As vice president of member services at Global Chamber®, I have the pleasure to lead our activities to connect members across metros and borders with new clients, investors, opportunities and trusted resources as they look to expand worldwide. Connecting the right people at the right time, and “in time,” is an essential part of growth. We create many opportunities for members through warm introductions and events so that magic happens!
Even when members don’t plan to go global right now, creating cross-metro and cross-border relationships allows them to have mature and trusted connections when they’re ready. That lowers risk and makes things easier when the time is right. So we ask each member how we can help: Who would you like to meet right now? Where are your ideal clients and connections located? What help do you need this year and in the next few years?
There are three main ways in which we create connections to support growth.
1. Connect through warm email introductions. This is the easiest way of connecting and it happens every day within our Global Chamber® network. Our community has more than 30 million people, most of whom we trust and have information on. So when members ask for help, we’ll get them connected to the right people anywhere via email in a direct, warm and personal way.
2. Connect through local and virtual cross-metro events. We hold local business events in metro communities around the world. This is a more traditional but still effective way to connect, especially when members are open to active connecting during the event, including introductions from our team. We’re always looking to simplify and accelerate the process.
3. Connect as members travel to new markets. As members travel worldwide, we encourage them to reach out to us ahead of time for us to make additional, success-amplifying connections. This is exciting for us because we’re proud of who we know, and invariably those people can be helpful for our members, creating win-wins for all concerned parties.
There are also other opportunities, like the photo here showing three young global leaders in Metro Phoenix recently interviewed on Valley Business RadioX because of their membership.
Which market segments and regional markets do you plan to grow in 2020? We can help — in every segment and everywhere around the world. Happy 2020!
About Global Chamber®: We are a growing and collaborating community of CEOs, executives and leaders in 525 metro regions around the world, everywhere! We connect member firms to new opportunities while advancing business growth, regional progress and success.
Cesar Trabanco is VP of Member Services at Global Chamber®, based in Puerto Rico.
