My Pinnacle Network

Grow Your Business Through Networking

b2b networking

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B2B Networking Tip – Thank a veteran

Gratitude month continues this week with Veteran’s Day on Friday. If you know a veteran, give them a call or drop them a line to thank them for their service. And while a nice post on one of your social media pages is nice, how about going one step further and finding out if there are more people in your network who served?

How do you do that? Quite easy. Go to LinkedIn’s Advanced Search function. Under keywords, type in military or a particular branch of service, then check “1st Connections” under Relationships and then search. The results should turn up people in your network who served.

What next? Thank them, but also check in and see how things are going. Maybe even set up a time to get together and share some connections.

We admire our veterans for their service and their humility. Yet volunteering to serve your country is something that should be praised. This Veteran’s Day, take every opportunity you have to thank the veterans in your life. There are more than you know.

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Listen: It’s not who you know, but what you hear

Think about the referrals you have passed. What was the genesis of that referral? It involved your listening skills more than anything else.

First, you probably heard a friend, colleague or peer talk about his or her business what their needs. If you were truly listening, that registered in your memory on a certain level.

Next, in your travels, be it at your place of business, networking group, coffee shop, etc., you heard somebody express a need for a certain product or service. You interject and say, “I know somebody who might be able to help you…”. And that is how a lead/referral is born.

So, if you’re in a networking group and you’re wondering why you have not received a referral, perhaps you’re not asking the right question. Maybe you should be asking, why have I not passed a referral?

While clearly there are exceptions to this rule, but when it comes to referrals you have to give to receive. And the only way you can give is to know what people want or need. That, you can only do by listening.

There’s probably not one of us who has paid attention to every single word every person has said at a networking meeting. We should, but we don’t. Fortunately, it’s an area where you can improve quite easily.

Make it a point to listen at your next networking meeting. Bring a notebook and be sure to write down at least one type of referral for each member as they give their elevator pitch. You would be surprised how much registers in your memory when you put it in writing. From there, all you really have to do is listen…

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Know your fellow networking group members better

Networking 101: the better you know members of your networking group, the easier it is to pass leads and referrals. One-on-ones are the key to that, but our monthly My Pinnacle Network meetings also can provide some insight. We try to move that along by asking members and guests to answer a question that might not have been part of their elevator pitch or verbal brand. For example:

What epiphany did you have on your summer vacation?

This question was the topic of a recent newsletter by our sister company PR Works. The answers revealed quite a bit about people and also provided more information about members.

For starters, many members have vacationed in the same location. Even the times spent at that spot did not overlap, it becomes a talking point and discussion starter and something people have in common.

As for the epiphanies, those too become talking points. At our My Pinnacle Network-Bourne meeting, this question revealed that many members had a similar epiphany: namely, that you have to commit to and actually take a scheduled vacation.

Other members shared some ideas for improving their business so they could get away more often. Some had thoughts about how to optimize content for multiple outlets (guess who had that one).

The point is, it’s great to know about a fellow member’s business. But how much you know about the person as well as the business can make a difference, too.

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Like networking

The word like has a lot to do with successful networking.

First, we tend to want to do business with people we like. It’s human nature. The same goes for leads and referrals. If you have a client who needs an accountant, are you going to refer one who you like and enjoy their company or somebody who you’re okay with but wouldn’t be your first choice to break bread with at social gathering? All things being equal with their accounting skills, you’re more likely to refer the person you like.

We founded My Pinnacle Network for a different kind of like. Business owners whose customers are other businesses travel the same lanes and tend to run into the same types of issues. This lends itself to discussions that can lead to referrals.

For example, a while back we had a meeting with a PR Works client to review upcoming press releases. Before the meeting starts, the client asks if we know any IT vendors. Apparently, they were having some issues with their current IT company.

Now, it’s possible that conversation could take place in a business-to-consumer scenario, like working with a realtor to purchase a new home. Yet it’s probably more likely in a B2B scenario.

This article from Inc. Magazine takes an even deeper look at the role likability plays in networking.

Read the Inc. Magazine article.

