INSIDEGolden trip . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Sharing winning secrets . . . . 3

Quick on the draw . . . . . . . . 4

Translating success . . . . . . . . 5

Cleaning up in BNI . . . . . . . . 6

Flying high . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

60-second commercial . . . 8&9

Helping war victims . . . . . . 10

Giving birth to twins . . . . . 11

Is your card an ace? . . . . . 12

J ust three and a halfyears after 80 hardyNorth London soulswaited in sub-zero tem-peratures and the dark-ness to attend the launchof BNI’s first British chap-ter, the organisation haspassed a significant mile-stone with the opening ofits 200th chapter – part ofits continued rapid expan-sion across the UK andIreland.

In marked contrast to itsarrival on the UK scene inDecember 1996, when visitorsqueueing to attend the openingof BNI’s first chapter at

Harrow were caught in asnowstorm, last month’s ‘kickoff’ day at Norwich was her-alded by bright sunshinebringing an appropriate earlymorning glow to the city’s his-toric Assembly House, amajestic venue for Norfolk’s

first BNI chapter. And, whilethe organisation has beenaccustomed to many largerturn-outs for launches than theaudience of 60 business peoplewho attended the newNorwich Chapter’sIntroductory Day, few BNI

chapters have got off to such abuoyant start, with no lessthan 25 members signed up bythe end of that first meeting!

Chapter Director StephenThomson, a management con-sultant, said: “I think itshowed how seriously localpeople take new businessopportunities. I am justpleased Norwich companiesare now able to share in BNI’ssuccess.”

Such is its rapid growth afterbeing ‘imported’ to Britainfrom America, that BNI nowhas over 4,500 members who,in the past 12 months alone,have exchanged some 140,000referrals over breakfast tablesfrom Brighton and Hastings toBelfast and Edinburgh, worthin excess of £30 million!

Worldwide, BNI has morethan 1,700 chapters in 11countries, which last year gen-erated over £300 million ofbusiness for its members.

Meanwhile, BNI’s spread

SuccessNetBNI launches200th chapter

They’re tickled pink with Ken Dodd in Macclesfield – Page 3

An education and information bulletin for BNI members Summer 2000

european edition

CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

Just dropping in on Aussie friendsBNI’s UK national directors Martin and GillianLawson don’t believe in doing things by halves. So,when Gillian suggested interrupting their belatedholiday on the Great Barrier Reef to drop in onBNI’s Australian directors conference, Martin feltduly obliged to follow… not realising just what hewas letting himself in for!

Barely 48 hours later, and still not sure it wasreally happening to him, Martin took his couragein his hands and jumped – quite literally – out of aplane flying at 12,000 feet above the Queensland

coastline, following Gillian in what he described as“a quite exhilarating free fall” for 7,000 feet,before parachuting gently back to the ground.

Back on terra firma, the daring duo were wel-comed by Ian Pendlebury, BNI’s National Directorfor Australia, and regional directors who, whenthey weren’t muttering about ‘mad dogs andEnglishmen out in the mid-day sun’ seemed quietlyimpressed with the Lawsons’ first sky dive.

Gillian told SuccessNet: “The night before the

CONTINUED ON PAGE 3

Gillian in free fall over Queensland.

2 SuccessNet, July 2000

SuccessNet

Golden memories of San Francisco

BNI launches200th chapter

across the UK regions andIreland continues unabated,with a number of new territo-ries being opened up and morethan 40 chapters launched inthe last three months.

Since the last edition ofSuccessNet, BNI has substan-tially expanded in Scotland –with seven chapters launched –as well as moving into York-shire and Merseyside, whilestrengthening its presence inother key areas includingLeicestershire, Shropshire,Greater Manchester, the WestMidlands, County Cork andGreater London.

National Director MartinLawson said: “With some 220chapters up and running andnew chapters being launchedat the rate of two or threeevery week, we are aiming tocontinue this rate of progressand, before the end of August,our UK and Ireland businessmembership will have brokenthrough the 5,000 barrier – sothere will be plenty to talkabout as the year progresses.

“However you look at it, abusiness organisation which,from nowhere, has managedto gain the major commitmentof nearly 5,000 businessmenand women, must be doingsomething right.

“People join BNI principallyto improve their own businessby helping others to improvetheirs. The fact that we aregrowing faster than ever isample evidence that BNI’sGiver’s Gain philosophy workseverywhere!”

Chapters opened in the sec-ond quarter of 2000 (April toJune) are: Alloa, Arundel,Ascot, Basingstoke, Burslem(Stoke on Trent), ChelmsfordMeadows, Chester, Chichester,Clacton, Congleton, Coventry,Didcot, Dover, Dunfermline,Edinburgh Pentland, Evesham,Finedon (Northants),Gravesend, Headington(Oxon), Kilmarnock Kappa,Kirkcaldy, Knightsbridge(London), Leeds Armouries,Leeds North, LondonMarylebone & London SloaneSquare, Maidstone II,Merseyside Alpha, MerseysideBeta, North Manchester,Norwich, Perth, Richmond-upon-Thames, Rutland,Shrewsbury, Stone (Staffs),Sunley, Tayside, Uddington,Warrington, Wilmslow andWoodbridge (Suffolk).

From Page 1

Pictured right is just one of the stunning panoramasenjoyed by the lucky winners of BNI’s first Europeanmembership drive prize draw – a bird’s eye view of thefamous Golden Gate Bridge across San Francisco Bay.

The eight winners and their partners, pictured belowat a windswept airport before the start of their sight-see-ing trip over the city by helicopter, also met BNIFounder Dr Ivan Misner and members of local Cali-fornian chapters, attended a reception in their honourand held a networking workshop – in between exploringthe sights, shops, food and culture of San Francisco.

One of the winners, Tony Stuart from the Royal SpaChapter, Leamington, who took the chapter photobelow, summed up their experiences: “The whole tripexceeded our expectations, with the sight seeing tourand helicopter flight being the highlights.”

And there was special praise too for UK & IrelandNational Director Gillian Lawson from Elizabeth andGraham Hodgson (Eastbourne Chapter) who said: “Oneof the things everyone appreciated most was that Gillianmade a 12,000 mile round trip just to attend our recep-tion with Dr Misner and make sure everything was goingto plan – a sign of her very deep commitment to BNImembers.”

