September 8, 2010

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Rainmakers event at Flemings Steak House at The Green in Dayton

March 24, 2010 By Peter DeMott 1 Comment

3/24/2010: I dropped in on the Rainmakers networking event at Flemings restaurants at The Green here in Dayton. This is the second over lunch Rainmakers hub in the Dayton area. Troy started the ball rolling for lunch events.

The Action board is headed by Chairs Mark and Laura Ryan or Mark Ryan Group / ReMax Viictory which is located at The Green. Several others in the board, I am told have businesses located at The Green as well.

In any case, the board and chair came together and created a memorable lunch launch (you have to be careful when reading on Rainmakers web sites because it is easy to mistake launch for lunch and show up at the wrong time). The restaurant we basically FULL with many visitors and regular Rainmaker members.

The mistery of the BLUE DOT

If you were a visitor, you were informed of your blue dot status. As a visitor your nametag had a blue dot added to it. This tells regular members to do the very best they can to find out who you are trying to meet and make sure that you get connected with someone that would be benificial to your business growth. It might be someone that could actually be a customer for you, but more likely it would be someone who is looking for the same type of contact you are. We call these connections “strategic connections” because these are the folks that you can help and the folks that can help you with leads and introductions. Perhaps one of you works with credit card processing and the other works with food vending for example. Maybe you are both looking to meet restaurant owners. Since you are not competitors, you can both refer each other and help the businesses that you work with while helping each other.

What makes Rainmakers different than many other networking groups?

It looked to me like everyone enjoyed their meal and were interacting quite a bit before Mark introduced the short activity during the middle of the event. These activities are designed to help you get to know the other people around your table more deeply than you would typically experience at other networking events that I’ve been to. At the end of the activity, the founder of Rainmakers, Tony Scelzo, gave a mind stretching presentation for about 7-10 minutes. When he finished, he told everyone to get back to networking.

At that point I needed to leave, but I noticed that nobody was rushing to head out the door. The room was a buzz with conversations.

Here are some video clips (will be adding more in a couple days – I was having upload issues) and photos showing you around the event.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPHowb-hris
IMG 1436 Rainmakers event at Flemings Steak House at The Green in Dayton

IMG 1441 Rainmakers event at Flemings Steak House at The Green in Dayton

IMG 1443 Rainmakers event at Flemings Steak House at The Green in Dayton

IMG 1444 Rainmakers event at Flemings Steak House at The Green in Dayton

You can see all the event and new hub forming by going to http://gorainohio.ning.com/ . You can join this site at no charge or you can just look at the event listing along the right hand side of the home page.

If you participated in the LUNCH launch at Flemings Steak House at the Green as a Rainmakers member or as a BLUE DOT visitor, please comment about the event below. Please tell me and everyone what you thought and about the value of the networking that you experienced at this event using the comments below.

Filed Under Featured, Growing your business, Networking Opportunity, Rain Ohio Tagged With Business growth, Grow your business, Networking, Rain Ohio, Tools for business

Troy Rainmakers lunch hub at Club 55 Restaurant – Video Clips

March 5, 2010 By Peter DeMott Leave a Comment

KrystalK at Brown Street Troy Rainmakers lunch hub at Club 55 Restaurant Video Clips

Krystal Kiser heads up the Rainmakers lunch event at the Club 55 Restaurant in Troy Ohio. Troy is about 20 minutes drive north of I-70 at the first Troy exit. Turn right and go about 1/4 mile and the restaurant is on the left back from the road. I met Krystal early on and she was determined to get things going in the Troy area. Really everything from Northern Dayton and from north of Troy too.

The last time I was at the Troy event it was an informational meeting of about 8-12 people meeting each week. Krystal planted the seeds and gathered a committed Action Board around her and when they were ready launched the lunch time hub. I heard that the first meeting was overwhelming (did I hear there were close to 100 people… maybe that was a rummer, I don’t know. Someone who was their can make a comment at the bottom of this post) and that they have been having between 40-60 people for each monthly event since. Way to go Action Board and way to go Krystal, the Action Board chairman.

Did I mention that Krystal is the rooky of the year for 2009 for exemplifying to actions and attitudes that make Rainmakers work so well.

I’ve been to several of the AM (meaning EARLY morning 7:30AM) meetings. And I have been to the after hours meeting at the BW3 in Town and Country Mall, but this was the first lunch meeting that I had been to. One aspect of the meeting that is slightly different is that getting your food and sitting down to eat gives the Action Board a little extra time to do some special things.

