July 24: Sherri Ingalsbe and Allen Furst
July 31: Antoinette Cresci de la Torre and Carol Zell
August 7: Christine Stahl and Raffi Soghomonian
August 14: Caryn Leschen and Mike Stephens to be announced
Aug 21: Kelly Cunningham and Tala Stephens
Aug 28: Jolie Bauman and Susan Budge
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Monday, July 14, 2008
Most Wanted Professions
We are always happy to welcome top-notch professionals to join our chapter. Right now, the professions we would most like to see join are:
- Electrician
- Solar company
- Pest control business
- Plumber
- House cleaner (especially a green house cleaner)
- HVAC company
- Window and door company
- Garage door company
- Concrete company
- Chimney cleaning and repair business
- Stone fabricator
- Cabinet maker
- Home inspector
- Sign company
- Dentist
- Food coach
- Natural hairdresser and/or nails person
- Real estate attorney
- Temporary staffing company
- Printer
- Caterer
- Promotional items person
- Electrician
- Solar company
- Pest control business
- Plumber
- House cleaner (especially a green house cleaner)
- HVAC company
- Window and door company
- Garage door company
- Concrete company
- Chimney cleaning and repair business
- Stone fabricator
- Cabinet maker
- Home inspector
- Sign company
- Dentist
- Food coach
- Natural hairdresser and/or nails person
- Real estate attorney
- Temporary staffing company
- Printer
- Caterer
- Promotional items person
Leadership Team
President: Shannon Del Vecchio
The president runs the meeting, selects the rest of the leadership team, and runs the monthly Leadership Team meetings.
Vice President: Jeri Dansky
The VP keeps track of the statistics: attendance, referrals passed and received, Show Me the Money numbers. The VP is usually the head of the Membership Committee, but we've chosen to separate these roles.
Secretary/Treasurer: Susan Budge (Tala Stephens, while Susan is on medical leave)
The Secretary/Treasurer collects the chapter dues and pays the bills. She also maintains the speaker rotation and introduces the speakers each week. New members will be scheduled as soon as possible after they complete MSP (Member Success Program) training, so the Secretary/Treasurer needs to know when you are scheduled to take this training.
Membership Committee: Debra Lenzi heads this team; other members are Robin Crawford, Lorrie Meyercord, Lou Palladino, and Sandra Whatmore
The Membership Committee reviews all applications (new and renewal) and decides whether or not to accept each application. They also evaluate complaints about members if these cannot be resolved by the members themselves.
Education Committee: Susan Bishop, Ian Gunderman, Raffi Soghomonian, Tala Stephens
The Education Committee present the educational segment of the weekly meeting, and provides mentorship to new members. If you have a question about how things work in BNI, these are the people to talk to!
Visitor Hosts: Janice Wallace, Antoinette Cresci de la Torre, Bob Geleta, Heather McKay
The Visitor Hosts welcome all visitors, collect their visitor fees, and make sure they get introduced to other members. (But we all have a part in making visitors feel welcome!) The Visitor Hosts also handle the room set-up (referral slips and such) and clean-up.
The president runs the meeting, selects the rest of the leadership team, and runs the monthly Leadership Team meetings.
Vice President: Jeri Dansky
The VP keeps track of the statistics: attendance, referrals passed and received, Show Me the Money numbers. The VP is usually the head of the Membership Committee, but we've chosen to separate these roles.
Secretary/Treasurer: Susan Budge (Tala Stephens, while Susan is on medical leave)
The Secretary/Treasurer collects the chapter dues and pays the bills. She also maintains the speaker rotation and introduces the speakers each week. New members will be scheduled as soon as possible after they complete MSP (Member Success Program) training, so the Secretary/Treasurer needs to know when you are scheduled to take this training.
Membership Committee: Debra Lenzi heads this team; other members are Robin Crawford, Lorrie Meyercord, Lou Palladino, and Sandra Whatmore
The Membership Committee reviews all applications (new and renewal) and decides whether or not to accept each application. They also evaluate complaints about members if these cannot be resolved by the members themselves.
Education Committee: Susan Bishop, Ian Gunderman, Raffi Soghomonian, Tala Stephens
The Education Committee present the educational segment of the weekly meeting, and provides mentorship to new members. If you have a question about how things work in BNI, these are the people to talk to!
