SuccessNetSuccessNetWith a further 19 newchapters launched andmembership passingthe 5,000 mark it hasbeen a busy quarterfor BNI in the UK andIreland.

It is especially pleas-ing to note the arrivalof BNI in Wales – thefirst chapter waslaunched in Wrexhamlast month – and con-tinued expansion inthe South and EastMidlands regions.

Central and easternScotland have alsoseen BNI consolidateits position with theopening of severalchapters during thesummer months.

National DirectorGillian Lawson said: “Itis very rewarding tosee the map of the UKand Ireland graduallybeing filled in as BNImoves into newregions, and expandsits foothold in existingareas.

“In just three and ahalf years – in termsof the number ofchapters and memberswe now have – wehave become the sec-ond strongest BNIregion in the world,behind only the USAwhere it all began.”

She added: “It tookus two years to openour first 80 chapters inthe UK and Ireland,but by the time wereach our fourthanniversary thisDecember, we will

T hree members of BNI’s Stoke-on-Trent Chapter have been instru-mental in getting a key business

regeneration project off the groundin one of the Midlands’ most econom-ically deprived areas – bringing hopeof full time re-employment to hun-dreds of local people.

In an altruistic twist of BNI’s founding philos-ophy of ‘Giver’s Gain’, chapter members JeffJervis, Barry Balcanquall and Ian Walker haveplayed a major role in transforming the socio-economic fate of the North Staffordshire com-munity, combining their contacts and expertise,to help bring about a mini industrial revolutionin a depressed part of the Midlands.

Following the demise of the region’s tradi-tional heavy industries, such as engineering andceramics, mining and steel working, with conse-quent heavy redundancies, the North

BNI’s key rolein regeneration

5,000 up…andstillcounting

european edition

BNI crosses the Welsh border – Back Page

Staffordshire area was considered ideal forinbound investment in service industries and theprovision of call centres in particular.

But despite the plentiful availability of land, ahard-working and willing labour force with rela-tively low salary expectations, the cost of re-training so many people in customer relationsand service centre skills looked prohibitive –especially given the high cost of the necessarycomputer and communications equipment.

Enter Jeff, Barry and Ian. As EnterpriseManager for Stoke-on-Trent College, one of thekey institutions involved in the economic regen-eration programme, Jeff Jervis realised thatwithout some form of sponsorship or commer-cial benevolence, the project to re-train formerheavy industry workers and the unemployedwas in danger before it got off the ground.

The training centre itself – based at theBurslem campus of the Stoke-on-Trent College

CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 TURN TO PAGE 3

BRINGING EMPLOYMENT HOPE: The new training centre is up and running.

AN EDUCATION AND INFORMATION BULLETIN FOR BNI MEMBERS AUTUMN 2000

BNI’s third annual golf day atBushey Hall Golf Club,Hertfordshire, provided a fitting

end to the summer, attracting a fullcomplement of 60 golfers, with over70 members participating in theevening’s networking event andawards dinner.

Organiser Paul Wren said: “The event was aresounding success, both on and off the golfcourse. Some excellent golf was played, buteveryone – the good and novices – had fun.

“The evening’s networking event was a verysociable affair, enabling members and theirguests to make new contacts and to learn moreabout each other’s businesses.”

2 | S u m m e r 2 0 0 0

Corporate News

Full house for golf day

In common with every professional organisa-tion, BNI's activities are underpinned by poli-cies, rules and procedures that exist for theefficient, smooth-running operation of theorganisation. And, when new members joinBNI, they declare they will abide by theserules and procedures.

What newcomers may not fully realise isthat the same rules and procedures have beenformulated by ordinary, individual membersof BNI who are also encouraged to put for-ward ideas and suggestions for enhancing orimproving any aspect of BNI's structure.

If you are interested in contributing to theevaluation of members' suggestions, one ofthe best ways to achieve this is by indicating(to your local BNI director) that you are will-ing to serve on the International Board ofAdvisors, whose task it is to assess all policyissues relating to BNI.

The Board comprises rank and file membersfrom chapters all over the world, and its pur-pose is to ensure there is open and effective

communication between the membership andBNI head office. As a Board member, youhave direct access to BNI Founder and ChiefExecutive Dr Ivan Misner, and by helping toevaluate all new suggestions, you can helpshape the organisation's policies to reflect thewishes of its members.

National Director Martin Lawson com-mented: "I would like to see at least one rep-resentative from each of our main regionsnominated to serve on the InternationalBoard. Anyone who thinks he or she couldmake a useful contribution, should let theirChapter Director know they are happy fortheir name to be put forward. All such nomi-nations are fully considered and thoseregarded as suitable are forwarded to DrMisner who personally makes each appoint-ment."

Among the most recent UK/Irish appoint-ments to the Board of Advisors are Jane Hartfrom the Cheltenham Chapter, and MauriceLeahy from Dublin's Airport Chapter.

Shaping the future

– was funded byStoke-on-TrentCouncil and Stafford-shire County Council,but it desperatelyneeded the technol-ogy systems to makeit work.

Jeff’s mind turnedto BNI and its ‘Giver’sGain’ approach tobusiness, so he talkedto fellow chaptermember, BarryBalcanquall of PCDIabout software forthe project and, to hisdelight, Barry wasable to persuadeGoldmine, an Ameri-can specialist manu-facturer to providethe software free ofcharge.

He then approachedanother chapter col-league, Ian Walker,Sales Manager forSitelink Telecom whowas able to arrangefor Nitsuko hardwareto be installed – alsofree of charge.

Together they havecreated a ‘virtual’ callcentre for trainees onthe Burslem campus,and as a result of itssuccess, RegionalDirector RosemaryThew is consideringsiting West MidlandsEmployment Service’scall centre in Stoke-on-Trent, whileanother 34 call centreproviders are inter-ested in establishingcentres in the area,with the potential forcreating 1,500 jobs.

Jeff Jervis said:“Without BNI’s arrivalin Stoke, the variouspeople involved in theproject would nothave met, and thecentre would not havebeen established.

“I believe the organ-isation can take greatcredit for playing animportant role in theregeneration of thispart of the Midlands.”

BNI’skeyrole

From Page 1

The team event was won by Phil Berg, TrevorAngus, Andrew Rhodes and Leon Gray ofStanmore Chapter, while individual prizes wereawarded to Steve Schogger for the longestdrive; Phil Berg for the straightest drive and toAndy Murphie for getting his tee shot nearestto the pin.

After completing their round, all players hada chance to participate in a putting competitionwhich was won by John Maguire who tookhome a top of the range Tiger Woods putter,closely followed by second-placed Jerry Byrne.

