Issue 16: Summer 2002

SUCCESSNET

SUMMER 2002

MASTER’S FIVE POINT PLANFOR NETWORKING SUCCESSBNI’s 8,000-strong UK & Ireland membership hasbeen offered a simple five-point programme tohelp them become experts in business networking,by the world’s undisputed Master of Networking,BNI’s Founder and Chief Executive Dr Ivan Misner.

Dr Misner first delivered his ‘MasterPlan’ lastmonth when, in a keynote address toover 400 enthusiastic members at London’sCommonwealth Conference Centre, he told them:“When anyone joins BNI, they have access to all thesupport and resources they need to succeed inbusiness. If they subsequently fail, it will almost cer-tainly be because they weren’t prepared to look, lis-ten and learn….”

His hour-long address, the highlight of a flyingvisit to the UK en route to his Californian home fromattending the BNI conference in Scandinavia, issummarised on page 6 and manages to condensemuch of the content of Dr Misner’s definitive bookson business networking and marketing, to five keypractical initiatives for gaining new businessthrough word-of-mouth referrals.

“The gap between business success andfailure is usually small. BNI more than fills thatvoid – but you have to be ready to close it, byopening yourself up to new challenges andopportunities,” he told a captivated audience,before concluding with a frank question-and-answer session and a book-signing sessionwhich saw several hundred autographedcopies sold in less than an hour.

Barely 12 hours later, Dr Misner was inRickmansworth, North-West London to for-mally open BNI’s dedicated National Office, bycutting a ribbon across the doorway of thenewly named BNI House.

“After five years of continuous and rapid

growth across the UK and Ireland, we were reachingthe stage where – unless we found a larger, self-contained office building – we could not havemaintained the high standards of service and sup-port we provide to our members,” said NationalDirector Gillian Lawson. “It’s a huge relief that wenow have the space and facilities we need to sup-port BNI’s further development, not least of whichare the dedicated training and educationalresources we are providing for our members.”

BNI’s new national office address is: BNI House,Church Street, Rickmansworth, WD3 1BS. The newtelephone number is 01923 891 999 and the faxline is 01923 891 998. The web address remainsunchanged at www.bni-europe.com

Before departing for California, Dr Misner foundtime to be the surprise guest of honour at twoNorth London chapters – Harrow and Watford - towhom he presented Founder’s Awards in recogni-tion of their continuing success as flagshipBNI groups.

Hundreds attend BNI’s5th annual conferenceHundreds of BNI members and guests attendedthe prestigious 5th BNI Conference last month,held in the historic Essex coastal townof Maldon.

Delegates - mainly from East Anglia, Londonand the Home Counties, but some from muchfurther afield - took part in a busy day of work-shops, directors’ presentations and networkingevents at the Five Lakes Hotel, Golf & CountryClub. The event was described as a considerablesuccess by National Director Gillian Lawson.

Inside:• Sarah’s record start Page 2

• ”I will find you business” Page 4

• Training Articles Page 6-7

• Mountain Madness Page 8-9

• Chapter News 0-13

• Sceptic to Crusader Page 16

1 SUMMER 2002

This is Julie

Futcher, cool

businesswoman

networking in her

Corby Chapter. But

this redhead has a

hot-blooded side not

seen before by her BNI

colleagues. You can see

Julie out of her business

clothes on page 3

Lothian make front page news!

Every BNI member wants to get

his business onto the front

page of SuccessNet, but two

members of West Lothian

Chapter have gone one better.

For the full story, turn to page 2.

It ain’t what you do, it’s the waythat you do it!

P14 & 15

BNI Founder Dr. Ivan Misneropens our new National Office.

BNI’s first chapter in England’s ‘mid-west’ hascreated a unique and remarkable record –reaching its capacity 40-strong membershipat the launch meeting!

Under the guidance of corporate devel-opment consultant Sarah Owen who startedthe Bristol Grace core group in January, grewit to 21 members within four weeks andlaunched another month later, the Chapterattracted more than 100 businesspeople toits inaugural visitors’ day – with 20 of the vis-itors immediately applying to join.

“We’ve actually levelled out at 42 mem-bers with a growing waiting list,” said Sarah,who is also the group’s first Chapter Director,“but my aim is to open at least two more

chapters in central Bristol during the nexttwo or three months which will relievethe pressure on Bristol Grace Chapterfrom would-be members. The responsefrom the city’s business community hasbeen fantastic.”

The arrival of BNI in Bristol is equallyremarkable, since Sarah was actually intro-duced – by chance – to BNI whilst visitingPlymouth on business last summer. She wasinvited along to a visitors’ day at Plymouth’sDrake Chapter and was so impressed thatshe asked Executive Director Guy Griffiths tosign her up on the spot.

“When he found out that I lived in Bristol,he sensibly advised me that a two and a half

hour trip for a weekly breakfast meetingwould be no fun during the winter months –and suggested I join a group in my own area.When I told him there wasn’t one, he said thesimplest solution would be to start my ownBNI chapter in the city. After attending athree day training course and with help andadvice from BNI’s National Directors, that iswhat I did – little realising that our launchwould set a record,” said Sarah who works forMomentum Financial Services.

Bristol’s first chapter – like its successors –takes its name from famous British cricketers,reflecting Sarah’s lifelong involvement in thesport. Her father, Bill Higginson was a profes-sional cricketer with Middlesex and Surreyand her grandfather was a professional foot-baller.“We’ve always been a sports-mad fam-ily, but cricket is the first love – so our nextchapter will be called Bristol May followed byBristol Compton.”

Bristol Grace, which meets on Fridaymornings at the city’s Jurys Doyle Hotel, isone of four West Country chapters openedthis year. The others are Bradford upon Avon,Severn View at Almondsbury on the outskirtsof Bristol, and Taunton.

National Director Gillian Lawson said:“Wehave a growing presence in central southernEngland, and in Devon and Cornwall, butuntil recently, BNI was not represented inwhat I call England’s mid-west – Somersetand Avon. In particular, we’re delighted tohave gained a strong early foothold in Bristol,one of the few major UK cities that was with-out a BNI chapter.”

Other chapters recently opened include:Angus, Atlas (Lancashire), Cathedral (Exeter),Chislehurst, Covent Garden, Dalhouse,Dartford, Diamonds (Doncaster), Falkirk,Grantham, Hendon, Inspires (Chesterfield),Kappa (Merseyside), Knavesmire, LeedsCentral, Mid Suffolk, Mid Ulster, Mitcham,Orwell (Ipswich), Rochdale, Rossett(Wrexham), Rickmansworth and Wickford.

2 SUMMER 2002 SUCCESSNET

BNI NEWS

Sarah opens BNI batting with a record

BNI + C of C spells harmonyWhen West Lothian Chapter member MarkThirgood invited the Chief Executive of theregion’s Chamber of Commerce to attend BNI’sScotland Awards Dinner, he had little idea itwould lead to close collaboration between thecomplementary organisations – and even lessthat he would finish up on the front cover of theChamber’s magazine!

Yet, as a result of his initiative, West Lothian’stwo dynamic business groups have forged suchhealthy links that Chapter members recentlyheld one of their weekly meetings at theChamber’s meeting venue, before invitingChamber members to participate in breakfastnetworking, BNI-style.

Meanwhile, the Chamber’s Chief Executive,Stuart Diffin was so impressed with the achieve-ments of BNI members, highlighted at the inau-gural Scottish Awards Dinner, that he devotedthe entire front page of ‘Connections’ (theChamber’s quarterly magazine) to the winning of‘Networker of the Year’ awards by Mark, and fel-low Chapter member Carlene Von Doring.

Mark, an independent financial adviser, is amember of both business organisations andbelieves their functions and activities are entirely

complementary. He said: “BNI encourages itsmembers to belong to other business network-ing groups, so I thought it was natural to invitethe Chamber’s Chief Executive to our nationalawards dinner. It was a very upbeat evening, andI think Stuart liked what he saw.

“Even so, neither Carlene nor I expected anypublicity in the Chamber’s magazine, let alonebeing given the whole of the front cover. It wasgreat coverage for BNI,”Mark added.

Carlene, who runs the sales department ofClifford Mobile, is also a member of WestLothian’s Chamber of Commerce,and thinks theirgrowing collaboration can only be good formembers in both groups. “There are alreadysigns that the growing relationship between BNIand the Chamber will boost business opportunities.”

Linda Maclean, BNI’s Executive Director forSouth & East Scotland welcomed the developingties with the Chamber.“Quite a few BNI membersin this part of Scotland also belong to their localChamber and we are happy to encourage across-flow of ideas and collaboration. We werealso delighted with the publicity gained by Markand Carlene, which has brought us quite a fewnew enquiries.”

Sarah Owen (pictured centre)has plenty to smile about


BNI NEWS

Yes! This is Julie Futcher – but not as her colleagues in BNI’s CorbyChapter know her. The cool businesswoman pictured on the front coveris seen here rehearsing for the comedy,‘Lock Up Your Daughters’, whichhas just completed a successful run at Bedford’s Sharnbrook Mill

Theatre, playing to packed houses.“My amateur stage career took off by accident eight years ago,” she

told SuccessNet:“A work colleague told me he was going to audition forJesus Christ Superstar. I was at a loose end at the time, so asked if I could

go along too - I had an idea I might make third spearon the left or something. At the last minute, a bittongue in cheek, I decided to audition for the part ofMary Magdalene - and was chosen from 21 womenwho also auditioned for the part.”

