Presentation to Leadership Greater McHenry County Interns

1. NETWORKING
The power of swarm
intelligence

2. ABOUT ME
THE WHY….
SWARM
INTELLIGENCE
NETWORKING &
RELATIONSHIP
BUILDING

3. ABOUT ME, VANESSA BAKER
FAST FORWARD MARKETING
• Digital Marketing Management
• Google AdWords campaigns
• Social Media Advertising
• Managing Ads on Amazon
• E-Commerce Management of Amazon Selling
• Social Media Management
• Website Design
• Public relations and reputation management
• Email marketing campaigns
• Paid Trainer
• Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Management using UpCity and SpyFU
software

4. I ALSO STARTED A COWORKING GROUP
& SPACE

5. RIBBON CUTTING-
SEE ANYONE
FAMILIAR?
WHY DID I GO
THRU ALL THIS
TROUBLE? IT
DIDN’T REALLY
MAKE MONEY.

6. WHY?
HARNESS THE
POWER OF SWARM
INTELLIGENCE

7. BEES DO IT

8. HERRING DO IT TO
AVOID WHALES

9. AND YES!
MURDER
HORNETS
TOO

10. SWARM INTELLIGENCE
• Birds, bees, fish, ants, murder wasps… Many organisms amplify their
group intelligence by forming flocks, schools, shoals, colonies, and
swarms.
• Nature shows us that social creatures, when working together as unified
systems, can outperform the vast majority of individual members when
solving problems and making decisions.
• Scientists call this “Swarm Intelligence” and it proves the old adage –
many minds are better than one.
• Ted Talk Link: https://vimeo.com/240151944

11. MASTERMIND GROUP
• Have you read Think and Grow Rich by
Napoleon Hill?
• He suggests creating a group of people that
you meet with weekly.
• Written in 1937

12. CONNECTIONAL INTELLIGENCE…
• Connectional Intelligence is the ability to drive innovation and breakthrough
results by harnessing the power of relationships and networks.
• Leaps in creativity and progress can not be achieved in solitude.
• It requires forming relationships, wielding influence & sharing a vision so compelling
people take it on as their own

13. IT IS HOW
WE ADAPT
• Rapid adaptation due to an ever evolving
landscape and technology
• Connectivity is an ever present reality- view it as
a asset
• Don’t forget that offline connectivity and
authentic moments of interaction can form
powerful relationships.

14. NETWORKING
Networking is not about just
connecting people. It’s about
connecting people with people,
people with ideas, and people
with opportunities.
– Michele Jennae

15. LET’S DO AN EXERCISE
• Sketch your networks as a series of concentric circles —
• Those in the first, smallest circle near the center are those people with
whom you share deep ties
• The next circles are those people with whom you have increasingly
broader and more shallow relationships.
• The most successful people have both deep and close, and broad and
shallow networks

16. PYRAMID OF
TRUST

17. MY NETWORK HELPED ME
WIN MY LOGO ON A
RACECAR, INCLUDING
THE GIRL SCOUTS AND
WOODSTOCK HARLEY
DAVIDSON

18. THANKS TO
• Girl Scouts of Northern Illinois
• 1871
• United Way Greater McHenry County
• McHenry Area Chamber Scramble
• Knights of Columbus
• Turning Point
• Crystal Lake IL Facebook Group
• Cary Booster Club
• Star 105
• My dog watcher
• Rotary Club
• My brother in laws coworkers
• Coworking Group- Meetup
• Daybreaker Chicago Facebook
• Tom McGraths church in Lake Geneva
email
• Chris Wilson’s soccer group email
• Andrea’s network & her husband’s too
• Snap On Tools
• The Coffee Group
• Nextdoor app Monday
• Bunco email Monday
• Lucky Brake & McHenry VFW
•

19. A VIEW OF THE CAR

20. 4 RULES OF
SUCCESSFUL
NETWORKING
1. Push past the fear of awkwardness
Feel the fear and do it anyway. Try as hard as you can to
move past the uncomfortable feeling to seize an opportunity
when it arises. Give the interaction a try! You never know
where a simple conversation can lead. Chances are that
someone will be willing to help if you ask, but even if they
don’t, you grow in courage from those moments where the
outcome isn’t what you hoped for. You’ll be more confident
and better prepared the next time.
2. Be open to connecting with people who are different
from you
3. Be prepared
Be clear about the career outcome you want so when the
opportunity presents itself, you can have a meaningful
conversation with a prospective mentor or connection.
4. Continue the cycle of giving
Take a 'pay it forward' approach and use your new network to
help someone else. Live with an attitude of gratitude. Just as
someone has helped you, help someone else on their path to
success. In the long run, this creates a perpetual cycle of
giving—with all of us helping each other to make it just a
little bit easier to pursue the lives we dream of.