Action Board members for this hub greet people as they sign-in and arrive.

As everyone eats their lunch and networks at the tables Action board members walked around collecting forms and insisting that people fill them out while they are eating. Hun… what is this form. Okay, Okay, I filled it out. Then off they went with them. This is something that I had not seen at the morning Rainmakers events so I went to investigate leaving my wonderful chicken salad unattended for a few minutes.

So, at some point in the meeting Krystal explained what the slips of paper were for as she connected people who had similar target customers. If two people are seeking to meet the same persons within a business, but they are not in competition, they may be good strategic connections. They will be able to feed each other leads to the right kind of prospects helping each other get more business, help more customers and grow their businesses in the process. The first connection she made was to introduce me to the owner of the restaurant. After the meeting I arranged to meet with her to share with her how REACH magazine is helping other restaurants throughout the greater Dayton area.

After Krystal did her part with the slips of paper that everyone had filled out telling who would be a good connection or a good client, another board member introduced a topic of discussion for groups of 6-8 people around tables.

Before closing the meeting and sending people off to do more networking Nikki Lewallen from Rainmakers told us a short story illustrating the Rainmakers model. She used a real person who is using the Rainmakers model. (three video clips for this)

The meeting was dismissed and everyone was encouraged to continue networking and setting up their one-to-one appointments to strengthen their connections.

Overall it was a great meeting. I left with a presentation appointment and several cards of people I would like to follow up with for one-on-one appointments. Within an hour I had an email from another Rainmaker who wanted to meet up and have a one-on-one. Krystal exudes the “be more, do more” motto of Rainmakers suggesting that “We need more hubs for the north part of the Dayton market and offering her helping hand to anyone who would want to work on a hub for Huber Heights or Englewood or perhaps Vandalia. The entire Action Board was actively working throughout the event to make sure that people were welcomed and to facilitate connections. Way to go Troy Lunch Hub!

Filed Under Advertising in Dayton, Featured, Growing your business, Networking Opportunity, Rain Ohio, more customers Tagged With Advertising in Dayton, Business growth, Grow your business, Networking, Rain Ohio, REACH Magazine, Tools for business

Video Clip: Rainmakers networking at Champs in Centerville, Ohio 2/24/2010

February 25, 2010 By Peter DeMott 4 Comments

This morning I had to leave the Rainmakers networking event before the activity in the middle, but I thought I would show you how animated and involved everyone is at these meetings. As I was networking with another fellow, he said that he had recently been to a chamber event with one of the smaller chambers in town. There were about the same number of people and they had a speaker. As soon as the speaker finished, everyone up and left. He did not meet a single person.

His comment to me was that he had already made some good contacts and the meeting had not really started yet. I don’t think that I saw anyone who was not meeting and getting to know someone at this meeting during that warm up networking at the beginning.

This is the video part of my small camera which includes audio. You tell me if you think that there was some good connections being made. This is not a networking group where you will end up standing around wondering who you should speak to. If you are not talking with someone, another person will come up to you and introduce their self to you. They might ask you if you have come before and if not explain more about the Rainmakers concept.

If you attended the meeting, tell us how many new contacts you made and if you scheduled a one-on-one meeting to deepen your understanding of the other person’s business and needs.

In case the imbed does not work here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sgv–XUZHgU

Filed Under Featured, Networking Opportunity Tagged With Business growth, Grow your business, Networking, Rain Ohio, Rainmakers

South Dayton Hub Launch at Cadilac Jacks

August 20, 2009 By Peter DeMott Leave a Comment

Joshua Johnson and his action board did a great job with the launch of Dayton’s 2nd Rainmaker hub. Cadilac Joacks is a fine venue for a regular meeting.

I came away with several good contacts from the meeting and again people were clearly refreshed by the activity during the middle of the networking. It is clear that the Rainmaker model is appealing to business people in the Dayton area and the model breaks down that uncomfortable feeling that people sometimes have at some networking events.

This time bolts and nuts of various sizes were handed out as you entered. What I didn’t realize was that there were only one or two of each bolt and nut size. You had to go around to find a bult or nut that matched yours exactly. The analogy was made that this is how it can be when building your networking team. There are certain individuals that you can match up with that can help you better than others and of course that you can help as well. The goal of going to the various Rainmakers networking events is to find good people that you feel comfortable referring, people that are a good match for you and who tend to meet the kinds of clients you need as well.

