Champions SoCal BNI

Champions SoCal BNI President's Weekly Letter

2011-09-27T11:34:00.000-07:00

Woooooooooo, CHAMPIONS!

Adios, Au Revior, Sayanara, etc. Today was not goodbye...it was so long! Today marked the end of our term as a leadership team. We left the plane in great hands with Gary Lorge, Aric Gless, Kris Hansberger, et al! I have composed a brief recap of the last six months April 2011-September 2011 for your viewing pleasure.

I will remember fondly all of the Champions who served in this year's leadership term:

Vice President, Greg Beck-Greg has served in many positions but not VP until this year. When I was asked to be President, I told Lem Bucago...under one condition...that Greg will agree to be VP!

Secretary/Treasurer, Rosanne Grigsby and Joe Davis-Only one choice in my book...Rosanne! Thanks Joe for ably filling in when Rosanne was sick.

Membership Committee Chair, Aric Gless-accomplished the task with the skill and precision of an architect...oh yeah...he is an architect!

Mentor Chair, Steven Stakley-My personal mentor long before he held the position! Certain people just fit the role...Steven fits the role!

Education Coordinator, Jim Sando-WOW!

GRC, Michael Figueroa-Michael took over the position when Emily Davidson left the chapter. Michael learned by fire and performed brilliantly!

Visitor Host, Angelo Dionisiou-Angelo also took over lead visitor host when Tom Roberts left. Working with a president who was a former visitor host and a "glorified visitor host" this year is not easy. Mix in a commute from Carlsbad and a new baby and the task becomes extremely tough. Angelo set the bar this year with his effort!

Members at Large-Y'all are the best!

Congrats to Alex Ribble...number 31! Also thanks to Hema Dey of Premier Professionals...you know why!

A special thanks to Lem Bucago (great keynote on BNI Connect), our Director; Bernadette Lazzara, our ambassador, Lonie Misner-Feigerle, and Jeremy Ball from the San Gabriel Valley and Inland Empire Region , Tom Galan (visitor for a second time), and Russ from Dream Team for attending my swan song! It was great to have you all witness the power of the Champions!

Remember, your leadership term is a journey and don't stop believing!

Make it a Champion week, y'all!

Your faithful President,

Allen Buchanan

President's Weekly Letter, Champions SoCal BNI

2011-09-20T16:12:00.000-07:00

Woooooooooo, CHAMPIONS!

...From our very own, Miss Kitty, AKA, Kitty Rudometkin, our chapter placement specialist and a guest she infused to our chapter today...

Tommy Galan visits Champions BNI today...and had the following to say in the follow up phone interview.

"Kudos to you and your awesome Champions!!! I just got off the phone with Tommy and he had 3 words to describe his experience this morning - "supportive, efficient and uplifting!!!" He plans to return next week with the owner of the company to show him just what BNI is all about!!! VERY COOL!! Way to go.....Kitty"

And that is what I am talking about! Champions, you rock! One of the elements of our vision for this chapter a year ago was to make the visitor experience the best that the visitor had ever seen. Today, with the feedback above, we achieved that vision and much, much, more!

The image above depicts that our leadership terms are nearing an end. This isn't the end but you can see it from here.

Below is a video clip of my fondest memories of the first six months of our leadership term...October 2010-March 2011. I hope you enjoy strolling down memory lane as much as I enjoyed sharing the memories.

Make it a Champion week everybody!

Your faithful President,

Allen Buchanan

President's Weekly Letter, Champions SoCal BNI

2011-09-13T10:31:00.000-07:00

Woooooooooo, CHAMPIONS!

In this week at the "after the meeting" interview, we highlight four special people to Champions SoCal BNI...you are ALL special but these three plus one are your incoming Leadership Team for next term which commences October 1, 2011 (our first meeting is the 4th). Watch here and learn what each new leadership team member learned from the recent Leadership Team training. We also hear from Lem Bucago, the Director to the Champions and Director of Training about what he teaches the Vice Presidents and Membership Committee members.

...And once again, our President select, Gary Lorge is the copious note taking guest blogger for this week.

“We started a little late but really got cookin’. Our visitors really brought the energy up in the room. They were: Patrice Sorokin, Alex Ribble (second time), Bryan Mataya, and our Director Lem Bucago.

Our EC got us thinking: Am I playing the child’s game “telephone” with my customers? If we don’t have a short and simple elevator speech we may be. We need to be concise and memorable in order to give those valuable referrals.

Our leaders for last month in 1:2:1 meetings: Greg Beck, Donna Cahoon and a tie for first place with 15 1:2:1’s with Bo Lowe and Kris Hansberger.

Our ITA took a swerve and was awarded to a first time winner this week. Past winners were not eligible. Brett missed his chance as he was away this week and the award went to Jim Salem. Congratulations Jim!

Our Keynotes delivered spot on presentations. Robert Perez explained why he is the best choice for video production. He has a broad background and is able to do many of the tasks that his competitors farm out. This allows him to keep costs down. We know that his quality is second to none. The list of products that he offers is amazing.

Joe Salazar made it perfectly clear that we should not be yelling at our computers, we should be calling him. He had some great ones: “Jiminy Cricket, Holy Moly, and a Disco dance were all used and I came right back to the office and made sure I was backed up. The Net Whiz is truly a whiz and brought his “A game” to the Keynote speech this morning.

Jim Salem and Kathy Penton were delivered their 4 star ribbons by the small but mighty Lem Bucago. And lastly our President reminded us that we don’t want to be the slow gazelle- so hit the ground running in the morning.

Until next week….”

And as prefaced...A lion awakes early, running hoping to catch a speedy gazelle. A speedy gazelle awakes early running hoping to outrun the slowest among him lest he be eaten by the lion. The moral...whether you are a lion or a gazelle, you better rise early running

Make it a Champion week everybody!

Your faithful President (almost EC),

Allen Buchanan

President's Weekly Letter, Champion's SoCal BNI

2011-09-06T14:38:00.000-07:00

Woooooooooo, CHAMPIONS:

Well last week worked so well that we decided to make it official...Gary Lorge is scribing and I, your faithful president, am doing what I love to do...greeting the visitors...after all, we are ALL visitor hosts. Take a look and find out why the Champions SoCal BNI stresses making our visitors feel prepared, valued, connected and comfortable. We are happy to have received an app today from Johnny Maravelis...Phoenix Afterglow...rise up! Please don't hang up, however, as there is a lot more to read from your president select...Gary Lorge! Rock on Gary...

"Greetings Champions from your guest blogger!

We start off this shortened holiday week with an explosive number: $795,000. That is the number Greg has calculated for our TYCB for the year. WOW, great job everyone.We had a number of visitors that started their week with the Champions: Patrick Sharples, Randy Hurtt( 2nd visit), Johnny Maravelis, and Karl Bonham. Thanks go out to all of you for joining us. Are there applications in the works? Remember, an approved application locks out your competition.

I learned from Jim Sando that size of a chapter does matter. It makes sense that the more members we have the more referrals we pass and receive. The more visitors we have the more become members. Bottom line from the best EC in the business: Get your letters out for Visitors Day people!

We have a returning leader in the category of referrals for August: Donna Cahoon. Our other leaders-Dr. Paul Kwik and Robert Perez for Visitors and Kris Hansberger and Greg Beck for 1:2:1’s. Congratulations all (who will oust Ms. Cahoon next month??).

The ITA winner this week proves that anything can be accomplished with a dead gopher and political nepotism. It took guts not to go with the guy who brought a gun and an axe, Kris.

Our CPA has tallied some impressive numbers for us: 2715 1:2:1’s 1288 Referrals 109 Visitors These are fantastic numbers and really give us something to shoot at next year.

Randy Clement gave us some insight into what a typical day looks like for him. (Lots of sunglasses.) Litigation, Arbitration, Negotiation- Clement and Ho does it all in a day. It boils down to this: A full service law practice with comparatively lower prices than the competition.

Our Founding Father also spent 10 minutes enlightening us this morning. Steven Stakley, with Burnham Gibson, explained what to expect when we get him involved in our customers retirement. He puts the needs of his clients first, many times at the expense of his own because that is what is right. I think that is a very powerful statement.

Happy Birthday to our Sec/Treas to be Kris Hansberger- 29 and holding.

Our President finally gets what he has been waiting for from Greg Beck- a Testimonial! Allen delivers more for the money.

Dues are due and see you next week!"

Make it a Champion week y'all!

Your faithful President,

Allen Buchanan

President's Weekly Letter, Champions SoCal BNI

2011-08-30T14:00:00.000-07:00

Woooooooooo, CHAMPIONS:

Today we embark on a new level of energy and a re-worked format...the video recap. With the help of several Champions...Chris Vasquez, Michael Figueroa, Brett Adolph, Jim Sando (film by Robert Perez)and yours truly, please enjoy. Our President select, Gary Lorge took copious notes during the proceedings and please spend a minute and tour those...

From the pen (that is mightier than the sword) of Gary Lorge...AKA Ramblings from the President Select:

"As always we welcome our Visitors and we had a few this week: Lindy Clark, Lisa Stewart, Lourdes Ramos and our visitors from other BNI chapters: Robert Marquez, Johnny Maravelis, and TR Garland. Thank you all for your wonderful presence.

We are blessed with the best EC in BNI and today Jim Sando showed why. Jim taught us a fantastic tool to use at our networking events: Behave like a Host! People will flow to you when you act like a host at an event and not a guest. Fantastic and I’m sure we all can’t wait to use this one!

Our leader for August in the all important category of referrals: Donna Cahoon of Today’s Windows and Doors. Donna clearly gets that "givers gain…"

The ITA this week was soooo close. I loved that Randy Clement believes that all small businesses should be required to have an attorney on staff, but the award goes to…….Kris Hansberger. Kris wins and swears it is her second award because she lost the first on a technicality.

Brett Adolph used a technique that I had never seen before to present his keynote. Payday Payroll is lucky to have him as a talent- lets hope he and Chris Vasquez keep to their day jobs and don’t pursue the stage as a career. Payday payroll sounds like the only place to go for your payroll needs…

Jim Salem informed us that pretty much anyone can become a realtor. Lucky for us our chapter has a Realtor with over 20 years experience and an MBA from USC(my fingers just burned as I typed those letters). Jim showed us the type of work he does on behalf of his clients and it is AWESOME!

Finally, the Champion spark plug award goes to yours truly. I refuse this award and give it to all of those that attended Leadership training the past few days. We had more participants (as a percentage of members) than any other chapter. You are all tremendous!

See you next week!"

Nice job Gary!

Make it a Champion week everybody!

Your faithful President,

Allen Buchanan

President's Weekly Letter, Champions SoCal BNI

2011-08-23T15:31:00.000-07:00

Woooooooooo, Champions:

A great time was had by all this beautiful Tuesday as we called the Champions promptly at 7:45. There is an air of transition as the chapter will attend leadership training as a group on Saturday. Next year's leadership team is an all star bunch...this year's was not bad...but Gary is assembling his masses and Saturday promises to be epic! All of the visitation today were members from other chapters. We always appreciate visitors from other chapters...especially when they emote at Stand and Deliver. Jodi Salazar found many unique things that she will take back to her chapter and Mike Adray enjoyed the energy. The Hidden Jewel will hear from Mike, I am sure. Our very own Bernadette (ambassador to the Champions) was there to share her wealth of BNI workshop experience. Always great to see Mrs. L!

EC:

I really loved the EC moment today! Jim Sando always does a great job and today was no exception. Jim spoke about "profiling your target client", provided an in depth hand out, and challenged each of us be "more" specific next week in our asks.

Keynotes:

Aric Gless from Gless Architects spoke about what happens after the plans are drawn and Joe Davis, estate planning attorney extraordinaire spoke about what happens if you do nothing...always a BAD idea when it comes to your estate. These consummate professionals received several heart felt accolades during Stand and Deliver.

Awards and Such:

ITA: the fastest ever from new member to ITA...Joe Salazar! Very well done sir. You have now set the bar VERY high for yourself.

Champion's Spark Plug: Jim Sando for allowing SoCal BNI to use his facility for LT training rehearsal

Congrats to the Champions who will reach our revenue goal a month early! All of those one-to-one meetings certainly have paid off!

Don't forget a few key dates:

Evening Among the Stars, October 7th

Visitor Day October 11th

This Saturday, August 27th, LT Training at the Knott's Berry Farm Resort Hotel at 7:30 AM

Rite_loom is going to be hosting an event next month for chapters that Rite- Loom belongs to...Champions BNI, North Orange County, Client Tell, Business Connection.
It will be September 16th, Friday afternoon from 4:00pm - 8:00pm.
It will be at Rite-Loom Flooring Company - located at 1295 N. Kraemer Blvd, Anaheim Ca 92806
Phone Number [714] 764-1122.
We will be hosting with drinks and appetizers.
We will also be having an open Chili Cook Off Contest for members of these four chapters. There will be a prize awarded for first place.
More info to follow!

Quote Action:

"We make a living based upon what we receive. We make a life based upon what we give." Sir Winston Churchill. Your action for this week is to practice the Giver's Gain philosophy in all that you do.

Make it a Champion week y'all!

Your faithful President,

Allen Buchanan

President's Weekly Letter, Champions SoCal BNI

2011-08-16T17:43:00.000-07:00

Wooooooooo CHAMPIONS! or as they say at the "shore"...How you doin?

If you are wondering why your faithful president (I am the one on the right, Kris Hansberger, AKA Snookie, is on the left) is dressed like a "wise guy", it is because our meeting and SMMs were themed with a G-rated "Jersey Shore" parody...Wow! I was really worried about the results but I have to say that the outcome was truly tremendous! We all had a blast and we filmed the ENTIRE meeting! With the help of our crack videographer, Robert A. Perez, we should be able to edit something memorable for all of us. Thanks to Robert and ALL of the Champions that made today truly epic and most importantly, fun! If you missed today's meeting...Fahggit about it! If you were offended...whatta ya gonna do?