Structured to appeal to golfers of all abilitiesand handicaps, the tournament was spiced up bythe added incentive of a new Renault Clio caron offer to anyone getting a hole in one. Sadly,despite some valiant efforts, nobody proved up

to the task and the car wasreturned to the dealer,much to the relief of PinnerChapter member RichardGrainger of LRG Insurancewho had underwritten thepolicy which would havepaid for the car had anyonewon it.

The evening’s entertain-ment was provided by BNIambassador and profes-sional magician MichaelVincent, who mesmerisedguests with his tricks.

Paul added: “BNI is mostgrateful to this year’s spon-sors for their support.”

GOLF DAY WINNERS: From left: Sean Milsom, Trevor Angus, SteveSchogger, Leon Gray, Martin Kaye, Phil Berg. All members of theStanmore chapter, one of whose two teams won the first prize.

12 morepot black

Another dozen mem-bers have earned theright to join BNI’sexclusive ‘black badge’club in recognition oftheir success at intro-ducing members – andbusiness referrals – totheir chapters.

They are Tom Parryof Merseyside AlphaChapter, Alan Kant,Horsham; PeterReeves, TunbridgeWells; Steve Marshall,Croydon (1); NicholasDutton, GloucesterCity; Charles Dimsdale,Stansted; DouglasAitkin, Dunfermline;Forbes Walker, Kirk-caldy; Catherine Begg,Edinburgh West; AllenChubb, Knightsbridge(London), and ChrisChater and Colin Brett,both NorthamptonCollingtree.

S u m m e r 2 0 0 0 | 3

Corporate News

5,000 andwe’re stillcounting

There is an old saying in newsrooms thelength and breadth of the country that“a picture is worth a thousand words”.

The persuasive power of the visual image hasalways been paramount in media terms, andit’s not hard to see why.

With your help, we now want to harnessthat power in SuccessNet. You will alreadyhave seen that this issue of BNI’s quarterlynewsletter is different – brought to you incolour for the first time, and we hope you likethe greater impact it presents.

However, the single most important factorin any successful full colour publication is thequality of its pictures, which is why we’reoffering a superb prize – a high quality digitalcamera – to the member who submits thebest, relevant photograph for our next (win-ter) issue, to be published at the start ofJanuary.

With over 230 chapters around the UK andin Ireland, representing the widest possiblerange of business talents, we believe BNI’sown members’ newsletter should be able toreflect that quality and diversity in pictures aswell as words.

We want lively, colourful, action pictureswhich reflect the creativity, the enterpriseand the determination of BNI members andtheir business activities – whether inside oroutside the chapter, for example many mem-bers use unusual props or clothing for their60-second presentations, which could makean amusing or dramatic shot! The moreunusual, offbeat and creative you can make

them, the better your chance of winning ourprize – which will only be awarded if theexpert panel of judges believes one or moreentries are of sufficient quality.

On a technical note, submissions should besent – as colour prints (not transparencies) –to Malcolm Grosvenor, Editor, SuccessNet,New House, Palmer Crescent, Kingston UponThames, KT1 2QT and arrive no later thanTuesday, 12th December.

Alternatively, entries can be sent electroni-cally (either as .jpg or .tif files) in which casethey must be high resolution images, scannedat a minimum of 300dpi.

So start planning your BNI photo assign-ments now and, who knows, you could soonbe the lucky recipient of a smart, new digitalcamera – on which further SuccessNet contri-butions can be captured!

Capture the momentto win digital camera

Must try harder!Oh dear, it had to happen. After inundatingthe SuccessNet office all year long with yourclever and witty contributions, you memoryhooks largely dried up in the summer heat!

With just a handful to choose from for thisquarter’s bubbly award, Executive EditorGillian Lawson liked the directness and sim-plicity of Duncan Millar’s contribution.

Duncan is Technical Director of Doncaster-based Imagine If Ltd which produces DigitalCD ROM Business cards that can contain text,audio or video – hence his memory hook,when promoting his services to colleagues atthe Leeds (Thursday) Chapter is: “If your busi-ness card could actually speak… what wouldyou want it to say?”

So, a bottle of champagne is on its way toDoncaster, Duncan, with our congratulations.

And our commiserations to runner-up:

Derek of Embassy Caterers, a member ofChelmsford Meadows Chapter, whose“Catering with no boundaries” conjures up amouthwatering feast.

With no disrespect to this issue’s winnerand runner-up, you know – and we know –you can do a lot better!

So we’ll keep the competition running foranother quarter in the hope that you keepyour memory hooks coming in.

Who knows, next time you could be thelucky recipient of BNI’s finest bubbly!

Send your contributions to Executive EditorGillian Lawson at BNI’s head office, Gate End,Northwood, Middlesex, HA6 3QG, fax it to01923 827813 or e-mail bninet@aol.com.

Closing date for all competition entries isFriday November 24.

Quote(from BNI’s

European Conference 2000)

“Winging it isn’t OK”

have trebled thatnumber!”

New chaptersopened in the July –September period are:Belfast City,Chelmsford Meadows,Daventry, Evesham,Hereford, LeedsMoortown, LeicesterTigers, Long Melford,Merseyside Delta &Merseyside Oscar(both Formby-based),Ormond, Redbridge,Redditch, Silbury,Stockport 1,Strathkelvin, ThorpeWood, WakefieldStanley and Wrexham.

From Page 1

As a member ofWarrington Chapter,Bob Abson had more

reason that most to ensure thesize and quality of the break-fasts served to his BNI col-leagues were fully up toscratch.

That’s because, as the owner ofPaddington House Hotel where theChapter has met since its inception,Bob’s ‘full Monty’ breakfasts alreadyenjoyed something of a local reputa-tion.

So when he bought the 62-bedWendover Hotel in Eccles, on the out-skirts of Manchester a few weeks ago,Bob knew he’d have at least one cap-tive and appreciative customer base forhis latest venture, having learnt thatBNI’s West Manchester Chapter had

adopted the venue for their meetings.“We are renowned for providing a

great cooked breakfast at thePaddington House Hotel where wegive BNI members the full monty, andwhile the new hotel – renamed MontonHouse – provides a buffet breakfast, Ican guarantee our West Manchestercolleagues that it will be just as good,”promised Bob.

Bob Abson is a BNI enthusiast andsays its principles are very similar tothose he uses in his own businesses.

“I’ve never relied on massive adver-tising, believing that word of mouth ismuch more effective,” he said.