TOASTING A DOUBLE CENTURY: Members of the new Norwich Chapter celebrate their opening.

WINNINGLINE-UP:

Ourwinnerspose for

the camerabefore

take-off

WHAT A PRIZE: Over San Francisco.

SuccessNet, July 2000 3

SuccessNet

Rubbing shoulders with the famous isbecoming common practice for PhilJones, a member of MacclesfieldChapter.

The Macclesfield Chapter had raisedmoney for the Rocking Horse Appeal tofund a new cancer unit at Liverpool’s AlderHey Children’s Hospital, by holding a‘scouse breakfast’ when members paid £1extra for a taste of the Liverpudlian dish –scouse pie – in addition to their normalbacon and eggs.

Local bakery Sayers donated the scousepies for the event which took place at

Macclesfield’s Belgrade Hotel and led toPhil, who had organised the event, beinginvited to a private Scouse party hosted bycomedian Ken Dodd.

To mark the occasion, Phil presentedLiverpool’s most famous comic with a hugebusiness card, containing the details of allhis Chapter colleagues (see picture below).

Phil’s enthusiastic charity work led himand several Chapter colleagues to be mix-ing again with celebrities a few weeks later,this time with the former world heavy-weight boxing champion, Henry Cooperand the cast of TV’s ‘Brookside’, at a fund-raising event for the East Cheshire Hospice.

The Belgrade Hotel played host to aSportsman’s Dinner where Henry was guestspeaker, and Phil ensured the town’s chap-ter was well represented – with a fully sub-scribed table of BNI members and theirguests.

Phil is particularly keen that membersshould know about Alder Hey’s RockingHorse Appeal which will provide the coun-try’s only cancer unit specifically for chil-dren. Reaching the target is proving diffi-cult and if anyone would like to make adonation or undertake a fund-raising event,they should contact the Appeal Office atAlder Hey Hospital on 0151 228 4811.

BNI’ll be tickled missus!

Baker’s dozenjoin ‘Gold

Badge’ clubThirteen new names have beenregistered with BNI’s exclusive‘Gold Badge’ club in recognitionof their success at introducingnew members – which results inmore business referrals – totheir chapters.

They are: Douglas Aiken ofDunfermline Chapter; PhilipBerg, Stanmore; Jonathan Grant,Leeds North; Eamonn Leahy,Dublin Airport; Mark Lewis,Stafford; Jeff Matthews, LeedsArmouries; Tom Parry,Merseyside Alpha; AnthonyQuinn and Sharon Slowey, bothBaggot Street, Ireland; JimStewart, Glasgow Alpha; ChrisTwinn and Clare Wadham-Smith, both Bury St Edmonds,and Tony Weiss of Watford.

Congratulations to all. Keepthose visitors flowing in!

More and more members are sharing their win-ning business development secrets with col-leagues around the world through BNI’s globalchat room.

While the power of the Internet as a seriousworldwide marketing and sales medium is grow-ing rapidly, BNI members have been exchangingnew ideas for boosting their business for morethan a year, by joining monthly chat room ses-sions which now regularly attract a significantnumber of participants from as far apart as theUSA, Israel, Canada and Switzerland.

UK National Director Martin Lawson said:“Being in business means you never stop learn-ing, and what could be better than getting soundadvice from business colleagues who may haveexperienced similar problems or challenges andare prepared to share their solutions with you?

“Our chat room regulars are happy toacknowledge they constantly pick up good ideasfrom colleagues throughout the UK – andaround the world – and they thoroughly enjoy

sharing ideas to generate more business.”So much useful advice now comes out of the

chat room sessions, that a ‘key points’ summaryfrom each month’s exchange of views is postedon BNI’s website, accessible to anyone by log-ging onto: www.bni-europe.com and then navi-gating through the UK Members Area to clickon ‘Chat Directory’.

The sessions, hosted by UK national directorsMartin and Gillian Lawson, take place on thesecond Monday evening of every month, from9pm to 10pm, and the easiest way to enter theChat Room is through BNI’s own website[www.bni-europe.com] where you will find it asan option after clicking over the UK on the map.

Each month focuses on a different business orBNI topic, and subjects for the forthcoming chatroom sessions include:

Monday 14th August – Effective meeting stim-ulants; Monday 11th September – 25 PR ideasfor chapters; Monday 9th October – Buildingbig and strong chapters.

sky dive neither of us got muchsleep, just wondering – or ratherworrying – what we’d let our-selves in for. But it was never aquestion of pulling out.

“It was something I’d wantedto do all my life and the experi-ence will live with me for ever.I’m not sure that Martin sharedmy enthusiasm before the event,but having survived it, we’reboth really pleased we wereable to take part. It was anunforgettable experience.”

Lest you consider them crazy,both Martin and Gillian wereharnessed to experienced skydivers for their inaugural jumpand, as our photograph shows, agood time was had by all. Whosaid BNI directors have no fun!?

From Page 1

Dropping inSharing winning secrets

4 SuccessNet, July 2000

Around the Chapters

Anyone contemplating mem-bership of Cheltenham SpaChapter had better bewarned: you’ll be caricatured in print– with your picture passed aroundthe local business community!

But, it’s all for a good cause. Wearing her ‘other’ hat as a professional

artist and illustrator, the Chapter’sMembership Co-ordinator Lucy Byatt hasproduced a colourful flyer comprisingwitty caricatures of many of her col-leagues, now being used by the Chapter tointroduce potential members to BNI, andby individual members as an unusual mar-keting tool.

For just £30, chapter members areimmortalised in pen by Lucy, who givesthem an A4 coloured caricature to frameand keep, while they are also incorporatedinto the Chapter’s promotional leaflet.

Lucy told SuccessNet: “The leaflet hasstimulated great interest both in my ownChapter and in other BNI chapters acrossthe area which I am now visiting as aresult of their invitations.

“Just using the flyer to advertise mybusiness has started to bring a significantnumber of referrals and there are signsthat other local chapters may want me toproduce something similar.”

Although a BNI member for just sixmonths, Lucy says she wouldn’t give it upfor anything.

“I am meeting so many new faces and,because there are relatively few people inmy line of work, that means I am receivinga lot of promising referrals.

“Happily, my caricatures also seem to beprompting considerable interest in the ser-vices offered by my chapter colleagues, soit’s working both ways.