The highlights:

Visitation...2 Qualified visitors, Jerry Tortoro from FUN and Victoria Martinez from Good Vibrayshuns, mobile DJ. Victoria has been our server from Collettes for 2 and 1/2 years. She is an honorary ITA winner and was last week's Champion spark Plug winner...AND she can sing. This was Victoria's first visit as a "non-server" and she complimented us on our growth, professionalism, fun, and the serious business that we refer each week. She is DEFINITELY going to join a BNI chapter soon. Linda subbed for Mark Bill, Kathryn Deiters from Business Connections subbed for Christina Pham, and Megan Sachs visited to witness Robert do his thing. Rounding out the visitation was Tom Sheltraw from Coastal Connections BNI. Thanks for attending Champions Shore!

Great Keynote by the World Famous Bo Lowe who demonstrated just how easy the SOC system is to use!

Chapter Biz...record in 1-2-1s...BUT the proof is in the TYFCB as we eclipsed $700,000 and with today's take we are unofficially approaching $750,000...Ka Ching!

ITA winner was Donna Cahoon who was stunning in her poofed coiff. We barely made it through the SMMs as the room was hysterically laughing at the "shore themed" introductions.

Kathy Penton, healed pooch and all, was this week's CSP (Champion Spark Plug) winner. Thanks Kathy for replenishing our stock of tiny Tabasco bottles for the ITA awards.

Give it up for the great job the GRC team...Dr. Real, Michael Figueroa, and Jody Houseman...also the Sheriff, Greg Beck are doing with the visitor day planning. Don't forget about the day...October 11, 2011! You won't want to miss this folks!

Please sign up for the Leadership Training! For those having difficulty with the sign up...please contact our director, award winning trainer and director of SoCal BNI training, Lem Bucago. Lem can be emailed at lem@socalbni.com.

The "Evening" is fast approaching. If you signed up, the money is due. If you would like to attend let us know and we will see if there is a spot for you. Please remit to Rosanne.

You ALL are inspiring to me! Thanks for allowing me to lead you to places rarely trodden by BNI chapters! I believe the experience speaks volumes. Woooooooo, CHAMPIONS!

Please make it a Champion week ya'll.

Your faithful President,

Allen Buchanan

President's Weekly Letter, Champions SoCal BNI

2011-08-09T18:05:00.000-07:00

Wooooooooo, CHAMPIONS!

"When you keynote, pick an item to give away that will cause your chapter members to always think of you" Jim Sando, Education Coordinator for the Champions. The tag to the left...if you scan it...will be something that causes all of you to think of me...which created a flurry of memories of the "year of the Champions" (almost) while I have served as your chapter President. What are the things that I remember when I think of each of you? Here they are by member:

Jim Salem, that friendly smile every week
Patrick O'Kane, what part of his body was to be injured next
Chuck Tipton, "hair on fire"...
Jim McCracken, amortization made simple
Kris Hansberger, "you can slip it"
Angelo Dionisiou, the next time I beat him to a meeting will be the first
Gary Lorge, the impromptu Frank Sinatra SMM...epic!
Bill Edman, Quack Quack
Randy Clement, the father and son SMM during bring you child to BNI week
Doug Luchansky, the "build your company keynote"
Greg Beck, (if only one)...gotta be the SMM where he became the "sheriff"
Rosanne Grigsby, wow! the fighter!
Chris Vasquez, his home purchase utilizing the best the Champions has to offer
Steven Stakley, four time ITA winner...and still seven weeks to go!
Jim Sando, EC moments to a whole new level
Brett Adolph, when will he win the ITA?
Carmina Perez, that beautiful smile (see Jim Salem)
Robert A. Perez, what happens at Champions stays on You Tube
Aric Gless, the scaled drawing of the venue for buffet planning purposes
Joe Davis, the pirate hat
Christina Pham, bringing a visitor while visiting
Dr. Real, three time ITA and mentor to several other ITA winners
Dr. Kwik, the SMM which included a "mock pregnancy"
Kathy Penton, the gardening hat
Steve Barnett, (see Chris Vasquez)
Bo Lowe, the ENERGY...every week!
James Kashi, "good morning, Chuck"
Mark Bill, "I'm not a computer guy"
Jody Houseman, the ITA winner using a simulated hammer on the roof (see Dr. Real)
Michael Figueroa, his impassioned recap of his employer
Donna Cahoon, quickest ITA winner on record

So there you have it. I will think of you all when these items are mentioned.

Make it a Champion week everybody!

Your faithful President,

Allen Buchanan

President's Weekly Letter, Champions SoCal BNI

2011-08-02T14:55:00.000-07:00

Wooooooooo CHAMPIONS!

A BNI Testimonial:

Today, I want to spend a minute and talk about the power of this organization, BNI, the subset of which is SoCal BNI, the subset once again which is Champions SoCal BNI and how this translates into visitors to our chapter and importantly to all of us the dollars that we receive when we gain through our giving. A huge shout out to two of our Directors and one of our fellow chapter members (from another chapter) who sent visitors to the hallowed halls of the Champions today! Todd Hansberger sent us his lovely wife Kris who is our newest member and our Secretary/Treasurer select. Todd also sent us Chris Hartshorn from Wholesale Capital Corporation. Chris (not Mrs. Hansberger) wanted to join an established chapter vs the south county start-up he manages and sent him our way. Dan Fowler has sent us three visitors recently and Hema Dey sent us (with a little coaching from your faithful President) Alex Ribble from Big Chief Creative Media. Our heartfelt thanks ya'll for the strong vote of confidence and a true giver's gain mentality! the capper, however, was that a visitor from last week, Les Davidson, sent one of his subs, George Giberstein, owner of Sprinklerman. Additionally, Randy Hurtt, invited by Mark Bill was present as well as two gentlemen from Yorba Linda Mobile carwash...Oscar and Javier Ortega...invited by Dr. Paul. And lest we forget, Joseph Salazar of Net Wiz who submitted an app and apparently already knows Alex Ribble and refers him biz...hmmm we call that a Power Team! For those keeping score at home, that was lucky seven visitors! We also welcomed two subs from other chapters AND the esteemed Martin Neil of Caliber Signs who attended to provide a testimonial for Robert Perez who produced the video below for Martin's business...that is a shameless plug for Robert and for Martin...but they are both THAT good!

Keynotes:

Our keynote presenters, Donna Cahoon of Today's Windows and Doors and Cristina Pham of Select Printing and Graphics shared some things that they have in common...although it was not planned...both are native Californians, both are generational owners of their businesses and both have locations which you should visit. The passion and expertise was evident and PLEASE refer all of your friends and countrymen to these wonderful ladies! They will exceed your expectations!

Recognition and Biz: (in order of appearance)

Greg Beck the Sheriff reported that for the ten months ending July 31, 2011, the Champions have:

Given 1171 referrals
Participated in 2476 1-2-1s
Welcomed 95 Visitors
Thanked for $652,000!
Must be some sorta record...we are going with that!

1-2-1 leader(s) for July...Kris Hansberger and Bo Lowe
Referral leader for July...Donna Cahoon
Visitation leader for July...Steven Stakley

ITA winner for the third time...Mr. Jim McCracken! Jim Sando provided a great EC moment on the "specific ask"...a VERY crucial element to incorporate into your profitable intro!
Champion Spark Plug Winner...All of the Champions for the below effort. We love you Clay and are praying for your speedy recovery and return to your spot with the Champions!

From Jenni Nering regarding a note she received from Clay Colwell...a true Champion!

"Hi Allen,

I am tallying up all of the chapter star award winners for the celebration. I was really touched by one of the Champions response and I wanted to pass it along. The Champions is a great place to belong!!!!

His nominee was” “every member of the chapter”
His reason: “I am a former member of the Champions and recently I was diagnosed with Two different types of cancer. I have had to withdraw from BNI since then simply because I cannot work while going through treatment and surgery, and it will be a long process which could take 6-9 months. Everyone in the chapter has reached out and offered their support and help, with Joe Davis really stepping up and helping me to get my estate set up almost over night, and Chris Vasquez who helped me get my bank accounts all rearranged and in order. And I cannot leave out people like Allen, Bo, Jim, Steven, Dr Real, Greg, Bill and Kathy who went out of their way to contact me many times to see how I was. And I cannot forget Rosanne, who was also going through a battle of her own with cancer and yet still extended herself. Being a member of the Champions was like having an extended family, who one of these days I fully intend to come back and visit with again once I am Cancer FREE!”

Jenni Nering
Executive Director
SoCalBNI

In the immortal words of Forrest Gump..."and that is all that I have to say about that!"

Please make it a Champion Week.

Your Faithful President

Allen Buchanan

President's Weekly Letter, Champions SoCal BNI

2011-07-26T13:24:00.000-07:00

Woooooooo, CHAMPIONS!

Wow! It is good to be back and assuming my role as your faithful president. Mrs. Buchanan rocked the house in Chicago with her talks on social media and networking but our minds wandered back to the Champions and Platinum Coast BNI...two stalwart chapters in the SoCal Region! Can I get a shout out from Mrs. Nering? How about those fine folks in Michigan...Bill and Sue? We had a blast today as the image to the left will attest. We pitched each other! As the old saying goes, "You scratch my back, I will scratch yours and we will both be better as a result!"...or something like that. Last week we drew a card from the box (step 1). We conducted 1-2-1s with that person (step 2). We learned how to deliver their intro (step 3). Today we delivered the goods...after baking in a well greased pan for 30 minutes at 350...woops, wrong show. Well I must admit the results were quite tasty. We may, however have muddled our visitors...I certainly hope not! Anyway, there were several visitors...four of whom took apps!

Karen Cormier-Southwards from Cormier Construction and Design is looking forward to being a part of our group...she said that!
Joseph Salazar, of Net Wiz really had alot of fun...and was great at his intro!
Joe Davis, Jr...playing a dual role, loves the camaraderie.
Les Davidson of All Drains Plumbing enjoyed the creativity!
Sheri Thomas, of MTM Phone Systems, loved the consistency...she has subbed before.
Victoria Wade, of Time Warner Cable, said the Champions felt like a family.
Ryan Mulvany, of Voice Smart, enjoyed the structure, energy (alot of that today) and in short believed we are a great group of business people!

Thanks visitors! We enjoy your comments and take the feedback VERY seriously. Onward!

Keynotage:

Patrick O'Kane and Michael Figueroa...two craftsmen, crafting their crafts left us with a deep desire to schedule one-to-ones and learn more about referring them. Michael brought in tile, granite, hardwood, and rug samples and asked that ALL of us visit his showroom!...maybe not ALL at once. Patrick explained the misleading ads on the radio about "no cost" refis! I have never heard a stand and deliver quite so filled with testimonials about these two! We are VERY happy that you both are Champions!

Hail to the Four Time ITA winner....Mr. Steven Stakley! Simply brilliant as he delivered Gary Lorge's Profitable Introduction...I know it was confusing to me as well! Steve came with a glue on goatee and a ducky candle in a jar. (Gary has a goatee AND protects homeowners against fire). I thought the ITA ruler made a political choice until I realized that Steven actually won...because he gave Gary's...oh well, you get the idea. Congrats to Steven who ALWAYS comes to play...even though his football team doesn't...sorry!:)

Gary Lorge, thanks sooo much for the fill in! You were this week's Champion Spark Plug winner! You did a GREAT job and we are all excited for your new role and the transition of your faithful President into your faithful Education Coordinator!

We are weeks away from a mega visitor day complete with a keynote by a former Champion...Jenni Nering...last heard from at the top of a ropes course in Yorba Linda...did I mention that we had several Champion ambassador/directors who completed the ropes course unscathed...a couple didn't but thems the breaks...fortunately no bones broke!

Well signing off now to go attend to my day job!

Please make it a Champion week, everybody!

Your faithful President,

Allen Buchanan

Presidents weekly letter, Champions

2011-07-19T18:37:00.000-07:00

Wooooooo, CHAMPIONS!

Many thanks to Gary Lorge, incoming Prez and guest blogger while I'm away supporting Mrs. Buchanan in her speaking career. We are eating our way through Chicago and having a blast. VERY much miss the Champions, however. Here are the facts, Ma'am:

Allen is missed as he attends the conference in the windy city. We have 5 Visitors in the room:
Dr Janet Jackman: Optometrist
Tom Morris: Real Estate Appraiser
Joe Salazar: Senior network Consultant
Lem Bucago
Another fantastic educational moment with Jim Sando. Jim had great thoughts about “getting out of your comfort zone”. Reach out beyond your typical networks in order to positively impact the number of referrals you are receiving. You never know where a quality referral will come from!
Dr. Hercules Real took over the awarding of the ITA. Hercules is a multi – time winner and always delivers the goods. After much consideration (Many delivered the sought after trifecta) Dr. Real awarded the hot stuff to Angelo Dionisiou who obviously has no problem operating on minimal hours of sleep with a new baby in the house.
Angelo took the award and then took the floor to review with us a topic I am always riveted by: Commercial Insurance. He explained how he visits clients in person to make sure they are properly covered and to uncover all savings. Thank you Angelo for a great presentation.
Visitor Day is announced. Greg Beck took the GRC moment and ran with it as he revealed the plans for a Champions Visitors Day in October. Excitement is brewing as we shoot for our goal of 100 people in the room.
Our leader was missed and we all look forward to his return to the helm next week! Have a safe trip back enjoy Allen.

The Fall courtesy of your faithful President

2011-07-16T08:43:00.000-07:00

Woooooooooo, CHAMPIONS!

Your faithful President takes one for the team! Nothing hurt but my feelings...

President's Weekly Letter, Champions SoCal BNI

2011-07-12T19:40:00.000-07:00

Woooooooo, CHAMPIONS:

That handsome man to your left is one of the original Champions...a charter member, The Sheriff, our vice president, my dear friend and one of our keynote speakers today! If you guessed Greg Beck...ding, ding! You are a winner. All of the Champions have a better understanding of entities, and the tax impact of sole proprietorships, C-Corps, S-Corps, and LLCs. Thanks for all you do for the Champions, Greg! We love ya dearly!

