In my book, "You're Going To Be Great At This!" I discuss joining networking groups and civic organizations. To be clear, these are two separate kinds of organizations. Networking groups can be broken into several categories, including exclusive, non-exclusive, online and in-person, with their main focus on you getting to know and create relationships with others in your business community.
As an insurance agent, it's imperative that I have colleagues at arm's length to work with, bounce ideas off of, and generally can relate to when it comes to our industry. This is important for each industry, whether you sell cars, homes or pottery from your own kiln. Networking is the lifeblood.
When it comes to civic organizations, on the other hand, it can be more complicated in that each group has a main focus which isn't necessarily about your success. Their goals may be more altruistic, like helping kids in need get scholarships. Yes, you can network in one of these organizations, but the rules of engagement are different if you want to succeed.
Years ago, before there was a LinkedIn or Alignable, people joined civic organizations as a way of networking, but mostly for getting together over lunch, discussing their common interest and finding a way to give back to the community. Membership numbers for groups like the Lions Club or the Optimists were huge.
My father was a very active member of the American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association, otherwise known as the Ahepa. A Greek fraternal order founded in 1922, they originally formed to fight for civil rights and against discrimination, bigotry and hatred, because they were being targeted by the Ku Klux Klan. Nowadays, the Ahepa gives out a lot of scholarships and helps raise funds for projects in Greece, even though the membership is open to everyone.
I mention this because my father was adamant that I join the Ahepa. "You'll get a lot of business out of it," he'd say. I joined and still haven't got much business out of it at all, but I still try to participate with functions and fundraisers when possible.
And therein lies the problem with these kinds of groups when it comes to helping you grow your business. The biggest mistake you can make is to think you can join and business will fall into your lap. In reality, the opposite is true. To really get anything out of a civic group, you have to put in the time and effort and get in the trenches. Helping out with cooking hot dogs in a park or knocking on doors selling raffle tickets will be how you can make a difference.
The key is to do these things with other members. It builds camaraderie and sets the example to the other members when you can talk about it later. "Remember that day we drove a golf cart around asking people for money?" will sound a lot more appealing than "I was in the hot sun getting rejected all day."
Civic groups have had a decrease in memberships over the years and most people blame the internet. It's a lot easier, and less expensive, to start a profile on LinkedIn or make a business page on Facebook than it is to actually have to get in a car and drive to a luncheon once a week. But here again, that luncheon may result in you sitting next to the president of the bank or the very successful businesswoman you have been trying to make an appointment with.
One of the newest goals for many of these organizations is to get younger members. As the older members fall off new "fresh blood" needs to join to keep the club afloat. Our local Ahepa chapter suffers from this problem, as the average age is about 107 (I exaggerate, but not much).
When I speak to young people who are still in school I encourage them to join a civic organization off campus. It helps them get out of the comfort zone of being around their friends, but it also helps the chapter out. More than likely an older member will mentor them and appreciate the student making the effort. The end result is that the student will have some networking skills and connections ready when they do get out of school and are either looking for a job or just need to connect with others.
Keep networking and stay healthy!
Chris Castanes is a professional speaker who helps sales people succeed through workshops and humorous presentations. He's also the author of "You're Going To Be Great At This!", a humorous look at sales. For booking information, click here. He's also the president of Surf Financial Brokers selling life and disability insurance in several states.
Comments
Post a Comment