The Scoop: Since 1994, Elite Connections International has provided singles with an effortless way to meet high-quality people around the world. The matchmaking firm made a name for itself by putting the needs of its clients first and facilitating in-person dates based on human intuition rather than algorithms. The company currently has offices in Los Angeles, Miami, Las Vegas, Paris, and New York, and plans to expand to Dallas, Chicago, and San Francisco in the coming years. As the Elite Connections operation has grown, the team has shifted gears to ensure its network of singles keeps pace with its success. The matchmaking firm has recently hired an army of recruiters whose mission will be to ensure the matchmakers always have an ideal date candidate close at hand.
Online dating‘s biggest selling point — that it lets everyone in for free — is also one of its major drawbacks because all those people aren’t necessarily looking for the same things. Some may be there to build a long-term relationship, while others may just want to chat and see where things go. As a result, singles can spend weeks in online conversations that never materialize into actual dates.
Thousands of date options are available online, but singles have no way of knowing how available or compatible those people are in reality.
Sherri Murphy runs Elite Connections International alongside her daughter Tammi Pickle.
Elite Connections International offers so much more than a database of singles — the matchmaking company has established itself as an efficient resource for singles interested in truly getting to know one another. These professional matchmakers emphasize the importance of face-to-face interactions and only work with single men and women who have sat in their offices for a one-on-one, no-obligation consultation.
“It’s not an online service. We meet everyone in person. We are face to face,” said Sherri Murphy, the CEO of Elite Connections. “We do background checks. We check IDs.”
The vetting process puts a lot of singles’ minds at ease as they search for a long-term commitment.
Elite Connections, unlike many popular dating sites, can provide assurance that everyone in the network is exactly who they say they are.
For the past 25 years, Elite Connections has established itself as a premium alternative to dating on one’s own. Now singles can tap into a larger network of dateworthy folks instead of relying solely on friends, friends of friends, and people they happen to meet online or at a bar. Elite Connections promotes a deliberate approach to dating that appeals to commitment-minded men and women.
The matchmaking firm has recently expanded into new areas in the US and abroad and plans to open offices in Chicago, Dallas, and San Francisco soon. As it grows, Elite Connections attracts new clients who are eager to stop swiping and start dating.
New clients can reach out to the professional matchmakers by phone at (800) 923-4200 or by email at info@eliteconnections.com. Sherri told us the matchmaking team is always eager to meet new clients and get them dating ASAP.
“We just set the date, set up the meet, and say ‘Forget all the phone calls, texting, and emailing. Just meet in person and make a friend,’” she said. “You’re not doing anything on Saturday anyway, just go meet this person, stay positive, and see what happens.”
The Team Steps Up the Recruitment of Date Prospects
Elite Connections International offers singles all the encouragement and resources they need to make a match. The matchmaking team has worked with thousands of clients ranging in age from their early 20s to late 70s. These clients tend to be working professionals who spend a great deal of time in major cities, including Los Angeles, San Diego, Miami, New York, Tampa, Las Vegas, and Paris.
Due to the diversity of its clientele, Elite Connections has had to search high and low for compatible matches of all ages, ethnicities, and backgrounds. This has been a challenge for the international matchmaking team, but Sherri’s leadership has pointed them in the right direction.
In the last three months, Elite Connections has ramped up its recruiting efforts and hired about 30 part-time and full-time recruiters in major metropolitan areas. Sherri told us she wants to dramatically increase the number of people in the singles database by having recruiters constantly on the lookout for attractive singles. The recruiters refer potential matches and clients to Elite Connections, which then vets candidates and approves those who meet the matchmaking firm’s standards.
The matchmaking firm has been recruiting singles and pairing up couples since 1994, but now the company has grown enough to sustain a global recruitment process. Sherri said the team has put renewed focus on ensuring the list of date candidates remains robust enough to serve any client’s needs and preferences. So far, the company has expanded its singles database dramatically, adding new people every day, and that can only be good news for the matchmaking clients.
“It’s all about looking for and bringing in the right kind of people for each type of person we’re working with,” Sherri pointed out. “It’s a lot of work, but that’s what we’ve been doing all these years.”
The matchmaking company has been in such demand as a result of its recruitment efforts that Sherri also on-boarded someone to schedule appointments and see that all clients and date referrals can meet with a matchmaker in person. Even while Elite Connections grows, the team remains dedicated to providing a personalized and compassionate service for singles.
Additionally, the matchmakers continue to do good works in the community. Sherri is currently organizing the 19th Party with a Purpose, a local fundraising event for needy children and teens in Los Angeles, which will take place this December.
Good Reviews Show the Merits of the High-End Process
Although Elite Connections is an international matchmaking company, at its heart, it’s also a family-run operation. Sherri works alongside her daughter Tammi Pickle, who has been helping out at the company since she was 15. After Tammi graduated with her bachelor’s degree in psychology, she started pursuing her passion for matchmaking by working for Elite Connections full time. She is now the company’s Vice President and an instrumental part of the matchmaking process.
The Elite Connections team looks to these two women for guidance as they inspire loving relationships between people who would not have met otherwise.
“It took me a long time to get to this point where I have an entire team of women who I trust completely,” Sherri said. “I feel proud of what we’ve put together and how we’ve grown and the type of people we’re bringing in.”
Elite Connections has an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau as well as a AAA-rating from the Business Consumer Alliance. TrustLink also gave the company five out of five stars. These exemplary ratings speak to the firm’s reputation for honesty, and its customer reviews speak to its success on a human level.
“I will need probably more than words to describe all of my thoughts and expressions toward Elite Connections,” said Lili. “The connection is the most important door between two people, and Elite Connections is the key.”
“I am extremely pleased with the results, and I would highly recommend them.” — Allen, an Elite Connections client
“The really great thing about Elite Connections is the team of matchmakers,” said Doug in a review. “They are more like coaches… they work with you to find you someone special. They’re go-betweens who help you navigate the often-tricky seas of relationships.”
Sherri told us one client wanted to give up on the matchmaking process after her first introduction to a man in Miami, but the matchmakers persuaded her to give it another shot in Orange County. After her fourth match, the woman met her perfect match, and they got married a year later.
Elite Connections introduces clients to people outside their social circles and gives them the opportunity to build friendships or romance in person. Sherri said when the matchmakers do their jobs right, something magical can happen between two people. But the new connection is valuable even if that person isn’t “the one” — one client met her husband because he was the roommate of her date.
“You don’t know what’ll happen if you just make a friend with each person you meet,” she said. “It’s not a cut-and-dred, swipe-left-or-swipe-right process. It’s not all about looks.”
Positioning Themselves as an Alternative to Online Dating
Online dating can definitely frustrate singles who want to skip the prologue and get to the happily ever after. All those conversations to nowhere can feel like a waste of time, and not all singles have time to spare for dead-end chats and missed connections. The matchmaking process appeals to burnt-out online daters who want a more effective, personalized, and hands-on way to get a date.
Dating websites connect people, but they don’t always facilitate long-term connections. Not everyone feels comfortable sharing their personal information online or making overtures to someone they haven’t actually met. Not everyone wants to spend hours pursuing matches with no guarantees of going on a date. That’s why Elite Connections has prospered in the age of swiping. These matchmakers can promise to send clients on dates and support them until they find “the one.”
Elite Connections has brought the personal touch back to dating and set higher standards for relationship-minded singles in the US and abroad.
“A lot of people are frustrated with online dating, and they’re coming to matchmakers like us to help them,” Sherri said. “I’m hoping we can get more people to let go of all this emailing and texting madness because we’re losing our social skills.”