Visitor Hosts: Janice Wallace, Antoinette Cresci de la Torre, Bob Geleta, Heather McKay
The Visitor Hosts welcome all visitors, collect their visitor fees, and make sure they get introduced to other members. (But we all have a part in making visitors feel welcome!) The Visitor Hosts also handle the room set-up (referral slips and such) and clean-up.
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Referral Portion of the Meeting
An educational moment from Ian Gunderman:
Remember, always be positive during the referral exchange. Even though we do not always have referrals to give we can still use the this time to say something positive.
As a chapter, we want to refrain from using the term "I don't have any referrals." Rather, we should talk about a referral we are working or an exciting one to one.
And don't forget testimonials. Just make sure they are directed toward one member and within the 20 second time frame.
Note from Jeri: I've heard people refer to this part of the meeting as the "I have ..." portion. Say what you have (a referral, a testimonial, a thank you, a one-to-one request, etc.) not what you don't have.
Remember, always be positive during the referral exchange. Even though we do not always have referrals to give we can still use the this time to say something positive.
As a chapter, we want to refrain from using the term "I don't have any referrals." Rather, we should talk about a referral we are working or an exciting one to one.
And don't forget testimonials. Just make sure they are directed toward one member and within the 20 second time frame.
Note from Jeri: I've heard people refer to this part of the meeting as the "I have ..." portion. Say what you have (a referral, a testimonial, a thank you, a one-to-one request, etc.) not what you don't have.
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Refer Your Clients
An educational moment from Raffi:
When working with your clients, the best time to find referrals is during the information gathering process. As you are consulting with new clients to determine what service you are going to provide, use a “fact finding” sheet that will give you an idea of what areas your client needs help.
For example if you are in the “Trades,” while doing a walk-through ask them about specific services they may be needing or considering sometime in the near future. If you are in the “Health Care” field, as you are doing the initial consultation you probably would want to get a complete health evaluation to make sure that the services you provide will have maximum impact. If you are in “Business” area, ask clients about their financial needs and goals.
Be as specific as possible when asking about services.
During this initial consultation you are given permission by the client to ask appropriate questions to help understand their needs more clearly. In fact it will make your service to the client more valuable and show that you are looking at their bigger picture.
When working with your clients, the best time to find referrals is during the information gathering process. As you are consulting with new clients to determine what service you are going to provide, use a “fact finding” sheet that will give you an idea of what areas your client needs help.
For example if you are in the “Trades,” while doing a walk-through ask them about specific services they may be needing or considering sometime in the near future. If you are in the “Health Care” field, as you are doing the initial consultation you probably would want to get a complete health evaluation to make sure that the services you provide will have maximum impact. If you are in “Business” area, ask clients about their financial needs and goals.
Be as specific as possible when asking about services.
During this initial consultation you are given permission by the client to ask appropriate questions to help understand their needs more clearly. In fact it will make your service to the client more valuable and show that you are looking at their bigger picture.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
16 Quick Tips for New Members
1. Show up!
You are allowed 3 absences without a substitute each term (May-October and November-April); being late or leaving early (before 1:00) counts as 1/3 absence. If you need to miss a meeting, a good substitute is anyone who does not work in a field which competes with a chapter member. Non-BNI members with a business can only substitute twice; anything else would be unfair to those who pay for membership. Your business may have other people who can take your place; friends, family or clients could all be good subs.
But don't overuse substitutes, as this won't help you build relationships - and BNI is all about relationships.
BNI also allows for medical leaves for surgery and such, so if this ever applies to you please let the leadership team know.
2. Show up on time.
The meeting starts at 11:30 with 10-15 minutes of open networking. Even though we won't mark you late until 11:45, you want to be there by 11:30 - or even a bit earlier. This is a great time to meet visitors and network with individual chapter members. And please get your food during this time, so you can be seated when the president announces the start of the more formal part of the meeting and give all the speakers your full attention.
3. Do Dance Cards (also known as 1 to 1's).
A dance card is when you meet with another member for an hour or so to get to know each other better. Over time, you may want to have a series of dance cards with some members.
4. Train members to serve as your sales force.
Certainly we are all happy when a member chooses to buy our product or service. But what you are really trying to do (in your 30-second infomercials, 10 minute presentation, and dance cards) is train other members to be your sales force. So give them information they can use!
Stories are good. Telling the chapter what exactly would be a good referral for you is good. Focusing on a different aspect of your business each week is good. Using the same infomercial every week is NOT good.
