How to use THE NETWORK

Step #1 Overview

This ministry may be best explained starting with the word "affinity". Webster defines this as "sympathy marked by community of interest: KINSHIP”

As a ministry we want to do our part in growing the powerful affinity of Christians in business. We should have a sympathy marked by:

1. A community of interest of loving the Lord and keeping Him first above all.
2. A community of interest to grow a business that honors the Lord
3. A community of interest to serve the Lord by serving one another as business people

Our methodology of growing this community is through networking. We will continue to develop this online network to focus primarily on helping Christians in business to meet in pursuit of our community of interests.

So we have a twofold challenge as this network grows.
1. Make it valuable and beneficial to the members
2. Make it valuable as a tool of this ministry to grow the community

As you work your way through these training blogs, I will share recommendations ON how to best use THE NETWORK to bring the best value to you and others while making this a powerful tool to nurture the growth of the community.

Step #2 Join Your Home State Group

In addition to County and Church Groups which are explained later, we have a group for each State. For effective and efficient networking, we ask that you <u>only join your home state</u>. Here is why:

1. For those who want to network in other states, when they visit a state group, they know everyone there is really a resident of that state and not wasting time visiting pages of members from all over the country.
2. This will help members get a accurate picture of the community.
3. This will help network managers in their planning for growing, improving and bringing new networking services to the community.

If you can do business in multiple states, THE NETWORK provides effective ways to be seen and found by other members throughout the country. These will be explained in later steps.

HOW TO FIND YOUR STATE GROUP
1. Click "Groups" on the navigation bar at the top.
2. In the "Search Groups" box type "state of (your state)" and click Search Groups. Example: state of indiana
Using this example look for the "State of Indiana"
3. Click on that link
4. Click "Join the State of Indiana"

Step #3 Join County Networkers Groups

Now that you joined your home state group, it is time to join up to three county networkers groups currently available. County networkers groups are where most corporate networking and communication will take place.

For effective and efficient networking, we ask that you first join the county group where your business is located. Then you are welcome to join two additional county groups where you physically spend most of your time in business development. For those bordering other states, you are welcome to join county groups in those states as 1 of your 3 county groups.

With this site and others like it, you can now network online all over the world. However our goal is to also build the community of Christians in business which includes getting involved with one another locally. Our goal with the county groups is to give you a tool to go deeper locally and wider by using other tools available on this network.

Here is why
1. To be efficient with your networking time, it is important for us to provide you ways to identify your best possible affinities. When you visit a county group, you will know everyone there has a local interest in that county as a primary business development area. This makes it much easier to develop a good relationship.
2. This will help members get an accurate picture of the local community.
3. This will help network managers in their planning for growing, improving and bringing new networking services to your county communities.
4. As the county groups grow, we want to host large networking mixers as a key way to grow and deepen the relationships of the community. Therefore we need an accurate count of members who would consider these events.
5. You are welcome to visit any group on THE NETWORK. However there are more effective tools available on this network to find and identify good networking partners throughout the entire network.
6. There are also other more effective tools available for others to see and find you than to just join every group where you can do business.

How to decide which county groups to join
1. Is the county adjacent to the county where your business is located?
2. From a time efficiency perspective, would you ever consider being an active member of that county’s Chamber of Commerce?
3. Do you regularly attend other networking functions in that county?

Keep in mind some members may only join 2 or even 1 county as their best use of time.

IMPORTANT PLEASE READ
If your county groups are not available, which is especially true for business outside of Indiana, please send me an email with the county names and I will add them on my next update

HOW TO FIND COUNTY NETWORKERS GROUPS
1. Click "Groups" on the navigation bar at the top of this page
2. In the "Seach Groups" box type the county and state. Example: Hamilton County Indiana and click "Search Groups"
3. In this example the search will pull up Hamilton County Indiana Networkers along with all church groups available in that county. (More on church groups later)
4. Click on that county group then click "Join XXX County XXX Networkers"

Important: "Follow the group"
Once you join the group you can activate a feature to follow the group. When you first join this may automatically engage notifying via email each time someone new joins and discussions are started. To verify that this feature in activated if you see "stop following" then your are currently "following" this group. I highly recommend you keep this feature active.

Step #4 Join Your Home Church Group

***THIS IS A BRAND NEW FEATURE WITH ONLY A FEW CHURCHES CURRENTLY AVAILABLE. IF YOU DO NOT FIND YOUR CHURCH AND WOULD LIKE IT ADDED, CLICK "FORUMS" ON THE NAVIGATION BAR AT THE TOP AND SEE THE DISCUSSION ON CHURCH GROUPS

Our ministry has a passion to partner with churches in building the community of Christians in business. By adding these groups to this network, we hope to provide a place where you can network with other business people in your church while remaining a part of the county, state and national community.

Of course we ask that you only join your home church and that church should be listed on your profile page.