Since then, she has played Lady Jacqueline in ‘Meand My Girl’,Tzietel in ‘Fiddler on the Roof’and Dionnein ‘Hair’. Julie describes ‘Lock up your daughters’ - thebawdy comedy by Laurie Johnson, Lionel Bart andBernard Miles - as “all corsets, cleavage, and innuendo– but great fun for the cast.”

Julie, who runs her own recruitment consultancy,PHI Recruitment Services, says that despite her lead-ing roles in amateur dramatics, BNI has been invalu-able in helping her develop her presentation skills.

“Many people might think that someone used toperforming in front of large audiences would be verycomfortable talking to smaller groups of businesspeople, but the two environments are totally differ-ent. BNI has played a significant part in helping meacquire additional business skills and the confidenceto project my own company,” said Julie.

She can be contacted on 01933 399 803.

Julie’s presentations with a difference!

News of what must surely be a record for the number of referralspassed at a single meeting recently landed on the Editor’s desk atSuccessNet.

It came from Andy Wiggins, past Chapter Director of Canterburywho proudly announced that at one of the group’s meetings inMarch, members exchanged no fewer than 212 referrals – an aver-age of more than five each!

“Before anyone tries to suggest this is a tall story – a modern‘Canterbury Tale’ – I can confirm that we audited every referral,checking any that appeared to be suspect and discounting them if

they were in any way questionable.“The fact is that our record number of referrals came during a

period when we were regularly passing over 100 referrals a week,and we have certainly not been saving up leads for any particularweek,” said Andy.“It shows in clear, measurable terms just what canbe achieved through effort and commitment to each other, and Ihave little doubt this landmark restores us to our claimed place asone of THE premier chapters in the country, if not the world.”

Well done Canterbury Chapter.We wonder how long your recordwill stand.

A g-r-o-w-i-n-g Canterbury Tale

BNI members know all about being good team players – but over the pastcouple of football seasons, the phrase has taken on a hugely greater sig-nificance for the members of the Tameside Chapter in East Manchester –following their sponsorship of a rather special junior soccer team.

Inspired by the soccer coaching achievements of one of its members,Denis Davies, a part-time coach with the revered Manchester City YouthAcademy, and with amateur league club Fletcher Moss FC, the TamesideChapter last year sponsored Fletcher Moss’s Under-8’s seven-a-side teamwhich went on to win every match they played.

“That was a fantastic outcome,”said Denis, who somehow manages tojuggle the running of his Ideal Home Design and Consultancy businesswith his two coaching posts and BNI activities.“Last year’s Under 8’s teamwere brilliant, not least because the majority came from under-privileged

or deprived backgrounds,but what made it really specialwas when Manchester City scouts snatched four of them,and Manchester United took the other three for trials.

“To have your entire team of eight-year-olds signedup with two of the greatest footballing institutions in thecountry was great publicity for the lads – and very goodfor my BNI chapter,”Denis added.

Flushed with their high-profile sponsorship success,Tameside Chapter members decided to go one better this season, bysponsoring Fletcher Moss FC’s full Under-14’s squad,including provision ofnew kit sporting the BNI logo. Again, the team has won every match thisseason, finished top of their league and reached the Lancashire Cup Finaland the County’s League Cup final.

“The team’s free-scoring record has attracted a lot of interest,” saidDenis.“Manchester City,Bolton and Burnley are considering giving trials toa number of our players. I guess some of my chapter colleagues alreadysee themselves as would-be soccer managers, mixing with the big boysin soccer.”

Who knows,from there to greater fame may only be a short step away?Even Sir Matt Busby’s babes had to start somewhere!

After the Busby Babes,introducing BNI’s Babes

“I will find you somenew business”When it comes to finding good referrals for col-leagues in his York Chapter, independent mort-gage advisor Chris Williams just will not acceptdefeat – going to great lengths to ensure heunderstands the sort of business they want.

Chris was one of the founders of the Yorkgroup when it launched a year ago and,although he says he has given and receivedsome great referrals, he realised earlier this yearthat there were some members who’d given himreferrals, but for whom he had not yet found away to reciprocate.

“I was determined to get referrals for thesepeople, I asked them to describe their key busi-ness strengths and to be really specific aboutwhat kind of new business they were lookingfor,”Chris added. “Usually,as they were talking tome, a name would come mind and I could tellthem:‘Great, I know someone who can use yourservices. I’ll tell them about how you’ve helpedme and recommend you.”

By taking such direct action,within days Chriswas able to recommend a builder for a loft con-version,a computer engineer for a new office sys-tem and a computer specialist to carry out anupgrade – and, in the process, start ‘repaying’

chapter colleagues who had previously referredhim to new business.

“It’s just a matter of getting the mind focused,stepping outside our comfort zones and takingthe trouble to get specific about the needs of ourchapter colleagues. It means extra effort – butthe rewards are worth it,”said Chris.

Not content in going that extra mile for col-leagues in his own chapter, Chris also does whatfew other members may have considered: heencourages his own business contacts all overthe country to find out more about BNI, by visit-ing their local chapter.

“I have business associates all over the UKand, whenever I feel someone may be the rightkind of person for BNI, I check the BNI websiteand pass on the names and contact details oftheir nearest chapter – suggesting that if they goalong,they’ll probably want to join up right away.”

In recent months, Chris has directed a carpetcleaner associate in Trowbridge to the neigh-bouring Bradford-upon-Avon chapter, and sentan event organiser in Weston super Mare to anewly formed group in the region.“As well as giv-ing them the relevant chapter details and con-tacts, I also send my business contacts a copy ofSuccessNet, since this is a fantastic way of givingextra credibility to a personal recommendation.

Chris Williams can be contacted on01653 690 903.

Members of Stone Chapter have seen their busi-nesses given a boost by Britain’s newest inde-pendent local radio station and, in return mayhave helped it to win its broadcasting franchise.

The Chapter’s members so impressed MartinShaw, Station Manager-delegate of Stone FM,with their 60-second infomercials when heattended a breakfast meeting,that he decided todedicate precious airtime to promote the busi-ness services of each member – free of charge!

“The arrangements were made just prior toStone FM going on air for a month’s trial session,”said Chapter Director,Tony Burgess.“Every mem-ber was given a one-minute slot to promote hisor her business, each of which was preceded byan introduction to BNI,detailing where our meet-ings are held and our business philosophy. Theradio station even used a bell to time the 60-sec-ond sessions!”

He added:“Radio is a great medium for get-ting your message across and, even though thenew station was only in its pilot broadcasting

stage, plenty of people must have heard the BNIinfomercials because a number of membersreceived solid enquiries as a result.”

Members are now putting their weightbehind Stone FM’s franchise application and, ifsuccessful, Tony predicts a close and mutuallybeneficial relationship between BNI and the sta-tion.“As well as creating awareness of individualbusiness services and BNI, the radio slots gavemembers rare experience of writing and pre-senting their own radio commercials – evenmore daunting than preparing their 60-secondslots at the weekly meeting. Happily, Stone FMgave them plenty of advice and encourage-ment,”Tony added.

Lawson’s LoreIf there is one reason for BNI’s dramatic growthand sustained success in the UK and Ireland, it isthe quality of the education and training offeredto all our members. Good news indeed, coming inthe year when BNI’s worldwide mission statementis “Education = Excellence.” But, we’re about tomake a good thing even better.

Having run a wide range of courses and work-shops for our members in North-West Londonover the past four years, we have found a strongcorrelation between the performance of a chapter– particularly the number of referrals passed – andthe number of its members who have attendedtraining workshops. Quite simply, the more train-ing that members have undergone, the moreeffective is their Chapter – and the greater theensuing business opportunities.

While some BNI members will be familiar withthe twice-yearly intensive training provided tochapter leadership teams, fewer may be awarethat BNI offers a growing curriculum of educationand training – all of it tailored to strengthen thepractical skills and business expertise of our mem-bers. The bottom line for all our education andtraining programmes is to teach everyone in BNIhow to network more effectively – and run theirbusinesses more successfully.

However, until recently, the ease of access tosuch training and the range of educationalresources open to an individual member, has var-ied depending on where he or she lives or worksacross the country. While some BNI regions haveoffered good training facilities to members,othershave been slower to establish appropriate educa-tion and training structures.

That is why,following our recent directors’con-ference at which there was consensus that train-ing and education must remain our priority,we arerapidly moving towards the adoption of national(UK and Ireland) standards for the training ofmembers so that, in the near future, whether youlive in Perth or Plymouth, Galway or Glasgow, youwill be guaranteed the same high standards ofbusiness education and training.

As national directors, we are delighted thatBNI’s growth in the UK and Ireland has been fasterand stronger than anywhere else in the world.Ourintention in the coming months is to broaden thescope of our training, and increase both access toit, and the frequency of the courses and work-shops available.

The proof that BNI members derive huge ben-efits from our emphasis on making individualsmore effective and persuasive networkers, is therefor all to see. Throughout the country, there arecountless big business successes – each of themthe direct result of BNI membership.

So our message to every member is simplythis: Take full advantage of the training facilitiesoffered – because only when you do,will you max-imise your business opportunities,and your mem-bership of BNI!

Gillian & Martin


BNI NEWS

Introducing the Yorkmember who tells everyone:

Well Stone me.…we’re on the radio!


BNI has been grabbing more attention thanusual on the streets of Oldham recently – eversince it became the unusual subject of a largebillboard hoarding in the town centre.

