Five Ways to Know if a Networking Group is Right for You

Networking, the act of consistently and joyfully helping others, is one part of a powerful networking strategy that includes:

1.      One-on-one connections by phone, Zoom or in-person meetings to make new connections. These usually arrive in the form of an email introduction. 

2.      The ongoing Care and Feeding of your network on a daily basis. This might include sending a birthday or anniversary text, "liking" or commenting on a LinkedIn or social media post, calling the person to say hello and catch up, making a charitable contribution to a cause that someone in your network cares about deeply, etc. Stephen Covey, author of the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People refers to this type of connecting as the Emotional Bank Account. In other words, you can create a strategy for making plenty of deposits by lifting up others, authentically sharing your joy with others and focusing on celebrating the best in people.

3.      Brand Ambassador Support—these are your top connectors and the people that you can easily connect with others because you know their personal brand, their business, their causes, their unique sense of humor, etc. These are my favorite connections. A great example of a brand ambassador is Dan Rutman. Dan consistently invites connections to lunch, coffee, and select networking groups. Dan takes and makes time to get to know people outside of his circle. Dan has a very high balance in his emotional bank account with me because he is a consistent giver.

If you have one or more years of your career remaining, you will inevitably need something from someone in your network. Make plenty of deposits before that day arrives. (The biggest reason why business professionals don’t do this…"I was so busy working I didn’t have time to network." Making time is about joyfully helping others. I promise you; it will have a payback of 10 times what you put into it.)

4.      Group Networking events are the fourth form of a well-rounded networking strategy and tend to take the most time. That’s reason enough to be clear on how, when and why you select a particular group.

Five Ways to Know if a Networking Group is Right for You

1.      The group you are considering consists of a diverse group of givers. The best way to help more people is by meeting new people. How diverse is the group? Are they from many industries, cultures, backgrounds, etc.? One of the networking groups I belong to is Pam Borton’s, TeamWomen. A telltale sign of a giving group is a group that includes a mentor program. Pam's group is focused on giving, leading and sharing stories. Other groups you may consider are an advisory board and a more formalized alum mentoring group.

2.      Check references from group members--like you would if you were joining a company. Talk to 2-3 members about the value of the group, the reasons they joined and what they like best about their membership. This includes attending one or two events before deciding to become a member.

3.      Match the group with the times they meet and your schedule. What day of the week and time of day works best with your schedule? A morning person might not enjoy being a part of a group that routinely meets after 7 pm. I prefer a mix of morning, lunch and afternoon meeting options.

4.      What is the engagement of the group on social media? For some business professionals, this doesn’t matter. It’s important to me. I want to know about additional resources and events that the group regularly shares. Do people collaborate with each other in-between events?

5.      How does the group fit into your short and long-term career goals? How can the group support, lift, educate and train you to be better in your career? This may be of less importance to some, and it can be an important part of your overall strategy. I am a member of ICF-Minnesota, a group that contributes to my coaching practice with webinars, smart and successful coaches and tools on how to be a better coach.

Looking for more networking, connecting and/or leadership tools, join my Coachology.us group page on LinkedIn or my private coaching page at Facebook, where you will receive access to tools, inspiration and complementary Zoom with Zimmer webinars on practical topics for leaders.

Get out there! Have fun! Help others and make some lovely deposits. Most of all enjoy each and every day!

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Judy Zimmer is a master connector, certified effectiveness coach, a certified TIPS #Innovation and Problem-Solving coach, a group coach, founder of the Leadership Presence Group Coaching Series and sought after speaker on #leadershippresence, #personalbranding, and #goalsetting. Her clients include leaders at all levels from across the globe. You can learn more at Coachology.us.