Broker launches professional networking initiative

According to Ms Dixon, her new initiative, N3, is “the next generation of networking for the next generation” of risk advisers, financial planners, brokers and accountants.

“N3 stands for ‘Networking in 3 Dimensions’,” Ms Dixon told Risk Adviser’s sister publication The Adviser.

“The three dimensions are professional, personal, and digital, which all come together at an N3 event by having professionals gather to network in person, supported by a digital networking platform that helps them to find their perfect networking partner.”

Ms Dixon said she will be hosting regular events that allow young advisers, accountants and brokers to network face-to-face, with the first event to be held in Melbourne on 17 November.

“When participants register for the event, they are also added to an online platform which allows all attendees to search for each other using their preferred criteria. They can search for their ideal networking partner by industry, area, years of experience, company size, and many more criteria,” she said.

“The best matches to their criteria are then displayed in search results, and they can click through to their LinkedIn or Facebook profiles to learn more about them before deciding whether or not they’d like to introduce themselves.”

Ms Dixon said the benefits of N3 will include improved referral relationships and strategic alliances, as well as a deeper connection of the financial services industry as a whole.

“Networking has long been recognised as an essential survival skill in the finance industry, and N3 takes the guesswork out of networking and empowers members to find and develop relationships with exactly the kind of partners they need,” she said.

“In the end, it’s still up to each individual member to get what they can out of each networking event, but N3 supports you in ways which were previously unimaginable.”

Ms Dixon added that N3 was born out of frustration and disillusionment with current networking opportunities within the finance industry.

“Many established networking initiatives have become old boys' clubs, with very little room for younger and newer [professionals] to be able to develop relationships. For newcomers, networking events are just a room full of faces and suits,” she said.

“Ultimately, N3 grew from the classic ‘there must be a better way’ attitude.”

Ms Dixon said the N3 platform will be supported by an app for mobile devices, while memberships will be available for event attendees offering discounted entry fees and year-round access to the N3 members database.