“Every time I give the leaflet to membersof a new BNI chapter or a potential clientit is promoting my own chapter colleaguesand, unlike leaving a conventional busi-ness card which may be instantly forgot-ten, I get lots of feedback which suggeststhat people retain the leaflet and refer to itfrequently,” she added.

Having attracted several new recruitsfollowing a successful Visitors Day lastmonth, and just relocated to CheltenhamFilm Studios, members of the town’sChapter are about to undergo furtherscrutiny by Lucy as she seeks to updatetheir images – and add some new faces –to a larger replacement flyer.

Meanwhile, she’s also out and about theGloucestershire area, pens and paper atthe ready – so don’t say you weren’twarned.

Anyone interested in Lucy’s work cancontact her on 01242 222692.

LLaawwssoonnss’’LLoorree

BNI National Directors MARTIN& GILLIAN LAWSON write…

Last month saw the launch of our 200thchapter. Next month we expect to wel-come our 5,000th member. These aretwo significant landmarks in our consolida-tion as the leading business referral organi-sation in the UK and Ireland.

But while we have reached these keymilestones quickly – a reflection of howvaluable membership is regarded – therewould be little lasting benefit to anyone ifwe could not match our ‘organic growth’with continuous improvements to BNI prac-tices and procedures, ensuring that theorganisation’s overriding purpose – helpingbusinesses to help each other to succeed –remains as fresh and effective in five or tenyears time as it was when we started.

Let no-one doubt the huge benefits BNIhas already brought to thousands world-wide, many of whom have seen previouslymundane businesses flourish in ways theycould only have dreamt about. Our task, asnational directors, is to see that the tremen-dous success possible with BNI is shared bythe greatest number of members.

That task begins and ends with educa-tion, a word not always appreciated byentrepreneurs, who may think they have lit-tle to learn when it comes to running abusiness. But all of us must learn from oth-ers if we are to maximise our potential.

An obvious example of this is the waymany members view BNI as an automaticpassage to increasing turnover, mistakenlythinking that by simply attending chaptermeetings each week they will gain goodreferrals. This casualness manifests itself inthe 60-second presentations each of usmakes to chapter colleagues, too many ofwhich show that little if any thought hasgone into preparing what is a vitally impor-tant advertisement for our business.

Joining a BNI chapter is the easiest partof membership. Putting in the effort andcommitment to show fellow members thatyou and your business are worth their timeand energy is altogether more demanding.Why should other members make the effortto gain business for you if you can’t bebothered to present your services in anenthusiastic and persuasive manner? Thearticle on Pages 8-9 has the answers.

Through its chapter and regional net-works, BNI offers members the opportunityto improve their business performance byparticipating in learning and education pro-grammes. Developing better presentationalskills is just one of many training courses onoffer, and in the coming months we hope tosee more members participating in them.

Who knows, you might even be surprisedto discover what a little more knowledgecan do for your business!

Lucy’s so quickon the draw!

Sky’s the limitfor BNI word

Word of BNI’s increasinginfluence on small to mediumsized companies is spreadingthrough national media andbusiness press coverage.

During May, BNI was thesubject of an in-depth analysisby the business team on SkyTelevision’s ‘The MoneyChannel’, while Great NorthEastern Railway’s inter-citymagazine ‘livewire’ focusedon business networking,devoting more than half itsfour-page feature to BNI’sgrowth and activities.

Gillian Lawson, NationalDirector said: “Positive pub-licity is a key element in everyorganisation’s growth.

“We encourage chapters totell local and regional pressabout BNI developmentsbecause the good news thatcomes out of every chaptercan be used to publicise BNIactivities for the direct benefitof all its members.”

SuccessNet, July 2000 5

Around the Chapters

Three members of the Cambridge Chapter arereaping the benefits of true networking withinBNI by pooling their skills to offer would-beclients a unique package of services.

When Stuart London of Eastern CountiesNewspapers Web Design, Chris Clarke of ExcelTelecommunications, and Mark Duckworth ofNTL Telecommunications (pictured left to right)met each other through BNI, they soon realisedthat their complementary expertise representeda formidable new business proposition.

Chris and Mark, although in related lines ofbusiness, recently worked together on a£20,000 account for a client in London, whereChris provided the hardware and Mark the soft-ware installations.

Meanwhile, when Chris visits companies toinstall systems where there is also a require-ment for a web site, he has been able to rec-ommend Stuart and one such referral recentlyresulted in a £6,000 contract.

“Even though we might seem to be in compe-tition, the similarities in our business activitiesare working well for us,” said Chris. “We aredefinitely all benefiting from working together.”

All three use BNI’s appointment card systemvery successfully, and Stuart says the BNI mem-bers card-holder system has also helped himachieve many referrals, by finding out about hisfellow members and their needs, and makingsure he has the best possible understanding oftheir businesses in order to identify potentialbusiness for them.

All for one and one for all

Membership translatesinto worldwide business

“I soon found a dozen suchmember companies scatteredaround the UK, so one morn-ing I e-mailed them to offerthe services of my company.

“To my amazement, by theearly afternoon I had receivedthree positive responses, onefrom Scotland saying theywould use me at a future date,one from Northern Ireland ask-ing for a quote to translate awebsite into French, Germanand Spanish, and the thirdfrom a graphic designer, whoinvited me to attend theTonbridge Chapter, and pro-mote my business, Tongue Tiedto members,” Jenny added.

Through these and otherchapter contacts – and some-what to her surprise – Jennyhas now started to receivebusiness referrals from BNImembers. Meanwhile, her sec-ond initiative was to produceeven more dramatic results.

“Browsing through BNI’smain website, I noticed thatone of the books written byBNI Founder Dr Ivan Misner,The World’s Best KnownMarketing Secret, had beentranslated into Chinese andGerman and that there wereplans to produce a Spanishversion,” she said.

“I sent an e-mail toCalifornia offering my com-pany’s translation services andI was again amazed when, thatsame evening, I received aresponse from the man him-self! Dr Misner said he wouldpass my details to his publish-ers and also to the interna-tional directors of BNI. Whocould ask for more!?”.”

People whose work is so spe-cialised that it appeals only toa small niche market arearguably the least likely to benefitfrom BNI membership – if onlybecause their skills or services can-not be used as part of everyday life.

