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| Issue No. 5 |
November / December 2009 |
| The Bottom Line
This month we're adding a new feature to the newsletter called "The Bottom Line". So why, with a name like that, is it at the very top of the page? Because the use of the phrase in this case is purely financial, to show how being in Business Power Network has affected the bottom line of each of us. Which concern, of course, is found at the heart of everyone's decision to join a networking group like BNI. So, without further ado, here are some "bottom line" numbers for your consideration!
For the six-month reporting period covering April through September 2009: Referrals Received: 744
Actual Sales Generated: $ 2,626.726.71
Cumulative totals since the formation of the chapter in the late fall of 2006: Referrals Received: 2208
Actual Sales Generated: $ 17,200,650.95
So it's easy to see that there is some serious business being transacted! Visitors, whether you've already been to a meeting or are considering attending one soon, keep in mind that some of this business could well be added to your bottom line. And to all our chapter members, great work! |
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Make The Most Of Today
Dale Carnegie's perspective on life is something to be modeled. He recognized that an enthusiastic attitude can help us achieve success, happiness and personal growth. "Today is life -- make the most of today. Let the winds of enthusiasm sweep through you," he wrote.
An enthusiastic attitude is fundamental to self-fulfillment. It guides us to positive thoughts and actions. It creates positive energy that improves our relationships with others, our willingness to be open to new ideas, and even our health. The reverse is also true. Carnegie wrote that, "Our fatigue is often caused not by work, but by worry, frustration, and resentment."
Enthusiasm for life initiates within us the power to change our lives. Focus on the present to nourish that power. Enthusiasm for life facilitates our ability to release regrets about the past and worries concerning the future. We can't change the past. We CAN influence future outcomes with a positive, enthusiastic approach to the opportunities of the present.
When our thoughts are propelled by an enthusiasm for life, we find we have unlimited power to develop our own unique potential, whether it be in business, sports, community life or family. In time, guilt, fear and worry are replaced by confidence and optimism.
Carnegie also saw that neither money nor fame insured happiness. He wrote, "Remember, happiness doesn't depend on who you are or what you have; it depends solely on what you think. So start each day by thinking of all the things you have to be thankful for. Your future will depend very largely on the thoughts you think today."
In joining the Business Power Network chapter of BNI, we have come together with common goals and aspirations; we are a team. So remember, your team deserves your enthusiasm and your support. Make it a goal this holiday season to learn more about all the members of your sales team, with the focus on making each team member more successful than they ever thought possible. Remember, "Givers Gain!" It will come back to you.
Chris Maples-Shuler
Maples Properties |
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We are actively seeking dynamic individuals from these professions:
- Photographer, Audio-Visual Sales
- Wedding and/or Event Planner, Personal Trainer
- General Contractor, Lawn & Landscaping
- Employment Agency, Payroll Company
If you are in one of these professions, and would like to attend a meeting, contact our Visitor Host, Mike Ferguson, at 417-883-1700. |
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'Tis The Season To Network
 'Tis the Season to get social, and not only make new contacts, but let those in your current sphere know that you appreciate them. The Holidays present so many different opportunities to network and meet new people, that the experienced networker can make enough contacts in the month of December to keep them busy through June.
How can you take advantage of your spouse's company Christmas Party or your neighborhood get-together? Simple... it all boils down to your EQ. Your "Emotional Intelligence," or "Emotional Quotient", also referred to as EQ, means you have the capacity to effectively recognize and manage your own emotions and those of others. Unlike IQ, which is generally static and not easily improved, EQ can be developed. The higher one's EQ, the more natural it seems for an individual to network.
Here is how EQ might apply to your networking activity:
* Develop a networking style or system that sets you apart. The highly skilled networker can be like poetry in motion. How would you describe your networking style? How could you improve it?
* Network appropriately by "honoring the event." Do not conduct yourself with vulture-like intensity. Sometime it's simply not appropriate to hand out your business card or ask someone the ubiquitous "What do you do?" How do you feel about people who violate this rule?
* Follow through. The high-EQ networker really stands out from the crowd here. A skillful networker will never, ever, miss an opportunity to follow through. Keeping your name, your business name and your expertise in front of others in fresh and interesting ways is important. How do you decide with whom to follow up, or with whom to not follow up? How is that system working for you?
Most importantly during this Holiday Season, take the time to improve or maintain customer loyalty, go above and beyond to make current customers feel valued, appreciated, and special. They will come back again and again, and bring others with them to do business with you. It is far easier to maintain current relationships than to begin new ones. Do your customers have a relationship with you that they could not get from one of your competitors?
If you constantly expand your network and your knowledge; if you always seek advice, not help, and give help but not unsolicited advice; if you invest in others and give without expecting anything in return... If you do all of this with enthusiasm while having fun, you will be the person everyone wants to meet.
Relationships are the catalyst for success. Make sure to begin some new ones this month!
Melissa Miller-Young
Wordmiller.com |
Chapter Leaders for October 2009
New! We're expanding this feature to give more credit where more credit is due, so congratulations and good work to all the leaders!
Referrals Given: Cary Prater, Jenkins & Associates - 14
Referrals Given: Jeff Johnson, Brian Standage (tie) - 11
Referrals Given: David Martin, Murney Associates, Realtors - 10
Visitors Brought: Dr. Dee Telting, Cary Prater (tie) - 4
Visitors Brought: Martin Sansom, Melissa Miller-Young (tie) - 2
Sales Generated: Jennifer Patinsky, Bank of America - $107,978.15
Sales Generated: David Martin, Murney Assoc., Realtors - $105,289.70
Sales Generated: Jean Stoops, GHN Architects/Engineers - $41,202.00
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Givers Gain In Action!