Here are some pictures from todays hub launch:

Rainmakers IMG 1073 300x225 South Dayton Hub Launch at Cadilac Jacks Rainmakers IMG 1076 300x225 South Dayton Hub Launch at Cadilac Jacks

Rainmakers IMG 1077 300x225 South Dayton Hub Launch at Cadilac Jacks Rainmakers IMG 1079 300x225 South Dayton Hub Launch at Cadilac Jacks

Rainmakers IMG 1080 300x200 South Dayton Hub Launch at Cadilac Jacks Rainmakers IMG 1089 300x225 South Dayton Hub Launch at Cadilac Jacks

Filed Under Networking Opportunity, Rain Ohio Tagged With Business growth, Dayton, Grow your business, Networking, Rain Ohio, Tools for business

AM Centerville Launch of the Rainmakers in Dayton, Ohio

July 30, 2009 By Peter DeMott 3 Comments

This morning I woke up to my wife saying, “Oh shoot it is 7am!” The alarm which plays a radio channel when it goes off was playing some faint static. I whipped on my clothes and quckly shaved and hopped into the car. I was supposed to be there at 7:10am and Champs was at least 25 minutes from my home.

I got there in time to help out and there was already a line out the front doors of Champs Restaurant. I slipped through the line to where Melody McCord was making name tags and made one for myself then proceed to try to make people feel welcome. I’m on the Action Board for this hub of the Rainmakers in OHIO along with about 15 of the first members of Rainmakers in Ohio.

Here is a picture of business people pouring in the front doors:

rainmakersOH 1041 AM Centerville Launch of the Rainmakers in Dayton, Ohio

It’s still a little bit dark outside as the morning was overcast and there were some sprinkles of rain.

People kept pouring in until the entire main dining area of Champs was filled with business people networking with each other.  David Wright is the Chairman of this hub of Rainmakers so he asked everyone to have a seat to explain a bit more about what Rainmakers was all about. He did a great job of giving an introduction to the S-H-A-R-E acronym. I’ll fill you in on that on another post. Then David introduced Nikki Lewallen.

rainmakersOH 1051 AM Centerville Launch of the Rainmakers in Dayton, Ohio

Nikki Lewallen from Rainmakers explained how sometimes that at networking events you feel like you are at an 8th grade dance and you just don’t know who to talk to or where to start. One of the concepts of Rainmakers is that in order to start giving people referrals you have to know them. So every Rainmakers meeting has some kind of icebreaker  after the first half hour of open networking. This helps people make better mental connections as well. If you know something more than just business about another person, that person will be easier for you to remember. You give referrals to people you KNOW, it’s that simple. Everyone had been given a playing card when they came in. In the next 10 minutes find all the people with like cards… all the kings in one place, all the 2s over here and this will be loud and wild and that’s okay. Once you are in your groups make of list of the things you have in common.

It was great to think of the things that we might have in common. Does everyone in this group have children? Do we all have at least two kids? YES, how about pets, do we all have a pet? NO someone in the group didn’t have a single pet, and so on. At the end of the ten minutes Nikki asked the goups to share their most unique commonalities. It was great fun. Here are a couple pictures of the action. You can see that people were really having a good time and networking could be more than just handing out your business cards to a bunch of people you don’t know.

rainmakersOH 1053 AM Centerville Launch of the Rainmakers in Dayton, Ohio

rainmakersOH 1054 AM Centerville Launch of the Rainmakers in Dayton, Ohio

When Nikki had finished the ice breaker and several very unique commonalities were mentioned from several of the groups, everyone was asked to have a seat again and Tony Scelzo who is one of the founding members of Rainmkers in Indianapolis Indiana explained a bit more about Rainmakers and then it was back to open networking. People gradually filtered out and back to work. Some stayed for lunch at Champs.

rainmakersOH 1063 AM Centerville Launch of the Rainmakers in Dayton, Ohio

It was clear that this was a different experience for many people. Later in the day, I emailed one person that I had invited. His response was that the membership form was in the mail with a check and that the owner of his company would be at the next meeting. I saw people pulling one another to meet people that might be good strategic partners for them and many significant contacts were made. It was a great meeting for me as well as I have several people that I need to follow up with.

If you want to check out Rainmakers in Ohio you are welcome to go to http://rainohio.com where you can put up a profile page and start making connections.

The Centerville AM Hub will meet each month at Champs on the 4th Wednesday of the month from 7:30-9am. The next hub will launch on August the 18th at Cadillac Jacks Restaurant and Sports Bar on Springboro Pike also from 7:30-9am. It is called the South Dayton AM. Rainmakers. At this point there are 9 hubs and then a Main Event in planning stages which will be announced in coming months. You are welcome to email me if you would like to keep informed of each new hub as it comes online. As a Rainmakers member, you can attend any or all of the hub networking events. In Indianapolis, that would be a difficult feat as there are now 43 events each month throughout the city and surrounding towns.