Yet the inspiration for BNI’s first-ever UKposter site promotion goes back to last year’sremarkable 5-1 defeat of Germany by England -an event that set Bradley Tupman, Manager of

Sign and Image, thinkingabout the great teamworkof his colleagues in theOldham Premier Chapter.

As a result, he master-minded this eye-catchingbillboard poster (picturedleft) and just happened tohave his shop’s hoarding sitevacant to accommodate hisnew creation.Titled “PremierBusiness Referrals League –To achieve your goalscall…..” it depicts an over-sized BNI football team,with

each player’s strip featuring the name of one ofthe Chapter’s businesses, and several shirts leftblank to encourage new local businesses to signup. The poster concludes: “BNI kicks off everyWednesday at 7.00am.”

Bradley told SuccessNet: “Our shop’s ownhoarding always attracts a lot of attention frompassing traffic to and from neighbouringSaddleworth. We usually have our own advertis-ing on this site, but it seemed like a great loca-tion for a BNI poster and everyone in the Chapterwas very enthusiastic when I suggested it. TheBNI soccer poster stayed for at least 10 weeksearlier this year during which time it attractedquite a few enquiries.”

He has plans for a different BNI poster laterthis year, so keep your eyes open!

Bradley Tupman can be contacted on0161 626 4000

Bradley signs ‘em up in Oldham

BNI members Simon Webb and Anthony Pilkington are finally doing busi-ness together,after experiencing the value of that old phrase:“Never give up!”

Simon, Malvern Hills membership co-ordinator, met Cheltenham 1Chapter member Anthony on several occasions during inter-chapter events.While both felt they could do useful business together, it took several meet-ings before they got down to basics during a visit to Worcester 1 Chapter.

As head of BookCheck,which provides professional book-keeping servic-es, Anthony had identified a need for some telemarketing to attract majornew clients to his business. Simon, Managing Director of IntegratedTelemarketing Ltd, believed he had the solutions to Anthony’s requirementsand had sent him a brochure outlining his marketing services.

Anthony wasn’t ready to proceed at the time and temporarily forgotabout Simon’s offer.Then, a few weeks later when he felt the time was right,he couldn’t find the brochure or Simon’s details,so he had to resort to YellowPages to track him down and set up the meeting that was to lead to a lucra-tive business relationship.

“Soon after Simon’s company started its telemarketing campaign for us,we gained a contract with what is now our second biggest client,” saidAnthony.“We have also picked up another major client – a good sized localhotel, so we’re delighted with the way things are going.”.

Simon has enjoyed working with BookCheck and said:“They are an inter-esting client – and only five days of telemarketing has resulted in consider-able success for them. But this is only the start.The real benefits of our workwill come from rolling out a project like this over a year, or more.”

The moral of this story? If at first you don’t succeed, try, try and try again.Anthony can be reached on 0800 026 6522

Persistence Pays

New chapter director of Merseyside Bravo Chapter Mark Kerr faced some good-natured ribbing from members when he conducted his first breakfast meetingslast month – after being named Britain’s Brainiest Estate Agent in front of millionsof TV viewers!

Mark,a partner of Liverpool’s Ellis Kerr Estate Agents,went through some gru-elling pre-selection rounds before finally emerging triumphant winner of the ITVgame show hosted by Carol Vordemann.

ITV has run a series of quiz shows to find the brainiest occupant of varioustrades and professions including teacher, taxi driver and nurse. The programmewhich pitted property agents against each other was shown in February - close-ly watched by Mark’s colleagues in Liverpool’s Bravo Chapter.

“Several friends and colleagues persuaded me to enter the TV competition,”said Mark,“so I thought I’d give it a go.After answering general knowledge ques-tions at home,followed by a telephone interview with more questions,the top 25contestants were invited to an audition and a dozen of us were selected toappear on the show, filmed at Elstree Studios.

“My chosen subject in the final was ‘The Beatles’ and I was amazed to win,”said Mark.“My prize was a glass trophy and two kisses from Carol Vordemann! “

Mark joined BNI just over a year ago and finds it great for his business.“It hasgiven me a far wider range of contacts and I’ve received lots of referrals – as wellas being able to give plenty to my colleagues,” he said.“Of course I don’t reallybelieve I’m the brainiest estate agent in Britain,but it’s fun to be given such a title.”

Mark can be contacted on 07775 502 473

Bravo’s Brainiest!

BNI NEWS

Anthony Pilkington (left) & Simon Webb withMalvern Hills Director Danusia Malina - Derben

Mark Kerr receives his trophyfrom Carol Vordemann


The five key steps to becoming a‘Master of Networking’ were offeredto BNI’s UK and Irish members lastmonth, by one of the great Masters ofNetworking, BNI’s Founder and ChiefExecutive Dr Ivan Misner.

In a keynote address to over 400members at London’s CommonwealthConference Centre, Dr Misner, cameclose to achieving his mission impossi-ble: reducing the content of his latestdefinitive reference text book on whynetworking is the most effective busi-ness marketing tool, to a handfulof crucial tips. SuccessNet EditorMalcolm Grosvenor was among thoseprivileged to hear his presentation,which – in heavily précised form – issummarised here.

Dr Misner’s five steps to becoming a masterof networking are:

1. Learn from the past in order to improve your individual future.

“What is the point of gaining knowledge ifwe fail to apply it to bettering ourselves?”asked Dr Misner. “And, what possible benefitdo we derive from making mistakes, if we donot learn from them, and ensure we avoidthem in future? Everyone in business makesmistakes – but successful business peoplelearn to turn failure into achievement. It ishow we approach our futures that will decidewhether we become masters of networking.”

2. Recognise that while each of us is different – we have the same needs and frailties!

“Everyone likes to believe they are totallydifferent from anyone else – and the sameapplies in business, where we all want tobelieve we have something unique to offerthe world. In fact, while quite obviously we allhave distinctive characteristics, we sharemany of the same human frailties when itcomes to developing ourselves and our busi-nesses,” he said. “One example of this is whatI call the ‘weird difference rationale’, in whichwe give ourselves all kinds of excuses for notattempting things we don’t know very well –preferring to stick to familiar paths.

“This is equally true of BNI members who,

as entrepreneurs, don’t like to be told what todo, or how to do it in business – even whenfaced with new challenges and unfamiliar ter-ritory. Happily, BNI allows people to retain andpromote their differences within their chap-ters, while following a standard set of princi-ples which – if we accept them – will help ussucceed. The important thing to remember isthat our similarities transcend our differ-ences.”

3. Put yourself in play.

“It may sound obvious, but you’re not goingto make the most of the countless businessopportunities that come you way, unless youfirst make a point of actively ‘putting yourselfin play’ – showing everyone around you in

the business community that you are recep-tive and open to their ideas and proposals,”said Dr Misner.

“Business success is not just about offer-ing the right product or service at the rightcost, it’s about showing others that you areapproachable, keen to listen to their views,and enthusiastic about forming long-termbusiness relationships with them. To do this,you first have to connect with people, whichmeans being able and willing to talk to peo-ple at all levels – in order to access new ideasand opportunities.

BNI’s Founder added:“If you find it hard tobe outgoing and naturally gregarious, thentake advantage of the numerous educationaland training facilities available to youthrough BNI, all designed to enhance yourbusiness and inter-personal skills.”

4. Business networking is about farming – not about hunting.

“Some people still join BNI expecting theorganisation to give them major businessgains while making almost no effort to culti-

vate their relationships with chapter col-leagues,” said Dr Misner.“That is why we con-stantly remind everyone that BNI member-ship is about careful farming, and not abouthunting.

“It never ceases to surprise me in today’scompetitive world, that there are still peoplewho think they can win long-term customersby aggressively hunting their business.

“BNI members recognise that there is atime – confidence curve to gaining new busi-ness through referrals in the chapter, and thatas they come to be trusted by their col-leagues, so they will cement long-term rela-tionships.

“In simple terms, a new member needs tohave visibility and then credibility before heor she can expect profitability, and that’swhat we mean about ‘farming’ – the processof cultivating relationships to produce thebest possible crop of referrals,” he added.

5. Build your own success team.

BNI’s Founder cited the true story of formerOlympic and World Cup alpine skier NancyHolland as he finally urged all BNI membersto ‘build a success team’ around their busi-ness enterprise.

He said:“Nancy is now a leading business-woman, but she acknowledges that network-ing was the vital factor behind both her suc-cess as a skier and in business.

“To become a world-class skier, she firsthad to develop a close-knit support networkinvolving her coaches, sponsors, chaperonesand parents, who opened doors for her bynetworking their own contacts.

“Later, when she launched her own busi-ness, she had to shift gear and assemble asupport network in which she was more of aco-equal participant, asking old friends andassociates for help in building her new career.She admits it was a struggle at first but says itbecame a whole lot easier once she discov-ered she was able to help them in return.”

Dr Misner added:“In either case, the secretof networking mastery is to develop contactswho can help you accomplish your goals andhelp correct any mistakes you make. We allneed help to reach our goals, and networkingis the key to finding and providing that help.”

Concluding his address, Dr Misner added:“When you join BNI, you are not just buyingmembership of another business organisa-tion; you are joining a worldwide team oflike-minded individuals who can provide youwith all the help, support and guidance youneed to be successful.”

Afterwards, Dr Misner answered mem-bers’ questions and signed copies of hisbooks – including his latest, “Mastersof Networking.”

