Inspirational eWomenNetwork Member
Networking Experiences

• Connie J. Catalano - Montgomery County, Maryland Chapter
• Carol Westberry - Tampa, Florida Chapter
  

I am very excited to report that my success with eWomenNetwork yielded a sale for just under $50,000.

 When I am attending network lunches, I often hear Deb DeChambeau talk about following up by having one-to-one meetings with the other women in our chapter. I made the commitment to  get together with as many women as possible from each eWomenNetwork event. I focus on women with whom I’ve had a meaningful conversation, so when I call  for an appointment they know who I am.

I started a conversation with another member,  Deb DePorter, and we decided we wanted to talk more so we went to lunch. She is a business coach and I do training, plus there many other things we had in common in our lives. We had lunch and really connected.  About a week later she called me and said she had a friend who might be interested in our training. I immediately called the lead and set up another lunch meeting and we met for 2 1/2 hours. At the end of the meeting, I found out she was unemployed and really not sure she could afford the training, but found it quite interesting. Since my position is compensated as though it is my own business, I am very careful with my time. I went back to my desk and entered the information into a file so I could follow up with her at a later date, but wondered if it had been time well spent.

One month later, I received a call from the woman Deb referred me to and she said she just started a position at a very large corporation and wanted to bring our leadership training into the company for the managers. We met within the next 4 days and after meeting with her and management of the company, they signed an agreement for $24,000 which kept growing until it reached almost $50,000. On August 16, 2005 we graduated our first class of managers and I expect that we will see more business in the near future.

I also hired Deb DePorter as a coach for several months and she has helped tremendously with both my personal and professional life. My commitment to have one-to-one lunches continues to be successful for me.  Besides the partnerships I am making, I have acquired some dear friends out of my efforts.  In a few weeks I will be transferring to Chicagoland and I look forward to attending the meetings in that area.

Thank you eWomenNetwork for being a passage way to this success!

Connie J. Catalano
Training Consultant

I have to honestly say that I’ve been a member of my local eWomenNetwork chapter since April 2004 and I thought I understood what the organization was all about – “giving first”; “you need teamwork to make the dream work”; “what you give you’ll get back tenfold”; “ask for what you need” and all those wonderful eWomenNetwork sayings. 

Although the business contacts with my local members were good, I didn’t really “get it”.

At the eWomenNetwork Conference in July, it really hit me.  Somehow the light switch went on and I woke up!  I can say I now finally understand what eWomenNetwork is all about and I know that those great catch sayings hold very powerful messages – if you really listen with your heart. 

As a result of finally “getting it” I have a renewed energy about my business.  I’ve started networking with other eWomenNetwork members across the nation.  I’m no longer afraid to say – “I don’t know this.  Would you help me?”  And the best part is, I can say “How can I help you?” without feeling foolish.  Not one member of eWomenNetwork I have asked for help or offered assistance has turned me down or made me feel foolish.  That speaks volumes for such a diverse group.

As a result of my new energy and confidence, I’ve gone back to some forgotten business opportunities and regenerated their interest and got the business.  I’m also reviving my long ignored passion of speaking at national conferences sharing my HR knowledge and HR stories with business owners and managers who have a need to know.

Those who know me have been asking the question, “Who is this little ball of energy and what’s caused this to happened?”  And I say to them, ”Let me tell you about the most fantastic, phenomenal, gathering of bright, brilliant, beautiful women called eWomenNetwork.  You just have to know about them.”

Carol Westberry, President
The Westberry Group, Inc.