Once you join the group, consider the following:

1. Spread the word to other business people you know at church. It is there that we will see your church community on this network grow and as a result, the county and state groups.
2. Email me the name of a church staff person I can contact to share the vision for our ministry. In small churches it may be the pastor. In larger churches, it may be an outreach, associate or discipleship pastor.
3. In some cases it may be a member who leads a men's ministry or "worklife" ministry,

TO FIND YOUR HOME CHURCH
1. Click "Groups" on the navigation bar at the top.
2. In the Search Groups box type your county and state. Click "Search Groups"
3. The search will pull up all groups in that county.
4. If your church is not available, see note at the top of this blog

IMPORTANT: "FOLLOW" THE GROUP
Once you join the group you can activate a feature to follow the group. When you first join this may automatically engage notifying via email each time someone new joins and discussions are started. To verify that this feature in activated if you see "stop following" then your are currently "following" this group. I highly recommend you keep this feature active.

Step #5 Create an Effective Profile Page Part One

By now you should be a member of:
1. Your home state group
2. Up to three county groups if available in your area
3. Your home church group

Your next step is to review your profile.

When you first joined THE NETWORK you completed a profile questions. Now that you have established your geographic groups, you may want to review your profile. To change your profile, go your page and click "My Settings".

Being clear and concise on your profile page is important because:

1. Information on your page is used by search engines of THE NETWORK. (More on that later) This is how members will often find you.
2. Members predetermine whether or not to contact you based on your profile
3. This is a one page networking brochure on you and your business. A networking brochure not only serves as information on your company, it should also inform networking partners on how to recognize opportunities for you and how to introduce you to others

Hints regarding the questions

I offer the following products/services:
Consider this area as a menu of products and/or services, similar to what you might list on a brochure

My target markets are:
These will be specific segments of the product/service markets listed above. Example: One service you offer is creating gift baskets. A target market may be for companies with a client base of more than 50 but less than 100 and primarily women.

There are many ways to describe a target market. You can learn just by looking at the pages of other members to see how they use this space.

I can serve the following territories well with my products/services:
Do you remember when I said there are more effective ways for people to see and find all of the areas you cover? This is a huge part of it. This information is detected with the search engines of THE NETWORK.

I am currently looking for the following type of client:
Again you create gift baskets and you are looking for companies wanting to honor nurse’s day

My best affinities are:
If create gift baskets and call on companies with primarily women, a good affinity may be with assistant living communities who call on hospitals.

Step #6 Overview of Effective Networking with Other Members

Hopefully you have been working through the training blogs starting with Step #1. If so by now you should have:

1. Read the overview
2. Joined your home state group
3. Joined up to 3 county groups if available in your state
4. Joined your home church if available
5. Updated your profile for better exposure and networking

Now that you have taken care of the administrative side, it is time to interact with others in this community of Christians in business.

There are four primary features to our network: profile pages, blogs, forum discussions and search engines.

It is very important for everyone to understand that these features are cross-pollinated therefore each feature is visible from the others. By design this network will benefit you most when you contribute to this community for the benefit of another member or the community as a whole.

The easiest way to begin is by reading and contributing to the blogs and discussions of others to be an encouragement and help to them.

Most people are still learning what constitutes a good blog or forum discussion within these online communities and this will be covered later. So even if the blog or discussion is just a self promotion, take the time to read it and offer your thoughts, suggestions and opinions. Try a 1-per-day approach.

Why is this beneficial for you?

First of all it benefits the community when you provide your input and content. The more ideas we can offer and archive the better. This will go a long way in getting others involved.

Secondly remember that all features are cross-pollinated. When you comment on blogs and discussions, others see you and some will visit your page therefore seeing who you are. In other words the more you contribute, the more you are seen.

Finally I want to encourage you to have an attitude of serving others and not just working a system. I believe if we all serve one another as unto the Lord, He will meet all of our needs.

Step #7 Using the Search Engines to Find Members and Information

The most powerful feature on this network is the search feature. As our community of Christians in business grows, this feature will become more and more valuable to you for finding helpful information and to find your best networking relationships. Buckle Up. This needs much explanation but best learned by experimentation.

Here is How it Works
The following features each have their own search box:

1. Members
2. Videos
3. Forum
4. Events
5. Groups
6. Blogs

Finding People
If you click any one of these features on the navigation bar, you will see a search box such as "Member Search".
When you type in a keyword and click "search" it will find and display a list of that feature which contains the keyword you used.

Example
If you click Members (Feature) and type "attorney", it will list all members that contain "attorney". Therefore you will see those who are actually attorneys as well as those who mention "attorney" somewhere in their profile. You also use the search to find a specific person by entering part of their name.

Application
If you are a CPA and need an attorney to help you with your clients, this search feature will help you find them. Then you will see others who either market to or can partner with attorneys. If they need an attorney, they most likely need partnerships with a CPA. These partnerships are often referred to as "power teams"; those teams which can all serve the same client and/or are your best referral sources.