Filed Under Networking Opportunity, Rain Ohio Tagged With Business growth, Grow your business, Networking, Rain Ohio, Tools for business

Rainmaker Launch Event in Centerville

July 22, 2009 By Peter DeMott Leave a Comment

Have you been hearing some buzz about Rainmakers coming to Dayton? This is your opportunity to find out what the buzz is about and build your business at the same time with a networking event different than what you have seen and experienced before.

Founded in 2002, Rainmakers is a professional networking/business building organization committed to helping people connect, develop and grow.  As Indiana’s fastest growing business networking organization with over 1400 members, Rainmakers has doubled in size every year for the past six years. So come grow with us! On behalf of Rainmakers Membership Team, we invite you to learn more about us at www.gorainmakers.com or 1-866-375-RAIN.

Rainmakers AM Centerville

Wednesday, July 29th at 7:30am at Champs Restaurant & Bar.

On July 29th, we anticipate successful, business professionals from across the region will attend the opening of our newest event.  Please expect to be greeted with a warm welcome and connected with energetic people. Rainmakers help others connect with the right people to grow their business.

There is no need to RSVP. If you have questions, please call 866-375-RAIN or visit us online at www.gorainmakers.com.

Rainmakers AM Centerville LAUNCH

Wednesday, July 29th, 2009 • 7:30am-9:00am

Chair: David Wright-The Growth Coach

Send David an email: d.wright@thegrowthcoach.com

Location:Champs Restaurant & Bar

7880 Washington Village Dr,  Dayton, Ohio 45459

Start getting connected now at http://rainohio.com (and let us know who you need to meet!)

welcome 300x165 Rainmaker Launch Event in Centerville

Filed Under Networking Opportunity, Rain Ohio Tagged With Business growth, Dayton, Grow your business, Networking, Rain Ohio, Tools for business

Profile portraits can say a lot about you

July 22, 2009 By Peter DeMott Leave a Comment

I’ve been attending the Rainmakers meetings on Wednesday mornings at 9am at the Penera Bread on Brown Street near the University of Dayton Campus. We have also encouraged people to go to www.gorainohio.ning.com and put up a profile page, but several folks did not have profile portraits to use and a couple needed upgrades. I suggested that a better profile portrait would reflect more professionally when people saw it.

It amazes me what people are willing to put up as profile images on networking web sites. Out of focus, poorly lit, outdated old images, or new ones that your cannot see for one reason or another. In any case, I decided that since I am a photographer  (part time), I would offer to upgrade or provide initial images for anyone on gorainohio who wanted one. At last week’s meeting I brought my camera and here are some of the portraits that I created.

RR3D0575 200x300 Profile portraits can say a lot about you RR3D0582 200x300 Profile portraits can say a lot about you RR3D0597 200x300 Profile portraits can say a lot about you

RR3D0594 200x300 Profile portraits can say a lot about you RR3D0602 200x300 Profile portraits can say a lot about you RR3D0606 200x300 Profile portraits can say a lot about you

RR3D0623 200x300 Profile portraits can say a lot about you

I delivered all these via email except one which I need an email address for. Everyone has been delighted with images. Each represented an improvement or the replacement of an empty box on the profile page. Each, I think, presents the person in a professional light.

Filed Under Networking Opportunity, Rain Ohio Tagged With Business growth, Grow your business, Networking, Rain Ohio, Tools for business

Allen Promotional Products

June 26, 2009 By Peter DeMott Leave a Comment

I had a great meeting with Allen Nelson of Allen Promotional Products. As he says on his business card, “Our business Keeps Your Business in Front of Your Customers.” He helps businesses, churches, event planners, teams to have give-away and promotional items that stay with the people.

What stays with the people? He showed me some items that he actually uses for himself, but the idea is to give something away that will have lasting value and be used rather than those squeeze balls and other throw aways and useless items. He likes people to look at things like refillable mini portfolios (for the smaller legal pads) and things that can be used rather than things that just add to the clutter and make their way into the trash can in a couple of days. I though this was a good strategy. In  fact I have a nice portfolio that was given to me over 5 years ago which has my company logo on the front.

