My Pinnacle Network

Grow Your Business Through Networking

b2b networking

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My Pinnacle Network-North of Boston finds a home at 300 Trade Center, Woburn, MA

photo of 300 Trade Center
My Pinnacle Network-North of Boston will meet at 300 Trade Center, Suite 7610, Woburn.

The newest My Pinnacle Network group, My Pinnacle Network-North of Boston will meet at 300 Trade Center, Suite 5900, Woburn, MA 01801. The next meeting of the group is Tuesday, May 10 at 7:30am. Members and guest are encouraged to arrive at 7:15am.

The meeting will include a hybrid element for people who would like to attend the meeting but cannot make it in person. Those guests will be able to attend via Zoom and listen in to the meeting and give their elevator pitch/verbal brand.

Three hundred Trade Center is owned by the Cummings Properties. A Cummings representative will be a member of My Pinnacle Network-North of Boston.

Currently, there are five members of My Pinnacle Network-North of Boston holding the web design, digital marketing, mortgage broker and HR Benefits. All other seats are open and available at a special charter rate. For a list of categories in a My Pinnacle Network group, visit this page on our website.

For directions to 300 Trade Center, click here.

Please fill out an application if you would like to attend the meeting on May 10. There is no cost or obligation to do so.

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My Pinnacle Network announces April 2018 schedule of B2B networking meetings.

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

My Pinnacle Network – Westborough, Tuesday, April 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, April 4, from 8:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m., 20 Cabot Blvd., Suite 300, Mansfield, MA 02048.

My Pinnacle Network – Marshfield, Thursday, April 5, from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., 165 Enterprise Drive, Marshfield, MA 02050.

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

My Pinnacle Network – Plymouth (Real Estate), Thursday, April 12, 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, April 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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B2B networking awards. My Pinnacle Network recognizes region’s best connectors with Networking Ninja Award winners.

B2B Networking Award winners
(l-r) Networking Ninja winners Brian MacFee, MPN Founder Steve Dubin, Lois Drukman, MPN Partner Joe D’Eramo. Not pictured,  Sheldon Prenovitz, winner of Most Ubiquitous

My Pinnacle Network, the B2B networking group with monthly meetings in Braintree, Mansfield, Marshfield, Needham, Plymouth and Westborough, MA, recently announced the winners of its fourth annual Networking Ninja Awards. The newly minted Networking Ninja Awards were created to recognize the region’s best networkers in four separate categories: Best Connector (helping bring people together); Most Ubiquitous (appears to be at every networking event); Most Altruistic (does most for others); and Brightest Beacon (adds energy to networking events).

Carmella Beroth, of Debt Management, Inc. in Mansfield, MA, took home the honors as Best Connector. She is a member of My Pinnacle Network-Mansfield.

Sheldon Prenovitz of Concord, MA-based ConnectPay won the Most Ubiquitous Networking Ninja Award. He is a member of My Pinnacle Network-Westborough.

Brian MacFee of System Support in Marshfield, MA won the Brightest Beacon honors. He is a member of My Pinnacle Network-Braintree Third Thursday and My Pinnacle Network-Marshfield.

Lois Drukman of Walter May Insurance in Hingham, MA won the Most Altruistic Networking Ninja Award. She is a member of My Pinnacle Network-Marshfield and My Pinnacle Network-Plymouth. She is also one of the owners of South Shore Networking Professionals, which hosted the awards ceremony at its regular third Tuesday event at the Cask & Flagon Restaurant in Marshfield, MA.

An additional award was given this year to My Pinnacle Network Partner Joe D’Eramo. My Pinnacle Network Founder Steve Dubin awarded the “Unsung Hero” trophy for his behind-the-scenes work. He also noted his work writing and publishing My Pinnacle Network’s book, 15 Keep-it-Simple Tips for B2B Networkers, available at www.mypinnaclenetwork.com.

“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.”

Voting for the Networking Ninja Awards took place from January 1 through February 28 on the My Pinnacle Network website, www.mypinnaclenetwork.com. Other members of the B2B networking organization nominated for awards include: David DeBlasio of Deblasio Marketing located in Dedham, MA and My Pinnacle Network-Mansfield; Calvin Nelson of CCNIII of Stoughton, MA; Alex Bungener of Digital+ in Cotuit, MA and My Pinnacle Network-Marshfield; Jim Hickox of Apple Corps Cleaning in Weymouth, MA and My Pinnacle Network-Braintree Third Thursday; Jay Nuss of Jay Nuss Realty of Braintree, MA and My Pinnacle Network-Braintree Third Thursday; Richard Archibald of Aflac and My Pinnacle Network-Marshfield; Dave Gilman of Cognito Creative and My Pinnacle Network-Westborough; and David Allen of Balance Wealth Advisors in Wellesley, MA and My Pinnacle Network-Needham/Newton and My Pinnacle Network-Westborough.