FIVE STEPS TO SUCCESSUK members offered keys to business growth

EDUCATION & TRAINING

Deprived of his sword, the gladiator faced themighty lion across the coliseum, and with itcertain death. But as the lion charged, thegladiator whispered in his ear…..and thebeast relented. Aghast, the Emperor enquiredhow this man had managed to save his life?The Gladiator replied with a smile - “I simplypointed out that of course, after his dinner, thevictor would be asked to say a few words!”

There is nothing quite so frightening asbeing asked to speak in public. Yet therewards in social and particularly in businesslife from being able to communicate freely inpublic to as large an audience as possible areimmense. Recently, my business partnerRobert French and I began working to estab-lish BNI in Malaysia. On our first trip, we decid-ed to assess the local competition and foundourselves at the BNC (Business NetworkingClub).There were 48 business owners and pro-prietors in the room and a microphone wasoffered to anybody who wanted to promotehis business.

Just two people stood up to take advan-tage of the opportunity – Robert and I.

They say that the key to a great golf game isto take a lesson BEFORE you ever swing a club,and thereafter to practice, practice, practice.

Public speaking is very similar. BNI givesyou the opportunity for untold practice. Here,I would offer you the lessons I have learned, inthe hope that they will help you always give agreat presentation.

The Speech Itself.

Public speaking, like any concert or play, is alive performance, and to engross and holdyour audiences attention, you need to have a“live” feel. The audience should never quiterelax, never be quite sure where you will gonext. For every speech, I start by gathering allof the points I wish to get across, and placingthem in logical order. But this is only thebeginning, and from this point on, all my workis aimed at carrying my audience with me sothat they will soak up the information and beinspired to put it into action.

For every point, there is a story to back itup. Often stories can be drawn from directexperience in your company, but the mostpowerful stories often have no direct relation-ship to your topic, but are drawn from the wellof your life and experience. For example if I amtrying to explain that you can never be tooprepared I might use a story like this:

‘Rolls Royce was recently sold for $479 mil-lion to Volkswagen. I have no doubt that

Volkswagen did their due diligence and con-sidered themselves well prepared. But it wasaround two weeks later that news started tofilter out that while they had bought the fac-tory and while they had bought the cars, theyhad failed to acquire the most valuable part ofall - the name. So from here onwards,Volkswagen will have to make Bentleys. youcan never be too prepared!!’

Interesting stories like this hold an audi-ence,so that an important issue that might oth-erwise have gone unnoticed or ignored, willhave been absorbed by everyone in the room.

The Delivery

Relevant stories help to give your speech avibrant feel, but the key to carrying an audi-ence with you throughout a 10,20 or 60 minutepresentation is to be found in the very deliveryof the material itself. Textbook advice onspeechmaking usually confines itself to “Keepyour head high and look them straight in theeye” - but a great delivery involves much more.

Preparation allows you to take the greatestsingle step towards giving your speech a truly“live” feel – leaving your notes behind. Onlynow will your presentation take on the trueconversational style that is so enthralling. Youraudience will hang on your every word as youproduce interesting stories, props, and ideas,all relevant and logically placed, but seeming-ly coming “straight from the hip.”

In my view, it follows that there is no placein a live talk for the standard “Powerpoint pres-entation.” Powerpoint is a prop and should beused as such, brought out only if it can dra-matically bolster your message with an unfor-gettable picture or chart.

Indeed, a confident delivery will include acopious amount of relevant props – propsthat interest and props that give credibility toyou or your business. We can all remember aschildren visiting a local magic show and beingenthralled as the magician enchanted us withtrick after trick. The words helped, but it wasthe props that ensured our eyes never strayedfrom his act.The magician also knew the power of interact-ing with his audience, and you should do sotoo. Nothing galvanizes attention quite like

the knowledge that at any moment you couldbe in the spotlight, and your “live” perform-ance should bring with it that energy.

Avoiding the Big Freeze

‘Who am I? Why am I here?’ These were theonly words that no lesser man than AdmiralStockdale could conjure up when famously‘freezing’ during the US Vice presidentialdebate in 1992 in front of 100 millionAmerican viewers

Fear of the Big Freeze is the one thing thatkeeps most business people rooted to theirseats when the opportunity to shine in a pres-entation presents itself. Yet I have found a fewlittle tricks that will keep you in control.

As always, preparation is the key. If thingsare going to go wrong, they will do so rightfrom the start. Do not ever get up to speak ifyou have not already stood on the spot fromwhere you will present. It is amazing how dis-orienting it can be to leap up from the audi-ence and turn to face them when you blood isrunning fast. Muhammad Ali accredits manyof his first round knockouts to the freezing ofhis opponents, scared not of him but bewil-dered by the environment.

Knowing that it is the opening minutesthat are the dangerous ones, have your firstthree minutes taped – rehearsed to the pointwhere you can deliver them whatever yourstate of mind. And should you ever get stuck,have an story or joke ready to fill in the fewseconds you need for your brain to return toyour aid. Ali shows us the way here. He trainedhimself to recognise when he had beenknocked cold and actually went into an“autopilot”routine that allowed him to remainstanding and protect himself while his brainrecovered. If Ali could cover up beingknocked senseless with the whole worldwatching, we in our speeches can surely con-ceal a lapse of memory.

And Finally!

If there is a secret to successful presenting, itlies in full preparation. One of my abidingmemories of school is of a maths lesson whereI was just quietly drifting away, gazing out ofthe window, only to be rudely awakened bythe teacher demanding the answer from meto a question I had not heard. For a long timeI blamed myself for my poor concentration.But today, I have the consolation that myteacher simply did not know how to holdhis audience.


EDUCATION & TRAINING

Taking the fear out ofpublic speaking

by Andrew Hall,Executive Director

Sussex, Surrey, Northants & Leicester,Staffs & Shropshire


BNI’s Relatively AmazingWhen Newbury Chapter member Lynn Malcher decided toattend a BNI workshop seminar 50 miles away in HemelHempstead, she had no idea of the mystical forces at workin BNI that day,nor how they were about to reunite her witha long lost relative!

During the seminar, Lynn had a “strange feeling”about amember from Henley Chapter and felt inexplicably drawnto her. On introducing herself, Lynn was surprised to findthat her new acquaintance, Ann Carroll, had the same sur-name as her own maiden name.

“We talked for some time and I explained to Ann how,when I first saw her, I’d felt there was some connectionbetween us.Ann decided it would be a good idea for me totalk to her husband – she was his second wife - thinkingthere was a chance he and I might be related,”said Lynn.

“When I got home that evening, I phoned him and dis-covered to my amazement that he was my second cousin,Clifford,who’d emigrated to Australia many years ago.” Lynnmet Clifford soon afterwards and was able to put him intouch with several other family members whom he hadnever expected to see again. “I’m still amazed at how thishas come about,” said Lynn.“I think it’s wonderful that BNIwas responsible for re-uniting us after such a long time.”

Meanwhile, BNI is also responsible for an equally unlike-ly long-distance family reunion involving Edgware Chaptermember Alan Gold. He was staying with his daughter inIsrael over the New Year period, when one of his friends,Jeremy Wallach, invited him to fill the 10-minute presenta-tion slot at his Chapter in Ra’anana, near Tel Aviv.

“I’d introduced Jeremy to BNI soon after its launch inIsrael, and he was keen for his members to get an interna-tional perspective on BNI. On the way to the meeting,Jeremy asked if I had heard of someone called Matty Eines- a member in his Chapter - and I told him I had a cousin ofthat name, but I’d lost touch with him over 20 years ago.

“ I couldn’t believe my eyes when we pulled into the carpark and I found it was the same Matty , now a charteredaccountant and also Secretary/Treasurer of the Chapter.Wehad an emotional reunion, followed by a very happy familyevening a couple of days later. Now my children, alwayseager for family contact, have new cousins to keep in touchwith. This was a most welcome piece of added value fromBNI,”said Alan.

Lynn can be reached on 01635 200 044, whileAlan can be contacted on 020 8909 2244

Put it in writing!

When you next give a testimonial for one of your chaptercolleagues,why not put it in writing? That’s the very sensiblesuggestion from marketing consultancy boss,T.J.Toma whotold SuccessNet: “Everyone treasures quality testimonials,because they are a precious commodity when promotingyour business. I’d like to see BNI encourage written testimo-nials which could be presented during the meeting, per-haps in a plastic wallet with duplicate copies, enabling therecipient to use them in marketing his or her services. T.J., amember of Stockport 2 Chapter added:“It would take littleextra effort, but could be worth a great deal more than amere verbal compliment during the chapter meeting.”We agree.

MOUNTAIN BNI members seem to hahead for heights – espeembarking on ambitiousty. Barely an issue of Sucat least one intrepid metrekking or climbing boofour such feats to recounvery tired limbs….

Sam’s going to the top –she hopes!Intrepid Northamptonshire businesswomanSamantha Clarke (pictured above) is preparing to trekthrough the highest mountains in Spain – includingthe 11,500 feet Mulhacen in the Sierra Nevada - to raisemoney for one of her favourite charities, Barnardos.

And the even better news for Sam is that with morethan four months to go before she departs for TrekAndalucia 2002 in October, she has already achievedher original sponsorship target of £1,000, and hopes todouble this during the summer, thanks largely to hercolleagues in BNI’s Daventry Chapter.

“The support they have given me is fantastic,” saidSam, who runs Daventry-based Total Event Solutions.“So many colleagues have offered their time and dona-tions including Richard Burkimsher, Ann Goodman-Smith, and Dawn Brannigan. I’ve even received helpfrom a member of another BNI group, Peter Jones ofthe Collingtree Chapter in Northants.”