“People always come back to you orpass on a recommendation whenthey’re satisfied with the service theyget and it’s the same with BNI.

“I’ve used the services of several BNImembers to help me in setting up the

Monton House Hotel because I knowthey’re professional and reliable.”

Chapter colleagues who assistedinclude Mike Allen of Signarama, whoproduced the signs for the hotel, AlanBrown of Kallkwik who produced thenew stationery, Gary Skentelbury whopromoted the hotel on the Internet,Philip Wrothford-Thomas (his financialadvisor) and solicitor James Edwardsfrom Linaker and Linaker.

Bob’s new venture poses just oneproblem. Both his Warrington Chapterand the West Manchester Chapter meeton Friday mornings and, with 25 milesbetween them, he can’t be in bothhotels at once.

“I’m hoping that Nigel Gates, mymanager at Monton House, will bejoining the local chapter – but I stillintend to keep an eye on his breakfasts,to maintain our reputation!”

4 | S u m m e r 2 0 0 0

Around the Chapters

Something very reassuring hasbeen happening in BNIthroughout the UK and

Ireland. We are seeing majornational commercial organisationsinvesting their time and resourcesin multiple membership of BNIchapters – and looking to place sen-ior staff in all relevant new chaptersthat are opening.

In this issue of SuccessNet, as in previouseditions, you will read articles about banks,building societies, legal and accountancy prac-tices – and a growing number of more region-ally-based businesses – which, having recog-nised the immense benefits of belonging toBNI, are now positively awaiting the develop-ment of new groups which they can join.

We are delighted to witness this trend forone reason in particular: it demonstrates thatBNI has started to mature into a clearly effec-tive and productive business organisation,whose tangible strengths are increasinglyrespected by key players in British commerceand industry.

We have of course known for some time,that several of the major banks have engagedin friendly rivalry to fill the single ‘bank man-ager’s chair’ in new and existing chapters, justas we have been aware that some of thelarger regional building societies and profes-sional accountancy practices have graduallybeen extending their presence in specific geo-graphical areas, taking an early leading role in

Lawsons’ Lorethe development of new BNI chapters.

What is particularly pleasing now, is to hearthe same earnest message being repeatedagain and again by these organisations, whomake no secret of their multiple membership.These businesses – many of them substantialinstitutions – are not investing ever greatertime and human resources in BNI for altruisticreasons, however beneficial membership maybe in terms of improved community and cus-tomer relations.

They are consolidating their positionswithin BNI because they know it makes totalbusiness sense to do so, and because theyknow that having dramatically enhanced theircontacts and standing within a particularcommunity where BNI has a presence, theywould be foolish to relinquish their positionto a competitor. In short, they want to bepart of BNI because they have discovered – inmany cases, very quickly – how well ourGiver’s Gain philosophy works.

While we will continue to ensure that everychapter retains the optimum balance of mem-bers, drawn from the widest possible rangeof trades, crafts, services and professions, wecan be proud that BNI is now increasinglyregarded as a preferred alternative to certainmore traditional – but less practical – businessorganisations. With well over 230 chaptersand more than 5,000 members in the UK andIreland alone, we are rapidly becoming aforce to be reckoned with!

BNI National Directors MARTIN& GILLIAN LAWSON write…

The Big Breakfast

Merseysidegoes 2x2

Following the uniquelaunch of Mersey-side’s Alpha and Betachapters in Liverpoolearlier this year,Regional DirectorTerry Hamill has doneit again!

Formby-based Oscarand Delta chapterswere launched within24 hours of eachother at the end ofAugust. Both chaptersmeet at Formby GolfClub.

And, as SuccessNetwent to press, Terrywas about to com-plete his hat trick ofdoubles – opening ofBravo and Charliechapters in St Helens.

“BNI is really takingoff in Merseyside,”said Terry. “Mersey-side membership nowexceeds 100 and we’vegenerated about£7.5m in referrals inthe last six months.”

Quote(from BNI’s

European Conference 2000)

“The system isthe secret”

S u m m e r 2 0 0 0 | 5

The middle of a petrol crisis isnot the time most of us wouldchoose to launch a new chapter.

But, having planned Hereford’skick-off in mid-September,Assistant Director Nick Duttonhad little alternative other thanto go ahead… and hope.

“The invitations had all goneout, our core group of ten haddone their follow-up calls, andwe had a hundred acceptancesfor the launch,” said Nick.

“Then suddenly, withoutwarning, the blockade was onand everywhere started runningout of fuel. “I cut down my ownjourneys to make sure I hadenough fuel to get to and fromthe meeting but, as I was settingup at 6am in the Green DragonHotel I had a sinking feeling inthe pit of my stomach… what ifnobody turned up?” he added.

Nick needn’t have worried.“Despite my fears, the meetingwas brilliant. More than 60 localpeople beat the blockade, with agood mix of trades and profes-sions, from decorators in paint-spattered overalls to a bowler-

hatted solicitor. “Executive director David

Bullock arrived from Stratford-upon-Avon, BNI InternationalBoard of Advisors’ member JaneHart came over from Cheltenhamchapter, and four members of myown chapter in Gloucester shareda car to support the launch.”

One of the visitors, charteredcommercial insurance practi-tioner Graham Wedgbury who isalso membership co-ordinator ofthe Gloucester Chapter was veryimpressed with the newHereford members.

“My spirits rose when I saw thewhole core group there, all get-ting down to it from 6.30am.They’ve got off to a strong start.”

Hereford is a close-knit com-munity which has always reliedon word-of-mouth recommenda-tions to do business, but therural city has never seen any-thing like the structured BNIapproach to networking.

The new Hereford Chaptermeets on Wednesday morningsat the Green Dragon Hotel, afew yards from the cathedral.

Around the Chapters

Beating the blockades

A day at the racesIt was a pretty safe bet that combiningbusiness networking with a day at the raceswould prove a popular idea, and that’s howthings turned out for members of theTayside, Perth and Falkirk chapters whoenjoyed a wonderful day at Perth Races lastmonth – with one or two BNI tipsters net-ting substantial wins!

Audrey Fenton the new Perth ChapterDirector organised the event, but the day’ssuccess must have gone to her head, sinceshe couldn’t be found when it was time toleave. Happily we can report that she hasturned up safe and well – and is alreadyplanning a repeat outing!

Breakfast at Dorothy’s

middle of Beverly’s main warehouse,with all 33 of Treaty Chapter’s mem-bers turning up to be greeted with adelightful breakfast spread – courtesyof fellow member, Michael Madden ofScrummies Restaurant.