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My Pinnacle Network and Windows 10

I’m thinking about downloading Windows 10 before the free upgrade expires at the end of the month. Frankly, it scares me to death. Which is why I’m asking my network-My Pinnacle Network-for their reviews of Windows 10.

Why?

When you are considering a purchase, what’s your first step? First, you want to find out as much about that product as you can. Second, you want to know what people who have purchased that product think. That typically means reading reviews online.

Chances are, you will not know one of the people posting. Maybe you can trust their opinion, maybe you can’t.

With a networking group like My Pinnacle Network, you not only have a resource for referrals, but a trusted source of feedback.

What makes a “review” from an MPN member even more reassuring is that it’s coming from a fellow B2B professional and business owner and that makes a HUGE difference.

Why? You don’t really know the context of an online review unless that person shares it. Fortunately, some folks do. But there could be ulterior motives for that review (e.g. that person might be an affiliate). Also, as a b2b professional, you have a reasonable idea of what your fellow networker is using the product for. Also, if they are in your networking group, you know you are going to see that person again, you tend to be a bit more honest, good and bad.

What that means is you might get a review that shares the benefits but points out a drawback or two. And the real beauty is you can have a real-time dialogue with that person. Part of that dialogue can include the question: knowing what you know, would you make that purchase again?

So, the next time you are looking to make a big business purchases, you still want to read the online reviews. But seek out other opinions from your actual network. It might help save you from a purchase you regret or, even better, get you off the fence to buy something that will benefit your business.

Now, about Windows 10…has anybody downloaded and what do you think?

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How your mother taught you not to procrastinate

Hang up your coat! Put away your toys! Pick up your shoes! These may not break your top 1000 of memories of your mother. But it should because she was teaching you a lesson on how to avoid procrastination. Like many of us, I decided to wait until later to learn this.

Procrastination is a problem for many B2B professionals. With all the books, all the coaching, etc. our minds will tell us it’s easier to not do something than to do it. In doing some work for a professional organizer, I found a way to develop the habit needed to minimize and hopefully remove procrastination from your life. The irony is that it was a lesson my parents tried to teach me years ago.

According to the professional organizer client, procrastination is clutter. If you think about it, she’s 100 percent correct. Those e-mails you need to send, the books that need updating and other tasks on your to-do list clutter your mind and probably keep you from things you want to do. It can have a snowball effect in your mind and you get up getting nothing done or, worse, not performing to your desired level.

So, what do you?

Start by removing the clutter?

You’re probably saying “Oh, is that all. Why didn’t I think of that?” Well, that’s because you think of clutter in the big sense. To eliminate procrastination, you can start with baby steps and work your way up. And that’s where we finally tie into what Mom and probably Dad tried to teach you way back when.

If procrastination is clutter and clutter is (fill in the blank), just remove the clutter and you are actually doing something and NOT procrastinating. That can start with papers on your desk and putting them into the recycling bin. It feels better to work from a clean desk as opposed to a messy one, right? And you’re probably more productive.

You can start small with tidying up your desk or work space to larger more important items. Because even though you are only picking up a piece of paper or two or whatever that small task might be, you are actually removing procrastination. When you think of it that way, it actually makes you want to remove more. After all, who doesn’t want to remove procrastination in their lives?

And that brings us back to dear old Mom. How many times did she ask you to pick something up or put something away? Yes, she did not want your stuff lying around. But she also was teaching you how to remove procrastination in your life.

Thank you, Mom.

Happy belated Mother’s Day!

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Networking by phone dos and don’ts

In a perfect world, you can sit down with everybody in your networking group for a one-on-one. That’s why My Pinnacle Network encourages members to conduct one-on-ones before and after meetings so they do happen in person. When that’s not possible, it’s fine if the next-best option is to hold one-on-ones via phone–as long as you treat it as an in-person meeting.

What does that mean? Well, if you conduct a lot of conference calls, you know exactly what that means. In fact, I wrote a blog/newsletter about it not too long ago:
‘Is that your dog barking in the background’ and other teleconference faux pas.

The long and short of the blog is that your call deserves the same level of focus as an in-person meeting. So, find a quiet place and prep accordingly.

