Presented by Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield and Smart Business
SIX DEGREES OF CONNECTION
You’ve most likely heard of six degrees of separation. Any one person is connected to any other person through six or fewer relationships. This is a great concept you can apply to networking, and the opportunities truly are endless when you make each network connection count.
Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield is proud to sponsor the 2015 Women Who Excel Conference. At Anthem, we believe in fostering networks to help deliver caring health care solutions. In fact, Anthem’s Women’s Inspired Network, or WIN, is one of our employee resource groups that promotes women’s leadership development and advancement with tools, training, networking and resources.
Anthem’s commitment to the advancement of women in leadership roles led to it being named one of the top companies for executive women by the National Association for Female Executives for five years in a row — 2009 to 2013.
Through Anthem, I’ve developed networking tips you can put to use in your own business:
1. Focus on quality, not quantity. Keep your networking personal, specific and real.
2. Network outside of business. Everyone you meet represents a new connection. Think how your neighbor or fellow charity board member could bring new business or become a new contact.
3. Maximize your touch points. Continually reach out to your network in different ways to keep relationships going.
4. Use hybrid networking. Combine social media with one-on-one networking strategies to be the most effective.
5. Build lasting relationships. Create an inner circle of 25 to 50 contacts and network with each regularly.
6. Give as well as receive. Networking is about making sure the people in your network get what they need as much as it is about you getting what you need.
Look for six degrees of connection wherever you go.
Denise Tomechko is regional vice president of account management for Anthem National Accounts. Reach her at (800) 928-2902. To learn more about Anthem visit www.anthem.com, like its Facebook page www.facebook.com/HealthJoinIn or download the Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield mobile app.
Go to: Perspectives ’15 panelists and moderator |Perspectives ’15 honorees