But one such specialist, linguist JennyWillis (left) had no hesitation in joiningBNI’s Croydon 1 Chapter, even though shemistakenly thought her new colleagueswere unlikely to refer business to her.

Why? Because BNI is a global network-ing organisation – and Jenny knew that, ifshe didn’t find local referrals, by tappinginto the organisation’s Internet website she

would have access to an almost unlimitednumber of potential clients, worldwide!

“As a translating and interpreting com-pany, I thought from the start that my ser-vices would not necessarily appeal to mostof the business sectors represented in myown chapter, but I recognised that withadvances in communications technologyand the ability to send translations elec-tronically, it did not matter where either Ior my clients were located,” said Jenny.

As soon as she received her new mem-bers’ manual, she scoured BNI’s websitefor details of members working in businesssectors with whom she traditionally hadregular contact, such as graphic designers,and public relations consultancies.

6 SuccessNet, July 2000

Mopping up a fortuneMost people join BNI tomake their businesses moresuccessful. So when CarolStewart was introduced as ‘acleaner’ to members of ChesterChapter earlier this year, no-onecould have guessed that she hadalready made her business fortune –running one of Britain’s fastest-growing companies.

Today, less than six months after beingtaken along to her first BNI meeting by afriend, Carol is Chester’s Chapter Directorand while, after recent national publicity,her dramatic rags to riches story is com-mon knowledge, her insatiable drive forfurther success through BNI has becomean inspiration to her chapter colleagues.

Carol, left, is Managing Director ofDublcheck, a national commercial andindustrial contract cleaning company mod-

estly valued at £10 million, employing 50full-time staff and with 175 franchise-hold-ers throughout the country, whose annualturnover exceeds £6 million. She, husbandDuncan and 14 year old son, also Duncan,now enjoy the trappings of success – a largehouse, luxury yacht and fast cars – but asshe explained to SuccessNet, not so longago their life was very different.

“Seven years ago we were at rock bot-tom following the collapse of my hus-band’s business. The three of us were liv-ing on £40 a week benefit in the garage ofmy in-laws’ home because we couldn’tafford anything else,” Carol reflected.

But, out of adversity came the seeds offuture prosperity.

“As an unqualified housewife I knew Iwouldn’t be able to find a well-paid job,but I certainly knew how to clean, so Idecided to approach local companies tosee if they needed a new Mrs Mopp,” sheadded.

When business coach, WillKintish prepared his first tenminute presentation to col-leagues in the Manchester Chapter, hehad no idea what an impact he wasabout to make.

In the event, he made such an impression ontwo fellow members, both bank managers, thatone of them immediately recruited him to give atraining presentation to a large chapter of seniormanagement colleagues on the way that banksshould go about hunting for new business.

That presentation resulted in Will beingretained to provide a further 15 days of profes-sional coaching for bank managers in the art ofnetworking, presentation and communicationskills, opening an important door for his exper-tise in the financial sector.

Meanwhile, the other bank manager has sincejoined a building society and invited Will to

undertake a similar training programme for hisnew colleagues.

“Two other banks and a building society havenow asked me to conduct a series of pilotschemes for them, and I would think that thetotal value of these accounts must be worth inthe order of £50,000 to me,” said Will, whoalso credits BNI for helping him to go into busi-ness on his own.

“When I first joined BNI I was a partner witha firm of accountants, but thanks to BNI andthe many new business colleagues and friends Ihave made I have now been able to set up myown business,” he added.

“I used the services of my BNI colleagues tohelp me start up in business. I needed a banker,a printer, a designer and a lawyer and it wasvery reassuring to be able to call on the servicesof people I knew to be professional and reliable.

“In fact I would say that was of as much ben-efit to me as selling my services to them!”

Focus on North West and Staffordshire

Presentation puts businesscoach into the big league

Carol trudged around thecity’s shops and office blocks,knocking on countless doors.Just two potential customersasked to see her – but it wasenough to launch the UK’smost dynamic contract clean-ing business. The rest, as theysay, is history.

Within a year they com-menced franchising the busi-ness and today – with their200th franchise in sight – theircompany’s name is familiarthroughout the UK.

However, while some peoplemight be happy to sell out andretire – Carol has alreadyrejected more than one multi-million pound offer – she isjust beginning to make thebusiness fly – hence her newcommitment to BNI.

“After attending my firstchapter meeting, I immediatelysaw the tremendous potentialfor a franchised business likeours to be members of BNI,throughout the country.

“Some people might wonderwhy I would want or need toget up at the crack of dawnevery week to attend a busi-ness networking meeting, but Idon’t see it that way. I likemeeting new people and seeingwhether our businesses haveanything to offer each other,and I am now recommendingBNI membership as part of thestandard business package forall our new franchise partners.I think they should all be join-ing their local BNI chapterswithout delay,” said Carol.

As a ‘stand in’ member ofAltrincham chapter, Tom Bridgewasn’t too sure what kind ofreception he’d get from fellowmembers when he decided tobreak away from the securitycompany he’d been representingand don a chauffeur’s hat.

He needn’t have worried.When Tom told members of hisplans to set up his own execu-

tive chauffeur business he foundthem very supportive of his newventure and wanting to doeverything possible to help him.

Tom joined the Chapter in hisown right and found the ser-vices of a solicitor, accountantand printer within the chapter,whose help and advice hedescribed as “a tremendous sup-port and confidence booster.”

He added: “My business hasreally taken off in a short spaceof time and it’s all thanks toBNI.

“About 90 per cent of my ini-tial business has come throughreferrals and I have contact withso many customers that I cangive lots of referrals in return. Iwouldn’t have got where I amnow without BNI.”

BNI gets Tom’s business motoring

SuccessNet, July 2000 7

It looks as though they’re intraining for next year’s univer-sity boat race – but membersof the Huntingdon Chapter,pictured below getting to gripswith their oarsmanship, hadonly one thing on their minds:raising money for theMacMillan Cancer Charity.

The Chapter’s squad of over20 members and friends (pic-tured right) were taking partin the Pearl Dragon BoatFestival – a major fund raisingevent – on the River Nene atPeterborough and, while fewhad any previous rowing expe-rience, they almost put theopposition to shame, endingup with two wins in threeraces and just missing out on aplace in the semi-final.

