My Pinnacle Network

Grow Your Business Through Networking

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Sit or stand

Before you start saying that’s a bit of a personal question, we’re talking about networking meetings. And the question revolves around whether or not to sit or stand when you give your verbal brand (formerly known as elevator pitch). Yours truly took a little different approach the other day at My Pinnacle Network-Westborough’s meeting and not only stood but invited the group to do so as well.

That begs the question as to whether or not it is better to sit or stand when you give your verbal brand?

My Pinnacle Network is different from many other groups for a number of reasons. The most obvious is that we’re strictly for business-to-business professionals and business owners whose customers are other businesses. Another is that while we do offer a meeting structure, we try to be flexible in terms of the amount of time you take for your verbal brand. Along those lines, you can sit or stand.

No matter what you choose, you do want to take several things in mind before you stand or sit. 

First, you want to make sure you are both seen and heard. If chairs are in a horseshoe and you’re sitting on either end of the shoe, some might not be able to see you and that could impact how well they listen.

Second, standing or sitting, you still want to make eye contact with people in the room as you present. Again, you can do that sitting or standing. Just remember to do it.

Speak loudly so that everyone can hear. One of the benefits of standing up is that it is physiologically easier to speak louder than when you are seated. Something about being stretched that makes it so.

Finally, don’t succumb to peer pressure. If you prefer standing when you present and the rest of the group sits, you should still stand when it’s time to deliver your verbal brand. Or vice versa. 

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My Pinnacle Network announces October 2019 schedule of B2B networking meetings.

My Pinnacle Network recently announced a full slate of business-to-business networking meetings for October. My Pinnacle Network meetings are as follows:

My Pinnacle Network – Westborough, Tuesday, October 1, from 8 a.m. – 9:30 a.m at Digital Federal Credit Union, 18 Lyman Street, Westborough, MA 01581.

My Pinnacle Network – Mansfield, Wednesday, October 2, from 8:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m., Mansfield BioIncubator, 241 Francis Avenue, Mansfield, MA 02048.

My Pinnacle Network – Pembroke, Thursday, October 3, from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., ACTSmart Training Center, 70 Corporate Park Drive, Suite 1225, Pembroke, MA 02359.

My Pinnacle Network – Needham, Thursday, October 10, 7:30 a.m. – 9 a.m. at Bullfinch Group, 160 Gould Street, Needham, MA 02494.

My Pinnacle Network – Braintree Third Thursday, Thursday, October 17, from 7:30 a.m. – 9 a.m. at 100 Grandview Road, 3rd Floor Conference Room, Braintree, MA 02184.

Only one B2B professional will be selected for each category. Those categories can be found at bottom of http://www.mypinnaclenetwork.com. Prospective members are encouraged to attend a My Pinnacle Network meeting before committing to join.

If you are interested in attending a meeting in your area, please contact Steven V. Dubin at SDubin@MyPinnacleNetwork.com or 781-582-1061 to RSVP. There is no charge to visit a My Pinnacle Network meeting.

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Can’t remember names?

It’s not an unusual problem to have. Even though remembering names can be a great advantage in networking. So, what do you? You may want to try this technique.

First, introduce yourself to the person at the networking event. Instead of asking what they do or another mundane conversation starter, ask them to name something they like that’s starts with the first letter of their first name.

That’s right. Ask them to name something they like that starts with the first letter of their first name. Explain that it’s a technique you’re trying out to better remember people’s names. Then demonstrate with example:

“My name is Joe D’Eramo and I’m a joker.”

It’s even better if you can tie your reminder in with your business.

Two things can now happen. The person can play along and come up with something. Or, they might decline and move on. Actually, a third thing might be that you come up with a name for them and they either approve or suggest an alternative.

This exercise accomplishes a few things. First, it does give you a reminder of the person’s name. The person I learned this from, someone who leads guided kayak tours, claims she’s been able to remember every person’s name from the past five years.

Second, you just made yourself very memorable to the person you just met. He/she will know you as the one who had that crazy idea about remembering names.

Ideally, both happen. Yet the real goal is that taking part in this exercise makes the other person smile and leads to a conversation that evolves into what each of you do, who you are looking to meet, etc.

Give it a try at your next meeting or event.

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My Pinnacle Network announces September 2019 schedule of B2B networking meetings.

My Pinnacle Network recently announced a full slate of business-to-business networking meetings for September. My Pinnacle Network meetings are as follows:

My Pinnacle Network-Westborough, Tuesday, September 3, from 8 a.m. – 9:30 a.m at Digital Federal Credit Union, 18 Lyman Street, Westborough, MA 01581.

My Pinnacle Network-Mansfield, Wednesday, September 4, from 8:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m., Mansfield BioIncubator, 241 Francis Avenue, Mansfield, MA 02048.

My Pinnacle Network-Pembroke, Thursday, September 5, from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., ACTSmart Training Center, 70 Corporate Park Drive, Suite 1225, Pembroke, MA 02359.

My Pinnacle Network-Needham, Thursday, September 12, 7:30 a.m. – 9 a.m. at Bullfinch Group, 160 Gould Street, Needham, MA 02494.