Our other keynote speaker today was another original charter member of the Champions, Dr. Hercules Real...the first winner of the Champion Spark Plug award, a former VP and also my dear friend and a MAJOR contributor to the ITA! The images were informative and the questions to ask to get you referrals were well received. Thanks for all that you do for Champions, Dr. Real!

Maiden Flight:

The Champion's next President, Gary Lorge, flew the plane today and with only minor turbulence during flight, Mr. Lorge proved why he was the choice...energy and presence...you cannot teach that! I believe that ALL of the Champions will benefit during Gary's term. Nice Job Gary! Next week the solo as your faithful President will be in Chicago.

The highlights:

ITA winner: Awarded by Bill Edman to Gary Lorge...several great performances here. One can only wonder if the choice was politically motivated...hmmm!

Champion Spark Plug: To Mr. Aric Gless for his efforts this week on the membership committee.

Visitation:

David Woods of Green Worx Solar...app submitted
Todd Hamo from Copy Editing...made a great connection with Jim Sando
Brad Goldston of Expo4Life...I noticed our newest member chatting him up

We LOVE our visitors as it is ALL about you!

Welcome Kris Hansberger!

The Champions are thrilled to welcome Kris Hansberger! We are so pleased that Kris chose to resume her illustrious BNI career with us. Kris will also serve as the Champion's Secretary Treasurer next term! See you Friday, Kris! Dr. Paul will mentor Kris.

Announcements:

July 26th will be a special day as we will tape for our "Evening" video and swap 1-2-1s and deliver each others SMMs...so who wins the ITA?...hmmm!

Make it a Champion week everybody! See y'all on the 26th,

Your faithful President,

Allen Buchanan

Please Nominate your "Star"

2011-07-07T09:54:00.000-07:00

Wooooooooo, CHAMPIONS!

Please CLICK THE LINK BELOW
and take 30 seconds to nominate
the "STAR" in our chapter and
tell SoCal why you are nominating
them!

All of the chapter star awards
will be presented at the “evening
among the stars” and include a
photo with Dr. Misner!

I have nominated my star, have you?

STAR AWARD NOMINATION FORM LINK:

https://app.icontact.com/icp/sub/survey/start?sid=861&cid=849087

President's Weekly Letter, Champions SoCal BNI

2011-07-05T10:12:00.001-07:00

Wooooooooo, CHAMPIONS!

I affectionately refer to the image above as "Management" for a couple of reasons...#1; Greg Beck, AKA the Sheriff and part time CFO; Rosanne, the controller of the currency; and I, your faithful President and acting CEO, played a part in the Doug Luchansky keynote today. #2 The Management team with whom I have shared the dais for these past nine months will not be management anymore after September 2011 as the new leadership team was announced...more on that in a bit. Doug used his ten minutes to "build a company" by appointing various Champions with leadership roles in the new company. I was selected to be CEO...chapter presidents and CEOs have something in common...they all rely upon others to "do the work!" Greg was CFO...a role with which he is intimately familiar, and Rosanne was the controller...quite a stretch!
Very creative use of members to illustrate how ACI consulting uses ALL of these positions to integrate into its software solutions.

The International Tabasco Award with a Patriotic extension...literally!

Any Champion who used a patriotic theme in their SMM today received an extension of fifteen seconds from the normal thirty second time frame. Several of our members "exercised their right" to extend their Fourth of July holiday weekend as well...including Robert Perez who was today's ruler. Even with the diminished numbers...the competition was fierce. We had four Champions that were finalists...Donna Cahoon, Jim Sando, Bo Lowe and Bill Edman. Bill took home the pepper as he impersonated the statue of liberty by standing on a chair...very creative Bill! You now join a long list of "two time winners"! Brett Adolph...even with a sub...was a "specific ask" away from his first win. I really wanted to award it to you buddy...just didn't have that ask! Rumor has it that our applying visitors (Kris) are vying for a taste of the pepper as well! Happy that you have embraced the fun that is the ITA.

You can nominate a Champion to be a star!

Just click here and you will be directed to a link. You can then nominate a "star" of our chapter that will be awarded at the Evening Among the Stars in October. Do you know someone that embodies the Giver's Gain philosophy? If so, you can nominate them here!

The New Improved Management Team for 2011-2012:

Our Director, Director of Training for SoCal BNI, and Trainer of the Year for 2009 and 2010, Lem Bucago introduced the new President for the next term............Gary Lorge (who also keynoted)! Gary then announced his cabinet:

VP- Aric Gless
Membership Committee- Randy Clement
Sec/Treas- TBD
Visitor Host- Kathy Penton
Member Mentor- Jim Sando
Education Coordinator- Allen Buchanan
GRC- Greg Beck

Gary will have a practice flight of the Champions next week and will solo on the 19th as your faithful President will exercise his right to attend a trade show with Mrs. Buchanan in Chicago...did I mention that she is speaking?

The EC Moment courtesy of Mr. Sando:

Focused upon the five reasons that people rarely ask for feedback from their clients and referral sources. This snippet was taken from the 29% Solution...a book written by Dr. Ivan Misner.

Champion Spark Plug Winner:

This week's winner, Steven Stakley, is a charter member of the Champions and has worked diligently with our mentors to mentor our membership. Steve has endured quite a bit of turnover with his team but has maintained a constant "product" and our retention numbers show it! Congrats, Steven!

Announcements:

"Evening" October 7th
Office Hours July 11th
Java with Jenni July 18th

Please sign up for Hidden Opportunities that will be held tomorrow, July 6th at 2:00 PM at the Meridian...we all can find that. Don't forget, this training is necessary to complete your FULL eight sessions of workshops offered by SoCal BNI. I will be there, will you? Click here to be directed to the SoCal BNI website for registration.

Please remember:

An admirer looks at the stars with admiration, a Champion climbs a mountain and grabs a star. So are you a Champion or an admirer?

Please make it a Champion week everybody!

Your faithful President,

Allen Buchanan

Conference Call with Dr. Misner, SoCal BNI

2011-06-29T15:20:00.000-07:00

Orange County BNIConnect Webinar

Join us for a Webinar on June 30

Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/976492747

Discussion about BNIConnect with BNI Founder, Dr. Ivan Misner.

Title: Orange County BNIConnect Webinar
Date: Thursday, June 30, 2011
Time: 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM PDT

After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.

System Requirements
PC-based attendees
Required: Windows® 7, Vista, XP or 2003 Server

Macintosh®-based attendees
Required: Mac OS® X 10.5 or newer

President's Weekly Letter, Champions SoCal BNI

2011-06-28T13:24:00.000-07:00

Woooooooo, CHAMPIONS!

True or False...oh wait, that was last week! UFirst Financial, Mr. Jim McCracken, AKA the ElPaso kid educated us today with a VERY well done keynote...the concept was simple...if $6000 could save you (or make you in effect) $30,000, is that something that you would do. The Champions (in harmony ala Woooooo, Champions) retorted a resounding YES! So Ufirst helps educate the public on these simply debt reduction techniques.

Did you know that James Kashi (in addition to having a cool location in downtown Fullerton) services both foreign AND domestic cars? If you answered yes...ding, dig, ding, you are a winner!

Visitation:

The trades group got a charge today as we had two reps from a GC, a solar rep and two reps from a fourth generation plumbing contractor. Rumor has it that the plumbing contractor wants to join several chapters so that several of their reps can share the magic of referral based marketing. Michael Figueroa's company Rite Loom Flooring employs that strategy within the region quite nicely. A HUGE SHOUT OUT TO DAN FOWLER who encouraged the plumbers and solar rep to visit the Champions! Muchas gracias, Dan! True giver's gain spirit!

So, in order of their Stand and Deliver comments, here goes:

Max Copley of Computer Solutions Architects loved the Champions special recognition...International Spark Plug (won by Robert Perez today) and the Champions Spark Plug Award (won by Aric Gless today)

Joseph S. Davis, a criminal defense attorney subbing for Joseph G. Davis enjoyed the vast array of businesses.

David Woods of Greenworx Solar enjoyed how eager we were to get to know each other.

Shawn Ryan of Ryan Construction and Brent Coriaty of Ryan Construction definitely see the potential

Johnny Jacot and Tina Rosa of Jacot Plumbing enjoyed the referral stories of how we help each other.

For those keeping score at home...four...count 'em four apps! Including the pending app, that makes an even (or is that an odd) five!

Awards, Leaders, and Biz:

International Tabasco Award (for the "hottest" SMM) went to Robert Perez this week...he hit the marks and took home the pepper. He rules next week. Honorable mention to Donna Cahoon, Bill Edman, and Jim Sando.

Champion's Spark Plug today went to Aric Gless for his tireless work as our Membership Committee Chair.

May referral leader, Bill Edman
May 1-2-1 king, Jim McCracken
May visitation exemplar, Bo Lowe and Aric Gless

Referrals month-to-date 74
1-2-1s month-to-date 128
Visitors YTD 84
YTD TYFCB, $573,000...Ka Ching!
The sheriff, Greg Beck, also highlighted the seven members in the Champions that have accounted for 52% of the TYFCB (one was Greg, shhh!)

The meeting was closed with a quote which I plan to use in all of the future blog posts. We got this from our friend Rick Itzkowich and his weekly quote actions.

"Most look up and admire the stars. A Champion climbs a mountain and grabs one."
from an Unknown Author

Your action for today is to evaluate whether you are acting more like an admirer than a Champion.

Make it a Champion Week everybody!

Your faithful President,

Allen Buchanan

President's Weekly Letter, Champions SoCal BNI

2011-06-21T15:20:00.000-07:00

Wooooooooo, CHAMPIONS!

True or False, We had a GREAT sales manager moment, AKA, Profitable Intro, AKA Elevator Speech competition? TRUE! The moments were awesome with several memorable deliveries. In the end, with spouse present none-the-less, Joe Davis, counselor at law and estate planning attorney extraordinaire, took home the International Tabasco Award with much fan fare! Congrats Joe...you even manged a T or F in your ask which was clever! If you are reading this blog for the first time...welcome! This meeting was devoted to True or False...some even Stood and Delivered with a True or False theme...atta chapter...love it!

The highlights:

Attendance: The Sheriff, Greg Beck donned the suit and attended the meeting...around his vacation...Ok, he is in Newport, but still, that is DEDICATION! For those keeping score at home, Greg has not missed a meeting...even with a sub...for over THREE years! Wow. What a testament to the power of showing up and contributing. Hat's off...oh wait...that was a couple of weeks ago.

The Visitation: Five terrific visitors graced the Champion's lair today. Andrew Rea, a web designer; Libby Davis (Mrs. Tabasco) from Vitas; Kris Hansberger...True or False, she submitted an app...TRUE, sweet; Doug Karcher, a handyman...we REALLY need one; and Al Bustamantes from Integrated Technology, VOIP account exec. I believe we received two apps from the five visitors...not bad. Now up to the crack membership team to vet the apps...more to come! Thanks for flying with the Champions today.

Key Notage:
Bo Lowe...always amazing...gave us some great insight into the card industry and why customers leave their suppliers...perceived indifference. Great referrals for Bo are organizations that need to raise money (booster clubs, non-profits, PTAs, etc).

Jody Houseman...solid as usual...stained us, prepped us, and wowed us with the faux treatments. Jody can make his craft so interesting. Please note that Jody is a certified lead paint removal specialist...certified by California. Great referrals for Jody are General Contractors, property managers, trades that need painters...roofers, doors and windows....hmmm, Jody meet Donna, Donna Jody.

EC Momentos:

Continuing upon the testimonial theme started last week, Jim Sando highlighted the four things a great testimonial should contain:

A focus on one person
Specific
Delivered in first person
Placed in writing

Chapter Biz:

MTD Referrals 58
YTD 1-2-1s 2196...gotta be a record
YTD visitation 80
YTD TYFCB $567,600

Award Winners:

May Visitors Aric Gless and Bo Lowe
May 1-2-1s Jim McCracken
May Referrals Bill Edman

This week's Champion's Spark Plug winner, Angelo Dionisiou for his tireless efforts as visitor host! Congratulations to one and all!

Announcements:

Evening!! I am hearing rumblings of some cool stuff!

Workshop hosted by Champions today

Please keep our comrade Clay Colwell in your thoughts and prayers as he fights the good fight!

Make it a Champion week everybody!

Your faithful President,

Allen Buchanan

Please leave a comment...we love to hear from you!

Hat Day at Champions...you don't want to miss this

2011-06-16T07:40:00.000-07:00

A catchy opening...you must grab our attention. Complete the introduction before the time limit...varies by chapter. A VERY specific ask...specific is terrific. If you don't ask for something specific, how do we know what to refer to you. So what else does a successful Sales Manager Moment, AKA an elevator speech, AKA a profitable introduction possess?...a hat! what else? Take a look at the Champions hammin' it up with our hat day! Thanks to our very own Champion videographer, Robert A. Perez for the awesome production!

BNI Podcast Episode 209: “The Ten-Point Checklist”

2011-06-15T13:53:00.000-07:00

In this week's episode, Dr. Misner highlights a face-to-face checklist.

Synopsis:

"Today we’re talking about a face-to-face word-of-mouth checklist of credibility-enhancing materials you need to have available.

Testimonial letters from satisfied clients
Photos (of yourself, your office, your products)
Logos of your key customers
List of memberships and affiliations
A question-and-answer sheet (FAQ)
Photos of awards or certificates you and your staff have earned
Articles that you’ve published or been mentioned in
Brochures, circulars, datasheets, product catalogues
Items that help you explain your business, e.g. annual report
Articles about trends affecting your business
You should have these materials available both in hard copy, to bring with you, and on your website.

Brought to you by Networking Now. "

You can tune in to listen to the entire podcast by clicking here.

President's Weekly Letter, Champions SoCal BNI

2011-06-14T16:01:00.000-07:00

Wooooooo, CHAMPIONS!

First of all, THANKS to all of you who read the blog last week and commented! We had the largest readership in the history of this blog and the winner of the drawing was announced at today's meeting. If you didn't attend the meeting today and/or didn't get a call from me notifying you of your winning...you didn't...sorry, next time. Rumor has it the winner quacked quite loudly when awarded the second Champions coffee mug. But, thanks for the comments and the readership...much appreciated!

