Why Build A Network?
Let’s face it: you have plenty of contacts, but do you have Power Partnerships? Don’t worry, I didn’t know what those words meant until I joined the Inner Circle Business Network a little over 3 years ago. I already knew the co-founders, Kim Kleeman and Joy Poli, pretty well. Kim had always been “in my corner” and invited me to attend a free Happy Hour along with the monthly Leadership Lunch to see what it was like.
I had a question: I wanted to know how they planned to make this network different. “I started this group to help business leaders and entrepreneurs network in a healthy way with the intention of growing their businesses through Power Partnerships,” Kim replied.
I had another question: “What is a ‘Power Partnership’? I haven’t had a very good experience with those,” I said.
The purpose of a Power Partnership is to make strategic connections with the intention of evolving those into productive business relationships. The goal is for both partners to be “better together.”
A few characteristics Power Partners share:
You want to refer business to each other
You seek out ways to work together
You actively build trust
You share best practices and want each other to succeed
All this sounded different from other networks I’d been in, so I decided to join. At my first meeting, I could tell everyone was having fun. There weren’t any of those “cliques” I’d often noticed in other groups.
I told myself, “You have two choices. You can get involved early and often, or sit on the sidelines waiting for an invitation.” I chose to get involved and scheduled a few one-on-one sessions with other members. It felt great to see the people I’d met with privately at the monthly meetings!
After 3 months as a member, Joy invited me to join a Squad.
Squads are smaller groups within the Inner Circle that meet monthly and find ways to work together, refer business to each other, and share best practices. They take the time to get to know about each other and their businesses.
Some of our more popular squads cover the following topics:
HR
Mergers & Acquisitions
Marketing
Real Estate
Finance
Fun fact: The HR squad alone has generated over $2 million in business through referrals and Power Partnerships!
I chose the Marketing Squad and was instantly introduced to a whole new group of people I’d never met before. After a few meetings, I started to notice synergies between our businesses. Pretty soon I began spending more time with a few members to explore how we could support each other. During those conversations we discovered potential ways to work together, refer business, promote each other and more.
I’ve realized first-hand what Power Partnerships mean, and what a difference they can make. I got so excited I referred a colleague I’d been working with here and there to Inner Circle. And you know what? WE became Power Partners!
The most important thing I’ve discovered is that developing Power Partnerships is a process. It takes time and patience to try things out. The good news is, when these partnerships work, everybody wins!
The more involved I got, the quicker the business came. Pretty soon, I was raising my hand when Kim would ask, “Who on this call has gotten business as a result of being in the Inner Circle?”
Recently, I joined the Welcome Committee. This gives me the opportunity to meet and welcome each new member and connect them to others in our network starting on Day One.
Would you like to build Power Partnerships of your own, and network with others both in and out of your industry? Invite a potential Power Partner to a meeting to see how it’s done. Even better, refer a friend!
This guest blog was contributed by Inner Circle Platinum and Welcome Committee Member, Lynn Miller. Lynn is a Product and Course Design Strategist who monetizes content for authors, speakers, and consultants through her business 10x Your Expertise.