21. CASUAL
CONTACT
NETWORKS
These are general business groups that allow many people
from various overlapping professions. These groups usually
meet monthly and often hold mixers where everyone
mingles informally. They may also hold meetings where
guest speakers present on important business topics or to
discuss issues concerning legislation, community affairs or
local business programs.
Example: Chamber of Commerce, Meetup
Tip: Have to exert effort to make it work, like volunteer and
show up and talk to people!

22. DIVERSITY IS
KEY

23. STRONG
CONTACT
NETWORKS
LIKE BNI
Organizations whose purpose is principally to help members exchange business
referrals are known as strong contact referral groups. Some of these groups meet
weekly, typically over lunch or breakfast. Most of them limit membership to one
member per profession or specialty.
Strong contact networks provide highly focused opportunities for you and your
associates to begin developing your referral marketing campaigns. You won't meet
hundreds of businesspeople in this type of group, but all the members will be
carrying your business cards around with them everywhere they go. The net result
is like having up to 50 salespeople working for you! With a program like this, you'll
be establishing powerful long-term relationships that will prove invaluable.
Tip- You need to have a schedule that lets you attend all or almost all of the
meetings. Regular attendance is vital to developing a rapport with the other
members of the group and getting to know their businesses.
If you're not "pulling your weight," you'll be asked to leave or referrals will stop
coming your way.

24. COMMUNITY
SERVICE &
PROFESSIONAL
ASSOCIATIONS
3. Community service clubs
Unlike more business-oriented groups, service groups aren't set up primarily for referral
networking; their activities are focused on service to the community. However, in the
course of giving time and effort to civic causes, you form lasting relationships that broaden
and deepen your personal and business networks. If you go in not to benefit but to
contribute, the social capital you accrue will eventually reward you in other ways and from
other directions -- business among them.
4. Professional associations
Professional association members tend to be from one specific type of industry, such as
banking, architecture, personnel, accounting or health. The primary purpose of a
professional association is to exchange information and ideas.
Your goal in tapping into such networks is to join groups that contain your potential target
markets. A simple procedure for targeting key groups is to ask your best donors or clients
which groups they belong to.
Many groups limit their membership to those who have specific industry credentials, and
vendors aren't welcome. However, to generate more income or to give their full members a
well-rounded slate of potential vendors, a growing number of associations have created an
associate member category, whose members aren't active in the business or profession for
whom the group was formed.
In these type of networks, we recommend you stand out by finding ways to help without
selling to members.

25. ONLINE/SOCIAL
MEDIA
NETWORKS
*PANDEMIC
FRIENDLY
5. Online/social media networks
Build your brand and credibility
Provide value
Outline a strategy
Example: Be a cheerleader for your donors
Map out a schedule
It’s like farming vs hunting
Doesn’t happen overnight

27. PANDEMIC NETWORKING
• People, People, People
• Nurturing relationships are more important than ever
• Create a cohort of people who you can ask for advice, and in turn, have
access to diverse networks
• Think about how you can contribute to your contacts, and what they can
do for you
• JCI- Just Check In
• Make your network diverse
• Cut yourself slack

28. MORE PANDEMIC NETWORKING
• Use Linkedin Well
• Pay attention to how communities are showing up for each now
• Lets discuss
• Proceed with care, everyone is dealing with chaos
• Virtual coffee

29. 5 QUESTIONS
Prepare 3 questions tailored to the person you
are speaking with
Follow this with:
“Can you recommend someone else I should
speak with?” and
“How can I help you?”
Maybe they will say- help get this murder hornet
off me!

30. MAKE IT PERSONAL
• Think about sending communications that you would be happy to receive.
• You could reach out to say, ‘I saw you were in the news.’
• Wish someone a happy birthday on Facebook, or repost someone’s post on
LinkedIn, send somebody a text to say ‘hello,’ or an article that you think that may
be of interest to them.
• Those light touches will nurture your relationships

31. LET’S
DISCUSS
I heard you guys are very connected! Let’s talk
about it

32. LET’S CONNECT ON
LINKEDIN!
Vanessa Baker
Fast Forward Marketing
linkedin.com/in/vanessabaker1