5. Always say something positive (and nothing negative) during the referral portion of the meeting.
Some chapters call this the "I have" portion of the meeting. Talk about what you have, not what you don't have. If you don't have a referral, don't mention that - rather, tell us about the "thank you" you have for someone who sent you business, or the testimonial you have for someone, or the dance card request you have, etc.
6. Prepare your referral slips ahead of time.
You keep the yellow copy. The person handling the basket will take care of the white copy (which goes to the person getting the referral) and the pink copy (which goes to the VP for tabulating the chapter referral statistics).
There are no special forms for dance card requests. You can turn in a request for a dance card on a referral slip - but if you do that, just turn in the white copy. You can also write the request on any other sheet of paper, or just announce it (and then call the person to schedule).
7. Stay within the time limits.
We are a large chapter; if we don't stay within the limits, we can't end promptly at 1:00.
You have 30 seconds for your infomercial; if you get the signal that your time is up, say no more than two more words and sit down. If you practice your infomercial, you should know if you fit within the time limit.
Also please be brief during the referral portion of the meeting. We don't need to hear the whole story behind each referral; saying,"I have 1 for Christine and 1 for Alec" is plenty. And please give no more than one testimonial; it saves time, and it also has more impact.
8. Keep a number of your business cards in the business card box at all times.
Don't let your section get empty!
You can also put any literature you have in the box designed for that, on the back table.
9. Pay your chapter dues on time.
Chapter dues of $55/month are due at the first meeting of each month. This covers the cost of our room and food and a few other incidental expenses.
10. Report your "show me the money" figure each month.
This is the amount of business you did because you were a BNI member. It could be sales to a chapter member, a member's referral - or it could be a second-generation (or third-generation referral, etc.) - when someone referred to you by a BNI member in turn refers you to someone else. Gathering this information lets us see how well we are doing as a chapter. It also lets us know if a member is not getting any business, so we can try to help.
11. Sign up for MSP training when you get the information.
And let the secretary-treasurer know you are signed up; that's the person who schedules the 10-minute presentations, and you can't give one until you attend MSP training.
12. Suggestion Only: Take people up on their free offers.
Some members (such as Susan Bishop and Patricia Westerfield) offer free sessions. This is a great way to better understand the services they offer.
13. Suggestion Only: Volunteer for a leadership position.
Every six months we change our leadership team. Consider volunteering for a role - there are many slots to fill. Our chapter is strong partly because of the efforts of the leadership team; help keep it strong! Plus it's another great way to get to know members better, and to gain their respect. There are plenty of roles that a new member can fill just fine.
14. Realize that referrals build over time.
Every time someone gives you a referral, that person is putting his or her reputation on the line. Therefore, members may not feel comfortable giving you referrals until they get a chance to know you. We all like to business with people we know, like, and trust - and trust isn't an instant thing.
15. Confused? Ask for help.
If you are confused about anything, please ask any member of the Education Committee for help. They'll be glad to answer your questions.
If the meeting itself is confusing, you might pick up one of the laminated agendas sitting out on the tables, and follow along. It won't be confusing for long!
16. Learn more.
You can read (and sign up for) SuccessNet, a monthly online newsletter.
You can listen to BNI podcasts.
There are BNI CDs and books you can borrow; the chapter has some and Jeri has some. Or you can buy your own.
You can join the BNI Yahoo group.
You are allowed 3 absences without a substitute each term (May-October and November-April); being late or leaving early (before 1:00) counts as 1/3 absence. If you need to miss a meeting, a good substitute is anyone who does not work in a field which competes with a chapter member. Non-BNI members with a business can only substitute twice; anything else would be unfair to those who pay for membership. Your business may have other people who can take your place; friends, family or clients could all be good subs.
But don't overuse substitutes, as this won't help you build relationships - and BNI is all about relationships.
BNI also allows for medical leaves for surgery and such, so if this ever applies to you please let the leadership team know.
2. Show up on time.
The meeting starts at 11:30 with 10-15 minutes of open networking. Even though we won't mark you late until 11:45, you want to be there by 11:30 - or even a bit earlier. This is a great time to meet visitors and network with individual chapter members. And please get your food during this time, so you can be seated when the president announces the start of the more formal part of the meeting and give all the speakers your full attention.