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

For information about My Pinnacle Network’s B2B networking groups, please visit www.MyPinnacleNetwork.com, or contact Steven V. Dubin at SDubin@MyPinnacleNetwork.com or 781-582-1061.

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How introverts can be good networkers

Does this guy seem introverted?

Having run networking meetings for quite some time, we often hear people describe better networkers as “born networkers”. That could be true. Some people are blessed with the gift of gab while starting and sustaining a conversation can be a real chore for some. Yet that doesn’t exclude introverts from being good networkers. It just means you may need to take a different path.

Take My Pinnacle Network Founder Steve Dubin. Please. Seriously though, Steve thinks of himself as an introvert. If you have met him, this may surprise you a little. Yet Steve learned how to overcome his shyness in networking situations by using skills he developed as reporter. Namely, asking questions.

When Steve meets people at a networking event, he reverts to a list of questions he has memorized. The questions are a little less cliché than “what’s your business?”. Typically, it’s about the event or something of the sort. Since many people are more comfortable answering a question rather than starting a conversation, guess what? A conversation ensues.

This technique often gives Steve the opportunity to learn more about the people he meets. This in turn makes it easier for him to connect the people he meets with people in his network. And we all know that giving is the key to receiving in networking.

Okay, so maybe you’re not a former reporter. It doesn’t prevent you from creating a list of questions to have for when you go to events. Fortunately, networking is much more about what happens outside networking events. And that’s where introverts can be very successful if you choose to be.

How?

Ask any great networker what the key to networking success is and most will say it’s follow up. Much of follow up today can be done online. So, if you meet somebody at a networking event, be sure to follow up afterwards with a little note via e-mail. Better yet, check out their LinkedIn profile and connect.

If this contact is somebody you want to get to know better, set up a one-on-one. If you’re not sure, perhaps you start a virtual dialogue that includes some additional questions. Like who in your network would they like to meet? Conversely, you could ask if they know anybody in an area that’s of interest to your business.

This is but one way for introverts to break out of their shell and get into the networking game. Check out our ebook, 15 Keep-it-Simple Tips for B2B Networkers, for more pointers.

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Networking Ninja Award nominations sought. My Pinnacle Network holds 4th annual recognition of the region’s best connectors.

2017 Networking Ninjas

BRAINTREE, MARSHFIELD, MANSFIELD, NEEDHAM, PLYMOUTH AND WESTBOROUGH, MA…

We live in a high-tech age with texting, tweets, snap chats, etc. Yet ask any small business where they get the majority of their new business leads and referrals and it’s through good old-fashioned networking. My Pinnacle Network, a business-to-business networking group with monthly meetings in Braintree, Mansfield, Marshfield, Needham, Plymouth and Westborough, MA will honor the individuals who do networking the best with its fourth annual Networking Ninja awards.

During the month of February, My Pinnacle Network members and the general public can go to www.mypinnaclenetwork.com and cast their vote for their favorite networkers in any of the following categories: Best Connector (helping bring people together); Most Ubiquitous (appears to be at every networking event); Most Altruistic (does most for others); and Brightest Beacon (adds energy to networking events).

The deadline to vote is February 28.  Winners will be announced in March, with awards being given out on March 20 at the South Shore Professional Networking Group event at the Cask & Flagon in Marshfield.

“When you pass a lead or referral or connect somebody and that leads to business for that person, you create cosmic goodwill. Hopefully, that comes back in the form of new business to you. Sometimes it does, sometimes it’s not as apparent,” noted Steven V. Dubin, one of the founders of My Pinnacle Network.  He continued, “We created The Networking Ninja Awards to recognize the contributions of our areas best connectors and networkers, who continually add to the well of cosmic goodwill.”

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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September B2B networking meetings

My Pinnacle Network – Westborough, Tuesday, September 5, 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 6, from 8:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m., 20 Cabot Blvd., Suite 300, Mansfield, MA 02048.

My Pinnacle Network – Marshfield, Thursday, September 7, from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., 165 Enterprise Drive, Marshfield, MA 02050

My Pinnacle Network – Needham/Newton, Thursday, September 14 10, 7:30 a.m. – 9 a.m. at Bullfinch Group, 160 Gould Street, Needham, MA 02494.

My Pinnacle Network – Plymouth (Real Estate), Thursday, September 14, 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, September 21, from 7:30 a.m. – 9 a.m. at 100 Grandview Road, 3rd Floor Conference Room, Braintree, MA 02184.

My Pinnacle Network – Bourne, Thursday, September 21, from 8:00 a.m. – 9:30 a.m., 550 MacArthur Blvd. (Route 28), Bourne, MA 02532.

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It takes two

Happy Palindrome Monday (7-17-17 backwards is also 7-17-17).

My Pinnacle Network allows guest two visits to a group before asking them to make a decision about joining. We do this for a couple of reasons.