To top it all, prospective BNI member Russell Waters,the General Manager of the Hellidon Lakes Hotel hasgiven Sam six months free membership of their newlyrefurbished gym, even putting together a personaltraining plan to ensure she is fully fit for the ascent!

Samantha Clarke can be contacted on0870 751 8805 or 07714 237 347.

The world’s hiUnless someone knows of have passed a referral we believe the photo behighest referral.

BNI husband and wifeClarke, members of theChapters respectively, are pBNI Executive Director MarBase Camp - some 17,500 f

All three were there ofund-raising trek for Hope charity that builds homesworld who have lost their hnatural disaster or war.The climbing, followed the clawho have conquered the w

Paul, a director of Corporate Communicationwere constant new challenat night down to minusamounts of air to breathe base camp, there is only 50mally breathe when living c

Amanda, who is used to an executive coaching busaid: “As if the altitude, the ical exertion weren’t enoug


Here we go – Tokyo!“A-h,so! Velly funny.You ty’ing to take mickey out of honlableYapanese custom?” In fact, far from being offended, mem-bers of Liverpool’s Midas Chapter were highly amused whenasked to wear Japanese bandanas at a recent meeting – forthe best of business reasons, naturally.

Midas member Steve Andrew and his business colleagueFrazer Herald,from the nearby Ellesmere Port Chapter joinedforces to give a 10-minute presentation on their company,Document Office Services Ltd, whose sales incentive to topperformers is a trip to the World Cup in Tokyo this summer.

“We thought that asking everyone to wear bandanas,would add to the flavour of the occasion,”said Frazer.

Frazer and Steve still have to make up some ground ifthey hope to be on the plane to Tokyo this June.

So, keep your eyes on the ball, Midas and Ellesmere Portmembers, and get more business coming in for Steve andFrazer. Who knows, they might even bring you authenticbandanas back from Japan – if you help them get there!

Steve & Frazer can be contacted on 0151 356 8800

MADNESS? e more than the averageially when it comes to

mountain treks for chari-essNet appears without

mber donning his or hers, and this time, we have – involving six pairs of

ghest referralwo astronauts in BNI whohile circling the Earth,

ow confirms the world’s

team Amanda and PaulRossett and Knutsford

ctured giving a referral ton Bailey at Mount Everestt above sea level! a gruelling three-weeknd Homes for Children, afor children around theuses and families throughek, involving considerableic route taken by thoserld’s highest mountain.

Chester-based Promotetold SuccessNet: “Therees included temperatures15C and ever reducing we got higher. Nearing

% of the oxygen we nor-ose to sea level.”aling the heights runningness, Optimum Training,treme cold and the phys-getting used to the local

And you thought allaccountants were justthe same?HATS OFF to high flyer David Watson from Corby chap-ter who single-handedly raised almost £10,500 for theBritish Heart Foundation by recently completing a 100kilometre trek to the top of the 12,100 feet KorchenPeak in the Himalayas. A partner in the Ketteringoffices of chartered accountants Grant Thornton, Davidis pictured (below) on Fishtail Mountain, Nepal duringhis fund-raising trip.

He can be contacted on 07971 177 746

Simon’s Vietnam adventureAshby-de-la-Zouch member Simon Bozeat can be for-given for missing a couple of recent chapter meetings:he’s recently completed a 300-mile charity cycle rideup and down the mountains and valleys of Vietnam!

Management consultant Simon took on the chal-lenge to raise money for the mental health charity,MIND, along with 85 others from across the UK whobetween them raised an astonishing £200,000.

“Vietnam is an astonishing country full of contrasts,especially its unpredictable weather. But the mostenduring memory was a refreshing head long diveinto the South China Sea after a 100k ride that startedat 6am and took in some of the most breathtakingscenery I’ve experienced,” he said.

Simon Bozeat can be contacted on 01684 567 500

Referrals in flow atGodalming – quite literally!

It must be one of BNI’s most picturesque venues – and it’s cer-tainly the wettest! Which is why,whenever it rains heavily thenight before a meeting,members of Godalming Chapter adda pair of Wellington boots to their early-morning kit list.

Since launching 18 months ago, the Chapter has met inthe Farncombe Boathouse on the bank of the flood-proneRiver Wey and, while members wouldn’t trade their sceniclocation for the usual hotel, they’ve grown wise to planningfor the odd watery BNI breakfast after a heavy downpour.

Retiring Chapter Director John Roberts from AKPFinancial Services said:“Locals know that the River Wey canoverflow its banks during prolonged wet weather, but theboathouse location is so pleasant for most of the year that wedon’t mind if we are occasionally under a bit of water.”

Does your Chapter meet in an unusual venue – or per-haps you’ve held one or more breakfast meetings in unlikelylocations? If so,tell us about it,and we’ll feature your Chapterin SuccessNet.

diet of daily garlic vegetable curries was an interestingexperience. If you couldn’t stomach the continual dietof curry, which also meant sampling the local toiletfacilities (or rather the lack of them) on a frequentbasis, then the only alternative was surviving onPringles and Mars Bars!

Now safely back home, having jointly (with the 35other trekkers) helped to raise over £100,000 for chari-ty, the world’s highest BNI referral team is looking for acompany to sponsor their colourful talk about thefund-raising trip.

Anyone interested should call Amanda on0800 731 7472 or Paul on 01244 401 811


While the Brits were collecting their BAFTAsand Hollywood was preening itself for theannual Oscars, BNI members across NorthWest London were celebrating their own starperformances a few weeks ago, at the region’sfirst annual awards dinner.

Some 200 members and guests from 24chapters dined and danced at the Bell HouseHotel, Beaconsfield last month and watchedtheir top performers collect appropriately star-shaped trophies for notable networking andexceptional referrals during the last year. Thisincluded a posthumous Notable Networkeraward to Richard Jennings, Barnet’s muchloved scrapmetal merchant

Each participating chapter had nominateda star performer and notable networker of theyear from their members and our congratula-tions go to all 48 nominees who receivedawards. But the real stars were EnfieldChapter’s Norma Morris,who took the NotableNetworker of the Year trophy and Stanmore

Chapter’s Andrew Rhodes, who won theNotable Referral of the Year award.

In the weeks leading up to the dinner,eachof the region’s chapters had been asked tochoose one member to take part in a‘Showdown Contest’ to find the best 60-sec-ond presenter. In the end it was no contestwith dentist Anthony Rosenfeld, StanmoreChapter, (pictured below) from the RoseGarden Dental Practice in Kingsbury, North

Anthony Rosenfeld can be contactedon 020 8204 5000

London getting the unanimous vote for firstprize, ahead of runner-up Ian McMellin,Surveyor, Watford Chapter.

Anthony is a dentist with a difference. Heasked his audience how many of them wishedthey were somewhere else when they sat intheir dentist’s chair, and then, donning virtualreality glasses, he promised them:

“Using these, you can be anywhere you’dlike to be! My patients take in a movie, enjoy avideo travelogue or watch their favourite TVquiz show.Mrs Davis watched Goran Ivanisevicwin Wimbledon while having a filling, and MrGriffiths laughed through two episodes ofFawlty Towers during his root canal treatment.If you only have the crack on your dentist’s ceil-ing to look at, perhaps you need to be some-where else!”

“The event was a great success, despitesome guests inadvertently setting off the firealarms by blowing out all the candles on theirtable. But not even half an hour outside in thecold dampened our spirits. We’ll definitelybe back next year!” said National DirectorGillian Lawson.

Stars in Their BN – Eyes!

Striking gold northof the border!Scottish members have struck gold ten timesover in recent months,equalling their Sassenachcolleagues when it comes to qualifying for mem-bership of BNI’s prestigious Gold Club.

Of the 20 new members who gained goldbadges in the first few months of this year,no lessthan half came from chapters north of the border.

The new Scottish Gold Club entrants are:Catherine Begg,Edinburgh West;Chris Chirnside,Edinburgh Pentlands; Richmond Clelland,Strathkelvin; Susanna Freedman, EdinburghPentlands; Tom London, Edinburgh Central;Stephen McFadyen, Uddingston; Kevin Roach,Falkirk;Mark Thirgood,West Lothian;Jim Vettrino,Edinburgh Central and Martin Walker,Strathkelvin Chapter.

The ‘top ten’ from south of the border are:Tracy Barlow,Oldham 1;Nick Gordon,Sutton;PhilHopkins, Leeds North (Tuesday); Bob Marks,Leeds Armouries (Tuesday); Steve Morris,Wakefield Sandal; Snehal Rabheru, StockportHatters; Jenni Rankin, Wakefield Sandal; ColinStone, (Holborn); Ewan Sturman, Echo andJeremy Way of Croydon Chapter. Sutton ChapterDirector Nick Gordon received his badge aftersigning up no less than 11 visitors as members ata single meeting.

We hear about many new Gold Badge recipi-ents, but there are some whose achievementsare not recognised. So, don’t forget to tell uswhen any member(s) of your Chapter are award-ed Gold Club status.

No wonder BNI member Dave Griffiths is wearinga proud smile….So would most men after beingpresented with a ‘Tough Guy’ Medal forendurance in the field! For David however, com-pleting the exhausting ‘Tough Guy Challenge2002’had an even more rewarding outcome;withsponsorship from his Warrington Chapter col-leagues,his feat helped raise more than £1,000 forthe Breast Cancer Campaign.