Well, this post will be in a unique format...True or False...so here goes!

True or False, the Champions welcomed five visitors today? True...and they were Kris Hansberger from Insurance KO, (we had to explain to her how the meetings worked :)); Lucas Anemone from Supermedia; Thomas Yasger, a handyman;Peter Bares of Goodwill Industries; and Sheri Thomas of MTM Phone Systems. We also were blessed to receive Hema Dey from Premier Professionals, Lola Gershfeld who subbed for Bo and Director Duane Townsend of the Hidden Jewel BNI chapter.

True or False, the handsome seven some pictured above are the individuals who won the BNI Game from each team? True...and they are L to R Kathy Penton (green team over achiever!), Robert Perez, Bill Edman, Steve Barnett, Michael Figueroa, Dr. Hercules Real, and Jody Houseman (also the GRC team, Michael, Hercules, and Jody).

True or False, We had our third three time winner of the ITA today? True, the sheriff, Greg Beck counted his way down to blast off and secured the pepper! Nice goin' Greg.

True or False, Steve Barnett from Office Solutions keynoted today? False, Steve Barnett of Complete Office keynoted and share with us his 33 years of experience in the office products world...he started as a child. Steve has some very impressive clients, Irvine Scientific and Crocker Packaging just to name a couple.

True or False, The Champions are poised to Thank for $500,0000 of TYFCB this year? False, we have eclipsed $550,000 and on an annualized basis expect to exceed our goal.

True or False, Jim Sando was absent today? False, he was there, delivered a wonderful EC moment on the origin of the testimonial as the first digression from the original BNI agenda and announced the workshop next Tuesday for all...MSP for veterans, 9:30 at our room.

True or False, the Champion Spark Plug was awarded to a worthy individual? False, the CSP was awarded to three worthy individuals...our GRC team, Michael Figueroa, Jody Houseman, and Dr. Hercules Real...great job on the game team!

True or False, we will be dark next week? FALSE...next week is True or False week! Please use a few T or F questions and answers in your SMMs next week...it will be a blast! Don't forget the specific ask and the sheriff is the ITA ruler next week and he is the sheriff...no lee way!

Until next time, your faithful President,

Allen Buchanan

BNI Podcast Episode 208: “Behind the GAINS profile"

2011-06-10T10:36:00.000-07:00

Synopsis:

Hazel Walker, co-author of Business Networking and Sex—Not What You Think, joins Dr. Misner today to talk about the GAINS profile, first mentioned in Business by Referral. (That stands for Goals, Accomplishments, Interests, Networks, and Skills.)

How does the GAINS profile help BNI members?

•Goals are how we help one another. It’s much easier to refer another person when you know what s/he is trying to achieve.
•Knowing someone else’s Accomplishments lets you build their credibility.
•Interests help us find common ground and build rapport.
•Discovering each other’s Networks lets us connect one another.
•Skills provide more credibility and open doors to doing business.
The idea in a GAINS exchange is to have a conversation. Hazel likes to start with the I, because it’s easiest to build rapport that way. For instance, two men who resisted doing the GAINS exchange discovered they were both soccer coaches and became the best of friends.

Hazel also recommends doing the GAINS profile with members of your chapter more than once. The answers to these questions change over time.

Brought to you by Networking Now.

You can listen to the entire podcast by clicking here.

President's Weekly Letter, Champions SoCal BNI

2011-06-07T13:10:00.000-07:00

Wooooooooo, CHAMPIONS!

Don't forget to read the blog and post a comment. Those posting...including those outside the chapter, will be entered in a drawing for a special prize courtesy of your faithful President!

The Champions SoCal BNI felt a little like the royal wedding this morning with all of the hat varieties...no princes, princesses, Bentleys, or QE2s...just lots of crazy hats!
The visitors were especially vocal in their praise during stand and deliver.

Chelsea Canterbury from Ajasrika Wellness was inspired
Eric Uriata, a commercial photographer from Liaisons, loved the SMMs
Lola Gershfeld, an executive coach, was impressed by the creativity and
Tom Roby, from Spectrum, always likes that there is something new at Champions!

The goal today was to frame a profitable intro with one, two, or three of the provided hats or to frame the intro with a hat from your profession. The Champions embraced the stimulant and the results were astounding!

The Sales Manager Moments, AKA profitable intros were in fact regal, however, as some in the chapter exclaimed that they have never seen the SMMs delivered better, with more flair, or more planning! Several "career" moments were delivered...Dr. Real, always a contender, in his magician's hat; Greg Beck complete with a hat and a paper star, Joe Davis with...a pirate hat, really?; Randy Clement with his "I can't pay the rent", but "you must pay the rent" impression, Steven Stakley with a Cabo San Lucas retirement hat; Christina Pham in her Taco Bell hat. In the end, Kathy Penton won her second ITA with her gardener's hat. Well done Kathy! That is why we picked you to head our "Evening" committee.

The EC Moment:

I asked that Jim Sando send this to me in it's entirety so that I could post it. I believe it was particularly good and is taken from "Success Net".

"Isn’t a BNI 30-Second Commercial or Sales Manager Moment really an advertisement? Isn’t it a sales message?

I’d like to share one way that you could do a 30-Second Commercial at our next meeting.

First, consider this: What does your product or service do for your customers?

That’s a question that might have hundreds of answers. But just a few of those answers will “hit home” with the majority of your current and past customers. Figuring out the most relevant answer to this question is key to creating an effective sales message.

When you need to create an advertisement, email, sales letter, 30-Second Commercial, direct mail postcard—anything related to sales and marketing—pretend that one person (your prospect) has a problem, a problem you can fix.

In your sales message, address the problem first. Addressing your prospect’s problem gets their attention. They think, Hey, I’ve got that same issue. I wonder what they’re going to do about it. It’s best to be specific in your sales message. The more specific your message, the better you’ll connect with your audience and attract their full attention.

Now that you’ve got them “hooked” for a few more seconds, what’s next? I would suggest you tell a short story about how one of your customers had a particular problem. Give details about their problem, and then share exactly what you did to make their problem disappear. People love stories, and they also like to hear that they are not the only ones with that same problem.

Finally, briefly summarize everything. Remind them of their problem, let them know how you would fix it, and tell them to contact you regarding their similar problem.

There are many different angles and creative ways to tell your prospect how you can help them. Just remember that your potential new customers don’t really give a darn about your product or service; they just want to know if you can get rid of their problem.

A final note: There’s no “right” way to give a 30-Second Commercial. Don’t get caught up in what you think a 30-Second Commercial should sound like. Don’t be afraid to break the rules. Alan has given us examples of that! If you give the same commercial week-in and week-out, you’re training your fellow Champions to forget you.

Now, don’t want you to take three hours to come up with a good commercial. You’ll never create the perfect one. You have many stories to share about how you can help people. Don’t try to cram everything into one. Attend every week, and feed us a bit of new information each time. You may think we know everything about your business, but…I promise you…we don’t."

Leaders and Chapter Biz:

May referral leader, Bill "quack-quack" Edman
May one-to-one leader, Jim McCracken with 28...has been a leader in this category all year long!
May visitors leader, Aric Gless
ITA, Kathy Penton
Champions Spark Plug Award, Robert Perez for volunteering his time and video talents toward the keynotes, SMMs, and footage for the "people's choice" video which will air in October at the "Evening Among the Stars"

Year to Date as reported by the Sheriff, Greg Beck:

Referrals 982
One-to-Ones 2111
Visitors 75
TYFCB $547,000

Bill Edman and Jim Sando keynoted and shared with us some excellent testimonials, ways to refer them, and their key clients. It is clear to me that the keynote workshops are beneficial...thanks Lem Bucago!

Announcements:

Post to the blog and enter a cool drawing

Evening update...twenty Champions and counting!

Basic (advanced) MSP for veterans on June 21st at Collette's

Quote action:

A lion awakens early every day, running, hoping to catch a speedy gazelle. A speedy gazelle awakens early every day hoping to outrun the slowest gazelle, lest he be eaten by the lion. The moral, whether you are a lion or a gazelle, you better wake up each day running. Your action is to leave a blog comment...

Sincerely,

Your faithful, running, President

Allen Buchanan

BNI Podcast Episode 207: “EGBOK”

2011-06-06T18:29:00.000-07:00

Synopsis:

In this week's podcast...Dr. Misner brought up the concept of EGBOK at the recent national conference in Rhode Island as part of a discussion about change, leadership, and solutions. The idea, introduced by Mark McKergow, is that you need to focus on what’s working, not what’s wrong.

If you focus on solutions, you can get almost anything done. Panic shifts responsibility away from ourselves. It reinforces counterproductive impulses.

So take a deep breath and remember EGBOK. Everything’s Gonna Be OK. It’s going to be okay because you do the hard work to make the vision a reality, because of your adaptability. The commitment and shared vision of the people in BNI mean that Everything’s Gonna Be OK in spite of challenges, technology problems, and personality conflicts.

Dr. Misner even handed out EGBOK buttons at the national conference. If you think the buttons are a good idea, say so here in the comments, and BNI will make more.

You can listen to the podcast by clicking here.

Dr. Misner, Jan Norman of the OC Register and me!

2011-06-01T16:42:00.000-07:00

Woooooooo, CHAMPIONS:

Your faithful President was able to provide the founder of BNI with a referral! For those keeping score at home, I am still one behind as Dr. Misner has kindly featured me (us) on the podcast, Episode 191, and on the Annie Armen show. As most of you know, I am diligent about listening to the BNI podcasts...OK, I enjoy hearing from the founder and his wealth of networking insight. In Episode 205, Dr. Misner asked for media publicity for his business index...voila...a specific ask.

From Episode 205 (the ask):

"...The idea really is to get the media to say, hey, this looks interesting, to comment on it and to build the BNI brand. So this is really more for the media than it is for members..." "...if you are listening to this podcast, feel free to leave a message here (which I did...see for yourself) on the BNIpodcast.com website and let me know what question you think might be valuable in the future that the media be interested in. What would the media like to know about how business is?"...

I have collaborated with Jan Norman of the OC Register for several months (I have been a fan for several years) and was able to connect the two via a telebridge and the below article was the result. I got to listen to the interview and even participate...very cool!

Excerpts:

"What does Misner recommend to his BNI members?"

“Two things have come out of both surveys. Stick to fundamentals…at the same time be creative and try things counter-intuitive to your industry.”

"Misner used as an example, Allen Buchanan, principal in Lee & Associates Commercial Real Estate Services in Orange. Buchanan often calls up business owners he reads about and builds relationships in industries and types of jobs he wouldn’t normally meet and that his competition isn’t going after. He had a record 2010 despite the spotty economic recovery."

“Business networking is more like farming than hunting,” Misner said. “People may let go of a vendor but they won’t let go of a friend.”

You can read the entire article by clicking the link below:

Survey: Sick of ‘politics and power trips’ - Jan Norman on Small Business - The Orange County Register#comment-43311

President's Weekly Letter, Champions SoCal BNI

2011-05-31T11:04:00.000-07:00

My ask for the week is that you leave a comment on the blog, the facebook page, etc. The comments help increase our google presence.

So here are the highlights: (notice anything different?)

Action quotation " Happiness is not an accident, or something you wish for. Happiness is something you design." Your action for this week is to start designing your happiness!

Announcements:

Next week, June 7th is hat week. Every Champion will design their SMM around one, two, three, or a substitute hat. The first hat is a cowboy hat, the second hat is a camo University of Arkansas Razorback visor, the third is a straw Frank Sinatra fedora, OR you can choose a hat that closely represents your profession. IE: Greg Beck wears several hats? Robert Perez wears a moto helmet when he travels to our meetings. We have all see Rosanne's pink, blonde visor...should be epic!

June 14th is bring your sub day...more on this next week

June 21st. MSP Training at Meridian Club at 9:30 after our meeting. Sign up via the events calendar at http://www.socalbni.com

Evening Among the Champions....er Stars is October 7th! Rumor has it that the Champions have 20 committed so far and will be purchasing two tables this week. Kathy Penton has kindly agreed to be all things, Champion and Evening...more to come!

Stand and Deliver from our visitors:

The latest CSUF graduate Miss Edman enjoyed the energy and enthusiasm
Gary Hill believes that the Champions could be his next BNI home
Bob Rode enjoyed the organization and the energy
Lola enjoyed seeing all of us and enjoyed the warm reception
and Donna Cahoon's sister (you can definitely see and hear the resemblance) really stressed using BNI members for all tasks!

Thanks to our visitors...you make our week!

Dues are dues are dues are due next week!

We will recap YTD stats for the first eight months of the term next week. We will also award three new monthly leaders in 1-2-1s, referrals, and visitors next week.

The keynote this week was all about me...just kidding...but I got a lot of air time. I hope you all benefited from the talk about lease renegotiation and our visitor/sub exercise. My schedule is a little light on one-to-ones this week...anyone interested?

"Hottest" SMM and the International Tabasco Award...and the winner is, Mr. Jim McCracken...a constant contender...but the "halls of Montezuma" theme for the day after Memorial Day really hit the mark! Congrats again, Jim and we look forward to your rule for next week! We had some other contenders today...Jody Houseman, Chris Vasquez, Gary Lorge, Kathy Penton, Greg (the Sheriff) Beck...

Thanks to all the Champions who served our country, Richard Lane, Chris Vasguez, and Lem Bucago! Your service to our country allows us the freedom to attend networking meetings each week!

Bo Lowe delivered the educational moment today with a list of things you can do to strengthen your relationships...Number One, send a TY note...who knew! I bet Bo did, because Bo knows TY notes!

Wow! It is almost summer and the Champions welcomed the first meeting after the first summer holiday with a graduate, five visitors (two double counted that were subs), and a keynote presentation by your faithful President who hasn't changed since this photo was taken last week...:))). Actually, the meeting felt a little like the "Allen show" because of the keynote, the award of the ITA (Donna Cahoon, last week's winner) was in Montana and so the duties fell upon me, and a last minute change in the speaker rotation which the Leadership Team believed necessary...a sub inviting system. Whew! If you have never visited the Champions...today was a rarity. I promise much less of me in the weeks to come.