Flyinghigh is

bondingidea

Leicester Chapterhas found a novelway of bonding itsmembers by taking tothe skies and givingthem a whole new per-spective on their busi-ness territory!

With three of the chapter –Anne French, MalcolmFountain and Dot Barnard –all members of LeicestershireAeroclub, it seemed like agreat idea for a social eventto take everyone on an aerialtour over their Leicestershire‘patch’ in a light aircraft.

While Anne and Malcolmare fully qualified privatepilots, Dot describes herselfas ‘a professional passenger’who can’t get off the groundoften enough.

“I love flying, and on thisoccasion the visibility wasperfect,” said Dot.

“Everyone was able to seetheir homes and even thecars parked in their drives.

“Some of the guests werebrave enough to take thecontrols during the flights,while others were happy justto be passengers.

“The instructors were veryimpressed with the enthusi-asm of the chapter and I’mquite sure we will be takingup their invitation to returnfor another trip,” she added.

The flight was followedwith a tour of the hangersand the bar, while the clubchef provided a deliciouscurry to end the day.

“It’s a great way to get toknow your chapter col-leagues, and I’m sure somegood business will come outof it,” said Dot.

“We’re a relatively newchapter with 22 members,but if people hear we’reoffering free flights I wouldn’t be surprised if thatfigure goes up quite quickly!”

“The weather was fantasticand everyone enjoyed the con-vivial atmosphere,” saidChapter Director MargaretGledhill. Team drummerSheila Robinson and team

organiser Graham Buck evenwent one better – finishing upin the river. The BNI crew,elated with their unexpectedsuccess, decided it was theonly way to celebrate!

Watch out, Cambridge!

Recruiting is a stroll in the park for Ilford

RECRUITING DRIVE: Ilford Chapter member MayoorPatel is pictured with Sharon Eden at Redbridge Show

where she visited the BNI stand.

When it comes to finding new members,Ilford Chapter doesn’t believe in waitingfor prospective candidates to come tovisitor days.

While the Chapter had experiencedmodest success with its normal visitordays, one of its members Mayoor Patelreckoned they should become moreproactive and take BNI’s business philos-ophy into the park.

Last month’s Redbridge Show in Ilford’sValentines Park, offered the perfectopportunity – and saw Chapter membersgiving up their weekend to run a promo-tional stand which attracted scores of vis-itors, more than 20 of whom duly turnedup at the next two breakfast meetings.

Mayoor said: “We expect to gain atleast half a dozen new members, some ofwhom we are directing to the soon-to-be-launched Redbridge Chapter because wedon’t have vacancies in the relevant cate-gories. We had tremendous fun and man-aged to get BNI much better known inthe area.”

Chapter members ran the BNI stand ona rota basis, with Shirley Shawe winningtheir internal contest to see how manypeople they could each sign up for abreakfast meeting.

Around the Chapters

Education & Training

8 SuccessNet, July 2000

Learn to use your weekly

One of the benefits that BNI offers all its members is a free one-minute ‘commercial’ every week for his or her business. While manyuse their regular advertising slot to great effect in promoting theirservices, a substantial minority fail to recognise either the opportuni-ties it provides, or its huge significance to the success of their BNImembership. Here, in the first of two articles, UK National DirectorGILLIAN LAWSON explains why the 60-second slot is such an impor-tant part of the weekly agenda, and how you can maximise its value.In the next issue, she will discuss some of the things you should avoidin delivering your weekly commercials.

6600 sseeccoonnddss tthhaatt ccaannPicture yourself as the salesdirector of a medium-sizedmanufacturing company whoseproducts, whilst high quality andpreviously in high demand, are nowstruggling to sell.

With the company heading for losses,your immediate task is to call the entire25-strong sales team together, when they’reexpecting you to present a new sales andmarketing strategy capable of returning thebusiness to profit.

Now, imagine that you’ve just won abusiness competition for which the firstprize is a free 60-second regional televisioncommercial, to be seen over breakfast inthousands of homes throughout your area.

Unless you’ve got all the business youwant, the chances are you’ll be delightedwith your good fortune, not least becauseyou could never normally afford one suchslot, let alone one a week!

If you are wondering what relevancethese two scenarios have to each other, orto your BNI membership, the answer issimple: every time you attend a chapterbreakfast, you are meeting your own salesteam, giving you 20 or 30 or more experi-enced business professionals ready andwilling to go out and ‘sell’ your productsand services over the following week.

Your opportunity – but also your chal-lenge – is to make sure they know exactlywhat new business referrals you want. Andyes, you have only one minute each weekto educate, persuade and motivate yoursales force!

Okay, I hear you say, but most of mysales team (i.e. chapter colleagues) don’tseem interested in what I do, nor verykeen to find out how they can help me.

Bingo! You’ve struck the nail right onthe head. If your potential sales team isn’tdoing the business for you, it’s almost cer-tainly because you haven’t taken the timeor trouble to enthuse them, get to knowthem or adequately explain what you do.

Think back to winning a 60-second TVcommercial slot once a week. What is thefirst thing you’d do? Start planning ofcourse, in detail, what you want your com-mercial to say, and what impressions youwant it to convey.

You’d probably agonise over the imageryand the wording, bounce possible ideas offfriends and family, and eventually createsomething that you felt did you and yourbusiness justice.

Now reflect again about your hypotheti-cal task as sales director of that troubledcompany, faced with motivating your salesforce to pursue new strategies in order torestore profitability.

What is the first thing you’d do?Prepare, of course. You would take timeout to think through your strategies, theright psychological approach and the bestway of presenting your messages to them.

In both instances, it would foolish andprobably counter-productive to go in ill-prepared. What kind of commercial wouldyou end up with if you hadn’t carefullyplanned its content?

And what kind of reaction would youexpect from the company’s sales team ifyou turned up with little or nothing posi-tive to say about the way forward, andmade no effort to persuade or encouragethem?

Yet this is exactly what some membersare prepared to inflict on their long-suffer-ing chapter colleagues, week after week.

Arriving late, ill-prepared and ill-equipped to offer any intellectual stimula-tion and, only starting to think about whatthey might say in their 60-second slotwhen the item is reached on the agenda,they unsurprisingly repeat the same bland,instantly forgettable message they deliveredlast week, and the week before.