Dave and six friends (one of whose wife was avictim of breast cancer) took part in the gruellingcross-country challenge in the Staffordshire hills .His team won the right to start near the front innext year’s event – and their ‘Tough Guy’ medals– by finishing the course in under four hours.

Thirty-one year old Dave,a director of SharplesOffice Automation Group with members inWarrington, Chester, Stockport and Manchesterchapters, reckons that BNI has been great for their

photo-copying and printing equipment business,and he praised chapter colleagues for their chari-ty sponsorship which helped him raise £400 ofthe team’s £1,000-plus.“It was tough going but Iam proud we managed to complete the course ingood time. We’ve already got the applicationforms in for next year’s event.”

David can be reached on 07775 841 925or 01772 458 811.

Dave’s a real ‘tough guy’

Gary Rokenson, the financial advisor in BNI’sAldwych Chapter,central London,would never failto mention during his 60-second slot that, morethan anything else, he wanted to meet FormulaOne’s latest driving sensation, Jensen Button.

It was a weekly plea which seemed destined tofall on deaf ears – not least those of fellow memberJosephine Bacon, who understandably thoughtthat running a busy translation company, wouldnever lead to a contact with the Grand Prix star.

But in BNI, you never know what’s just aroundthe corner, and Josephine was about to find outwhen she volunteered to substitute for a colleague

at a meeting of the nearby Aldgate Chapter.A visitor that week was Charlotte Provan of PRI,

who manages Neil Dorran, a Formula Four driver.On the remote off-chance, Josephine askedCharlotte if she knew Jensen Button.“I don’t, butNeil’s father and Jensen’s father know each otherwell”, replied Charlotte.“I’ll put you in touch!”

Which is how, the following morning at herown Chapter meeting, Josephine was able toproudly stand up and bring a happy closure toGary’s forlorn weekly appeal. “I really thought Iwould be the last person in the world to makeGary’s dream referral come true,”she said.

Substitute For A Racing Cert!

AROUND THE CHAPTERS

Tough guy Dave Griffiths displays his medal

Two BNI members from Kent have notchedup a notable double at the prestigiousInstitute of Videography (IOV) Awards 2002,both gaining prizes in the new media catego-ry of the competition, which attracted entries

from over 2,000 videographers worldwide.Peter Snell, a member of Rochester

Chapter, submitted a fully authored DVD pro-moting the wedding videos made by hiscompany, PJS Productions, and he plans touse his resulting outright victory to launch anew multi-camera wedding movie service.“Customers will get feature film style DVDs,including many of the bonus features associ-ated with Hollywood products,” he said

PJS also produces specialist medicalvideos, one of which is now being studied bysurgeons worldwide who want to adopt thespecific UK-pioneered medical techniques.

Peter is pictured with Tom Sowler andNorma Medlock of Samron Technologies,(sponsors of the New Media awards), mean-

while Mike Hughes, from Westerham Chapterreceived his third place award for an interac-tive training CD “Drink and Drug Free,” pro-duced by his company, PIC Productions forCoca Cola’s UK operation, CCE. Mike won theprestigious Coca-Cola account through aChapter referral.

“CCE has a very high reputation to main-tain and wants all its employees to be fullyaware of the company’s tough but fair policyon alcohol and drugs abuse,” said Mike.

“Its executives originally wanted a videobut I suggested interactive CD, so we couldcombine video footage with overhead pro-jectors and documents to provide a compre-hensive and consistent message to berelayed to staff at all levels of the company.”

Peter can be contacted on 01634723 838 and Mike can be reached on01959 576 255


AROUND THE CHAPTERS

Many chapters boast a florist among theirmembership, but how many of them havehad their breakfast meetings turned intosomething resembling a florist’s shop – allto make maximum impact during the 10-minute presentation spot?

Ipswich florist Rob Dunger was deter-mined to make his major promotional slotmemorable, taking along three of his teamof florists with bucketfuls of flowers and allthe paraphernalia needed to show his col-leagues in Wolsey Chapter, that flowerarranging and bouquet-making is a highlyskilled art.

In a take off of the popular ‘Ready SteadyCook’ TV series, eager BNI volunteers tan-gled themselves in a colourful array ofroses, sunflowers, lilies and carnations asthey helped Rob’s professionals from TowerFlorists assemble two magnificent hand-

tied bouquets, guided with a brief explana-tion of the techniques from Rob.

Stephanie Earthroll from In ViewPublicity and NatWest bank manager NigelParsons produced two beautiful bouquets(with a little assistance), and Stephanie wasawarded hers as the door prize, with theother auctioned to an appreciative fellowmember.

“Ordering flowers should be a magicalexperience,”said Rob.“Neither the customernor the recipient need know what workgoes into creating their order, but BNI mem-bers should know as much as they canabout my business before acting as myambassadors! That’s why I decided to takemy shop to the meeting, and introduce col-leagues to the backroom skills we use.”

Rob Dunger can be contacted on01473 230 436.

All Credit to BNIHundreds of students are to be given the chance togain the Institute of Credit Management qualifica-tion, thanks to a new alliance forged ‘out of the blue’between two members of Liverpool’s Alpha Chapter.

The breakthrough came after Lynne Mills ofCredit Management & Training Services picked upon a point made by Andy Bounds of ATC (NW) Ltdduring one of his weekly 60-second infomercials ear-lier this year. ATC are accountancy training special-ists and Andy had mentioned the professionalaccountancy exam courses that they run through-out their twelve offices across the country.

Lynne, who specialises in debt-related trainingcourses, but had no professional training body forthe large number of Institute of Credit Managementstudents in the North-West, asked Andy if he wouldbe interested in developing an appropriate coursewith the ICM.

“Within five weeks the Institute had given theirclearance for the courses to go ahead,”said Lynne.“Ican’t believe it’s all happened so fast. ATC’s reputa-tion is exceptional, so we are expecting excellentresults. Within about 18 months we should havearound 100 students on the course,and what makesit particularly attractive is that ATC is the only organ-isation offering weekend training for these students.The courses should be worth in the region of£15,000 to ATC in the first year, rising to around£50,000 p.a.”

Andy Bounds can be contacted on 0151 708 8852,while Lynne Mills is on 0151 632 2038.

Double Scoop for Kent members

Flower Power rules in Ipswich Lynne and Andy (right) withchapter printer Colin van de Paow

Wolsey Chapter members in floral mood

While all members are encour-aged to wear their lapel pinswith pride as they go about theirbusiness, Glasgow carpet fitterGary Scott has gone one better

and splashed his BNI member-ship all over his big white van!

Although Gary joined theStrathkelvin Chapter barely 12months ago, he is an ardent

advocate for BNI which, he says,already accounts for up to 15%of his booming business, CarpetFitting Services.

“I’d only been in the Chaptera few weeks when I decided thatbelonging to such a well-estab-lished professional organisationwould add value and credibilityto my own business – so I com-missioned fellow memberPauline Hainey of Signarama toput BNI’s logo and contactdetails on the sides of my van.”

Gary added:“There are lots ofcowboy carpet fitters drivingaround in rusty old vans. Beingable to put BNI’s name and web-site on my vehicle makes it standout from the rest. Quite a fewpeople have stopped me to askwhat BNI does – as a result ofwhich I’ve invited them along to

my chapter and seen a few ofthem join over the past year.”

In the true spirit of GiversGain, Gary has also acted as asubstitute for business col-leagues in other Strathclydechapters, and on one such occa-sion – when he visited the Falkirkgroup – his commitment wasrepaid with an immediate£17,000 contract.

Linda Maclean, ExecutiveDirector for Scotland South andEast, said: “I am very pleased forGary who epitomises the BNIphilosophy, giving many goodreferrals and gaining solid busi-ness in return.”The Strathkelvin Chapter meetsevery Friday at Smiths Hotel,Kirkintilloch, near Glasgow.

Gary can be contacted on0141 563 1825 or 07050 054 104.


AROUND THE CHAPTERS

Delivering BNI’s messageacross Strathclyde

Like it or loathe it, there’s nothingquite like a spot of Morris dancingto set you talking for the day –so when Stratford - upon - AvonChapter’s leadership team decidedto liven up proceedings, they knewthey could rely on the unusual (and

little known) talents of two mem-bers.

Consequently, telemarketingspecialist Nigel Dunn had a few sur-prises in store for unsuspecting col-leagues when he came to deliver hisrecent 10-minute presentation.With members expecting him totalk about his business, Stour ValleyMarketing,Nigel emerged from thewings in full regalia to promote nothis business but his hobbies – as amember of the Ilmington MorrisMen, and folk singing.

As startled colleagues listenedto him playing some of the tradi-tional musical instruments used inmorris dancing – a lagerphone, Irishbodhran and a melodeon – a sec-ond ‘unknown’ Morris dancing

member of the Chapter, MalcolmSmith suddenly reappeared in cos-tume to dance a classical Morris jigto Nigel’s accompaniment.

“I’m sure few if any other BNIchapters have one Morris dancer, letalone two, but it’s pure coincidencethat both Nigel and myself belongto different Morris Men groups,”said Malcolm, who when he is notrunning an American holidayhomes franchise, is the Squire of thelocal Shakespeare Morris Men.

“I think the unexpected light-heartedness helped lift proceed-ings on a dull and wet morning,andhopefully set the Chapter up nicelyfor doing more serious business inthe months ahead,”Malcolm added.Well, it beats a talk on telemarket-ing, any day!

Nigel can be contacted on

07740 805 286, and Malcolm

on 01789 842 96.