My Pinnacle Network-Braintree Third Thursday, Thursday, September 19, from 7:30 a.m. – 9 a.m. at 100 Grandview Road, 3rd Floor Conference Room, Braintree, MA 02184.

Only one B2B professional will be selected for each category. Those categories can be found at bottom of http://www.mypinnaclenetwork.com. Prospective members are encouraged to attend a My Pinnacle Network meeting before committing to join.

If you are interested in attending a meeting in your area, please contact Steven V. Dubin at SDubin@MyPinnacleNetwork.com or 781-582-1061 to RSVP. There is no charge to visit a My Pinnacle Network meeting.

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Grip it, don’t rip it. The professional handshake.

You can tell a lot about a person by his/her handshake. More importantly, there are a lot of people who will form their impression of you from your handshake. So, you want to take that into consideration before putting out your hand.

For example, you want to offer a firm handshake with fingers extended (web to web) rather than clumped together. Avoid the dead fish handshake but don’t go overboard with a bone crusher.

Beyond your shaking style, be sure to shake hands in the proper order. For example, if you’re introduced to the ownership team of the company, be sure to shake the hand of the owner before the intern.

Always shake hands standing up. If you are seated and somebody approaches you, stand up to shake his/her hand.

Here are some other tips:

  • Shake up and down only, no back and forth
  • Keep it brief, 2-3 seconds
  • Stand still when you shake, never walking or on the move
  • High and dry; better to wipe your sweaty palm dry.
  • Add a greeting and remember a name; “Nice to meet you, Bob” as you shake hands. It will help you remember first names.
  • Make eye contact, even throw a smile in there to deepen your first impression.

Now, if you know a person and you see them at an event, you may want to get a little more casual with a fist pump, high-five or forearm bang. If you must, that’s okay. Same with business hugs and the double check air kiss. Yet if it’s not somebody you know and you want to present in a more formal way, you’re pretty much always better off playing it safe and shaking hands.

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Author! Author! My Pinnacle Network author series.

One of the best ways to promote your business is through creation of an eBook. My Pinnacle Network has its own, written by yours truly, Joe D’Eramo. Yet that’s far from the first title I’ve written. In fact, I recently published the Kindle version of my first book, Recipes for the Roommate-Impaired.
 
 
This book first came out as a paperback in 1993. I co-wrote it with my former roommate, John “Walter” Reed. We’ve both gone on to different stages of life and bigger and better things. He’s a culinary consultant and owner of Customized Culinary Solutions.
 
 
So why the re-release?
 
 
First, I was inspired by the reboot of Beverly Hills 90210 (admit it, you watched it). More so, the recipes, after all this time, are damn good—the meatloaf, mac and cheese and tuna noodle casserole are to die for; best BBQ recipe out there, too. Second, and more importantly, I got tired of looking up the pages in the paperback, placing it down on the counter, repeat…. you get the idea. So, I went for it and it’s now available as a Kindle on Amazon.
 
 
I’ve priced it very low, $2.99 for the reboot. This is your one-time opportunity to own THE BEST MEATLOAF RECIPE in the world! I kid you not and will refund your money if you can find and serve me a better one.
 
 
As for our author series, if you have written a book or even a chapter in a book, send it our way and we’ll feature you in an upcoming edition of our newsletter.

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When to get personal in business

In My Pinnacle Network, we refer to the elevator pitch as your verbal brand. For sake of clarity, we will use E.P. in this piece and over the next several weeks. Yet every one of us should not only reconsider what we call our elevator pitch but how we deliver it and what exactly we say.
If you fall into the camp that tries to fit as much as humanly possible into your E.P. before you run out of breath/pass out or the person you’re talking nods off or, worse, walks away, you are far from alone. Of course, you will eventually be alone because elevator pitches done like that do not work. That’s because the goal of the E.P. is to make the listener WANT to know more and start asking questions. If you attempt to tell them everything, you will not only run out breath and deplete their attention span, you take away their reason for wanting to know more.
One of the better ways to get people to list to their elevator pitch is to listen to theirs first. So, E.P. pointer number one is to come up with a conversation starter that creates a more comfortable opening than, “what do you do?”. My Pinnacle Network Founder Steve Dubin offers the following:
Do you know exactly where your next prospect is coming from?
Try it out. Yet be prepared if the answer is “I don’t know”. Then, you might have to jump in with your answer.

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My Pinnacle Network announces May 2019 schedule of B2B networking meetings

My Pinnacle Network recently announced a full slate of business-to-business networking meetings for May. My Pinnacle Network meetings are as follows:

My Pinnacle Network – Mansfield, Wednesday, May 1, from 8:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m., Mansfield BioIncubator, 241 Francis Avenue, Mansfield, MA 02048.

My Pinnacle Network – Pembroke, Thursday, May 2, from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., ACTSmart Training Center, 70 Corporate Park Drive, Suite 1225, Pembroke, MA 02359.

My Pinnacle Network – Westborough, Tuesday, May 7, from 8 a.m. – 9:30 a.m at Digital Federal Credit Union, 18 Lyman Street, Westborough, MA 01581.