Did you hear the one about the funeraldirector called Edward Box? Nor had weuntil he joined BNI’s recently formed LeedsNorth Chapter, immediately endearinghimself to colleagues with his sense of self-deprecating humour and dry wit.

So it’s fitting perhaps that Edward shouldhave won this quarter’s Memory Hookcompetition with his typically sardonicsign-off line: “Box is the name, and buryingis our game.”

As proprietor of Box’s Funeral Services inLeeds, Edward confessed to his new BNIcolleagues: “We love slowing you all downwhen we’re driving in the funeral proces-sion but, like footballers, you only see uson match days.

No-one is there when we do our equiva-lent of training, often working all night and

putting in an average of 42 hours perfuneral.”

SuccessNet felt it somewhat inappropri-ate to enquire how many referrals Edwardhad received from the Chapter’s first fewmeetings, but we are reliably informed heis very happy with his membership.

Congratulations Edward, a bottle ofchampagne is on its way to you.

Keep your memory hooks coming in andwho knows, next time you could be thelucky recipient of BNI’s finest bubbly!

Send your contributions to ExecutiveEditor Gillian Lawson at BNI’s head office,Gate End, Northwood, Middlesex, HA63QG, fax it to 01923 827813 or e-mail itto bninet@aol.com.

Closing date for all competition entries isFriday, 8th September.

Memory hooks just go ongetting better and better…

Education & Training

SuccessNet, July 2000 9

commercial effectively

ttrraannssffoorrmm yyoouurr bbuussiinneessss

No wonder that, treated with such dis-respect, some colleagues around thebreakfast table look bored and switch off.

You’ve just lost both your unpaid salesteam, and with it, probably your mostimportant new business opportunity of theweek. Fortunately, it doesn’t have to belike that. Whatever your presentationalabilities, there are some simple, effectivesteps you can follow to maximise yourchances of making an impression, andleaving your BNI sales force wanting toknow more about how they might help.

So, if you recognise yourself in theabove analogies, try putting these six DOsinto action in your next one-minute pre-sentation:

1 Plan, rehearse and time your presen-tation:

Unless you are a born performer, don’tdelude yourself by thinking you can findsomething witty, memorable and appositeto say while you’re tucking into breakfast.Even the biggest and best presenters planand rehearse their lines, honing them tomaximum effect – and this is particularlyimportant when you have only one minuteto get your messages across.

2 Deliver your presentation with enthu-siasm and conviction:

If you don’t believe in yourself and yourservices, no-one else is going to. So, no

two aspects of your business, and seek spe-cific referrals for the particular service orproduct you have described. Remember,you are not trying to sell your services tocolleagues, but rather aiming to educateand enthuse them about you and yourbusiness activities.

4 Use props and examples:Describing even the most routine busi-

nesses can be easily animated andenlivened with the surreptitious use of oneor two props, or examples of your work.

But don’t simply bring props along towave them around; try to give them a pur-pose and relevance to your presentation.

You’ll be surprised how many peopleremember the props you use – even if theyforget the nature of your business!

5 Tell (short) stories:As the old adage goes: ‘Facts tell, stories

sell’. There’s nothing better for bringingyour business to life than quoting realcases, involving real people and events.

Keep your anecdotes tight, pithy, rele-vant and focused on how you add value,and you’ll be amazed how many peoplefind it easier to bring you referrals.

6 Be specific in asking for what youwant:

Your sales team needs to know exactlywho you’d like them to be talking to onyour behalf, and who you want to talk to.

So be precise. “I’d like an introductionto the Business Travel Manager at KPMG”is far more helpful than telling colleagues:“I’d like to hear from anybody who does alot of business travelling.”

Oh, and one final point: Always endyour 60-second slot by clearly repeatingyour name and company name, beforeclosing with your personal memory hook.

And, if you are not entirely sure yourmemory hook is memorable, try to find anew one that is. They may sound corny,but they do work!

matter how you’re feeling or how bad aweek you’ve been having, put your per-sonal problems aside when you come toyour chapter meetings and present anupbeat, optimistic, confident image – espe-cially when it is your turn to deliver the60-second commercial.

Everyone likes positive people, so workon your demeanour and, if necessary, makean effort to be bright and cheerful.

3 Focus on just one or two aspects ofyour business each week:

To properly understand even the simplestproduct or service takes far longer thanone minute, so don’t try to make yourchapter colleagues instant experts in allaspects of your business by covering toomuch ground in one presentation.

Instead, mention only one or at most

If you feel you would benefit from somefriendly, informal training in basic presen-tational skills related to your 60-secondcommercial, help may be closer at handthan you thought.

Following the success of pilot courses ineffective presentation skills staged by theNorth West London region of BNI, execu-

tive directors in all BNI’s UK and Irishregions are being enouraged to establishsimilar regular training sessions.

Courses will be introduced across thecountry over the next few months, soplease check with your Chapter Director orExecutive/Regional Director for appropri-ate starting dates and venues in your area.

National DirectorMartin Lawson

demonstrating thevalue of visual

props at a work-shop for membersin the North WestLondon region on

how to presenttheir businesses

more effectively in60 seconds.

Brushing up your presentational skills

10 SuccessNet, July 2000

Around the Chapters

Volunteer Triciahelps war victims

It’s worth getting up early for BNI whenyou get a cheque for £40,000 duringbreakfast – twice over!

The cheques were presented across thetable to Mike Burgum, a member ofBexleyheath Chapter, by chapter colleaguePaul Cutler of Swiftcure Property Servicesin payment of Mike’s work, fitting vinylflooring to the communal areas of severalblocks of flats.

Both members benefited from thearrangement, but Paul was so pleased withMike’s professionalism, he wanted tothank him personally – and pay him – dur-ing a chapter meeting.

Mike commented: “I’ve only been withBNI for six months and already received£96,000 worth of contracts.

Is that one cheque or twowith your bacon, sir?

Several dozen traumatisedBosnian citizens have had theirshattered faith in humanitysomewhat restored, and their warravaged bodies made to feel slightlyless fragile, thanks to the voluntaryefforts of BNI therapist Tricia Under-wood and her chapter colleagues.

Tricia, a member of Croydon 1 Chapter,has just returned from her second mercyvisit to Sarajevo in three years, thanks toThe Healing Hands Network (a healthcarecharity) and a little extra help from herBNI colleagues.