To show there were no hard feelingsabout losing his regular weekly BNIcustom, another member, John Likely

Let’s face it: why wouldany BNI member want toeat a meal in a smart hotel

restaurant when they couldenjoy the unique atmosphereof breakfasting in the middleof a cold grey warehouse, sur-rounded by packing cases?

But if members of Limerick’s TreatyChapter felt deprived of their usualluxury – breakfast meetings held at thetown’s Hanrattys Hotel – at least onemember, Dorothy Quinn, was feelingpleased with herself as colleaguesstarted arriving at the DocklandsBusiness Park for the Chapter’s mostunusual meeting of the year.

As Area Manager of Beverly RecordsManagement, Dorothy (pictured right)was struggling to explain her company’sbusiness and obtain good referrals fromchapter colleagues, when she hit on theperfect solution: Why not bring theentire Chapter to her business base sothat members could see what happenedfor themselves?

And so it was that an imprompturestaurant was hastily created in the

of Hanrattys Hotel, even providedtables, chairs and all the trimmings tocreate a restaurant-like ambience.

Beverly Records Management man-ages and stores confidential documentsand magnetic media, and Dorothymounted displays around the tables sothat members could view the comput-erised systems and walk along the rack-ing to see how documents are stored.

“It was the best thing I’ve done sincejoining BNI,” said Dorothy. “I felt mychapter colleagues needed to see atfirst hand what my business involved,and get a taste for the kind of referralsI needed. The idea of hosting a chapterbreakfast worked a treat.

“Since then, the quality and quantityof referrals has increased dramaticallyand I’d estimate that about 50 per centof my business now comes throughBNI. I’ve even had to rack out anotherwarehouse to accommodate theincreased demand,” she added.

Dorothy joined BNI some eightmonths ago and reckons it provides theperfect business marketing system. “Ittook me about six months to find myfeet, but it’s really working for me now.”

When solicitor Charles Dunbarstood up at a meeting of theStoke-on-Trent chapter and

posed the question “Does anyonehave an idea about the best person Icould introduce to our financial advi-sor, Steve Amison?” the unanimousanswer came straight back: “A lotterywinner,” cried colleagues.

It might have been said in jest, but Charles’sresponse was: “Well strangely enough, it just sohappens…” And with that, he passed Steve thename of one of his clients who had just won ‘asubstantial amount of money’ on the lottery.

Charles, from Rees Jones Solicitors, had beenapproached by the winner who needed someconveyancing work on the new house he hadbought with his winnings, and Charles suggestedhe should meet with Steve Amison of SDBStrategic Financial Planners, who could give himvaluable financial advice on what to do with therest of his windfall.

“It was an excellent referral, naturally,” saidSteve, and I have been able to give advice on anongoing basis.

“But lottery winners aside, BNI has beenreally good for our business and now we’ve gotsenior staff in three local chapters – Stoke-on-Trent, Newcastle-under-Lyne and Burslem.”

2000threferral inPotteries

6 | S u m m e r 2 0 0 0

Focus on North Staffs and Shropshire

What a coincidence

How many of us wouldn’t give our eyetoothto be guaranteed a healthy income for thenext few years – without having to do any-thing more to earn it?

Well, that’s the happy situation TelfordChapter member Steve Bellerby finds himselfin, having already guaranteed some £50,000worth of net income per year to his business,for the next three years – thanks to BNI.

Steve is a partner with Smith BellerbyAssociates, cost management consultants,who advise clients on how to reduce utilitybills on telephones, electricity, gas and water.

“Whatever savings are identified and imple-

mented, we split 50/50 with the client. Wherethere’s no saving, there’s no fee,” explainedSteve, a member of BNI for 15 months.

“I’m almost embarrassed to admit it, butBNI has become something of a gold mine forme, with existing referrals from chapter col-leagues already worth £150,000 to our busi-ness over the next three years,” he said.

“At least 80 per cent of my new businesscomes through BNI members, either directlyor indirectly through word-of-mouth recom-mendations. In fact it’s been so successful, Ihaven’t even advertised for the last 12months! It is a fantastic organisation.”

‘BNI is a gold mine’

Giver’s Gain alive and wellTwo members of Stafford Chapter have exchanged referrals worth over £150,000, proving oncemore that the Giver’s Gain philosophy is alive and well. Michel Jones and Jeremy Roney, whomhe introduced to BNI four months ago, had been acquaintances for some time but it was onlywhen they sat around the chapter breakfast table that they realised they could help boost eachother’s businesses. Jeremy first received a referral from Michel worth £136,000, for his company,Midland Telecom, to install a call centre and telephone systems in a football club, and later in aconference centre for the same client. Just two days later, he passed a £16,000 referral to Michel,of J & M Technology, for the installation of computer networking equipment.

Members of theNewcastle-under-Lynechapter have causefor celebration thismonth – having justnotched up their2,000th referral in ayear, representing anamazing total of£500,000 worth ofbusiness.

Chapter DirectorRoger Turner asked allhis members to quan-tify the amount ofbusiness BNI hadbrought them in thelast 12 months, andhalf a million poundswas the impressivetotal.

With 31 members,Newcastle was thefirst and is now thelargest of thePotteries chapters andRoger describes it as“an excellent businessforum”.

He said: “Everyoneis on first name termsand all the membersgo out of their way tohelp each other, per-sonally as well as pro-fessionally.

“We’re all verycheerful, andalthough we stickrigidly to BNI princi-ples and agenda, themeetings are stillquite informal.

“The results havebeen achieved byhighly active net-working, both beforeand after the meet-ings, combined with atrue sense of friend-ship.”

Quote(from BNI’s

European Conference 2000)

“Just like abusiness, a

chapter shouldsend out sales letters every

week to targetedcompanies”

A good Choice!Choice Hotels Group operations director TonyMylchreest certainly made the right decisionwhen he accepted an invitation from sales man-ager Jo Callender to visit BNI’s Telford Chapter.

Jo, pictured right, a member at Telford, per-suaded its leadership team to transfer meetingsto the Clarion Hotel, Madeley Court. She thenthought it would be appropriate for other WestMidlands chapters looking for a home to trytheir local Choice hotel. Hence her suggestionthat boss Tony should see BNI in action and,hopefully, lend his support to her idea.

The result? “He was so impressed with BNIthat he offered a special deal for chapters in the

region if they based their group meetings atChoice Hotels. I’m delighted that several have,including those in Wolverhampton, Walsall andLoughborough, with others in negotiation,” saidJo, who can be contacted on 01952 680068.