Woooooooo, CHAMPIONS:

Make it a Champion week everybody!

Your faithful President,

Allen Buchanan

Webinar for BNI Connect, Dan Fowler, SoCal BNI

2011-05-26T08:39:00.000-07:00

Dan Fowler and Lem Bucago do a brilliant job of explaining the new BNI Connect system and how leadership teams can find reports, operational items, etc. If you missed the live version, no problem! You can simply watch the video below.

BNI Connect Webinar...You gotta do this

2011-05-25T10:45:00.000-07:00

We just wrapped up a VERY informative webinar on BNI Connect for Leadership Team members. Lem Bucago and Dan Fowler did an outstanding job explaining the "wheres" of certain operations, tools, and reports for BNI presidents, vice presidents (and sheriffs), and secretary treasurers.

If you are an ambassador, director, president, vice president, or secretary/treasurer, you gotta do this! Tune in this afternoon for the next session if you missed this morning. If you are a member at large, please tune in at one of the times below:

MEMBER WEBINAR SCHEDULE:

6/01 @ 9:30 AM
6/01 @ 2:00 PM
6/15 @ 9:30 AM
6/15 @ 2:00 PM

Webinar URL AnyMeeting.com/socalbni1
Conference Call Phone Number: (712) 338-7506
Guest PIN: 5234788
All you need is a computer and phone.

President's Weekly Letter, Champions SoCal BNI

2011-05-24T13:35:00.000-07:00

Wooooooo, CHAMPIONS!

What do Sales Manager Moments, Elevator Speeches, Lem Bucago, Profitable Introductions, Jim Sando, Tabasco, Donna Cahoon, and Educational Moments have in common? Champions...that's what! With a touch of scripting brilliance, a prediction from your faithful President (see weekly letter of last week), and a lot of butterfly herding (Mr. Sando knows what I mean), the Champions were treated to an outstanding Educational Moment by Jim Sando (SMMs), a workshop by Lem Bucago (SMMs and fifteen Champions in attendance after the meeting), the International Tabasco Award (ITA) awarded to our newest member, Donna Cahoon (SMMs). Sales Manger Moments, AKA, SMMs, Profitable Intros, Elevator Speeches, etc., etc. were today's Champion theme and the results should be amazing. Remember, an effective SMM MUST have a catchy opening, an LCD with a story or testimonial, a SPECIFIC ask, and be completed within the allotted time frame...in our case, 30 seconds. A large Champion thanks to Jim Sando for arranging the workshop, signing the participants, monitoring the payments, dealing with the venue, etc. and to our very own Lem Bucago for demonstrating why he is Director of Training (workshops) AND was trainer (before they were called workshops) of the year for 2009 and 2010! So by my count, we should have several more **** Champions after June 21st! (the date of the next workshop). Well done folks! Well done indeed!

Meeting Highlights (as if you need more):

100% attendance today!

Director Lem Bucago and Ambassadress Bernardette Lazzara (who won the Champion Spark Plug award for being a workshop maven) were in attendance as well!

EC Moment...above...film attached! Sorry Robert...not as professional as your film!

Donna Cahoon took the coveted ITA (as predicted) for the "hottest" SMM...hope that you don't need the pepper for your upcoming vacation, Donna as the Tabasco is meant to be worn...not consumed.

Carmina Perez, FIS Merchant Services, keynoted in addition to "ruling" the ITA competition today. Rumor has it that Carmina actually took the ruler to several of her clients last week. Director Lem reviewed for us the highlights of the Chapter Success Forums...Subs, Evening Among the Stars, L/T transition, BNI Connect webinars.

Review of Chapter Biz (Greg Beck, the Sheriff) and monthly leaders...the referral leaders were the stars today!(Aric Gless and Brett Adolph with 11 each and Jim Sando with 10). These three gentlemen accounted for almost 1/3 of the referrals that were given last month. Our one-to-one numbers are through the roof as we have completed 252 in this month alone!

Stand and Deliver...heart felt, compelling and tons of TYFCB! Did I hear that we are "someones" favorite chapter? Hmmm? Sorry, Jim Sando, "someone" is allowed in that context!

The GRC team reported the results with one week remaining in the Champion's contest. It is any one's game as reported by Michael Figueroa, Jody Houseman, Ela Corcoran, and Dr. Real. Fewer than 1000 points separate last from first. Tune in soon for the winner, winner, chicken dinner!

The meeting was adjourned with a quote..."wherever you are, be there!"

Make it a Champion week y'all!

Your faithful President,

Allen Buchanan

Episode 205: “Business Index Q1 2011”

2011-05-21T10:42:00.000-07:00

Synopsis

The BNI Business Index is one of BNI’s marketing tools.

Almost 1,500 business people participated in the survey – people from every populated continent around the world – and the results indicate that, overall, the global economic state is improving. 69.4% of the respondents for the first quarter of 2011 feel that business is growing or growing substantially (compared to this time last year). This number has increased since the prior BNI Business Index Survey which was conducted during the last quarter of 2010 – respondents to this same question at that time weighed in at 67.8%.

You can listen to the entire podcast by clicking on the link below:

Episode 205, Business Index Q1 2011

President's Weekly Letter, Champions SoCal BNI

2011-05-17T14:20:00.000-07:00

Woooooooo, CHAMPIONS:

What do Florida and Electricity have in common? Well today they had the Champions SoCal BNI in common...more on this later. We called the Champions promptly at 7:45 as is our custom. So here is the Florida part...Chuck Wohlberg from West Coast Water Filtration and the Clearwater, Florida chapter of BNI visited us, today. Well, Florida is gator country...Florida Gator country as in Southeast Conference as in rivalry with the team known for "calling" things...oh well, you get the idea...or maybe not. Chuck thoroughly enjoyed the meeting and even commented during the Stand and Deliver section that he has searched far and wide for a chapter for his local salesman to join and today believes that he has found the spot! As to the Electricity part...Dr. Paul Kwik...quite a bowler, btw...delivered a really interesting keynote on the electrical circuits that run throughout your body and affect your health and wellness. Dr. Paul set up his examining table after the meeting and provided a free electrical mapping for all of the Champions...VERY creative, Dr. Paul!

EC Moment:

Jim Sando was illustrative in his description of the VCP process. The dating ritual was used and explained the points of visibility, credibility, and profitability quite well. Don't forget to attend the workshop after next week's meeting. SMM, Lem style!

And the winner is...

Carmina Perez...our second female winner of the International Tabasco Award! Congrats, Carmina. With this award inure all of the benefits including a tax break, a free college tuition for your first born, etc...not really, but we can dream. Actually, you get to pick the winner in next week's competition. Will Dr. Real become the first four time winner OR will another newbie win. My guess is that Donna Cahoon will win soon as her profitable intro included a very cool prop. Mr. Wohlburg received an honorary ITA to take back to Florida...the ITA is already international but we could use some national aplomb!

Visitation:

In addition to Chuck, Blake Green subbed for Rutger and Joel D. Collins from Interior Specialties Construction visited with Donna Cahoon...a great SMM AND a visitor...great things to come methinks!

Champion Spark Plug:

Mr. Patrick O'Kane of Turnkey Mortgage for his skillful arrangement of the Champions bowling night last week. A GREAT time was had by all and a few Champions...Jim McCracken and Dr. Paul can ACTUALLY bowl! Your faithful President, not so much! Thanks for arranging a fun outing for the Champions and family, Patrick.

Announcements:

Evening Among the Stars part Deaux on October the 7th

SMM training next week at our venue! Let's roll out like Champions.

In the words of Forest Gump, "life is like a box of chocolates...you never know what you are gonna get."

Please make it a safe and Champion week y'all!

Your faithful President,

Allen Buchanan

President's Weekly Letter, Champions SoCal BNI

2011-05-10T14:44:00.001-07:00

Woooooooooo, CHAMPIONS!

Warning, Will Rogers, today's post format is a little out of the norm. Today's post will focus entirely upon the great contributions by a select few of our members and guests. As you have heard me say, "it takes teamwork to run a successful chapter". Your regularly scheduled posting will appear next week...unless of course the author comes up with another idea...

Kathy Penton:

Kathy was clearly anxious today as she arrived at the meeting. Angelo, the visitor host, had asked that she "man" the visitor table...her maiden voyage as she normally is a "connector". Also, Kathy was a keynote speaker. Way to go Kathy! You "manned" the table expertly and found a way to deliver a VERY good keynote on promotional items and the referrals that you are seeking!

Jim McCracken...aka the El Paso Kid:

Jim brings his smile and encouragement to EVERY meeting. Lately, he has brought Rosanne as well! Jim and Rosanne live close...kind of...but Jim must rise a few minutes early and drive away from the meeting venue to insure that Rosanne is able to be present. Thanks, Jim! You are a valuable and welcome addition to our chapter and we are happy that you chose to fly with us!

Joe Davis:

Thanks for pinch hitting for Rosanne while she was away, Joe! You made the transition seamless.

Michael Figueroa...today's Champion Spark Plug:

You work tirelessly behind the scenes to tally all of the contest stats. You make it look very easy!

Donna Cahoon:

Our newest Champion! Congratulations, Donna and welcome to Champions! We are excited that you are with us and look forward to a successful relationship with you.

Dr. Hercules Real:

The second, three time International Tabasco Winner...the first was Steven Stakley. Dr. Real has embraced (no orthodontic pun intended) the ITA like no other...even coaching other ITA winners. Dr. Real is the real deal and a valued member of the Champions!

Profit Partners Contingent:

Thanks to Clement Muwele for suggesting that the Profit Partners visit the Champions. We were delighted to host you and you all are welcome to visit anytime. Your comments during Stand and Deliver were noted (as I promised that they would be) and highlighted below:

John Strauss enjoyed "seeing the potential"
Ryan Fogerty enjoyed the "variety of the Champion's professions"
Mel Arakelian was "inspired"
Nick Inchausti enjoyed us "hosting the chapter"
Ronald Brandalise liked the "energy"

ALL said that they felt welcome, prepared, valued, connected and comfortable. Give yourselves a pat on the back Champions...you did it!

The Champions:

If you weren't mentioned, this is my shout out to you. For a chapter to continue great success, we ALL must contribute...and you ALL do in your unique ways. I am grateful to be on the same flight each week!

Announcements:

SMM workshop May 24th...just remain after the meeting and the workshop will come to you. Maybe we will share the ITA...whatta ya think?

Bowling this Thursday at Concourse in Anaheim at 6:00 PM...young 'uns weclome!

Make it a Champion week!

Your faithful President,

Allen Buchanan

Mother's Day Testimonial for Lisa Guentert

2011-05-07T17:47:00.000-07:00

Lisa Guentert, our friend from the Surf City BNI chapter surprised Carla with a Mother's Day basket and we surprised her with a testimonial!

President's Weekly Letter, Champions SoCal BNI

2011-05-03T12:28:00.000-07:00

Woooooooo, CHAMPIONS! or should I say, Hola Championes? Either way, Happy Cinco de Mayo was the theme of the day!

Continuing the Champions theme of monthly "SMM meeting stimulants", we embarked today to pay tribute to our neighbors to the south and delivered our profitable intros with a Cinco de Mayo focus...and the results were muy bueno! We had several of our members habla their SMMs, a couple of them sang, props were the order as Dr. Real dented a pinata and Michael Figueroa used several brands of Mexican hot sauces to make his point. In the end, Mr. Figueroa won the pepper as Counselor at Law, Randy Clement awarded as today's ruler.

Awards and Chapter Biz:

Most visitors for April, Steven Stakley
Most one-to-ones for April, Jim McCracken
Most referrals, tie...Brett Adolph and Aric Gless

Champions Spark Plug...Dr. Real...two reasons: upping his game for the SMMs, coaching and encouraging others to up their game AND for becoming one of SoCal BNI's newest ambassadors! The Champions now have two directors, two ambassadors, one ambassador "in training", and one still looking...not bad! I believe that equates to over 10% of our membership!

Visitation:

Donna Cahoon, from Today's Windows and Doors, an applicant, and currently being reviewed by our crack membership committee

Andrea Coulon, President of Premier Professionals...always great to see her!

Mohammed Baghdadi, from the Aliso Viejo chapter

Tom Abel, one of the newest members of Marketeers...our younger brother to the west

Tom Roby, subbing for Chuck Tipton

Noted:

Robert Perez and Randy Clement keynoted and took us through their sphere, ideal referrals, success stories and such. Robert and Randy have become quite valuable to our chapter...Robert as the videographer of the Champions. Much of the video content that you see in our blog was created by Robert. Robert has become quite popular in SoCal BNI also as he is doing several jobs throughout the region. Randy and his son took the ITA last week and Randy always brings his "A Game" during his SMMs, one-to-ones and with his power partners. Randy and his wife Cathleen have big firm experience and now season their law practice with big firm service at a price slightly above Legal Zoom...the best combo goin' for my bucks!

EC phone home...just kidding...wrong century:

Mr. Sando skillfully reviewed the proper way to record TYFCB. The Champions are familiar with this concept as our YTD TYFCB topped $487,500! Ka Ching!

Announcements:

Evening Among the Stars on Friday, October 7th

Bowling with the Champions...next Thursday the 12th at 6:00 PM at Concourse Lanes in Anaheim...rumor has it that Mr. McCracken is tuning up the long ball!

Group training (sorry Lem...workshop) the 24th of May at Meridian Club...19 Champions signed up thus far! Get that **** by July!

Continued thoughts and prayers for Clay Colwell! Welcome back Rosanne! We missed you!

Buenas Tardes, Championes y que tengan un buen semana!

Your faithful President,

Allen Buchanan

BNI Podcast Episode 202: “What is the Greatest Thing That Has Happened to You Today?”

2011-04-28T19:12:00.000-07:00

In this week's podcast, Dr. Misner asks a question...what is the greatest thing that happened to you today? This actually stumped Ivan (when he was asked this) and he explains why it is such a great networking question. You can listen to the podcast by clicking here

President's Weekly Letter, Champions SoCal BNI

2011-04-26T14:47:00.000-07:00

Woooooooo, CHAMPIONS!

