Captured

The other day I was on a three-way conference call where I was introducing two people to each other. At a point late in the call, it seemed as if I wasn't needed anymore. I had done my job of introducing and explaining why the two needed to meet. They were beginning to determine the next steps. I didn't need to listen to them schedule a future phone appointment.

But one person stated clearly, "No, if you could stay that would be better."

Now, I have to admit that I was a little miffed. After all my time is precious.

In thinking about it later, I realized that she was right. I needed to be sure things had ended appropriately before I left the scene. If something had gone amiss, I could have reinforced the reason I brought the two together. I realized that the third party (ME) was similar to an insurance policy. I was there in case I was needed. Thankfully, I was not.

That's the reason why personal introductions are so powerful. They have the insurance behind them.

What's your take on this?

Winners or Losers

This past weekend, I participated in the annual Dragon Boats Races on the Maumee River in Toledo. It is really a fun time. Being a veteran of three years, I didn't get as nervous as I had in the past.

Our team, one of the three all-women's teams, was sponsored by McElheney Locksmiths. They actually sponsored two teams, a mixed group, called the Lock Ness Monsters and our female team named the Safe Crackers.

Being down on the river front, outside for the whole day was great.

A high point of the day for me was after the first heat, which we won. All three boats in that race had female crews. As the race ended we quickly docked, jumped carefully from the tippy boats and formed a double line with our paddles creating an arch overhead so that the women from the other two crews could receive our admiration for being part of the race as they came through the arch. Even better, one boat was breast cancer survivors, twenty two in all.

Later in the day, during the last races, our other team experienced something very different. They did not win that last race and were a little upset because of the tauting they received from the winners. There happened to be men on that boat, as it was a mixed crew.

My question is: Do you think the difference in the way those two end-of-race events happened had anything to do with testosterone? I'm just asking.

Yeah, Sure It's Easy

Today my friend, Deanna and I recorded another "Networking on the Chin" podcast on the Talkshoe.com website. We have a lot of fun with this as we can work together even though we're not in the same location.

It is always a laugh getting started, because going to the website just once per month, I forget how to do everything and have to re-learn all the steps again. Really there is only one, well two steps -- dial in on the phone and then click on the button on the screen that says "start your podcast." I just get all anxious over making sure I do it right, when I'm supposed to do it, because we're advertised as coming on at a certain time.

To put it mildly, it is not an easy task for me. In my next life I'm going to be a techie!

As a result, in September, we're going to try to eliminate the "relearning" curve by recording two times per month.

It made me think about how some people think networking or even talking with people is so scary. I don't really understand that mindset. But now maybe I do a little bit. They don't do it enough, so that it is a confront when they are forced to do it.

Hmmmm, maybe just like me with the podcasts, they need to relate to people more often.

What do you think?

WiN Meeting - Thursday, August 2nd

Hello Ladies,

Our August WiN meeting will be held Thursday, August 2nd at By The Lake Spa & Wellness Centre. Registration begins at 11:30am, cost is $15.00 for members and $20.00 for guests. One year membership is $35.00.

Our guest speaker will be Shellina Ladhani from the Canada-Ontario Business Services Centre. She will be talking to us about Network for Women Entrepreneurs (NWE) which is an Industry Canada program helping to address the needs and issues faced by women entrepreneurs in Ontario. Network for Women Entrepreneurs provides business information (over 1200 documents on their website), FREE learning events and business market research.

There is an upcoming NWE event on August 8th in Peterborough, the event is FREE. Please confirm your attendance no later than next Wednesday, August 1st. Register early to avoid disappointment. You can download the registration form by clicking on the above link. The event is listed to the left of the page.

I hope to see everyone next week for a great meeting and a wonderful lunch by Kathy Quinn! Please RSVP no later than next Tuesday (cancellation deadline is next Wednesday August 1). Bring your smiles, your business cards, marketing materials and if you can swing it, a small door prize.

Warm regards,
Heather Chapman

Flagging Your Interest

One last memory from vacation.

Okay, okay, I know that I've been home for over two weeks, but I've been so busy that it just seems like yesterday.

Coming around a curve in McMurray, PA, just before the 4th of July, I saw this flag representation. It caught my eye, being so different. I had never seen one like this before. I don't know if the owner made it, or was able to purchase it. But that really doesn't matter in this post. What does matter is that on the way back out of town, I made sure to have my camera at ready so that I could snap the picture. It drew me back.

What about you draws people back? When I bump into you the first time at a networking event, what makes you memorable? What makes me still remember you two weeks later. That is what everyone needs to know because being just one of the crowd will make you fade into the distance.

Now, my friend Angie Weid, who owns Organized Solutions, an organization company, labels herself as a rocket scientist. And that she is! Her engineering degree is from Purdue. That makes her stand out.

What makes you stand out?

Don't Tell the Competition

Yesterday I was an event where I was previewing another professional's services. The main reason I went was to be able to talk better about this person's services when I have the chance to refer him in the future.

Of the four people at this session, two of us happened to be Certified Networker grads and two were not.

At one point there were comments about competition.

The two who were not CNers, looked at competition as the enemy, holding all information away from these devils.

The two who were CNers, explained that the person who was leading the session could be considered competition to both of us, but that we understood that we could cooperate and refer because he doesn't do exactly the same thing that either of us do. We are not afraid of him.

For me, that snippet of conversation really cemented the value of what I do, which is to lead the growth of Certified Networker in Ohio. I know that I am changing the way business gets done here in NW Ohio. My vision is to change it for the whole state of Ohio.

You see, when people cooperate with each other and think of how they can help each other, less energy is spent on negative activities. People working together, helping each other, can accomplish a lot more in a shorter time.

I call it positive economic development!

Rewards Can Be Tricky

This is a funny story.

Last week at our monthly CN lunch, Julie Kuney provided the short educational moment. Julie is the co-owner of ComfortKeepers, a company that provides non-medical, in-home care, typically to seniors.

Julie talked about rewarding our referral sources and how important it is to do so and do so appropriately. Then she took out two big plastic bags and kind of tongue-in-cheek said that she was giving us all two gifts. In one bag were individually wrapped mints and in the other bag were invidual envelopes of deodorant. I'm sure these are items she uses in her business.

What she did not do, but would have been even funnier, would have been to pass out the mints to just half the room and the deodorant to the other half. I'm sure the second half would have felt slighted.

It would have been the perfect example of what happens when we don't think through the gifts we give to referral sources or even clients. Making sure the reward is the same value and in the same vein is important. After all, your referral sources do talk and if one finds out they didn't get as nice a gift, you'll be handling that awkward issue forever.