A qualified stress management therapist

and counsellor, Tricia usually sees privateclients at her consulting rooms in Croydonand Central London, using techniques suchas reflexology, reiki and boen to ease theirtensions and stresses but, in 1997 she wasinvited to Sarajevo to help relieve the alto-gether greater mental and physical suffer-

ing of those caught up in the bitter war,many left to face appalling living andsocial conditions.

Although the war has now been over forsome time, its effects are still felt by manyand Tricia wanted to return to lend asoothing hand and gentle counselling tothose suffering the aftermath: Homes dev-astated, infrastructure destroyed and mindsand bodies permanently scarred.

First, however, she needed to raise £750to fund the trip for which she enlisted thehelp of chapter colleagues who, touched byher dedication soon generated over £500through a variety of fund-raising activities,enabling her to confirm her participationin the mercy mission.

Sadly, despite the passage of time, thingsare generally not much improved inSarajevo, as Tricia explained. “My soletask was to help reduce the huge stress thatso many citizens are still having to copewith. I saw up to ten patients a day wholive with the constant fear of unexplodedmines and munitions, and are exposed toaddtional disease and ill health caused bytheir poor diet.”

As SuccessNet went to print, Tricia wasdue to attend her first post-visit chaptermeeting, and give colleagues a first handreport on her visit.

“BNI’s philosophy works in every areaof life, not just in business, and it was typi-cal of my Croydon colleagues that theyshould have guaranteed my place in themission as soon as I mentioned why Iwould be away from the chapter for a cou-ple of weeks.”

Middle and Far!BNI has opened chapters in two new coun-tries – Israel and Malaysia – giving theorganisation representation in no less than11 countries worldwide.

Giver’s LossWhen Mike Cruse, a member of the WealdChapter, passed a referral in the true spiritof Giver’s Gain, he didn’t expect it turn outquite the way it did.

Mike had quoted for installing a tele-phone system and when it transpired thatthe client also needed carpets, he passedthe referral on to Andy Walters, a memberof nearby Tonbridge Chapter.

Mike’s client was so impressed with Andythat she signed a contract for £2,000 worthof new carpeting – more than she had bud-geted for – with the result that when Mikecalled to progress his own quotation shewas forced to admit that due to overspend-ing on the carpets she could no longerafford the telephone system!.

“Of course I’m still talking to Andy, buthe feels a bit guilty about it,” said Mike.

“I’ve now recommended Andy to a facili-ties management company – and I’m hop-ing they’ll place orders with both of us.”

THERAPEUTIC: Tricia, right, and a colleague working with a patient in Sarajevo.

“It’s wonderful for my business and Ireckon I must be the most successful mem-ber of our chapter.”

Not that fellow member Graham Turnerwho runs a commercial interiors business,would necessarily agree.

Since he joined the Chapter, he hasresponded to members’ referrals for con-tracts worth over £400,000, and reckonshe has won nearly half of those!

SuccessNet, July 2000 11

Around the Chapters

Merseyside baptism fortwin chaptersWhy launch onechapter whenyou can do two

at the same time? That’s the challenging stan-

dard set by BNI’s newMerseyside regional directorTerry Hamill, whose firstinformation meeting led to theinstant foundation for twochapters.

Although a modest 48 visi-tors turned up at the city cen-tre’s Moat House Hotel forLiverpool’s introduction toBNI, a remarkable 32 of themwere so impressed with whatthey saw that they joined onthe spot – the largest numberto do so from any UK-basedinformation meeting, andenough for Terry to build twonew chapters rather than one.

Today, just over two monthsafter their launch Alpha andBeta have a combined mem-bership of nearly 50 and,attracting further members isthe single area of competitionbetween them.

“They both want to reach

capacity first, and so each lead-ership team is working hardwith members to generate fur-ther visitors,” said Terry.

“In all other respects, having‘twin’ chapters, born out ofthe same information meetingwith the members all knowingeach other, is proving to berewarding for both chapters.

“If one of them receives anapproach from a potentialmember it cannot accept –because the trade or professionis already filled – it recom-mends its twin chapter, andthe same applies to referrals.

“If one chapter doesn’t haveanyone who can fulfil a partic-ular referral, it is automati-cally offered to the other,” hesaid.

Anyone interested in BNI’sMerseyside expansion shouldcontact Terry Hamill on 0151291 6396.

Founder member andSecretary/Treasurer of Leeds’Royal Armouries Chapter, JimVincent, thinks there’s noother networking organisationto match BNI.

As Managing Director andmain budget holder of RoyalArmouries International Plc,Jim’s work involves purchasingprofessional services rangingfrom recruitment to printing,and liaising with hundreds ofsuppliers, contractors and cus-tomers involved in the RoyalArmouries’ corporate hospital-ity business.

With the choice of the RoyalArmouries museum complexas home and meeting place fortwo new BNI chapters, Jim has

found a convenient supply ofmany of the services his organ-isation needs and, moreimportantly, he has beenimpressed both with the com-petitive prices and high stan-dards delivered by BNI mem-bers, creating significant sav-ings for his company.

“I have been a member ofseveral networking organisa-tions in Yorkshire,” said Jim,“and I strongly believe thatnetworking is the answer togrowing your business.

“However, BNI has quite lit-erally taken networking to ahigher realm, and I amdelighted to be so closelyinvolved with its early devel-opment in Yorkshire.”

There’s nothing like BNI

All is rosy in the white rose countyJust three months after BNI’s arrival inYorkshire everything is looking rosy –with three new chapters up and running,and the county’s first £1 million referralset to be clinched this month.

Following the launch of the first chap-ter, Leeds North, at the David LloydLeisure Centre in Moortown in earlyspring, Regional Director Niri Patelquickly established two more successfulchapters in the city – Leeds ArmouriesChapter (so named because it meets atthe city’s Royal Armouries Centre) andLeeds Moortown which also meets at theDavid Lloyd complex. Two further chap-

ters – a second Armouries chapter and afirst for Wakefield – were under construc-tion as SuccessNet went to press.

Meanwhile, an indication of BNI’searly success in the white rose countycomes from Armouries Chapter memberPaul Holmes whose career as an indepen-dent financial adviser has really taken offsince he joined the new chapter.