When Philip Swinford’s mar-keting company, Strata-gema, was advised by

police to ‘disappear’ last year afterassisting in a commercial fraudinvestigation, he naturally thoughtit would mean the kiss of death tohis business.

Philip, pictured right, a member ofGloucester Chapter, had also received a per-sonal phone call threatening his life.

“We took the advice, changed cars, movedoffices and, of course, went ex-directory. Wewere even advised by the police not to put upa website and to be careful about giving outbusiness cards. You can imagine how worriedwe were about the effect on our business.”

Unable to advertise or promote his com-pany, the impact on his business could havebeen disastrous had it not been for the timelyappearance of BNI, which has happily trans-formed his business fortunes, and also had amajor effect on his life and future.

Philip discovered BNI after being invited toattend a meeting of Cheltenham Spa Chapterand, despite being a self-confessed ‘businessbreakfast baloney’ cynic, when he found hewas unable to join that chapter because his‘position’ was already taken, he drove to theGloucester Chapter meeting the followingmorning and joined on the spot.

“I listened to the tapes, read the books andcould see the psychology of BNI, so I decidedthat I would not only join but would buy intothe system lock, stock and barrel,” said Philip.

“If it’s recommended in the BNI materialthen we do it – all of it – and guess what, sur-prise, surprise, it works.”

“Admittedly, I lose a fair amount of sleepbecause of BNI but we’ve put on more busi-ness in the last six months than in the previ-ous two years. Some 75 per cent of our‘bought ledger’ is now in BNI and if I can get

Referralsfly at theAirport

Dublin’s AirportChapter may not bethe largest in mem-bers but it continuesto soar to new levels.

Throughout August,the Chapter averaged80 referrals a week,and peaked when 27members around thebreakfast table passedno less than 108 refer-rals between them –an average of exactlyfour per member!

BNI ExecutiveDirector Pat Guidensaid: “The atmospherewithin the Chapter hasalways been vibrantand you never quiteknow what is going tohappen next.”

S u m m e r 2 0 0 0 | 7

BNI to the rescue

Around the Chapters

Signing up was a shrewd move for RodWhen signmaker Rod Simpson joined BNI’sCoventry Central Chapter he didn’t expectthings to start happening so quickly!

At only his second meeting Rod’s company,Signhere, received a referral worth over£2,000 from Tracey Kelly of Flanagans Travelto produce new signs for their refurbishedpremises and after just three months in theChapter he’s received a remarkable 21 refer-rals.

One of Rod’s selling points is his uniquepresentation which entails super-imposingsignage solutions onto photographs of thebuilding taken before refurbishment. “That isparticularly handy when we’re making largesigns, such as the 30ft structure we suppliedto Flanagans, because clients can get a good

idea of how it will look afterwards,” he said.

Rod admits he hates getting up in themorning but looks forward to chapter meet-ings where, it seems, his powerful sense ofhumour keeps colleagues wide awake.

His favourite topic is the mother-in-law andhe always starts his 60-second slot with ajoke at her expense.

“It’s got nothing to do with business, but atleast it makes everybody laugh!

He offered readers this example of his LesDawson-style humour: “I haven’t spoken tomy mother-in-law for 15 years now. It’s notthat we don’t get on, I’m just not quickenough to interrupt!”

When builder RayJustice, a member ofIlford chapter,received a referralfrom Mayoor Patel,BNI’s Regional Directorfor London North East,he had no idea justhow lucrative it wouldturn out to be.

The initial referralfor a small buildingjob was worth£15,000, but the archi-tect supervising thecontract was soimpressed with hiswork that he retainedRay for a further jobwhich was worth over£100,000.

Ray, owner ofJustice & Sons, reckonsBNI is ‘the fun way todo business’.

He said: “There’s nosense of competition,just a genuine desireto help and supportfellow members. “

Sprat landsa mackerel

Quote(from BNI’s

European Conference 2000)

“BNI members areWalking TalkingYellow Pages”

that up to 100 per cent I will be very happy.This year Stratagema’s turnover will include asix-figure sum representing business gener-ated from BNI members.”

Philip has been Gloucester Chapter’sDirector for the past six months, andEducational co-ordinator prior to that. Heputs his heart and soul into BNI, based on hisstrategy that “I treat BNI as our largest clientand every member as a Board Director of it,spending between eight and ten hours aweek working the BNI system – and that’s notincluding my duties as Chapter Director.

His philosophy is simple: “BNI doesn’t workfor us – we work at BNI. We achieve our owndestiny and take full credit ourselves foreverything we achieve. What BNI does do isprovide us with a fantastic framework withinwhich to work – but to achieve success weuse the same skills and techniques as wewould in the outside world.”

Partners in Lambert Chapman, awell-known Essex-based firm ofchartered accountants and regis-

tered auditors, have proved that,where BNI is concerned, three is defi-nitely not a crowd!

Melinda Atkinson, Paul Short and JohnSmith-Daye all joined BNI when new chapterswere formed in the towns where their respectiveoffices are based, and all went on to becomechapter directors of their local group, eachreflecting on the similar philosophies of BNIand their own partnership.

Melinda was first to sign up, becoming chap-ter director of what is now Chelmsford Central,and Paul soon followed in her footsteps tobecome Director of the new Braintree Chapter.

That left John who was initially quite cynicalabout the idea of BNI, but Melinda persuadedhim to go along to a formative meeting inMaldon and, it seems, he liked what he saw –becoming a founder member and then the firstChapter Director of Maldon.

“From a personal point of view, the best thing

that BNI has done for me is to force me to bemore outgoing,” said John. “Accountants tend tobe very reluctant to project themselves as aresult of the traditional restrictions on advertis-ing and promoting our profession.

“BNI has certainly helped me to put myselfforward and given me a different perspective onmarketing. I also get a real buzz when I can rec-ommend BNI members to business colleaguesand know that they will be pleased with theservice they receive.”

All three are dedicated to the philosophy ofBNI and the principle of ‘givers gain,’ and say itworks very well for them, having gained theconfidence and trust of members, many ofwhom have become clients or recommendedthem to third parties.

James Finch, BNI’s North Essex AssistantDirector, is delighted with their commitment.

“They are a superb example to all members,and they really make the BNI system work wellfor others and as a result for themselves, by giv-ing that extra support when required,” he said.

“I know many members are very grateful fortheir valuable contribution.”

Seeing redin the whiterose county

8 | S u m m e r 2 0 0 0

Around the Chapters

Success in numbers

Adrian’s referral camefrom 6,000 miles away!Insurance broker Adrian Sutton just can’t stoppassing referrals to colleagues in his RugbyChapter, even when he’s on holiday 6,000miles away!