Morris Men surprise theirStratford colleagues

Sutton Chapter recruitment spe-cialist Nick Gordon isn’t justexceptional when finding newmembers for his group; he’sequally successful when itcomes to finding business for hisown company – so much so thathe’s just converted a £3.25mreferral!

Fellow member, Ian Siddlehad been impressed when Nick’scompany, Southern Recruitment

Ltd found some drivers for hisown removals and storage busi-ness, so he introduced him tothe new personnel director ofAlders, the Croydon-based chainof department stores.

“Alders head office has arequirement for around 100temporary staff a day, spreadover a nine month period, main-ly involving drivers, warehousestaff and fork-lift operators,”

said Nick.“They usually spend about

£3.25m a year on temporarystaff, and we’ve already turnedover a quarter of a million ontheir behalf, even though theyare only just getting into theirbusy season. It looks as if thingsare driving along quite nicely,”he added.

You can contact NickGordon on 0208 689 9999.

Nick recruits an annual £3.25m referral

Going thatextra mile -or 550!While many BNI members take itupon themselves to visit and sup-port other chapters, few if any canmatch the commitment of BrandsHatch Chapter’s Anne Thomson.

She has just made an extraordi-nary 1,100-mile round-trip ‘pilgrim-age’ from Kent to Inverness - tosupport the launch of Scotland’snew Highland chapter.

An ex-pat Invernessian, Annewas attending last year’s South-East Region Members Day at theBrands Hatch Racing Circuit, whenshe couldn’t fail to notice Ron Hain(BNI’s Executive Director forScotland North) proudly sporting akilt and sporran. She made a bee-line for him to ask what he wasdoing so far south of the borderand,having been told he was thereto support colleagues in southernEngland, she promised Ron shewould fly to Scotland when BNIlaunched its first chapter in herhome city.

Ron rewarded Anne’s commit-ment with a Notable NetworkersBadge, which will be presented toher next month in her BrandsHatch Chapter.

You can contact AnneThomson on 01474 703586

A word-blind homeopath has hadher lifelong dyslexia “cured” by theeye specialist in her chapter and, inan amazing demonstration ofGivers Gain in action, she isnow dramatically improving the‘untreatable’ eye problems of hispatients.

Linda Lacome-Shaw joined theMuswell Hill Chapter just over ayear ago and has been delightedwith its networking opportunities –but what she hadn’t expected wasto find the answer to her owndyslexia – in the form of RobLamont, an optometrist at the localopticians, Panoptica.

Like most dyslexics, Linda hadalways found reading, writing and

maths difficult. After getting toknow Rob at chapter meetings,shewas encouraged to learn that hespecialised in treating dyslexia andcolour blindness, through the useof coloured lenses.

“After several hours of tests, hewas able to prescribe glasses forme which have brought a hugeimprovement to my reading andwriting abilities. If only I’d had theglasses when I was a child it wouldhave made my school life mucheasier,” said Linda, who now refersher appropriate patients to Rob,not only for dyslexia treatment, butalso colour blindness.

However, solving Linda’s prob-lems was just the start of what has

become a rewarding cross-flow ofpatient-referrals between her andRob. She said: “As a result of Robhelping me, I was able to show himhow my specialty – homeopathy –could help relieve many eye condi-tions, including chronic blepharitis– a painful inflammation of the eye-lids – for which there is no main-stream medical solution.”

Rob told SuccessNet: “Until Imet Linda, I didn’t really think therewas anything that anyone could doto help my patients with chroniceye conditions like blepharitis, butshe persuaded me to send one ortwo of them along to her. One ladywho had suffered with severe eyepain for over 40 years, showed a

huge improvement within weeksof Linda starting to treat her.”

“Everyone who joins BNI hopesit will help them expand their busi-nesses, but what has happenedhere is far more significant because,thanks to BNI providing the infra-structure, experts in different fieldsof medicine are able to share infor-mation, from which alternativetreatments can be developed. It isvery exciting,”Rob added.

You can contact LindaLacome-Shaw at Homeopathyfor Help on 020 8883 2052 or020 7935 0023, and RobLamont at Panoptica Opticianson 020 8444 9008.


AROUND THE CHAPTERS

Optician’s ‘cure’ for dyslexic homeopath leads tonew treatment for eye patients

Winning a flying lesson is a prettygood door prize in itself -but when Newmarket Chapterfounder member Sarah Chartersturned up at her local airfield, shecouldn’t believe that colleagueMary Munley had ‘arranged’ forthe plane to have ‘BNI-F’ as itscall sign!

Said Sarah: “I’ve always want-ed to fly, but when Mary offeredthe flying lesson as a door prize ata meeting of our NewmarketChapter, I never thought I’d belucky enough to win it. I couldn’t

believe it when the aircraft she’dchosen for the lesson had such anappropriate call sign. It was a fan-tastic hour or two, and has mademe even more determined tolearn to fly.”

Mary, a marketing consultantand accomplished pilot, admit-ted:“I’d like to say I fixed it as far asthe aircraft’s call sign was con-cerned, but I have to admit it waspurely coincidental. However, itadded to the occasion.”

Mary can be contacted on07941 322 741

Well, What did you expect?

Valentine’s Day may be long distant, but formembers of Wilmslow Chapter, this year’sevent will be remembered longer than most– since it marked their move to a new venue,the Stanneylands Hotel, sealed with thesounds of noisy kissing! For once, the usualbreakfast noises were drowned by thesounds of repeated kissing – thanks to an ini-tiative from Sue Fernandez,whose company(Bossco Office Supplies) had produced aspecial mouse-mat for each of her BNI col-leagues, that made a ‘kissing sound’ at thetouch of a button.

Stirred by so much early-morning camer-aderie, some female members then treatedChapter Director Chris Slater,to an impromp-tu Valentine’s Day kiss when,by complete co-incidence, Chapter photographer PeterFletcher was on hand to capture the moment!

Bolton honourshigh performersSix members of Bolton’s two chapters havereceived ‘top performer’ awards from ExecutiveDirector Rod Sloane, presented at their first jointdinner and awards ceremony.

Bolton Chapter’s David Haywood said: “Theprevious year we held a dinner for our ownchapter but felt it would be more fun this timeto double the numbers by inviting our neigh-bouring Bolton Metro Chapter. More than 80people attended and we had a superb evening.”

Prior to the event, members of both chaptershad voted to find their best overall performersof the year and they, together with the membersof each chapter who had passed the most refer-rals and brought the most visitors in the year, allreceived awards on the night.

Kisses all round at Valentine’s Day move

Ace pilot Mary Munley

When it comes to makingmemorable 10-minute pre-sentations,members appreci-ate the value of thatold adage:‘Tell me and I’ll lis-ten; show me and I’llremember, but involve meand I’ll understand.’

Rob Duce and GeoffAppleton are Liverpool busi-ness associates who haveproved that involving chap-ter colleagues in their 10-minute slots can reap divi-dends – and that it’s not reallywhat you say or do thatcounts, it’s the way that youdo it!

On average, each member has thechance to give a ten-minute pres-entation every six months and it’sundoubtedly the best opportunityyou’ll have to put your messageacross and make a lastingimpression on fellow membersand guests.

Whatever you do, or say, duringthose 10 minutes will either be

remembered for a long time after-wards and bring its own rewards,orbe forgotten long before the endof the meeting – having proved awaste of time and effort. So it’sworth putting in the maximumamount of thought and planningto ensure that everyone wholeaves the meeting goes away withyou on their minds.

Rob Duce,better known as “TheSushi Man” runs the sushi-makingcompany, Sushi San, and when histurn came to address colleagues inLiverpool’s Delta Chapter recently,he decided the best way to initiateeveryone into the Japanese equiv-alent of fast-food, was to letmembers try their hand at makingsushi, in a ‘Generation Game’-style contest.

Having brought all the ingredi-ents with him - seaweed, rice, fill-ings,cucumber,fish and crabsticks -Rob first gave a demonstration ofhow it was done, before inviting‘volunteers’ John Cook and TerryHamill to see who could producethe best sushi, assisted by teams of

members,all attired in mob caps tostress the necessity for hygiene.

Rob, who reckons he averagesaround £10,000 a week turnover,and supplies sushi to major nation-al customers including ASDA –which came from a BNI referral -and Budgens, added: “If you don’tunderstand how something isdone, then being shown – ratherthan just told - makes everythingso clear. It also allows you to injectan element of humour and fun,

and people always remembersomething which made themlaugh,”Rob added.

While you may feel that sushi-making is so unusual it’s bound tomake a fascinating presentation,the same cannot be said for paint-ing and decorating which, let’s faceit, hardly enthuses most people.

So when Geoff Appleton,painter and decorator fromLiverpool’s Jupiter Chapter, wasgiven a few weeks notice of his 10-


THE MEMBERS SPEAK

It ain’t what you do,

John Leach is a Past Director of LeedsArmouries (Thursday) Chapter, whosenumbers he helped swell to 40-plus dur-ing his time in office last year. A typical-ly forthright Yorkshireman, he has someclear ideas on how BNI works for itsmembers – and about why every mem-ber should value his or her place at theweekly breakfast table. Here, he sum-marises that value in eight simple rea-sons for joining and staying with BNI….

Why do we join BNI? And, having becomemembers of the world’s largest business net-working organisation, what is it about BNI thatmakes us stay, year after year?

The fact that relatively few members willing-ly relinquish their chapter chairs suggests thatBNI’s overriding philosophy of ‘Givers Gain’ wasspot on when introduced to the world by DrIvan Misner in 1985, and it remains the drivingforce behind everything else we do in BNI.