With regard to networking and being specific with requests, I suggested that he bring samples of items to each networking meeting and hand them out to the participants. For example he could bring 20 imprinted golf balls and say,”I’m looking for business owners that are golfer or anyone planning a golf outing for fundraiser involving golf.” This way as networking group participants are about their business, they could have an item handy to show to folks they encounter and just ASK, “I know a guy who does this type of imprinting, is this something you ever need… are you planning any events this year?”

Asking questions as you know from my previous posts, is a critically important thing for any sales person and any business owner. It never hurts to ASK and many times you will find out things that can help you or your business to prosper. When I ask questions I also share the resources that I have at my finger tips because of my experience with the other businesses that I work with.

Allen Promotional Products / Allen Nelson 937-718-1729

http://www.allenpromo.net

I appreciated the meeting and now Allen knows something about the kinds of clients that I am looking for and I know about the clients he is looking for. I also know that he is a smaller operation and because of that he has much more flexibility to get things done according to the needs of the client instead of the other way around. If you need or want to look at items that you can give away at your next event, he can do it all (large and small projects), but he just may have the personalized service that you need and the advice that will make a difference in the long run.

Filed Under Advertising in Dayton, Customer Service, Networking Opportunity, Rain Ohio Tagged With Advertising in Dayton, Business growth, Grow your business, Networking, Rain Ohio, Tools for business

Rain Ohio is starting in Dayton

June 18, 2009 By Peter DeMott Leave a Comment

I’ve been dabbling in networking here in Dayton for some time so when I was invited to a Rain Ohio networking event I decided to give it a try. After the second meeting I had a one on one with Larry Kevin Adams. He is a business coach and works with individuals to help them to get to the next level and also reach their personal goals. He is also one of the organizers from the original group in Indianapolis working together with local individuals to recreate the Rain concept in Dayton so that it will be similar to what they have in Indianapolis.

But, first before I get into that, I want to tell you that I was awakened to a better understanding of what networking is all about. Larry explained that I could build a team of people who work with the same people that I am looking for to build my business with. I could meet with these individuals and get to know them better to understand the people they are looking for as well. Once we knew each other better, we would be better able to take advantage of our deeper knowledge when we are out in the world doing our work. Now, after building this relationship, I would be able to say to one of my customers, “Ya know, I know this guy who is a business coach and I think he could really help you with the goals you mentioned.”

With Rain Ohio, I would not be limited to just one group and one time (what if I don’t connect well with the people in one small group), but I would be able to visit any of the groups that will be forming throughout the month in order to have a greater exposure and perhaps be able to build a better team of people I would help and who in turn would help me.

What do they have in Indianapolis?

There are 30-40 hubs, as they call them, these are goups that meet to network in a particular time and place once each month. In addition to these 30-40 hubs, they have a major networking event every month. At the hub meetings and at the major event visitors are given a blue dot to wear. Several from our local group went to “check out” the major event this month in Indianapolis. They were given a blue dot to wear and found out first hand what that was all about. All the members of the group are trained to seek out the blue dots and get to know them and to hopefully even introduce them to people within the group that might help them find the leads they are seeking or who might make a good team member for them should they join. Each member here who has gone to the Indianapolis events to learn more about Rain Ohio has come back with rave reviews and descriptions of their experience of wearing a blue dot.

What does Rain Ohio want their footprint to be in Dayton?

They and we want it to be the same thing as what happens throughout each month in Indianapolis. Many, many hubs, all of which you can attend as a member, as many as you like every month and also a major event each month with organized activities that help people to get to know each other better. Already with Dayton’s formative group I see an open attitude forming as the people interact and discuss the things they are working on and as they get a vision for what Rain Dayton can become.

IMG 0844 Rain Ohio is starting in Dayton

Right now this formative group is meeting weekly at the Panera Bread Co. on Brown Street at 9am on Wednesdays. You are welcome to come and learn more about Rain Ohio and network with the people that are coming. Come as a visitor to check it out. At the same time you can join the online portion of this group at  http://gorainohio.ning.com where you can learn more and start some online relationships. I’m excited about this new wave of opportunity for business people in the Dayton area. I’ve already made some great connections for a couple of the guys in the group and had one on one meetings with three,two business coaches and a financial investment counselor. I have several new leads that look promising with strong referrals (not a list of people “I should call”). Check it out online and come visit the next meeting this coming Wednesday, June 24th. Once you have joined the online portion, you will be notified of what is happening next.

welcome1 Rain Ohio is starting in Dayton

Filed Under Networking Opportunity, Rain Ohio Tagged With Business Coach, Dayton, Networking, Rain Ohio