My Pinnacle Network – Needham/Newton, Thursday, May 9, 7:30 a.m. – 9 a.m. at Bullfinch Group, 160 Gould Street, Needham, MA 02494.

My Pinnacle Network – Plymouth (Real Estate), Thursday, May 9, from 7:30 a.m. to 9:00 a.m., Keller Williams training room, 91 Carver Road, Plymouth, MA  02360 (Ocean State Job Lot Plaza)

My Pinnacle Network – Braintree Third Thursday, Thursday, May 16, from 7:30 a.m. – 9 a.m. at 100 Grandview Road, 3rd Floor Conference Room, Braintree, MA 02184.

Only one B2B professional will be selected for each category. Those categories can be found at bottom of http://www.mypinnaclenetwork.com. Prospective members are encouraged to attend a My Pinnacle Network meeting before committing to join.

If you are interested in attending a meeting in your area, please contact Steven V. Dubin at SDubin@MyPinnacleNetwork.com or 781-582-1061 to RSVP. There is no charge to visit a My Pinnacle Network meeting.

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My Pinnacle Network honors achievements of Massachusetts B2B networkers

BRAINTREE, MARSHFIELD, MANSFIELD, NEEDHAM, PEMBROKE, PLYMOUTH and WESTBOROUGH, MA …

For the past five years, My Pinnacle Network, a business to business networking group with monthly meetings in Braintree, Mansfield, Needham, Pembroke, Plymouth and Westborough, MA, has recognized the networking efforts of B2B professionals with its annual Networking Ninja Awards. This year’s awards ceremony took it a step further with a lifetime achievement award given to David and Pam Snell, owners of ACTSmart IT of Pembroke.

Sheldon Prenovitz (center) of ConnectPay and My Pinnacle Network-Westborough receives his Networking Ninja award for Best Connector. 

“The Snells have been networking well before the concept of networking was popular,” noted Steven V. Dubin, one of the founders of My Pinnacle Network. “David and Pam are gracious, generous and giving and have been so for decades. They are the personification of ‘the good neighbor’.”

David and Pam Snell have been recognized as part of the 2019 My Pinnacle Network “Networking Ninja Awards” for their “Lifetime Achievement” of selflessly sharing the ActSmart IT training room for workshops, seminars and networking groups and for proactively reaching out to business and civic groups to assist with technology, marketing and support for many decades.

In addition to the Snells, five other B2B professionals received Networking Ninja awards.

Sheldon Prenovitz of Foxborough, MA-based ConnectPay won the Best Connector Networking Ninja Award. He is a member of My Pinnacle Network-Westborough.

Alex Bungener of Digital+, LLC of Cape Cod received The Most Ubiquitous Award. He is a member of My Pinnacle Network-Pembroke.

Calvin Nelson, a freelance art director and graphic designer from Stoughton, MA, won the Most Altruistic Networking Ninja Award. He is a member of My Pinnacle Network-Mansfield.

Lisa Levesque, owner of Northeast Business Coaching, took home the Brightest Beacon Award. She is a member of My Pinnacle Network-Mansfield.

The Rookie of the Year award marked the second additional Networking Ninja given this year. That honor went to Joe Moser of Rockland Trust. He is a member of My Pinnacle Network-Pembroke.

“Congratulations to all the winners. We had a number of networkers nominated for these awards and these individuals stood out as the cream of the crop in our region,” said Steve Dubin, founder of My Pinnacle Network. “Each of these winners has proven themselves to be first-rate connectors who are givers first, which is how they ultimately receive referrals for their respective businesses.”

Winners received their trophy at a joint networking event hosted by the South Shore Networking Professional Group (https://ssnpg.com/) on April 16 at the Cask N Flagon in Marshfield, Massachusetts. This year’s award marks the third time the two networking organizations have co-hosted the event.

“Networking, sharing information and opportunity, is what makes the world go around,” noted Dubin. “Both whimsical and pragmatic, the Networking Ninja Awards provide recognition for many who typically do great deeds and humbly hang is the shadows.”

For information about the Networking Ninja Awards, please visit www.MyPinnacleNetwork.com, or contact Steven V. Dubin at SDubin@MyPinnacleNetwork.com or 781-582-1061.

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Ninja surprises

Last year’s Networking Ninja awards had a surprise award–an Unsung Hero honor for yours truly. This year will also have two surprise awards–Rookie of the Year and Lifetime Achievement. We will announce both at the ceremony on Tuesday, April 16 at the joint networking event of My Pinnacle Network and the South Shore Networking Professional Group, held at the Cask & Flagon in Marshfield.

Speaking of the Ninja awards, this is the FINAL week of voting. If you do want to cast your vote for the best B2B networkers you know, you can do so by clicking on the button at the bottom.

The categories for the Networking Ninja Awards are:

  • Best Connector – helping bring people together)
  • Most Ubiquitous (appears to be at every networking event)
  • Most Altruistic (does most for others)
  • Brightest Beacon (adds energy to networking events)

To vote, click here. Use the pull-down arrow on the far right in the Nomination Category to select the category. You may vote for My Pinnacle Network members or other B2B professionals in your network.