you’ve probably guessed by now, she is very particular about her product. And she pays attention to her customers’ preferences and abides by their decisions.

So her most satisfied customers are individuals or organizations who are looking for selections that are different from the
mainstream.

Through her affiliation with 1-800-flowers, Alice is able to offer her products globally. Although, most of her current business comes from the San Francisco Bay Area where her business is based.

If you’re interested in seeing a sample of Alice’s work, or want to contact her, please visit her website at http://www.aleeco.com.

Congratulations Alice! And thanks for sharing your experience of how you so *effortlessly* capitalized on an “everyday” networking opportunity.

Till next week,
– Sri