But fortunately, Adrian’s quick thinkinghelped save the day, and the holidays ofquite a few people, when he received a call tosay his next door neighbour’s home in ruralWarwickshire had been burgled, causingmajor losses and distress to its temporaryoccupants.

Both Adrian’s family and his next doorneighbours were house-swapping withCalifornian families at the time of the bur-glary, and the first Adrian knew about theproblem was when he had a frantic phonecall from his holidaying neighbour who hadreceived a transatlantic call from his Americanhouse-sitters in England, threatening to aban-don their holiday and flee back to the USA.

“It seems my neighbour’s property had hadbeen burgled while the American family wereasleep in their beds, and when they discov-ered their hire car, credit cards, computer andpersonal effects had all been stolen. I think itunnerved them.

“When my neighbour called me as his hand-ily placed insurance agent, he said that unlessI could do something immediately, the family

were about to quit, which would have spoilteveryone’s holidays,” said Adrian.

So, chasing up his UK business contacts –including BNI members – Adrian hit the phoneand had soon organised a replacement car,started processing the insurance claim and,crucially, found a way to reassure theAmerican visitors that they would be safe forthe rest of their UK stay.

“They desperately wanted a burglar alarmand security system fitting to my neighbour’shouse before they were prepared to stay anylong, so I called up a chapter colleague, SimonGalt of Countrywide Security Systems,explained the situation to him, and heinstalled the system in less than 24 hours.

“I don’t know who was more impressed –my neighbours or his American house guests– when we sorted things so quickly from6,000 miles away,” Adrian added.

Inevitably, there is a sting in the tale!Adrian’s Chapter Director Steve Maybury said:“I’ve relayed his story to the rest of our mem-bers and warned them that, in future, the oldexcuse about having been away and not hadchance to find any referrals just won’t washany more.

“Adrian’s long distance referral has set achallenging precedent.”

Editor Malcolm Gros-venor is in sackclothand ashes after upset-ting readers on bothsides of the Pennineswith his reference toYorkshire as the ‘redrose county.’ (Success-Net, Summer 2000).

Not even the mostgrovelling apologycould spare his blushesas we received com-plaints from BNI mem-bers in Lancashire andYorkshire, alarmedthat we couldn’t tellthe white rose countyfrom its old enemyacross the hills…

David Haywood,Secretary/Treasurer ofBolton Chapter, put itthus: “It was badenough when theLabour Party hijackedour Red Rose, but tofind that it was beingused to promoteYorkshire really tookthe biscuit. I am sureour friends across thePennines are just asupset, for they are asfiercely proud of theirwhite rose.”

Absolutely. AndMargaret Andrewsfrom Chester Chapterwasted no time con-firming the fact. Shewrote: “My principal,Michael Scully, is aYorkshireman and hevisibly turned red withdisbelief when read-ing your article, ‘All isrosy in the red rosecounty.’ “Ye Gods!” heexclaimed, “it’s thewhite rose county, asevery proud Yorkshire-man knows. I wasenjoying reading themagazine until then!”

Sorry, Lancastrians.Sorry, Yorkshire menand women. But ourEditor is from Birming-ham and anywherenorth of Walsall is aforeign land to him.

Staff at BNI headoffice have clubbedtogether for a copy ofthe Enid Blyton Illus-trated Guide to BritishHistory and, restassured, we’ll keep aclose eye on him!

Marcus Amery, the new chapterdirector at Horsham is thefirst to admit he’s not been a

model BNI member – having missed afew breakfast meetings recently.

But when he lays the blame firmly at the feetof his fellow members for giving him too muchwork it’s hard to argue!

“Chapter colleagues have referred me somuch business that I’ve been working 17 hoursa day for weeks and just haven’t been able toget to some of the meetings,” said Marcus.

“I joined BNI in January this year and withintwo months I’d gained £1.2m worth of business,since when I’ve been working flat out to meetthose new contracts.”

He also admits to an even greater irony in hisrecent appointment as Chapter Director.

“If you’d told me 12 months ago that I’d soonbe chairing a business networking group I’dhave said you were mad. I was very cynicalabout networking and couldn’t be botheredwith it. When I eventually went along to a meet-ing I couldn’t believe what I’d been missing.

Now, I’m taking it very seriously,” he said.Marcus owns two companies – Prontapack

Ltd and distribution firm Dortodor Carriers Ltd– based on an eight acre site in Crawley, andhousing 140,000 sq ft of storage warehousing, allof which was fully utilised following his firstthree BNI referrals – involving national compa-nies, Dorling & Kindersley, Bodyshop and LECRefrigeration, who needed storage for stock.

“I had to totally re-organise my warehouse toaccommodate them,” says Marcus.

“It involved a lot of hard work but we’vefinally got it sorted and now I can get back intoBNI again. That’s the one thing I’ve regretted inthe past few months – not being able to giveBNI the attention it deserves, so I need to makeup for lost time.”

Thanks to BNI, all the warehousing space onMarcus’s Crawley site is now full so he’s in theprocess of negotiating for another site whichwill give him a further 96,000 sq ft of storage.

Which happily means that Marcus will beneeding to regain his full attendance record inthe coming weeks as he seeks to find sufficientnew business to fill his latest warehouse.

S u m m e r 2 0 0 0 | 9

BoNnIeScotlandpulls outall stops

As SuccessNet went topress, two Scottishchapters were due tostage the biggest net-working event to hitScotland since the mil-lennium Hogmanay!

Well, that might bean exaggeration, butfor BNI members northof the border theinter-chapter network-ing day due to takeplace in early Octoberpromised to be a trulymemorable occasion.

Ron Hain of Dun-fermline chapter andKevin Roach of Living-ston chapter hadpulled out all the stopsto create a ‘NetworkGolf’ and ‘HealthyNetworking’ day atDeer Park Golf andCountry Club in Living-ston, to which mem-bers of all 22 BNI chap-ters in Scotland wereinvited with the aim ofencouraging informalcross-chapter network-ing, and giving would-be members a taste ofBNI camaraderie.

More than 100 mem-bers from 15 chaptershad booked places bymid September, lead-ing Kevin to comment:“It should be one ofthe biggest events inBNI’s short history inScotland, presenting agreat opportunity formembers to learnabout each other’sbusinesses.

“Who knows, wemight even manage totempt a few of ourSassenach brothersand sisters to cross theborder for a spot ofnetworking!”