Paul told SuccessNet: “Last month wasmy best yet and it’s all thanks to chaptercolleagues whom I reckon gave me morethan two-thirds of my business in May. Iam delighted with how things are going.”

Things could soon be going even betterfor Paul who is hoping to tie up a £1 mil-lion investment deal during July, follow-ing another referral from Chapter col-league, accountant Tony Sherman. Headded: “After just a couple of months Ithink BNI is a marvellous organisation,but if this deal is completed, I’ll be want-ing all my colleagues to share my suc-cess.”

If you have colleagues who might beinterest in BNI’s Yorkshire chapters, con-tact Regional Director Niri Patel on01484 684041.

NETWORKING SUCCESS: Jim Vincent, centre, Royal ArmouriesSecretary/Treasurer, with Membership Co-ordinator Stewart

McLean, right, and Regional Director Niri Patel.

Four BNI members from Colchester have been celebrating after tak-ing four of the 25 awards at the Essex County Business Awards cere-mony which attracted over 400 entries in eight categories.

Karen Ainley, a partner in Mosaic Publicity won the online mar-keting category, while Juliet Hull, Managing Director of Park CityHuman Resource Consultancy, took the prize for the New Companycategory, and Mary Mudd of Carters Vineyard won an award in thesmall businesses category.

Meanwhile, showing that the men can also do the business, TonyHales, Managing Director of Capel Court Plc was the proud recipi-ent of the county’s first award for training and staff development.

James Finch, BNI Assistant Director, said: “These awards reflectthe quality of the companies and individuals which make up BNI.”

Awards for Essex four

SuccessNet is published quarterly anddistributed free of charge by BusinessNetwork International Ltd to all mem-bers through BNI directors and chapterdirectors.

Additional copies can be obtained bywriting to, or calling, the BNI NationalOffice, at Gate End, Northwood,Middlesex, HA6 3QG. Tel: +44 (0)1923-826 181; Fax: +44 (0)1923-827 813;E-mail: bninet@aol.com. BNI Europeanweb site: www.bni-europe.com.

EXECUTIVE EDITOR: Gillian Lawson, BNI National Director

EDITOR: Malcolm Grosvenor, GAPR(020 8541 1121); E-mail:mgrosvenor@grosvenorassociates.com

DESIGN & LAYOUT: Ken Sheldon,Amigo Books (01579-350 579).

Copyright © BNI 2000. All rights reserved

Will your business cardimpress BNI’s founder?BNI members, morethan most businesspeople, are taughtto recognise just howimportant a striking,effective business cardcan be.

But while most chapters’card boxes contain an interest-ing mix from the suave andthe pretty, to the sublime andthe (almost) ridiculous, howmany contain one or morebusiness cards that are sim-ply… perfect!?

BNI, or rather its Founderand Chief Executive Dr IvanMisner, is currently in the lat-ter stages of writing a newbook which focuses on themarketing and promotionalpowers of the humble businesscard – and he’s thrown downthis simple challenge to mem-bers worldwide: “Send me the

‘I thought you said I had to do ashort presentation’

Submitted by Jim Barker, Falkirk Chapter

When leading Scottish recruitment agency, PTRC,decided to set up new offices in Perth, the company’sBusiness Development Manager Cherry McNicol,knew exactly where to find all the resources and ser-vices they would need: her own BNI Perth chapter.

The first task – to find suitable business premises –was soon solved by Cherry’s Chapter colleague PeterFawns whose company, Select Estate Agency, was ableto offer a choice of good accommodation.

very best of your examplesand, if they have somethingreally special, I will includethem in the book.”

Ivan, whose previous booksinclude: The World’s BestKnown Marketing Secret andBusiness by Referral is anacknowledged world authority

on word-of-mouth marketing,and when he is not busyspreading the word aboutBNI, he is frequently to befound delivering keynote lec-tures to university students orbeing interviewed by TV sta-tions and leading businessjournals.

He told SuccessNet: “I’mnot necessarily looking fortotal originality – which canbe hard to achieve when thereare hundreds of millions ofbusiness cards producedworldwide every year – butrather for examples that sim-ply stand out in the crowd,whether because of theirunusual design, colours orwording.

“It’s obvious that businesscards are an important tool inour total business marketing,not least because we all giveour card to those we meet forthe first time and we want tobe sure it conveys the best pos-sible impression of us person-ally and the services we offer.

“My book will therefore belooking at how we can makethe most of our cards, so themore examples I can find thebetter.”

Anyone who thinks theircards are worthy of a world-wide readership should sendtwo samples either direct to:Dr Ivan Misner at BNI, 199South Monte Vista Avenue,Suite 6, San Dimas, CaliforniaCA 91773-3080 USA, or viaUK National Director GillianLawson who will ensure allcards received are passed on intime for consideration.

“Who knows, this mighteven prompt one or two mem-bers into a timely re-design oftheir outdated business cards,”she said.

WANTED: Dr Ivan Misner wants the best business cards.

Then PTRC needed a lawyer to preparethe lease for the new premises, so Cherrygave the task to to Chapter member AlisonMcKean, a solicitor with Perth firmMcNabb Gordon & Douglas.

Their new location sorted, PTRC’s finalmajor challenge was finding the best com-puting and network communications sys-tems to enable them to have direct contactwith colleagues in their other branches. Tothe rescue came fellow member, FraserMcDonald of Computer Cable Networkswho provided them with a bespoke solu-tion – installing the latest computer systemto allowed instant communication betweenall PTRC offices and staff.

Since moving into Perth, the company’sbusiness has increased and, said Cherry,the involvement of BNI chapter membershad been paramount in creating theirsmooth and successful expansion.

“It’s wonderful to be around such posi-tive people at the meetings each week,” shesaid “Everybody makes such an importantcontribution to each other’s business.”

Agency nets benefitsfrom BNI contacts

Bonding over the BBQUp to 150 BNI members and their familiesfrom some 14 different Essex chaptersattended a Sunday garden party and barbe-cue at Westwood Park, Colchester, asSuccessNet went to press.

The event was held to raise money fortwo charities – the Broomfield Art Projectto help seriously burned children, and TheRoyal Star & Garter Home for ex-service-men and women, but Assistant DirectorJames Finch commented: “It was also agreat day to cement new friendships amongmembers from different chapters.”