As you can see from the video, today was bring your kids to BNI week! Our Director, Lem Bucago complied and here we instruct young Marly and Logan Bucago the proper way to call the Champions...definitely an acquired art! Randy Clement also brought his son and they did a tandem SMM...award winning actually...more later!

The highlights:

Four visitors, Lisa Stewart, ACI; Wayne Hertzka and Chris Huang from C3 Office Solutions, and Donna Cahoon from Today's Windows and Doors...three took apps!

EC moment focused on a new one-to-one technique developed by an anonymous BNI member...who is a member of the Platinum Coast BNI, has been married to your faithful President for 31 years, is the mother of three Buchanans and soon will be a "boot camp" graduate...OK the anonymous member is Carla Buchanan! The technique focuses upon three tens...ten for each member's business, ten for Q and A, and ten for specific suggestions to help each other. I used it today with Christina Pham and it worked brilliantly!

SMM and International Tabasco Award...another first...last week our first woman and this week the first father and son team! Give it up for the Clement tandem...well choreographed. Randy you know that your son must return next week as the Tabasco ruler!

The Champion spark plug award was awarded to our very own Rosanne Grigsby who attended for the first time since receiving her diagnosis and defying all odds in her recovery...a true CHAMPION!

Keynoted by Angelo Dionisiou of Argo Insurance and Steven Stakley of Burnham Gibson. Both did an exceptional job of laying out the whys and the hows of finding just the right referral! I saw the two of them afterwards power teaming with Brett Adolph. These three are generating a lot of BNI bucks with their strategic referring!

Our visitors ALL said that felt very welcomed today...man, I LOVE hearing that! If we continue to provide an extraordinary visitor experience, our chapter will grow in quantity and quality! Great job to ALL of you!

Please remember:

Evening Among the Stars part deaux October 7th, 2011

Champions bowling night May 12th, 2011 6:00 PM, Concourse Lanes in Anaheim

Next week, structure your SMM with a Cinco de Mayo theme! Should be a blast.

Please keep Clay Colwell in your thoughts and prayers! Stay strong brother. We love and miss you!

Three weeks to go in the BNI game...invite, invite, invite and 1-2-1, 1-2-1, 1-2-1, and train, train, train...oops...workshop, workshop, workshop! Let's not let the mellow yellow team run away with the cash and prizes!

Thanks for flying with us this week! We know that you have many choices when you fly and we are happy that you chose the Champions!

Your faithful President,

Allen Buchanan

http://themobilemarketer.wordpress.com/2011/03/29/7-habits-of-highly-horrible-networkers/

2011-04-21T17:48:00.000-07:00

Here is a great description of what not to do! You can read the entire article by clicking on the link below.

http://themobilemarketer.wordpress.com/2011/03/29/7-habits-of-highly-horrible-networkers/

Steven Malanga: California Dreamin' about Texas jobs

2011-04-21T07:43:00.000-07:00

I provide location advice to owners and occupants of industrial buildings in Southern California. This author outlines the job growth, creation and company exodus very adequately, in my opinion. You can read the entire article by clicking on the link below.

Steven Malanga: California Dreamin' about Texas jobs

"How to Set up your BNI Connect Profile Page"

2011-04-20T06:12:00.000-07:00

Wooooooo, CHAMPIONS! The attached You Tube video outlines the steps necessary to create your own BNI Connect profile page. Just watch the video and become an expert in seven minutes!

World Talk Radio - Annie Armen Live

2011-04-19T14:43:00.000-07:00

Woooooooo, CHAMPIONS:

You can tune in to a live internet radio broadcast by clicking the link below. Featured on this week's show is Dr. Ivan Misner with a special guest appearance by your faithful President.

World Talk Radio - Annie Armen Live

Champions SoCal BNI President's Weekly Letter

2011-04-19T10:45:00.000-07:00

Woooooooo, CHAMPIONS!!

Well the visitation was more like the old days...four qualified, five other chapter members (Christina Pham rolled 'em out for her keynote), and our own Bernadette Lazzara...ambassador to the stars...'er Champions!

Qualified:
Tom Roby, Spectrum Financial
Richard Sheridan, Sheridan Financial
Chad Evers, Advanced Parking Systems
Mark Ives, Business Development

BNI Chapter Guests:
Michelle MacNeil
Ronald Charest, Liaisons
Michael Giovannetti, Premier Professionals
Danny Chen, Strategic Alliance
Leonard Brezarich, Velocity
Bernardette Lazzara, our ambassador

ITA:

The International Tabasco Competition for the hottest sales manager moment was indeed heated today. I am happy that I did not award the pepper as I had four or five well qualified recipients...Angelo, Gary Lorge (via sub), Michael Figueroa, Steven Stakley. In the end, our very first female recipient is...Kathy Penton! Kathy sang, danced, rapped, limericked, and sweated...not all at once...and finally Jody Houseman (last week's recipient and this week's ruler) awarded the ITA. I believe Kathy was more excited than the day she was inducted...and we made just as big a deal! Way to go Kathy! Next week, you commence. Remember...catchy, timely, and specific...and you too can win!

Champion Spark Plug winner:

There were three that went above and beyond...Rutger for the 1-2-1 er web site for ease of 1-2-1 scheduling and Kathy Penton who created a grid for the "Champion specific ask" note taking. Jim McCracken won however for his very well organized meals on wheels program for Rosanne as she is recovering in the Orange Hill Convalescent home. Rumor has it that RG might be home soon! A true Champion. Thanks Jim!

EC Moment:

Mr. Sando discussed the do's and don'ts of visitor orientation. Timely, since we had several today.

Keynotes:

One rookie (although she definitley has BNI in her DNA and it shows) in Christina Pham of Select Graphics and one steely eyed vet in Jim Salem of First Team Realty concentrated upon their respective companies, what to look and listen for and several high gloss handouts so that we could touch, see and feel the product...printing in Christina's case and homes in Salem's case. We should have film at eleven on both as Robert Perez was at the ready on the video cam!

Stand and Deliver:

For those of you keeping score at home...I believe we thanked for approximately $100,000 in TYFCB today...along with the 1-2-1s, referrals, and visitation, trainings, etc.

That is REAL quantifiable $$$$ folks that resulted from both direct and strategic referrals! One of the strategic referrals was a connection from one of our members who introduced another chapter member to his new employer. This referral resulted in a new position and an annual salary of $87,500 for the other chapter member!

The visitation glowed with accolades for the Champions! I always enjoy other BNI members who find something that we do that they are planning to take back to their home chapter or visitors who say that the Champions made them feel welcome!...much of that today

Announcements:

Remember to bring your child, grand child to the meeting next week as it is bring your child to BNI week...hey, they count as visitors and who knows...they may buy!

Remember to tune in at 3:00 PDT today to http://www.anniearmen.com. I am a pop up guest on Annie's radio interview with Dr. Ivan Misner...should be fun!

Please keep Rosanne Grigsby and Clay Colwell in your prayers!

Life and coins have one thing in common...you get to choose how you spend 'em but you only get one chance!

Make it a Champion week ya'll!

Your faithful President

Allen Buchanan

President's Weekly Letter, Champions SoCal BNI

2011-04-12T16:14:00.000-07:00

Woooooooooo, CHAMPIONS!

Oh where, oh where have our visitors gone? Oh where, oh where can they be? Oh well, maybe they are waiting for daylight savings time...oh wait, that occurred already. Spring break, maybe? Nope. C'mon Champions, let's fill the room with visitation like we used to! Remember that visitors buy and the more the merrier! We were blessed with the presence of two "jewels" today in the person of Richard Gartman and Julie McInroy of the Hidden Jewel chapter of SoCal BNI...our neighbors from Villa Park. Julie and Richard witnessed an epic International Tabasco competition...still no female winners, two wonderful keynotes, many, many testimonials, and a heck of a lot of one-to-ones, TYFCB, and referrals. I am predicting that the week may have set some records. Jim McCracken completed 13 1-2-1s last week...Go mello yellow! I almost forgot that the EC moment was one of the better ones of late. Once again, Mr. Sando used the "Sando players" to help act out his point! Don't sit too close to Jim or you may get drafted for his next casting call. So here was the flight of the Champions during this 12th day of April 2011:

Pre-board:

Visitor table set tight and right by 6:45
10 early birds...smiling, arrived by 7:15, and name tag prominently displayed
Gartman and McInroy arrived
Collette's had plenty of food, "hot" coffee and early availability

Take off:

Champions called promptly at 7:45

Climbing altitude:

EC moment included Kathy Penton, Bo Lowe (fresh from facilitating his first visitor day at Tustin BNI), and Jim McCracken who demonstrated the improper and proper ways to welcome visitors to our meetings...now we just need some!

International Tabasco Winner this week...Angelo Dionisiou awarded the pepper to...Jody Houseman. Jody used a hammer and some wood to demonstrate, "if you hear this in your neighborhood" ask your neighbors if they have a painter...exceptional! Jody, during stand and deliver, credited a 1-2-1 meeting he had last week with Dr. Real (a two time Tabasco winner) on the genesis of the SMM. It is a good thing that Dr. Real didn't recommend breaking some plates to appeal to Angelo's Greek heritage and their propensity to fracture dishware. Brett Adolph did give Angelo a referral in hopes of persuading Angelo to choose him. So the question remains...who will be our first female winner...Ela, Kathy, Christina, or Carmina?...stay tuned!

Cruising altitude:

Keynotes...Gary Lorge commented during Stand and Deliver that these two were the best he has experienced in some time. Give it up for Brett Adolph of Payday Payroll and Rutger Hensel of Branding Personalities. Both of these Champion vets outlined new stuff...Brett a new logo and Rutger two new packages of offerings. Rutger and Brett played upon each other and leveraged the technology. After the keynotes a recommendation was made to the chapter to schedule 1-2-1s with both and have each invite a good referring party to attend...a CPA in Brett's case (tax season is almost over Greg) and an IT or web designer in Rutger's case.

I was pleased to have been thanked for $3500 in TYFCB during stand and deliver. This came from a California to Germantown, Tennessee referral for a moving and storage company. The cool thing was that I attended their meeting on Wednesday last and gave a testimonial about the mover...a fellow president named Mike Rupper.

Richard Gartmen, enjoyed the dynamics of the Champions and Julie McInroy liked the organization. I cannot wait to see the TYFCB and referral totals from today...I believe they will set records!

Congrats to Patrick O'Kane for volunteering to organize our upcoming bowling outing on May 12th at Concourse in Anaheim...more to follow. Patrick took away the Champion Spark Plug award today for the Champion who went above and beyond last week!

We are starting our approach to land:

The Evening Among the Stars Part Deaux is October 7th

The Champions believe it is a good idea to participate in bring your child to a BNI meeting on April 26th...should be a blast!

Thoughts and prayers to Clay and Dawn Colwell! Come back soon, Clay. We miss you!

We are cleared to land:

At promptly 8:58, the meeting was closed with a quote.

Please make it a Champion week everybody! We know that you have many choices when you fly and we are happy that you chose the Champions!

Your faithful President,

Allen Buchanan

President's Weekly Letter, Champions SoCal BNI

2011-04-05T10:50:00.000-07:00

Wooooooo, CHAMPIONS!

Today's meeting was intimate. Only one non-Champion graced our presence today...George Varela from the Business Connection chapter. I believe that the Champions may be saving the visitors for later in the contest which kicked off today! Let' not wait, people and remember, visitors buy! I can tell you first hand that I bring the energy every week(as do most of us)! Let's share this positive energy with visitors! Please follow Mr. Sando's specific ask during his EC moment today and invite one or more visitors to next week's meeting that fit into our top three categories...Family Law, Electrician, or Plumber. Several Champions were MIA today...we heard from Doug and Clay. Chuck, Jody, and Joe Lynch, we miss you when you are gone!

As I was saying...

The theme of the EC Moment centered on the rules and scoring opps for the contest. Remember the 1-2-1s and invite, invite, invite!

Notable Keynoters:

Ela Corcoran and Richard Lane spoke on their professions today. My greatest take away from Ela's talk was that we should choose nutritional supplements based upon their anti oxidant and alkaline content. These two items have a host of health benefits that Ela discussed.

I have purchased computer equipment from Richard and gave a testimonial during stand and deliver. Richard speaks "tech" and English and translates quite well! I thought that Richard's premise of "what does it cost you to ignore your IT?" was well thought out and clever.

Please schedule a one-to-one with each of these professionals (especially the green team) :)). Both can assist you in living a better life!

Chapter Biz:

Our VP and Sheriff (did you know it is tax season?), Greg Beck reviewed our progress in certian key categories.

Referrals average month-124, March 2011 156
one-to-ones 1435 YTD...way exceeding our goals!
Visitors 65 YTD...need to invite, invite, invite!
TYFCB $353,873 YTD...on pace to reach our goal!

I'm guessing the game will help us surpass these numbers for April and May

Recognition:

Referrals leader for March-Aric Gless
One-to-one leader for March-Bo Lowe
Visitors leader for March-Brett Adolph

International Tabasco Award winner this week-Angelo Dionisiou...Dr. Paul was the first winner of the Snoopy bobble head this week for snoring (all part of the act) during his SMM
Champion Spark Plug winner this week-Steven Stakley (interim Secretary/Treasurer). Thanks again Steven for the moral support and the cool head!

Also thanks to Joe Davis for taking the reigns of the secretary treasurer position for the remainder of the term. Great to have you at the dais, Joe!

Information updates:

Evening among the stars Part Deaux-October 7th...more to follow!

Rosanne Grigsby has been moved to Orange Hill Convalescent Home, 5017 E. Chapman, Orange, California. Please stop by and have a one-to-one meeting with Rosanne. No need to call ahead...just show up. Please limit your visits to 15-20 minutes.

Action quote:

"There are two ways to face the future. One way is with apprehension and the other way is with anticipation." Your action for this week is to face your calendar with anticipation!

Make it a Champion week!