3. Do Dance Cards (also known as 1 to 1's).
A dance card is when you meet with another member for an hour or so to get to know each other better. Over time, you may want to have a series of dance cards with some members.
4. Train members to serve as your sales force.
Certainly we are all happy when a member chooses to buy our product or service. But what you are really trying to do (in your 30-second infomercials, 10 minute presentation, and dance cards) is train other members to be your sales force. So give them information they can use!
Stories are good. Telling the chapter what exactly would be a good referral for you is good. Focusing on a different aspect of your business each week is good. Using the same infomercial every week is NOT good.
5. Always say something positive (and nothing negative) during the referral portion of the meeting.
Some chapters call this the "I have" portion of the meeting. Talk about what you have, not what you don't have. If you don't have a referral, don't mention that - rather, tell us about the "thank you" you have for someone who sent you business, or the testimonial you have for someone, or the dance card request you have, etc.
6. Prepare your referral slips ahead of time.
You keep the yellow copy. The person handling the basket will take care of the white copy (which goes to the person getting the referral) and the pink copy (which goes to the VP for tabulating the chapter referral statistics).
There are no special forms for dance card requests. You can turn in a request for a dance card on a referral slip - but if you do that, just turn in the white copy. You can also write the request on any other sheet of paper, or just announce it (and then call the person to schedule).
7. Stay within the time limits.
We are a large chapter; if we don't stay within the limits, we can't end promptly at 1:00.
You have 30 seconds for your infomercial; if you get the signal that your time is up, say no more than two more words and sit down. If you practice your infomercial, you should know if you fit within the time limit.
Also please be brief during the referral portion of the meeting. We don't need to hear the whole story behind each referral; saying,"I have 1 for Christine and 1 for Alec" is plenty. And please give no more than one testimonial; it saves time, and it also has more impact.
8. Keep a number of your business cards in the business card box at all times.
Don't let your section get empty!
You can also put any literature you have in the box designed for that, on the back table.
9. Pay your chapter dues on time.
Chapter dues of $55/month are due at the first meeting of each month. This covers the cost of our room and food and a few other incidental expenses.
10. Report your "show me the money" figure each month.
This is the amount of business you did because you were a BNI member. It could be sales to a chapter member, a member's referral - or it could be a second-generation (or third-generation referral, etc.) - when someone referred to you by a BNI member in turn refers you to someone else. Gathering this information lets us see how well we are doing as a chapter. It also lets us know if a member is not getting any business, so we can try to help.
11. Sign up for MSP training when you get the information.
And let the secretary-treasurer know you are signed up; that's the person who schedules the 10-minute presentations, and you can't give one until you attend MSP training.
12. Suggestion Only: Take people up on their free offers.
Some members (such as Susan Bishop and Patricia Westerfield) offer free sessions. This is a great way to better understand the services they offer.
13. Suggestion Only: Volunteer for a leadership position.
Every six months we change our leadership team. Consider volunteering for a role - there are many slots to fill. Our chapter is strong partly because of the efforts of the leadership team; help keep it strong! Plus it's another great way to get to know members better, and to gain their respect. There are plenty of roles that a new member can fill just fine.
14. Realize that referrals build over time.
Every time someone gives you a referral, that person is putting his or her reputation on the line. Therefore, members may not feel comfortable giving you referrals until they get a chance to know you. We all like to business with people we know, like, and trust - and trust isn't an instant thing.
15. Confused? Ask for help.
If you are confused about anything, please ask any member of the Education Committee for help. They'll be glad to answer your questions.
If the meeting itself is confusing, you might pick up one of the laminated agendas sitting out on the tables, and follow along. It won't be confusing for long!
16. Learn more.
You can read (and sign up for) SuccessNet, a monthly online newsletter.
You can listen to BNI podcasts.
There are BNI CDs and books you can borrow; the chapter has some and Jeri has some. Or you can buy your own.
You can join the BNI Yahoo group.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
January 3: Painting Party
I wish I had good pictures of everyone who put in so much time and effort - but sadly, I don't. But here are a couple pictures for your enjoyment.
Here's our President (and visionary regarding upgrading our meeting room), Shannon Del Vecchio.
And here's Sandra Whatmore diligently painting the back wall.
Here's our President (and visionary regarding upgrading our meeting room), Shannon Del Vecchio.
And here's Sandra Whatmore diligently painting the back wall.
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