2 years. 99 meetings. 10 lessons.

I took a leave of absence.

I have a book to write. My time was not my own.
I had to put my priorities in perspective, and in spite of my feelings, I had to deal with my important long-term objectives.

I didnt mention that I was a founding member of my BNI (Business Network International) chapter, the president of the group, the meeting leader, and the cheerleader for 40 business people looking to get ahead in Manhattan.

During my tenure at BNI, I made countless new business partners both vendors and referral partners, made lifelong friends, gained trusted advisors, learned what to do, and what not to do in a networking situation and best practices, and how to make meetings fun and exciting.

Here are my top 10 networking and leaderships lessons learned:

1. Assume positive. When networking, always assume the best about a person first. What you assume will have a major impact on your thoughts, your words, your tone, your body language, your actions, your ideas and through positive assumption, you create opportunity. Positive is Powerful.
2. Genuine Giving. Giving first without expectation is how you will win. No measuring. No you owe me one. Try it. It will make you feel good to give, and at some point, you will receive way more than youve given. You dont have to think about it, one day it just shows up.
3. Enroll Help. If youre managing a team, whether theyre volunteers or employees, youll need to attract them, engage them, and enroll them into your idea(s). Inspire them to take action on your idea, and make it easy for them to say yes by showing them how they will benefit.
4. Real Friendships. The best and most powerful kind of networking creates lifelong friendships. While you may not go into it with that as your goal, if you do it right (assume positive, give first, and are perceived as genuine ), you will create lifelong friendships.
5. Presentation Experience. I got to present in front of an audience every week for more than two years. With 100 presentations under my belt, I got IMMEASURABLE experience that will further my career forever. Ask yourself this: what kind of presentation experience are you getting monthly? Weekly? Daily? Whether youre in sales or you own the company, youll need to have GREAT presentation skills to become a valuable person in your network or company.
6. Leadership Experience. Navigating political fires, hiring or enrolling volunteers and firing or asking volunteers to step down when they arent able to do their job well, delegating with proper instruction and expectations, all provided experience and lifelong lessons that I could immediately use in my career and my life. The best thing I did was cut the fluff. Just be straightforward with people about whats going on, what needs improvement and where theyre performing well. People respect honesty especially when they know its coming from a good place with the intent to help them grow and improve. KEY POINT OF UNDERSTANDING: Dont insult. Do encourage and compliment.
7. Making a Meeting Exciting. Create a meeting that people want to be present for and go to again. Not HAVE to go, rather WANT to go. Make it fun, offer ways for attendees to add humor, dont be too strict or serious, dont be condescending or self-serving. Be laid-back, happy, enthusiastic, friendly, and engaging. By adding meeting themes and surprise items to the agenda, you can keep it fresh. Music can add a great mood booster especially with early morning meetings. Play rock.
8. Building Community. Successful networking requires a powerful community. But great communities dont just pop up out of nowhere. You have the power to create them by offering value, finding like-minded people, like-attitude people, and having a fun environment for people to connect. Make sure you are socially connected to EVERYONE in your network, give them consistent value messages, and that Number 9 (next) is always on your mind.
9. Introduce Bob to Mary (be a yenta). Your goal at a networking meeting is not just to say hello and introduce YOURSELF, its to introduce people you meet to others. At a BNI meeting I made certain that no visitor was left alone. When I meet someone I find out who they are a guest of (to build rapport), and what they do, so I can figure out who I know (in or out of the room) that can help them. You have to do this individually. And always must be thinking, who can I introduce them to? Someone who is just starting a business can be introduced to a business coach. I meet a professional a lawyer, an accountant, and I know a digital marketing agency that can help them grow their business, or maybe someone looking for legal help or a CPA. Become the connector and you win. You win helping others win.
10. The courage to walk away to the next adventure. When youre in a rhythm, in the groove, experiencing success, building friendships, and confident in your shoes, its hard to stop, and even harder to walkaway. Whether its romance or business, sometimes you have to take a time out and a step back and assess where you are, where youre going, what youre investing your time in, and where its leading you.

Are you comfortable or challenged? Are you achieving your PRIME objective? And if youre not, why not? What do you have to replace or substitute? Whats REALLY next? And how do you get there?

REALITY CHECK: I loved my time and leadership role at BNI. Connect 70, my BNI chapter, my BNI community, was my pride and my extended family, but they werent helping me write my networking book. And that was and is my prime objective. I needed time to write and I had to walk away to do it. To write. To finish the goal. To launch the next phase of my career. To take what I have learned and taught, and help others grasp that networking brass business card.

Walking away from comfort and success is scary, but going for the next challenge is a neutralizing action.@jeninanyminute

Whats next?…

With more time back in my life, Ive begun to see and write about more impactful information about networking, sales, and relationship building. A morning podcast, Tuesdays with Jen, will replace my BNI meeting time. Ill be creating an online course on LinkedIn (the newest version), and in general building my body of work with both words and videos.

But most important, Ill be setting aside blocks of time to write a landmark book on face-to-face networking, based on my personal travels, business success, and of course my BNI experience.

Ill be hibernating for a while, but not out of sight. You can always find me live on my podcast with Jeffrey Gitomer, Sell or Die.

2018 Jennifer Gluckow and Sales in a New York Minute
www.SALESinaNYminute.com Jen@SALESinaNYminute.com