Your faithful President,

Allen Buchanan

At $23 million, O.C. building a bargain | building, investors, doors - The Orange County Register

2011-04-03T17:08:00.000-07:00

Our friend and colleague, Bob O'neill has made a career of buying and selling this building. This is a great sign that the industrial market in Orange county, California may be stabilizing. You can read the enitre article by clicking the link below. At $23 million, O.C. building a bargain building, investors, doors - The Orange County Register

The advantages of relocating your headquarters to a pro-business city | Smart Business

2011-04-01T14:41:00.000-07:00

This article was written with the midwest in mind but their are many pro business cities in Orange County, California. You can read the entire article by clicking on the link: The advantages of relocating your headquarters to a pro-business city Smart Business

BNI Podcast: Episode 198, You Do the Math

2011-03-30T19:00:00.000-07:00

This week's podcast guest is another SoCal colleague, Dan Romero. Congratulations, Dan! You can listen to the entire podcast here:

President's Weekly Letter, Champions SoCal BNI

2011-03-29T13:24:00.000-07:00

Woooooooooo, CHAMPIONS!!

The message this week will be short and sweet. Just the facts, Ma'am. The Champions welcomed guests (John Spann from Green Flag), subs (Luchansky and Vasquez)and reps from other chapters...all the way from the San Gabriel Valley...Alhambra, that is! That is Misner country folks. Douglas Lee thoroughly enjoyed the meeting and told me several times how much! We really enjoy it when people have a Champion experience.

Keynotes:

Here is something that none of us knew about Michael Figueroa before today.

Michael continued with a very passionate keynote on the reasons that he works so hard for Rite Loom flooring. Rite Loom has several BNI members throughout the SoCalregion and we are pleased that Michael is a Champion!

Chuck Tipton delivered a beautiful preamble to his keynote:

Both of the presenters provided detailed handouts of their ideal customer, ways to refer them, experience in the business and things to look and listen for. Personally, I would highly recommend either Michael or Chuck and can attest to their abilities!

International Tabasco Award:

The competition was fierce today! We had three songs...one even to the Arkansas fight song...which brought back substantial memories of forgotten Saturdays in Fayetteville Arkansas watching the Razorbacks. Dr. Real who won the award two weeks ago by singing his SMM to the "Yellow Rose of Texas, used a winning theme. Since I awarded the pepper this week, he thought that the fight song would soften my heart. It did, but the ask wasn't as specific as I had hoped. Two of our newest members made gallant efforts but exceeded the time limit...Kathy Penton and Christina Pham. In the end, the winner was our own EC, Mr. Jim Sando who quoted Ray Kroc...green is growing, ripe is rotten and asked for an intro to a mail services company. Wow! The ITA is blowing up!

GRC Team:

We have a new game designed to build a cohesive group that will commence on April 1, 2011. All of the one-to-ones and trainings completed this week will count. Extra emphasis will be placed on one-to-ones within the chapter and trainings. We even completed a training as a chapter today following the meeting. Thanks to Jim Sando for setting this up and to Gary Reeves for moderating! We learned a bunch about Power Teams. Great thanks to the GRC team...Michael Figueroa, Ela Corcoran, Jody Houseman, and Dr. Real for a great game and to Greg Beck for lending support during his busiest time of year...tax time!

Welcome Mr. 36:

That would be Mark Bill from Bill's Auto Body...sponsored by James Kashi and mentored by Gary Lorge. We are happy that you are a new and improved Champion, Mark! Welcome!

Some things to remember:

You are interested if you do it because circumstances permit
You are committed when you accept no excuses...only results

Please keep Rosanne Grigsby and her family, Glen, Grace and Christina in your thoughts and prayers.

Always bring a scaled drawing of the meeting venue when you attend a leadership team meeting...only if you want to be awarded the Champion Spark Plug Award for that week...a la Aric Gless!

Make it a Champion Week!

Your faithful President,

Allen Buchanan

Walk the Walk

2011-03-28T18:29:00.000-07:00

Mohammad Favakeh truly walks the walk! Here he discusses his referral technique with one of his clients, Dr. Ivan Misner.

Chapter Success Forum

2011-03-28T18:14:00.000-07:00

Aric Gless went to the BNI Chapter Success Forum, and wanted to pass along some highlights:

Strategic Referrals:

This is a person who is an ongoing source of referrals. It can be or does not have to be someone in a related field to you, but it someone who crosses paths with people with whom you can do business. Examples:

Architect and …Bankers (connection is bankers are first contact for funding of potential architectural purchases or projects).

AFLAC rep and ……Landscapers (connection is that landscapers have clients who are heads of business who have responsibilities over their company’s benefits).

Promotional Table:

When introducing a visitor to members, also lead them to the promotional table. Point out not only the members who have items on the table, but also the Testimonial Book, and invite the visitor to glance through it. In our case, the table would gain more visibility if it were rotated to be along the path of entry, rather than against the wall (away from view). People tend to look to their right more than their left, so maybe we put it on the other side.

Testimonials and Speakers’ Handouts:

Speakers handouts, if placed face down, do not become a distraction. The speaker can ask members to look at the handout, during the Keynote Speech.

In order to keep the meeting on time and moving along, and having Stand and Deliver be more than just talking, Testimonials should done only when accompanied by a written copy. That also encourages Testimonials for the book. Also, refrain from saying “Good job speakers”. It doesn’t carry any substance.

BNI Connect:

This is a BNI website that will be worldwide rather than local. It serves all of us in connecting to other regions and businesses that we may need in other areas. It should be available to the Leadership team this week, and later to the entire membership. For our regional events, like MSP sessions, continue to access those on socalbni.com. Direct any questions to Lem Bucago regarding this.

Other items:

BNI Extravaganza: This happens in April/May. Any chapter who receives applications (date on the app) in April and May, qualifies the inductees for a chance to win an IPOD. Ask Lem about the details.

Office Hours: 75 minutes with Lem in varying sites, to discuss BNI topics (Sales Manager Moment, Keynote Speech, etc.). Upcoming April 11 9:00 in Tustin. Contact Lem for exact address. Best of all………….it’s free.

Aric D. Gless, A.I.A., LEED AP

Gless Architects, Inc.

4931 Birch Street

Newport Beach, CA 92660

949-852-0585 (o)

949-285-9834 (c)

Episode 197: “Mobile Phones in BNI Meetings”

2011-03-25T08:20:00.000-07:00

Would you answer a call from your mobile phone during a presentation with your best client? Dr. Misner confesses that he "shuts off his phone" before a BNI meeting and he runs a global networking oraganization. To hear the entire podcast, please click here:

Champions SoCal BNI President's Weekly Letter

2011-03-22T12:27:00.000-07:00

Woooooooo, CHAMPIONS!

Well howdy y'all! That is the way that Jim McCracken, AKA the El Paso Kid, and a UFirst agent started his keynote presentation this morning. Jim's presentation was very well rehearsed and it showed! Jim's keynote spanned five topics...What is the problem and why should you care? Why did Jim decide to represent UFirst? Why must you buy the software? Is it too good to be true? And a closing statement. Jim used movement and hand outs successfully and kept the Champions rapt for ALL of his ten minutes. The first ever Angel bobble head doll was not awarded as ALL the Champions were awake the entire keynote! Nicely done, Jim.

EC Moment:

Make sure in your one-to-one meetings that your referral partners know how to refer you. Remember that is incumbent upon ALL of us to train our fellow referral partners on the "what to look for(s)".

Visitors, Subs, and our very own Ambassador!

Heather Begley, subbing for Robert Perez and a make up artist, noted that she felt very welcome and that all of the Champions had positive attitudes.

Blake Green, from Branding Personalities and a sub for Rutger, is focused upon joining a chapter where his category is not represented. Rumor has it that Premier Pros may get a look?

Lisa Stewart, a sub and employee of Doug Luchansky of ACI, really felt the welcome vibe!

Yessy Estrada, subbing for Chris Vasquez of Union Bank, thoroughly enjoyed the International Tabasco Award...and who wouldn't as Dr. Real crowned this week's champ (twice for those keeping score at home)...Ms. Mary Buchanan's oldest son??

Daniel Latch, of Global Solutions Unlimited, observed GREAT spirit from the Champions.

Finally, our very own ambassador, Bernadette Lazarra, felt the love today and appreciates the Champion's chapter immensely. It is always great to have Bernadette present for the flight of the Champions.

GRC:

Our crack GRC team, Michael, Ela, Hercules, and Jody, rolled out the game for April and May that will be focused upon one-to-one meetings within the chapter and trainings (workshops). The first training (workshop) opp for the contest period will be next week directly after the meeting at the Meridian Club. Thanks to our Director of Workshops, Mr. Lem Bucago and Jim Sando for arranging this workshop. The focus will be upon Power Teams! Cannot wait!

Awards and Chapter Biz:

Most 1-2-1s for February, Bo Lowe with 22
Most referrals for February, Chris Vasquez with 12
Most Visitors for February, James Kashi with 3

Greg reported:
Month to date referrals for the chapter, 93...avg monthly is 118
Month to date one-to-ones 197
Annual to date TYFCB $327,000...average $21,000 per seat on an annualized basis!

The Champion Spark Plug award this week went to Steven Stakley for filling in as Secretary Treasurer in Rosanne's absence! Great having you at the dais Mr. Stakley but we miss you Rosanne! Hurry up and get better!

Announcements:

Power Team Workshop for all Champions (who have signed up) next Tuesday March 29th after the meeting!

OCs Largest Mixer at the OC fairgrounds tomorrow the 23rd from 5:00-9:00. SoCal BNI will have a booth. Please stop by and say hello!

Leadership team meeting this Friday at 1:30 at Lee and Associates, Orange.

A special thanks to my wife, Carla Buchanan, an honorary Champion, who has helped your humble President with the speaker rotation, the Tabasco Award gluing, and generally keeping your President happy, healthy and presidential! I love you darling.

The meeting was adjourned with a quote, "We can no more afford to spend major time on minor things that we can minor time on major things." Your action for this week is to spend major time on major things!

Make it a Champion week y'all!

Your faithful President,

Allen Buchanan

Bo Lowe certainly knows enchiladas

2011-03-20T19:31:00.000-07:00

We enjoyed dinner with the Lowes! We learned first hand about Hatch, NM chiles and the difference in New Mexico and regular enchiladas. They were yummy! Bo certainly knows enchiladas!

President's Weekly Letter, Champions SoCal BNI

2011-03-15T10:07:00.000-07:00

Wooooooo CHAMPIONS!!!

Today was special for many reasons:

We became a SILVER chapter (In excess of 32 members for three months...on to the Gold) and were awarded our silver pins by our director, Lem Bucago. Aric Gless accepted the Champion's Spark Plug award for his tireless efforts as membership chair and promptly divided the award in fifths...one share for each member of his committee...Chuck Tipton, Bill Edman, Patrick O'Kane, and Brett Adolph

We hosted several visitors and guests

We played a cool game called BNI Feud...Lem style (film at eleven!)

The "Champions went Braugh" and celebrated the "Ides of March" with themed SMMs based around the word green, dressed in green, and upon the St. Patty's Day celebration. Dr Real won the International Tabasco Award competition with a brilliantly "lyriced" and performed song...rhymes and all! Since the ITAs inception, our asks are MORE specific, the openings are definitely catchy, AND, the Champions are watching the clock! Way to go!

We were instructed quite skillfully by Jim Sando on referrals and he elicited some help from two of our top referral givers...Angelo Dionisiou and Brett Adolph...distinct in their approach but consistent in the giver's gain philosophy.

Michael Figueroa, our newly trained GRC committee chairman, unveiled our top ten list so that the Champions can keep these professions top of mind.

Greg Beck, the Sheriff, reviewed the Chapter Biz...still tracking!

We all missed Rosanne and pray for her speedy recovery and return to the dais.

The meeting was closed with a quote!

Make it a Champion week!

Your faithful President,

Allen Buchanan

Referral Mindset by Clement Muwele

2011-03-13T09:51:00.000-07:00

Our Great friend and award winning speaker and trainer, Clement Muwele outlines the "why" you should attend the Referral Mindset Training.

BNI Podcast Episode 195: “Plan an Xtraordinary Year”

2011-03-10T16:10:00.000-08:00

In this week's podcast, Dr. Misner has three time guest Dr. Mark Goulston. This podcast is a "must listen"! You can listen to the podcast by clicking here

President's Weekly Letter, Champions SoCal BNI

2011-03-08T10:36:00.000-08:00

Woooooooooo, CHAMPIONS!

So what do Mardi Gras, AKA "Fat Tuesday", and the Champions chapter of SoCal BNI have in common? The International Tabasco Award! Of course! Tabasco, founded in Avery Island, Lousiana (Mardi Gras country) and the Champions chapter founded in Fullerton in 2004 share a rich heritage of "hot"! The only missing ingredient today was "fat" which all of our members used in their profitable introduction today...truly epic...So who dat talkin about all that fat? You will have to read the post but he is a first time winner and also took away the Champion Spark Plug Award as well!

The International Tabasco Award as introduced by our faithful President

Welcome Visitors!

Steve Richardson from ACR Builders, a general contractor who specializes in commercial construction and is a personal friend attended today and was energized by the buzz in the room. Blake Green from Branding Personalities and a new employee of Rutgers enjoyed the warm reception he received along with Justine Hansen a family law attorney with Ferruzzo and Ferruzzo who visited from the Diamond Club. I noticed a connection with Justine and Clay Colwell who keynoted. Clay enjoys meeting estate planning and family law attorneys.

Keynotes:

Clay Colwell and Steve Barnett keynoted and each did a very good job of explaining their professions...residential appraisal and office supplies. Both have been in their respective industries for quite a while...32 years in Steve's case and the Stand and Delivers were filled with several eloquent testimonials about both Champions attention to detail and "above and beyond" approach to their follow through. Steven Stakley (who sat in Rosanne's spot at the dais) and I commented that we should involve Steve in our Power Team as his customer list caused us both to take note...a sticky note!