To read the entire post, click here. You can also read the sequel, Teleconference hell – You called in your favorites.

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My Pinnacle Network recognizes region’s best connectors with Networking Ninja Award winners

MPN's Brightest Beacon, Nicole Connolly of PhotoFabulousYou.com, and MPN Founder Steve Dubin
MPN’s Brightest Beacon, Nicole Connolly of PhotoFabulousYou.com, and MPN Founder Steve Dubin

BOURNE, BRAINTREE, MARSHFIELD, MANSFIELD, NEWTON, and WESTBOROUGH, MA…

My Pinnacle Network, the business to business networking group with monthly meetings in Bourne, Braintree, Mansfield, Marshfield, Newton, and Westborough, MA, recently announced the winners of its first 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).

Greg DeSimone, owner of Catapult Advisory Group located in Mansfield, MA took home the honors as Best Connector. He is a member of My Pinnacle Network-Mansfield.

Mitchell Zucker of ConnectPay based in Concord, MA won the Most Ubiquitous Networking Ninja Award. He is a member of My Pinnacle Network-Braintree Third Thursday.

David Allen, owner of Balance Wealth Advisors situated in Wellesley, MA won the Most Altruistic Networking Ninja Award. He is a member of My Pinnacle Network-Westborough and My Pinnacle Network-Newton.

Nicole Connolly of PhotoFabulousYou based in Westborough, MA won the Brightest Beacon honors for the second consecutive year. She is a member of My Pinnacle Network-Westborough.

“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 29 on the My Pinnacle Network website, www.mypinnaclenetwork.com. Others nominated for awards include: David DeBlasio of Deblasio Marketing located in Stoughton, MA and My Pinnacle Network-Mansfield; Alex Bungener of Customers at the Speed of Light situated in Cotuit, MA and My Pinnacle Network-Marshfield; Jay Nuss of Jay Nuss Realty of Braintree, MA and My Pinnacle Network-Braintree Third Thursday; and George Rohlfing of Brookline Transportation based in Hanover, MA and My Pinnacle Network-Braintree Third Thursday.

Additional nominees included: John Cotton of First Citizens Federal Credit Union based in Fairhaven, MA and My Pinnacle Network-Bourne; Gary Weinman of Marcum located in Needham, MA and My Pinnacle Network-Westborough; Sheldon Prenovitz of ABResources situated in Westborough, MA and My Pinnacle Network-Westborough; and Juddy Vedder of Web Image Designs headquartered in Shrewsbury, MA 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 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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Why celebrate the Ides of March?

The Ides of March, March 15, is not ordinarily a day of celebration. Unless you are My Pinnacle Network Partner Joe D’Eramo.

His father was born on that day in Introdaqua, a village in Italy.To hear Joe tell the story, his father wasn’t superstitious about that day either: “One great Italian went out, another came in.”.

For the rest of us, at least this year, the Ides of March is also a day of celebration as we name this year’s Networking Ninja Awards winners. The Awards event, which is doubling as a pre-St. Patrick’s Day party is being held on March 15, 5pm to 8pm, at the Mayflower Brewery, 12 Resnk Road, Plymouth, MA.

Admission is free to this event for both My Pinnacle Network members and guests. We’re serving food but you will need to bring money if you want to imbibe. And, we would still like you to register ahead of time so we can give Mayflower Brewery an idea of how many will be attending.

You can RSVP here or sending an e-mail to  Sdubin@mypinnaclenetwork.com.

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Leap Day Special – Free Admission to MPN Ninja Awards/St. Patty’s Day Event

Leap Day means something different to everybody. To MPN, it’s a bonus day. An extra chance to do something meaningful. To that end, we decided to remove the price of admission to our pre St. Patrick’s Day/Awards Event on March 15 at the Mayflower Brewery in Plymouth. So now, everybody—My Pinnacle member or not, gets in for the same price: FREE.

Yes, we’re still serving food. You will need to bring money if you want to imbibe. And, we would still like you to register ahead of time so we can give Mayflower Brewery an idea of how many will be attending.

You can RSVP here or sending an e-mail to  Sdubin@mypinnaclenetwork.com.