First, we want people to be comfortable with our group and the members. Seeing people a second time certainly helps with that comfort level.  You might also hear things from people’s verbal brand the second time around that makes you think you could be a good referral source for them and vice versa.

Second, sometimes groups, just like people, have a bad day. Maybe several key members are out. Maybe it was a bad traffic day and people show up frazzled. A second visit can help you get a better take on if the group is always like this or was it a one-time thing.

Third, you get a chance to experience the group between meetings. With My Pinnacle Network, we circulate a spreadsheet after every meeting with the name and contact info of members and guests. This gives people a chance to reach out to fellow members and guests. If you commit to two meetings before making a decision, you get to see what follow up is like with the current members. Now, it will probably be a little different as a member. But if you are truly interested, you can start setting up one-on-ones right away to see if the group is a good fit for you.

Now, some seats in networking groups go faster than other, particularly for a niche like B2B. You may not have the luxury of a second meeting before making a second visit. So what then?

The answer to that will be different for everybody. We created My Pinnacle Network as a monthly group because most B2B folks are too busy to commit to a weekly meeting. So even though being a member requires you to be engaged, you don’t have to physically be at a meeting every week. So, your time commitment is reasonable.

Also, we also priced a My Pinnacle Network membership at a very reasonable $250 a year. This is so members could base their decision on the fit of the group more so than cost.

Does My Pinnacle Network fit into your schedule and budget? Drop a line to Steve Dubin at sdubin@mypinnaclenetwork.com to see if your category is open at any of our seven locations.

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B2B networkers: What’s missing from your social media efforts?

[st_row][st_column][st_text el_title=””]”If everybody jumped off the Brooklyn Bridge, would you?” Your mother or father probably said that or something similar when you wanted to do something that “everybody” was doing. Many small business owners jumped into social media for essentially the same reason and then wondered why it wasn’t working. The reason why was pretty simple…

Your website.

You might be wondering, “How can you make a claim like that without having seen our website?” Perhaps you’re right. Yet if your home page or whatever page you are driving traffic to does not encourage visitors to provide some contact info–name and e-mail address–or the means to collect that information–a sign-up form–then chances are it’s a fairly safe assumption. And that explains why your social media efforts are falling short.

Think of social media as a handshake. That typically happens at the beginning of a business relationship, right? Have you ever gotten any business based on the initial handshake? Probably not. If after the handshake and initial pleasantries the conversation doesn’t evolve to something of interest to the person you just met, chances are good they will move on to the next person. The same holds true with your social media.

If your social media merely draws people to your site without any direction, it really is like trying to close business with an introductory handshake. Yet if you take that handshake/social media and direct visitors to a download of an e-book or pdf that demonstrates your firm’s area of expertise, you have started a conversation that you can continue. Assuming that mechanism has at the very least captured a name and e-mail address, you can continue that conversation in any number of ways, including:

  • An auto responder campaign offering additional eBooks or pdfs
  • A sample of your monthly e-newsletter
  • Direct outreach by e-mail or phone

If you’re missing these elements on your website, the good news is that it’s a fairly easy fix–particularly if you have access to web designers and copywriters in your network (like those in My Pinnacle Network do). Most importantly, do not throw away the baby (your social media pages) with the bath water until you put those elements in place. Once you do have those things in place, track results on a quarterly basis to see if your social media posts are resulting in leads.[/st_text][/st_column][/st_row]

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My Pinnacle Network announces May 2017 schedule of B2B networking meetings.

photo of b2b networking group founder Steve DubinMy Pinnacle Network recently announced a full slate of B2B
networking meetings for May. My Pinnacle Network meetings are as follows:

My Pinnacle Network – Westborough, Tuesday, May 2, from 8 a.m. – 9:30 a.m at Digital Federal Credit Union, 18 Lyman Street, Westborough, MA 01581.

My Pinnacle Network – Mansfield, Wednesday, May 3, from 8:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m., 20 Cabot Blvd., Suite 300, Mansfield, MA 02048.

My Pinnacle Network – Marshfield, Thursday, May 4, from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., 165 Enterprise Drive, Marshfield, MA 02050

My Pinnacle Network – Newton, Thursday, May 11, 7:30 a.m. – 9 a.m. at Social Restaurant at the Crown Plaza Hotel, 320 Washington Street, Newton, MA 02458. Social is on the ground floor; parking available at the hotel garage.

My Pinnacle Network – Braintree Third Thursday, Thursday, May 18, from 7:30 a.m. – 9 a.m. at 100 Grandview Road, 3rd Floor Conference Room, Braintree, MA 02184.

My Pinnacle Network – Bourne, Thursday, May 18, from 8:00 a.m. – 9:30 a.m., 550 MacArthur Blvd. (Route 28), Bourne, MA 02532.

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.