In my first 30 days as Chapter Mentor, the most frequently asked question I have heard, and the most prevalent fear for new members, seem to be exactly the same thing: "How do I refer to other members if I do not know people to refer?"
Believe me, this is the same question or concern that each and every one of us asked ourselves at the beginning of our membership, and it's one that we have all learned to work through.
To help answer this question and provide some very useful tips, I am borrowing an excerpt right out of our 2009 Member Success Program: Raising The Bar training book, taught by Area Director Mike Tobin. These 5 tips are ideal for new and tenured or renewing members to practice every day. To see all 10 tips, be sure to attend the next MSP in your area!
From: Start Building Trust NOW -- "Putting the Givers Gain Philosophy in Action Develops Referrals"
* Get in the habit of carrying your business card holder to appointments, sales calls, and networking events. Don't leave home without it!
* Wear your name badge one entire day each week.
* Practice your ability to listen to people talk about their needs. The next time you go to the grocery store, library, chamber meeting, day care center, or fitness center, review your chapter roster and listen for opportunities to refer.
* Spend a day going on a sales or service call with a chapter member in your contact sphere. Introduce one another to the other's client base, offering the services of both as a team.
* Do regular group 1-2-1's with all members of your contact sphere/power team.
By utilizing these tips on a daily basis you will be amazed at the amount of quality referrals you will develop for your chapter members, as well as the relationships you will build and strengthen with your chapter members, too!
Stay tuned... In the next newsletter, I will discuss exactly what constitutes a good referral!
Cary Prater
Jenkins & Associates |
| Upcoming Events:
BPN Christmas Party - Saturday, December 12th, Standage Residence
BNI Member Success Program - Thursday, December 17, 5:00-8:00pm
BNI Leadership Team Meeting - Friday, December 18, 7:30-9:00am
FBNCC Back Talk Radio Show - Thursdays, KWTO 560 AM, 3:00-4:00pm |
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Visitors, It's All About You!
Thank you for reading, and if you are a past guest of our chapter, thank you for attending. We would love to see you again! If you are new to BNI, you should put a Business Power Network meeting on your schedule ASAP! And please feel free to forward this newsletter on to any of your friends or associates who might be interested in learning more about how BNI, and our chapter in particular, can help your business grow in ways that no other professional networking organization can match. Until next month...
Business Power Network
A Chapter of BNI
Springfield, Missouri
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Featured Member
Jeff Johnson
Metropolitan
National Bank
For more than a decade, Jeff Johnson, a commercial loan officer with Metro- politan National Bank, has been helping businesses develop, grow, and expand to meet their customers' needs.
Jeff began his banking career as a teller, then moved on to positions as a personal banker, credit analyst, consumer lender, and mortgage loan officer, so he knows the banking business inside and out.
Realizing that networking is not just an option, but an integral part of doing business, Jeff joined Business Power Network in it's early days, nearly four years ago. "I've developed great relationships in my time with BNI," Jeff said.
A Wonderful Life really sums up Jeff's philosophy in doing business, and Jimmy Stewart's famous character George Bailey is one of his heroes. "It isn't just that we are in the same line of work, it's that George always did what was right, and not what was easy. Having been born and raised in the same town, and having a family here, I can identify with his character in a number of ways."
A perfect referral for Jeff is: "Someone who has some financial means and a strong business back- ground, who is looking to put a fair amount of money into a project or business and is looking to finance a portion."
Another avenue for a great referral is, of course, anyone like Jeff's three best clients: a car dealer, a real estate investor and an investment advisor. The top professions he would like to see join Business Power Network have already done so, and those are a commercial realtor and business broker, and beyond our membership, those are two great professions Jeff would love to make connections with.
Just as Jeff constantly strives to expand the business hopes and dreams of his clients, his fellow Business Power Network members need to work to bring in strong referrals to expand Jeff's client base! |
| Next Month's
Featured Member:
 Jamie Holland
Polished
For Profit
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BPN Updates
New Member:
Rod Triplett, Murphy
Business & Financial
New Business:
Abby O'Sullivan,
Amoré SkinSpa |
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MORE NEWS!
Catch up on past issues of the BPN Newsletter on our website. Click here! |
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Contact Us
Visitor Host: Mike Ferguson
Phone: 417-883-1700
Next Meeting: Dec. 8, 2009
Time: 11:30am - 1:00pm
Place: Dining By Design
5021 South National
Springfield, MO 65810
For more information, visit
us on the web at:
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Have a great idea for a topic you'd like to see covered in a future issue? An event you want listed? A question about BNI you'd like to have answered? Click here to let us know! |
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Newsletter feedback? Positive OR negative?
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Editor's Note
We're giving our "over-worked" staff, and our monthly contributors, time off for the Holidays, so this edition of the BPN Newsletter covers both November and December. Next issue will hit the stands in January, so have a Happy Holiday season! |
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Newsletter Credits:
Reporter-at-Large:
Melissa Miller-Young
Wordmiller.com
Editor-in-Chief:
Martin Sansom
...and the rest of the BPN Marketing Team! | |
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