So this gives us the first good reason for join-ing, and remaining with BNI, but it also made

me think about some other equally persuasivereasons for membership. I’ve managed to con-dense what I regard as the main benefits intoeight key reasons. See what you think:

1. Referrals This is why we all come to BNI meetings - to giveand receive business.

2.Trust Because we meet regularly, we are able to buildthe trust & confidence in the services and prod-ucts which our fellow members provide.We arealso accountable to each other.

3. Service and business contacts We come into contact with not only membersof our group, but members of other groups andthe guests we all bring from time to time.

4. Education Through the education slot and BNI’s manytraining courses we learn about networking.Wealso learn about each other’s businesses, andthe highs and lows they encounter.

5. Support Through BNI we are all able to support each

other.The contacts which we are given are gen-erally prepared through BNI. The organisationopens doors that many of us may have beentrying unsuccessfully to enter for years.

6. CamaraderieSocial contact, humour, regular meeting, build-ing of relationships and friendships all assist instrengthening the chapter, and its individualmembers, helping us to obtain more referrals.

7. Confidence We all develop confidence in each other byreceiving good quality feedback from satisfiedclients and customers.

8. PresentationsThrough the 60 second presentation slot wefirstly improve our presentation skills aboutour business and secondly, learn to under-stand our business better so that we can pres-ent and explain it more effectively to others.

I’m sure that within my own chapter alone,my colleagues could find another eight,16 or 24good reasons for BNI membership, butthese must surely rank as some of themost important.

Eight good reasons for joining & staying with BNI

‘Sushi man’ Rob Druce prepares to intro-duce colleagues to Japanese fast food.

minute slot, he was so worriedabout putting his colleagues tosleep around the breakfast table,that he consulted Rob for advice onfinding a lively format.

“I was quite anxious about it.There isn’t much to talk about in mytrade, and I didn’t want to boreeverybody.” said Geoff, “Rob sug-gested that rather than just standand talk, I should do somethingpractical to demonstrate my skillsin a more memorable way. I cameup with the idea of showing every-

one the right way, and the wrongway to decorate a wall. The onlyproblem was the lack of a sparewall at our chapter venue.”

Which is where it starts to getclever. Not to be beaten,Geoff builta portable wooden wall just for theoccasion,complete with a door cas-ing and a plug socket, which hewheeled into the meeting beforemembers started to arrive, andshrouded under the wraps toraise anticipation.

“The rest was fairly easy,” Geoff

admitted. “I encouraged membersto get up close so they could seewhat I was doing, and then Idemonstrated the art of cuttingpaper, pasting and hanging, usinga plumb-line and how to go rounddoor casings and plugs, which isthe hardest part. The result wasamazing – everybody realised Iknew my job, and what my jobinvolved. It gave them more confi-dence in me and as a result I’vestarted to get a lot more referrals.”

There are many original andinteresting ways of presenting yourtrade and profession, some ofwhich have been reported in pasteditions of Successnet, and one ortwo more of which are featured inthis issue. So the moral is: don’tstart thinking about your talk thenight before - think ahead and planto give your audience somethingreally different that they can takehome with them.

You can contact Rob Duce

on 07932 160 293, and Geoff

Appleton on 07774 895 325

Collingtree gets“fab”website

Northampton’s Collingtree Chapterhas launched its own websitewhich it hopes will attract moremembers to BNI from the localbusiness community. Designed byDuncan Webster of 1PCS, it hasbeen described by ChapterDirector Julie Holdom as “fabulous,offering potential members theultimate guide to BNI.”

She added: "It's highly profes-sional,very informative and will cer-tainly give visitors a good impres-sion of what we do at BNI, and themany benefits of being a member."

The new website address is:www.bninorthampton.co.uk

For more details call PeterJones on 07870 687 992.


THE MEMBERS SPEAK

it’s the way you do it!

Renarto Fantoni,Chapter Director ofBarnet producedthis Mind-Map ofsome of the manyuseful things helearnt at theReferrals Workshop

Want a betterbusiness?Then get better trainedwith BNI….

Geoff Appleton built the wall todemonstrate his decorating skills

When I was introduced to theconcept of BNI some 18 monthsago, I have to admit I was scepti-cal. Apart from finding theprospect of standing up andtalking about my business a littledaunting, I thought I wouldfind it hard to produce aregular amount of referrals forfellow members.

But, having been too compla-cent for too long, and allowed myGodalming-based design busi-ness to become far too reliant onone large London customer, Ineeded to do something to findmore clients - and more localones. So with the attitude noth-ing ventured, nothing gained, Iwent along to visit my localGodalming chapter which hadonly recently been formed.

I could immediately see thebenefits. They seemed like a nicebunch and it was exciting to seethose referrals being handed out.But there was a sticking point.I was there spouting onabout design and printand one of the existingmembers, Maurice Rapson ofDownland Reprographics stoodup and did exactly the same.Here we had a potential conflict.Should I just walk away, or couldit be resolved?

Fortunately, after the meet-ing, it was explained to me thatchapters look to find separatebusinesses to fill the design andprinting positions, and that thereshould be no problem with mysitting alongside Maurice. Weagreed that I would solely repre-sent design, and put my print-work over to Downland wherev-er possible, with Maurice pro-moting only his print services,

and putting some design workover to my company, TheRight Impression.

I have to admit though thatthere were doubts on both sidesas to whether it would work.Neither of us could be sure aboutthe quality of each other’s work,or whether each other’s pricingstructures would be competitiveenough to vie with our existingsuppliers. Looking back now overthe past few months neither ofus need have worried.

The business relationshipbetween the two companies hasreally thrived through BNI, to thepoint where the other membersthink we’re joined at the hip.Theycall us the ‘mutual appreciationsociety’ but it’s a mutual appreci-ation that has been mutuallyearned. Downland turned out tobe just the kind of printer I hadbeen looking for - reliable, flexi-ble and competitive with a realdesire to offer some of the bestcustomer service that I had yetexperienced. In return they havesupplied The Right Impressionwith a steady flow of work.

In BNI, they say you have totell other members exactly whatbusiness you want, and that wayyou’ll get it. I wanted to get morelocal business, and here we are,just over a year since I joinedGodalming Chapter, and I’ve cutthe days I spend in London tojust a few a month. Thanks to BNIwe’re getting there. I likeThursday mornings!

Contact Tim Price at TheRight Impression on 01483418763, and Maurice Rapsonat Downland Reprographics01243 576 576.


THE LAST WORD

From sceptic to crusaderMany would-be BNI members find themselves unable tojoin their local chapter because their ‘chair’ has alreadybeen filled by someone else in the same trade or profes-sion.Then, their only option is to look to another chapter.Or is it? In this article, designer Tim Price explains how heand another printer/designer turned potential conflictinto constructive business.

Maurice Rapson (left) nowworks closely with Tim Price

Your SuccessNet TeamSuccessNet is published quarterly and distributed free of charge by BNI plc to allmembers. Additional copies can be obtained by writing to or calling the BNINational Office at: BNI House, Church Street, Rickmansworth WD3 1BS, UK Tel:+44 (0) 1923- 891999 Fax: +44 (0) 1923- 891998 Email: [email protected]

Executive Editor: Gillian Lawson, BNINational Director

Editor: Malcolm Grosvenor, WriteAngleCommunications, New House, PalmerCrescent, Kingston upon Thames KT1 2QTTel: 020 8541 600 Fax: 020 8546 1611 Email:[email protected]

Design and Artwork: Damon Segal, ActionGraphic International, Tel: 020 8954 1813Email: [email protected]

Printed by: Tony Batkin, Alpine Press, Tel:01923 269777

Copyright © BNI 2002. All rights reserved

East Manchester architect BillJennings is out to beat his ownnewly-established record forthe most referrals passed by asingle member at one meeting.Fellow members of TamesideChapter watched in amaze-ment as he handed out not 10,nor 20, but a staggering 31referrals – earning himself acoveted Blue Badge.

Bill readily acknowledged astroke of good fortune inobtaining most of the referralsfrom a single source. “Mycompany, Jennings DesignAssociates had designed ahousing estate, and for somereason the estate agents onlyput our name on the advertis-ing hoardings as the contactfor would-be purchasers of thehouses and flats when theywent up for sale,” he said.

“Consequently I was inun-dated with enquiries fromprospective purchasers, so nat-urally, when I’d discussed theirrequirements, I also askedwhether they needed a mort-gage or a solicitor, a decoratoror someone to fit new appli-ances. As a result I ended up

with about 25 referrals duringone week and, added to thefive or six I normally come upwith, I went along to breakfastwith a healthy total of 31.”

Having been a member ofBNI for just a year, Bill is quickto point out that it’s not allone-way traffic.“My colleaguesquickly learnt what sort ofreferrals I am looking for andit’s good to know they’re look-ing out to help my businessevery week.

“I like the fact that everyoneis there with one aim in mind –to help everybody else. It’s alsoreassuring to know I can relyon my fellow members to pro-vide me with good serviceswhen I need them.”

Alistair MacDonald, ExecutiveDirector for South Pennines ishighly impressed by Bill’sachievements. “He’s a tremen-dous networker. I gave him theblue badge for his 31 referralsin one week, most of whichcame to fruition within a a veryshort time.”

Contact Bill Jennings on0161 336 5011

Architect Bill’s ‘house of referrals’

Issue 16: Summer 2002

Documents

Transcript of Issue 16: Summer 2002