You can do the same under all 6 of the features listed. If you were to search for "attorney" under Forum, then it would list all forum discussions that contain "attorney" in the title, body of the discussion or comments made on that discussion. Same under Groups and so on.

Finding Information
You can also use the search feature to gather helpful information. Over time this network will be populated with hundreds of blogs, discussions and groups on a variety of topics. Try typing "real estate" in the search box under Blogs.

Searching the Entire Network at Once
At the top right of every page, you will see a search box. If you enter a keyword there, it searches the entire network at once. The list will contain members, blogs, groups, comments etc...that contains your keyword. Try using "attorney" in that box then try a topical word such as "real estate".

More Application Points to Ponder
1. The search is very specific. If you use "accountant" it is not going to find you unless "accountant" appears on your profile or within other content you have provided such as blogs or comments. So if you want to be found as a "CPA" and "accountant", then both words need to appear on your profile. So how do you want to be found? Update your profile today.

2. When you contribute to blogs and discussions, you come up on more searches

3. When you blog and begin discussions you control how you come up on searches
Remember what I said in Step #6, all features cross pollinate.

Are you starting to see how this works? The more we contribute to the community, thus serving others, the more visible we become.

Step #8 Serve Others by Growing this Community of Christians in Business

As you may know this network is part of a 501(c)3 ministry the Christian Business Networking Association. One of our common themes is Christians in business serving other Christians in business. A critical part of this service is donating some of your time and talent to help another business person in a practical way.

The simplest way for you to donate your time, with minimal effort, is providing more resources and opportunities to members by inviting others to join this free network.

Every person on this network matters to God and can be used by Him to bring something unique to others. Set a goal to bring new members to this network. Image what we can do together if every member brought in a new member each month who did the same? I can not think of an easier way to serve others and help this ministry at the same time. Spread the word. Here's how.

This network offers an invitation tool to invite others to become a member and a friend.

#1 From your profile page under your friend list, click "Invite More". This invites them to join this network at large.

#2 While in one of your groups, at the top of the page click "Invite More People". If you send an invitation while in one of your groups, the invitation will be from you inviting them to join that specific group as well as THE NETWORK as a whole.

Keep in mind people are getting bombarded by invitations to join a variety of networks. Also many of these invitations are filtered into junk mail folders. To improve your rate of response, make a phone call before or after sending the invitation. Ask them to watch for the invitation and join. At the least send a personal email. Tell them it is new, growing, free and focused on building a nationwide community of Christians in business.

By doing this simple thing on a regular basis, we are working together to build one another's personal network, providing unlimited opportunity and potential.

Step #9 Follow Your Groups

THE NETWORK offers an easy tool to monitor the activity of groups to which you belong. Go to the group page of your group(s). Under Admin Options you will see either "Stop Following" or "Follow".

If it says "Stop Following" it indicates that you are currently following the group. Anytime someone joins or adds content, THE NETWORK will send you an email. By following the group, you will not miss anything nor do you need to manually check each of your groups for new content.

If it says "Follow" it indicates that you are NOT following the group so the system will not alert you to new activity. I recommend that you follow all of your groups.

Furthermore go to your page and click "Settings" then click "Email". Make sure you indicate when you want THE NETWORK to notify you of activity. I suggest allowing notification for all activity by checking all boxes. This will allow you to determine what notifications are most beneficial and adjusting the settings later.

The best solution is to visit THE NETWORK daily to add content. That content may be just encouraging others by adding to their blogs and discussions. However your time is at a premium so this "follow feature" will help you manage your time and control your personal experience on THE NETWORK.

By the way have you invited anyone new today?

Step #10 The Value of a Good Forum Discussion

One of our primary goals in the development of this website is offering a platform for Christians in business to seek and give advise to help one another in business. As our community grows to thousands nationwide, you will have a powerful tool available to serve the Lord by serving others with the knowledge and wisdom God has supplied you. In kind you too can turn to your network of brothers and sisters in Christ for help.

Here are the basics:

1. You can start a discussion from three areas:
a. The main page under "Quick Add"
b. Your page
c. When under Forum

2. When you start a discussion it will appear under the Forum section and on your page. It will also appear on the main page until new discussions are added over time and "bumps" yours off the page.

3. When creating a discussion you are required to select from a list of categories. This will become very helpful as the network grows and members add to and start new discussions. To see a list of categories click the Forum section.

An easy way to begin is by regularly adding to discussions currently started. This is encouragement to those who have taken time to begin a discussion and adding content to your network. When you reply to discussions, blogs and leave comments on the page of members or videos, you are "adding content". Anytime you add content it gains you more exposure.

The more content available on our network, the more powerful the "Search" features will become and the more valuable this network will become for everyone. The more content you contribute will affect the frequency in which you will appear on search results. Remember all features of our network cross-pollinate.

So get busy. Add some content today.