|
|
|
|
Connext Nation
Announcements!
By Debby Peters, connextnation.com
|
|
|
Celebrating Our 18th Year of Helping Our Grads to REALLY Connect!
Corn Maze
Last year we started a new tradition, trying to find our way through a corn maze. Again this year we are booked at the same location as last year at the Wheeler Farms Butterfly House at 11455 Obee Rd, Whitehouse. Barb Wilson,SM3, who handled all the details, picked October 20th because that evening will be close to a full moon. There is a bonfire and if you want, snacks to purchase. We hope to have an even larger crowd than last year. Be there by 6:30 so we can begin promptly at 6:45.
Future Calendar Dates
As we enter the fourth quarter (already!) we are still going strong with events. Along with our classes starting, the downtown Toledo lunch, we also have other fun times that you can attend and bring other fun people. Guests are always welcome at all our events.
Oct 20th Corn Maze (A HUG E success last hear)
Nov 2nd Toledo Mini Class, 2-4 PM
Nov 7th Cleveland Mini Class, 2-4 PM
Nov 19th Toledo Graduation, 5:30 PM
Social Media
Stay in the Know!!
Never miss out on a networking event again! As CN confirms an event, it is set up under the Events tab on our Facebook page with all of the info and links to register if applicable. While on our Facebook page, simply click on the Events tab and you will see the Subscribe button on the right just above the list of events. Click on it and you are set to go! You can also invite people to the events and share them to your Facebook page as well! Visit our page at https://www.facebook.com/connextnation today!
|
|
Member Spotlight:
Sunny and energetic, Samantha Stainbrook, brightens the day of her co-workers at Comfort Keepers and graciously networks in the community. She began at Comfort Keepers home care agency five years ago as the office receptionist. When previous CN Grad, Jessica Smith, left the company, Samantha inherited the outreach position. Since then she has enjoyed getting out into the community and talking with people, using her networking knowledge from Connext Nation.
Prior to taking the CN training, Samantha said that even giving her 60 second commercial at BNI was uncomfortable. Defining her purpose and goals at these events has made Samantha a much more comfortable networker. She currently serves as president of her BNI chapter, boldly going where she never saw herself. "The course helped me grow professionally, but also personally," Samantha said. "I hated getting up and talking. [The Course] gave me a sense of confidence. I knew what I was looking for. I knew what to do."
Samantha has seen through Comfort Keepers that caring for aging parents leaves the caregivers exhausted. Her clients don't know they need help until they need it urgently. A good portion of her work is educating people about the services Comfort Keepers offers which allow her clients to have a normal relationship with their parent instead of being overwhelmed with every task as primary caregiver. There are significant challenges both for in-town and out-of-town adults taking care of their parents. Samantha focuses on creating an online presence to reach these adult children and help them create the best environment for their parents.
Samantha also focuses her attention on the Veterans Association, Jewish Family Services, and facilities like Kingston to connect with more families struggling with elder care.
Samantha credits Comfort Keepers success to its client care coordinators and caring staff. The scheduler, she says, does an amazing job taking care of a constantly evolving work flow, and the care coordinators help to make the process smooth for the family.
Speaking of evolving work flows, Samantha has some changes coming up quickly. She is nearly finished with the Ace Fitness online course and will soon be working as a trainer in Tiffin, Ohio and switching to part-time with Comfort Keepers. She is looking forward to helping the elderly gain strength with her new skill, as well as the general community. Her boyfriend, Cory, has already moved to Tiffin, where he took a job as assistant men's basketball coach, and tennis coach, at Heidelberg University.
Samantha is excited to move her love of fitness to the front burner. She and her best friend Kimberly are also beginning a fitness/nutrition coaching business called SY Physique. Within ten years she hopes that they will be coaching full-time and join the Women's Entrepreneurial Network in Toledo to help their company grow.
When not working, Samantha loves being outdoors and being with family. She is on several sand volleyball leagues and likes Ninja gyms. Watch out world! Here comes Samantha Stainbrook!
|
|
|
Michael Temple of Temple Development Corporation is proud to announce he has obtained two new certifications from Digital Marketer. He has earned the Customer Acquisition Specialist and Customer Value Optimization Specialist. These certifications are focused on creating effective online advertising campaigns to drive traffic and building effective sales funnels to convert users into leads and buyers.
CN’er KC Allen’s short horror film “Dark Of The Night” recently won Audience Choice at a film showcase in Columbus, and just received word that it’s going to make its Tennessee premiere at a film festival in Gatlinburg this October. The short film is currently in development to make into a full-length movie. KC owns Allen Film & Video and 10 Ring Films in Findlay.
Julie (Emmenecker) Navarre, is proud to announce the launch of TackBox. TackBox is an app that connects horse show competitors with vendors to purchase products at horse shows and have them delivered to the stalls! (They are first to market!) In addition, vendors will have their own portals to see orders come in and mark them delivered. Their app is free to download. They officially launched at the Sept 14-16 show in Wilmington, OH and have a busy schedule ahead. They also will be heading to The American Quarter Horse Congress in October. During Congress, they will be playing a game of Tag, like in the movie, Tag.
|
|
|
As good referral partners in order to continue to receive the top quality referrals that we expect, we also have to feed our partners with referral nourishment to keep the referral circle complete. Breaking that link means that if you’re not being a supplier you cannot expect to continue to be a receiver.
The big question is, “How can I find referrals for all my friends.” Hopefully we all strategically select our networking groups that we belong to based on our target market, either connecting directly with prospects or indirectly with referral sources. That is the most efficient use of our resources. But sometimes, the available business that we can take to our partners diminishes over time because, of course, you are meeting with the same people at each meeting. (That is a good thing because you are developing strong relationships.) How can you solve this conundrum without joining yet another group?
The easiest way I have found to do so is to attend other networking events that are wide of your usual targets. This way you are quickly meeting a diverse group of people and are probably finding some new blood to help your partners. The best part of this scenario is that doing so, means that you don’t have any commitments to the groups other than just that event. You can still be efficient with your use of time and money. You can attend with goals set to meet people to help a referral partner, knowing exactly the type of prospect needed to satisfy that person. When you have accomplished the goals for the evening, you can leave and go to your kid’s soccer game or just head home to relax. You have accomplished helping your partners and they will want to continue to do the same for you in the future.
Some examples of the above ideas are:
A business after hours event of a chamber you do not belong to
A charity gala
An awards banquet or lunch
An event with that one of your networking groups has that you have never attended
A community fair
A tailgate party for a football game
An educational seminar
I recently had an experience where I attended the BNI Fall Conference at the Pinnacle. At one breakout session, I sat next to a woman that I didn’t know. She shared that she owns a restaurant in Bluffton called By Still Waters which opened just a couple months ago. She said that business is good but not moving as fast as she would like. I know several people in the Bluffton area and am going to reach out on her behalf to let them know about her business. It will be a win for her, but also for them to know of a new choice for dining out.
The secret sauce to this type of effort is to go alone and then strike up a conversation with someone you don’t already know. Use the GIFTS tool that you learned in CN (GAINS for those Certified Networker grads) to help you keep the exchange going. Before long, you’ll have all the referrals you need for your friends. What would happen if everyone did this?????
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