Around the Chapters

Flat out to keep up

Quote(from BNI’s

European Conference 2000)

“Never ASSUME –assuming makesan ASS out of U

and ME”

Prontapack picture(to be scanned)

The UK launch of a new domestic ‘fresh air’system has turned into a real family affair formembers of the Stratford-upon-Avon Chapter.

Kitchens and bathrooms specialist GeoffTallis set up The Pure Fresh Air Company tomarket, sell and distribute the Olsberg AirComheat recovery ventilator and then decided heneeded the expertise of chapter colleagues toassist the launch.

“I have been a member of BNI for 12 monthsand it’s really as a result of the contacts I havemade through the chapter that I have been ableto launch the new venture.

“I have employed the bank manager, the web-site consultant, the public relations consultant,and the graphic designer from my chapter, andknowing them all personally has been very reas-suring,” Geoff added.

Keeping it in the family

Prontapack’s Marcus Amery (left) with Simon Elkins-Green, Operations Manager.

1 0 | S u m m e r 2 0 0 0

Around the Chapters

Anew world record has beenstitched up by clothing manu-facturer Pat Stanworth, a

member of the Gloucester Chapter,who has created the biggest-ever T-shirt to help local charities.

Local dignitaries and celebrities, along withmembers of BNI’s Gloucester and Cheltenhamchapters, queued up to be the first to hand overa £1 donation to sign the record breaking gar-ment, all proceeds from which will go to localcharities for the disabled: the Spring Centre, theStar Centre and Cloud 9.

The three organisations hope to raise thou-sands of pounds as the T-shirt gains additionalsignatures from its current tour of Britain.

The gigantic T-shirt, which measures 96.5ft by70ft, took a team of ten workers 150 hours tomake, out of more than half a mile of material!

As its vast dimensions were unfurled for thefirst time on Cheltenham College playing fields,it was confirmed it will go into the next GuinnessBook of Records as the largest T-shirt in theworld. The record was set in 1991 in Minneapolis,USA, with a shirt that measured 90ft x 65ft.

More used to producing normal sized teamkits, outfits for majorettes and marching bands,school uniforms and promotional clothing, Patsaid: “I’m used to strange requests and tightdeadlines but even I was lost for words when Iwas asked if I could make the world’s largest T-shirt, on behalf of its sponsors, the Cheltenham& Gloucester Building Society.

“Of course, I said yes, and then I was told itwas needed for a photocall in a fortnight’s time,so it wasn’t just the T-shirt that was stretched!

If any BNI member needs garments manufac-tured, embroidered or printed in a hurry – froma posing pouch to a record breaker – PatStanworth of Patz Gloucester will respond tothe challenge on 01452 731336.

Stitching up a world record

Pat Stanworth makes the news, inside therecord breaking T-shirt she created.

The world’s largest T-shirt is unveiled.

BNI’s worldwide web site has brought one ofEngland’s newer chapters face to face with itsnamesake 3,000 miles away in Massachusetts,.

David Christmas, a member of GloucesterChapter explains: “I opened the BNI web siteto check what was on our own page, andfound myself looking at the site for Gloucesterin Massachusetts. There was an email addressfor the American chapter, so I sent greetingsfrom England to our namesakes in the USA.

“A reply soon came back from ex-Brit,Elizabeth Frere Jones, now living in the Statesand building her Shaklee Life and Health busi-ness through referrals from the US chapter.”

David is confident that members of the USchapter visiting Europe are now sure to putEngland’s Gloucester on their itinerary, not

least because the UK chapter meets in one ofthe city’s most historic venues.

The Parliament Room stands in the precinctsof Gloucester’s 900-year-old cathedral and itsname commemorates the time when KingRichard the Second summoned his parliamentto meet there in 1378.

“Visitors to the USA’s Gloucester Chaptermight not get the same sense of history, butElizabeth tells me we’ll be made very welcomeover a good breakfast in a downtownMassachusetts restaurant,” David added.

Meanwhile, David’s ‘twin chapter’ discoveryprompts SuccessNet to ask: Are you makinggood use of BNI’s website? You can access thewhole world of BNI on www.bni.com or, if youwant to stay more local, www.bni-europe.com.

Gloucester greets Gloucester!

It all addsup back

at school!Salesman Bill May, amember of DoverChapter, might havebeen surprised to findhimself back at schoolthis summer, espe-cially since it hap-pened to be thetown’s GrammarSchool for Girls!

But it was a prof-itable return for Bill,Sales Director of theKent division of thePrincipal Corporation,because he’d secureda £20,000 contract toinstall the school’snew computer net-work cabling – follow-ing a referral from fel-low chapter member,Ian Harding of Skybiz.

Bill said: “Everyoneknows that BNI’s phi-losophy works, butit’s always nice toreceive personal proofof the benefits ofmembership.”

Quote(from BNI’s

European Conference 2000)

“Accept youruniqueness andaccentuate your

strengths”

S u m m e r 2 0 0 0 | 1 1

Don’t waste your 60 seconds

Education & Training

The weekly one-minute ‘commercial’ that every BNImember receives to promote his or her business is one ofthe greatest potential benefits of membership – if youuse it properly. Unfortunately, a significant minoritydon’t, because they have failed to appreciate its abilityto vastly enhance their BNI membership. In the last issue,UK National Director GILLIAN LAWSON explained whythe 60-second slot is so important, and offered tips formaximising the impact of your regular one-minute pre-sentations to colleagues. Here, in her second article, shediscusses some of the pitfalls you can avoid in deliveringyour weekly breakfast message…

Psychologists have longknown that there arethree things human

beings fear most in life –drowning, being burnt alive –and public speaking.

To find the latter ranked alongsidethe other two may sound almost unbe-lievable, but years of research intohuman behaviour has confirmed that,while we are all born with the easyability to communicate verbally, manypeople are initially terrified by theprospect of having to address a busi-ness audience, and more than a few willgo to great lengths to avoid the ordeal.

Happily, the majority of BNI mem-bers do not freeze at the prospect ofpromoting their business services tocolleagues in the relaxed surroundingsof the weekly breakfast meeting but, asevery member knows, the quality andcontent of those 60-second presenta-tions varies between the sublime andthe totally wasted opportunity.

I would suggest that, with sufficientthought, planning and practice, everymember of BNI is capable of deliveringan effective, persuasive commercial.

In my own North-West Londonregion, we now run regular members’training courses in basic presentationalskills and BNI is encouraging the intro-duction of similar courses in other partsof the UK and Ireland during the com-ing months – details of which will bemade available through your chapter orexecutive/regional directors.

