advancing women in business Connecting with Connectors

advancing women in business Kate Farrow Client Leadership Development Manager everywoman An Introduction to Building Strong Networks

advancing women in business First Question If not 1.Try turning up your speakers, and check your earphones or speakers are plugged into the right socket. If that doesn’t work.. 2.Click on the yellow hand with the green arrow on it and our admin team will try to assist. Can you hear me?

advancing women in business Connecting with Connectors Heather White Networking Expert Smarter Networking

advancing women in business Objectives Able to identify Connectors Able to network with Connectors (they are a bit special) Where to meet Connectors Increase your skills as a Connector

advancing women in business What is a Connector?

advancing women in business What benefits does a Connector bring? Opens doors Connections Know when things are changing Hear when things are changing Asked by influencers for a name Can get YOU out there Can increase your profile

advancing women in business Why would a Connector help you? It’s in their DNA to help It’s how they stay in touch with their key contacts They LOVE collecting people BUT It’s important they can trust you They need to be able to ‘get you’ It’s vital you follow up any connections they make immediately

advancing women in business How to identify a Connector Frequently mentions other people’s names Asks lots of question but not necessarily in-depth Seems to have an eclectic network Happy to make connections Keen to help BUT Name droppers BUT not offering Questions to clarify They are normally fairly loyal Never confuse status with connections

advancing women in business Think about your networks – who are your Connectors? Write down 5 names of people to whom you have been introduced Against each name write down who made the connection for you Later on do this exercise with at least 20 people so you can see who your Connectors are

advancing women in business Poll 1 Do you feel you could identify a Connector? Yes No Sort of

advancing women in business Poll 2 What clarity do you need to help you? (open ended response – please leave your feedback in the comments box)

advancing women in business Make it easy for your Connectors (or they won’t bother) Why they ask questions but rarely go into detail Their contacts have problems which Connectors love to solve Connectors need Experts/Influencers Make it easy for them to pass your name forward by: Get a sense of your character Understand your expertise Know about your experiences

advancing women in business Networking with Connectors If possible meet face-2-face every months Keep them informed of any special projects you are involved with Make connections to them of other specialists Find out what they are interested in and see if you can help Keep educating them about you (nicely)

advancing women in business Where to meet Connectors? It’s more an attitude than a location Ask your contacts who they think are well connected and ask for an introduction At events – they LOVE people

advancing women in business Poll 3 Who has made a connection for someone this week? Yes No

advancing women in business Poll 4 Who has made a connection for someone last week? Yes No

advancing women in business Poll 5 Who likes to make connections to others if they are able? Yes No Don’t know how

advancing women in business Should you become a Connector? One of the most rewarding things to do for another person Start slowly Yes, it does take time and risk

advancing women in business Work through this workbook online when you access your dashboard or you can download the workbook by clicking on the ‘Download PDF versions’. If you have any questions you can submit them in the ‘Ask a Question’ box at the bottom of the everywoman.com screen. Work through this Workbook online