However, there are a number of waysyou can start to improve your existing60-second presentations, simply byavoiding some common mistakes.Having listed a number of DOs in myfirst article, I would offer the followingDON’Ts, if you want to avoid wastingyours, and everyone else’s time:

1 DON’T leave any aspect of yourpresentation to chance: The mostentertaining, informative, relaxed andseemingly impromptu presentations,are nearly always the result of carefulplanning and practice. If you don’t startplanning your ‘slot’ until you’re on theway to your chapter meeting, thechances are it will have an almost zeroeffect on your colleagues.

2 DON’T expect colleagues tounderstand your whole business inone minute: It may sound absurd, butI am constantly amazed by how manymembers try to summarise their entirebusiness in 60 seconds. As the sayinggoes: ‘If you’re going to serve up anelephant, you wouldn’t expect yourguests to eat the whole thing at once.You’d offer it to them in bite-sizedchunks!’ So it is with your business,which you should break down intosmall, easily digestible components.

3 DON’T ignore your body lan-guage: It’s not just what you say thatis important. It is the way you presentit. If you are not a natural publicspeaker – and few of us are – then itmay be difficult to put on a confident,self-assured manner but, if you want tosound convincing to others, you mustpractice your presentation techniquesuntil you are happy that others will seeyou in your most positive light.

4 DON’T waste time handing outbrochures or using technical aids:Use your chapter brochure table to dis-play your promotional literature andproduct samples. If you plan to rely ona projector or computerised animation,the chances are you’ll be let down – ordistracted – by the technology. Keepyour commercial simple.

5 DON’T repeat yourself: Heavens,you only have 60 seconds a week, sowhy waste time telling colleagues whatyou told them last week, and the weekbefore? That’s why it is so important to

break down your business services intoindividual ‘chunks’ and plan to presentthese one or two at a time, each week.

6 DON’T sit down without ensur-ing everyone knows who you are:However well you think you’ve per-formed, and however much you thinkyour chapter colleagues already knowabout you, never sit down without sign-ing off with your name, your companyname and… your memory hook. Youwant people to be thinking about youand your business when they leave themeeting, and still thinking about you asthey go about their week’s business.

7 DON’T give up your 60-secondslot if you are the featured ten-minute speaker that day: Your sub-scription entitles you to only 70 min-utes of promotion for your business ina whole year, so don’t waste any of it.

8 DON’T forget to ask for thebusiness you want: Too many mem-bers spend all their time telling us whothey are and what they do, and forgetto tell us what sort of business theywould like colleagues to find them.Remember, the more specific you canbe in defining the business referralsyou would like to receive, the morelikely you are to get those referrals.

Finally, remember that public speak-ing in BNI is about selling yourself, notyour company. The aim is to persuadecolleagues to bring the right people toyour door, primarily because they(your colleagues) believe in you andtrust you to do a good job for the per-son they are referring.

For them to do this with confidence,they need to know you and understandwhat you do well.

Which, is where I started, and why Icannot overstate the importance ofusing your 60-second commercial to thebest possible advantage. So, plan, prac-tice, and good luck.

Just under four years afterBNI’s introduction to theUK, the world’s largest

business referral networkingorganisation has arrived inWales, with the launch lastmonth of the country’s firstBNI chapter in Wrexham.

Meeting at the Cross Lanes Hotel,Marchwiel, the new group’s LaunchDay was attended by some 60Wrexham-based business people,more than 20 of whom returned thefollowing week to formally join theWrexham Chapter – pictured onwhat was a historic day for the Welshbusiness community.

As SuccessNet went to print,exactly one month after Wrexham’slaunch, its membership was up to 25,under the leadership of ChapterDirector Peter Stevens, a localgraphic designer, who predicts that itwon’t be long before other BNI chap-ters start springing up in neighbour-ing Welsh border towns.

But why has it taken BNI nearlyfour years to ‘move in’ on Wales,when in neighbouring Cheshire andGreater Manchester, the organisationhas expanded rapidly over the pastcouple of years.

Tony Coxhill, BNI ExecutiveDirector for Cheshire and NorthWales said: “Every region has itsestablished lines of business commu-

1 2 | S u m m e r 2 0 0 0

The Last Word

nication and, after we were encour-aged to open our first Cheshire chap-ter in Crewe & Nantwich, it was nosurprise that others quickly followedin neighbouring towns likeMacclesfield, Wilmslow, Chester,Congleton and Warrington.

“Having now ventured over theborder into Wrexham, I believe thesame thing will soon happen there, asthe business community learns whatBNI can do for its members.”

Anyone interested in joining thenew Wrexham Chapter, should con-tact Peter on 01244 659858, whilewould-be members keen to join anyother new or existing BNI groups inCheshire and North Wales shouldcontact Tony Coxhill on 01270620074.

Wales gets the message

Anyone who runs a small to medium-sized business knows how lonely itcan sometimes feel, having to maketough decisions on your own – andwishing there was someone out therewho could offer practical support.

Well there is… BNI’s own chatroom,where any member worldwide candrop in to share problems, catch upon general BNI news and discuss spe-cific topics aimed at improving theway you do business.

With the Internet rapidly becomingone of the major global marketingand sales media, it makes sense forevery BNI members to use this desk-top resource, whether to access keyinformation or simply share businessideas with others around the world!

BNI’s monthly online sessions,accessed through the Yahoo chat

room, have attracted more and moreparticipants since their launch nearly18 months ago as part of BNI’s educa-tional programme for members.

Typically, members from around theworld join each session to discussbusiness difficulties – and solutions –with other members and experiencedBNI directors from around the world.

UK National Director Martin Lawsonsaid: “We also summarise the keypoints from each month’s exchangeof views and post these on our ownwebsite in the Chat Directory, so evenif you are unable to join a particularsession, you can always catch up onthe main points afterwards.”

Sessions normally take place on thesecond Monday evening of the month,from 21.00 to 22.00hrs. Subjects for thenext three sessions are:

Monday 20th November (Note: this isthe third Monday of the month):Tuning up your chapter – Are youdoing the right things at the righttime?Monday 11th December: CommonObjections by Visitors.Monday 9th January: EffectiveMeeting Stimulants.

BNI’s chatroom is accessible by log-ging onto www.bni-europe.com andthen clicking the ‘Chat’ icon foundafter first clicking on the UK map.

While you’re passing through theBNI website, why not visit NetworkCentral in the Members Area where,in 50-60 words, you can promote yourown business free of charge to all vis-itors to the BNI-Europe website –which gets over 40,000 hits a month.

Share your problems on the Internet

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)1923-826181; 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, WriteAngleCommunications (020 8541 1121)

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

Copyright © BNI 2000. All rights reserved