The ITA (International Tabasco Award) for this week...and other recognition:

Our other Jim...McCracken that is...we have three...won the International Tabasco AND the Champion Spark Plug Award this week. As a former ElPasoan, Jim understands the importance of the pepper...now he understands the importance of the specific ask! Jim is one of our newest members but has quickly folded into the role of visitor host and in fact beat Angelo to the meeting and the set up. We quipped that he arrived before the McCracken of dawn!

Welcome Ms. 36!

That would be Kathy Penton who will represent the category of Advertising Specialties! Kathy was encouraged to check out Champions by Gizi Clemmer...a member of another BNI chapter as Kathy's category was filled in her chapter. We are pleased that she is a Champion and that other BNI members are such givers! Thanks Gizi for sharing the wealth. Kathy will be mentored by one of our best and brightest, Gary Lorge.

Announcements:

This Monday March 14th will be mid-term Leadership Workshop at the Knott's Resort Hotel. The workshop commences at 8:00 AM and concludes at 11:30. ALL are encouraged to attend BUT if you accepted a leadership role and have not attended a workshop, your participation is highly recommended. You must sign up on the SoCal BNI website.

Next week the Champions will celebrate St. Patty's Day early by dressing in green, using green in our SMMs AND the Champions will truly go Bragh!

"It is tough to steal second while keeping your foot on first" Try to take a risk this week.

Please make it a Champion week and be careful out there.

Your faithful President,

Allen Buchanan

President's Weekly Letter, Champions SoCal BNI

2011-03-01T14:33:00.001-08:00

Woooooooo, CHAMPIONS:

Pictured to the left is a snapshot of what makes the Champions go round...visitors (business cards)! Our membership chairman Aric Gless is also pictured as he moved all of us...literally and figuratively...with his well rehearsed and choreographed keynote presentation. The Champions were truly in the presence of greatness today as Lem Bucago, our director and recently named Director of Training for SoCal BNI, TR Garland from the Referral Institute and Platinum Coast BNI (SoCal's largest chapter and home to the "A" Buchanan), and Andy Pais, member of the OC United and a SoCal BNI ambassador...oh yes and John Bonham, the president of Tustin BNI subbed for Angelo Dionisiou...Wow! That is a lot of talent for one meeting! The Champions were honored that ya'll chose to fly with us this morning. We know you have several choices and we hope that you return again really soon! Mark Bill from Bill's Body Works, and a former Champion, visited along with Mark Shroff of Paul Davis Restoration.

Keynotes:

As previously advertised. Aric Gless, Gless Architects, delivered a splendid review of the steps he takes in designing a space for a client once the space has been leased or purchased. Aric brought in several carpet, paint, tile, accent samples to provide a great illustration...courtesy of Michael Figueroa of Rite Loom Flooring. I know that all in the room appreciated the detail! Aric also awarded this week's ITA...more later.

Patrick O'Kane, Turnkey Mortgage...our other resident Irishman outlined what causes interest rate fluctuation, why he is different, and the many, many professions that are touched by the housing market. I believe Dr. Misner refers to that as the Butterfly Effect. Outstanding job to both!

The Month of March:

Please remember to use the word "fat" in your SMM next week as next Tuesday's meeting will be on Mardi Gras...AKA Fat Tuesday. Dr. Paul is drooling!

On the Ides of March (March 15th)...week after next...please wear green AND use the word "green" in your SMM. With Aric and Patrick in the house we can definitely Champions go Bragh!

International Tabasco Award:

Wow! Mr. Stakley wins again becoming the very first three time winner. At this rate we won't need that many extra mini Tabasco bottles! Did your kids draw those illustrations, Steven? In any event...well scripted and well delivered! Honorable mention to Ela and Christina. We only had two Champions who exceeded the time limit...and one gets a bye as he was still on Parisian time. The asks are VERY specific and Aric could have selected three or four in addition to the HMs and the winner.

Special Awards:

February Leaders
Most Visitors, James Kashi
Most one-to-ones, Bo Lowe
Most Referrals, Chris Vasquez

Champions Spark Plug Award
Mr. Bill Edman (quack, Quack!) for configuring his Parisian vacation so that he wouldn't miss a BNI meeting! That is commitment. Thanks for sharing him with us, Donna!

Our Latest Notable Networker
Mr. Jiiiiiim Sando! Jim has proven himself worthy of the award by the countless "spot on" EC moments but certainly became noteworthy last week as he convinced 15 Champions to sign up for an advanced MSP and scheduled the venue as well! Jenni Nering, Bill Mills, and Lem were all there and expressed their appreciation! Congrats Jim! There is only one of these awarded each term.

Thoughts and Prayers:

To our dear Rosanne who could not be with us this morning but hopefully will return VERY soon! We love you Rosanne and are all praying for your speedy recovery! The dais is not the same without your smiling face.

Chapter Biz:

February
Referrals, 114
One-to-Ones, 283
Visitors, 17
TYFCB, $55,000...we did almost 25% of that today...great start for March!

And so completed another flight of the Champions!

Make it a Champion week ya'll

Your faithful President

Allen Buchanan

Episode 193: “The BNI Connect Vision”

2011-02-23T12:22:00.000-08:00

In this week's podcast, Dr. Misner discusses BNI Connect. Did you know that for the first time in 26 years, the organization is now largely comprised of other than "Baby Boomers"? You can hear the entire podcast by clicking here.

President's Weekly Letter, Champions SoCal BNI

2011-02-22T15:45:00.000-08:00

Wooooooooo, CHAMPIONS!

Well the "buck" definitely stopped at the Champions today as we hosted the second stack day of the new term and welcomed five visitors, one sub, and our very own ambassador, Bernadette Lazarra. Our chapter is trying hard to attract a plumber to complete our compliment of trades and we were successful in attracting one today...Bill Taylor from Sundance Plumbing. Bill really enjoyed the people! He is right, the Champions have some great people. Additional visitors were Kathy Penton from Performance Envelope...rumor has it she won't be a visitor much longer and may be our next inductee? Ron Coleman from Pop's Graphix'n Stuff enjoyed the keynote addresses and the talent with which they were delivered. An old Champion (or should I say vintage Champion), Mark Bill from Bill's Body work was happy to see the familiar faces. I understand that Mark was quite a referral giver in his day! Diane Meimetus completed the visiting corps from Rebekah's Hair Studio (a former stack day profession request). We understand that Diane and Rebekah may visit together next week...only their hairdresser knows for sure! Linda Luchansky subbed for her husband Doug and we always enjoy our ambassador visits from Bernadette! Our sincere Champion thanks to the GRC team for their hard work! Michael Figueroa, Dr. Real, Ela Corcoran, and Jody Houseman really know how to stack the visitors!

Please Welcome #34 and #35!

That would be Christina Pham and Joe Lynch! Both hail from BNI families as Christina's sister is a member of Premier Professionals and Joe's wife Wendy is a proud member of the Velocity chapter...both chapters participated in the recent eight chapter mixer and we consider them our North Orange county brethren! Christina has already conducted ten one-to-one meetings and given a couple of referrals and did I mention she brought a visitor last week? Christina is a printer and Joe is a general contractor...both very good professions to fill! Congrats you two. We are happy that you are Champions!

Keynotes:

Joe Davis and Gary Lorge both presented on their professions of estate law and personal insurance lines. I really felt informed about both professions as Joe discussed the various types of wills and trusts and Gary explained "estimated replacement cost" of a property! Greg Beck, to my right at the dais, commented that both were very informative and I believe the Champions will reward each of the two with tons of referrals. Joe and Gary are seeking two ends of the continuum...older and younger women...for different business reasons of course.

International Tabasco, Referral Leader for January, and Champions Spark Plug Winners:

Fourth two time winner of the ITA (International Tabasco Award)...Aric Gless for his specific ask of the facilities manager of Angel Stadium. Was that a self autographed baseball that Aric tossed? He can now autograph a bottle of Tabasco since he joins Greg Beck, Steven Stakley, and Gray Lorge as the only other two time winners. Who will be the first to claim number three? Christina Pham was a close runner-up.

Congrats to our faithful visitor host, Angelo Dionisiou, for delivering the most referrals for January! Additionally, Angelo played hurt today as he is weathering a cold but had the host table in full regalia before 7:00 AM! A new cast of winners will be awarded next week.

Steven Stakley (on his way to see the Laker's tonight) was the CSP award winner for pulling double duty (Sec/Treas and head mentor) for Rosanne (who became ill and was a last minute scratch). We hope that our Secretary/Treasurer is feeling better and will return to the dais next week. We missed you Rosanne!

Sir Winston Churchill was quoted as saying: "We make our living from what we get. We make our lives from what we give." Our action for this week is to practice the giver's gain philosophy.

Make it a Champion week!

Your faithful President,

Allen Buchanan

Dr. Ivan Misner receives a Grand Indian Head Dress Honor in India

2011-02-21T12:32:00.000-08:00

This was posted on Facebook by Ms. Misner and is very cool to watch!

Our Brethren to the South in Platinum Coast score again

2011-02-18T16:03:00.000-08:00

Episode 192: “What Richard Branson Can Teach You About Networking”

2011-02-18T15:53:00.000-08:00

In this week's podcast, Dr. Misner discusses a very important part of networking...eye contact and uses Sir Richard Branson of Virgin Atlantic, Music, Gallactica fame as his example. You can listen to the podcast by clicking here.

President's Weekly Letter, Champions SoCal BNI

2011-02-15T13:33:00.000-08:00

Wooooooooo, CHAMPIONS:

Visitors and guests certainly make the BNI world go around! When visitors invite visitors the world goes around twice as fast! Yes...that actually happened today. We had a visitor (who has an application pending) bring another visitor to the chapter...who took an app as well! The (guest) visitor was also on our stack day profession target...a plumber! Wow! The visitor that brought the visitor was Christina Pham a printer with Select Graphics and Printing. The (guest) visitor was Casey Merrell from Classic Plumbing. Well done Christina! Kathy Penton from Performance Envelope also visited a second time while her app is pending along with Linda Kamka from Linda Kamka Designs for the second time while her app is pending. The Champions are certainly keeping Greg Beck, Aric Gless, Chuck Tipton, Brett Adolph, Patrick O'Kane, and Bill Edman busy with all of the visitors and apps. Thank goodness we have a crack membership team! Our visitor host and team have greeted each new person with a smile. Thanks to Angelo Dionisiou, Jim Salem, Robert Perez, Bo Lowe, Jim McCracken, and Richard Lane for the great job that you do with the host team! We also were honored to have the president of Liaisons, Kim Welch, of Send Out Cards present to assist her distributor, Bo Lowe in his keynote. We enjoyed the two subs and one guest from another chapter, Sonia Salem (sub), Jason Wakefield (BNI guest), and David Aeppli (sub). The room was full of energy as many of the visitors and guests commented in the Stand and Deliver.

Stand and Deliver: with a twist

Last week a challenge was issued by your faithful President to conduct a GAINS interview with the member sitting to your right. Once completed the Stand and Delivers this week were to include a tidbit take away from the one-to-one. I am pleased to say that we conducted 90 one-to-one meetings and the tid bits were spectacular! We have an attorney capable of arguing a case in the Supreme Court, two former BNI chapter Presidents, a hip hop dancer, a Civil War buff, an Eagle Scout, etc. I believe that as we gain (no pun intended) credibility with each other, we also will find ways to be profitable.

GRC Stack Day:

Next week we will have a room full of plumbers and family law attorneys thanks to the GRC team's excellent guidance. Among the team are its leader, Michael Figueroa, Dr. Real, Ela Corcoran, and Jody Houseman. Remember to make those calls!

Keynotes:

Exceptionally presented by a couple of BNI vets...Dr. Hercules Real and Bo Lowe! Bo brought in Kim Welch to assist in a role play about keeping in touch with your customers...or someone else will. Dr. Real covered the three things that make him different including paying attention to his patient's details...a key difference. Dr. Real also is very abreast of the new developments and technology with his practice of dentistry...recently completing a professional designation in orthodonture. We will certainly post the "film at eleven" when it becomes available. Our thanks once again to our in house videographer to the Champions, Robert Perez, for his consummate video taping of the keynotes and other ramblings of the Champions!

Chapter Biz and Leaders:

We are clobbering our goals and thanking for a substantial amount of closed business...approx $800,000 on a BNI calendar basis!

Congrats to Jim Sando, most one-to-ones, James Kashi, most visitors, and Angelo Dionisiou, most referrals in the month of January!

Please Welcome Ms. 33!:

That would be Bonny Thompson from Time Warner Cable and the newest Champion. Carmina Perez was not the newest for very long as we inducted her just last week. Congrats to Bonny and we are happy that you are a Champion. Y'all be sure to welcome Bonny with open arms and an empty one-to-one calendar. Bonny came to us the old fashioned way...through the website and will be mentored by Gary Lorge.

EC Moment:

Jim concluded with his series on relationships, referrals and will host an all Champions training at his office on February 23rd. The topic is the Referral Mindset training and will be taught by our director, Lem Bucago. There should be 15 Champions in attendance! Thanks in advance for arranging this, Jim. Rumor has it that the Champions have a new Four Star recipient...more to come!

The International Tabasco Award:

The recipient this week was a man who has sung, danced and is the opposite of last week's recipient who has neither sung nor danced...Steven Stakley. If only 'SC worked as hard in recruiting as Steven did to win the award...oh well. I know that Richard Lane enjoyed awarding the pepper this week. Remember to watch that 30 second time frame as many Champions exceeded the limit and disqualified themselves from consideration.

Miscellaneous:

The eight chapter mixer was a smashing success to wrap up the International Networking Week celebrations. We hosted approximately 100 people from Champions, Liaisons, Velocity, WOMBATS, Beachside Business Builders, Tustin and Yorba Linda BNI, and Premier Professionals. A good time was networked by all!

The meeting was concluded with an action quote!

Please make it a Champion week!

Your faithful President,

Allen Buchanan

Episode 191 One-to-Ones Equal More Referrals

2011-02-10T07:26:00.000-08:00

I was honored to guest on the International BNI podcast this week. BNI has meant so very much to me and I have thoroughly enjoyed the new relationships and serving as my chapter's President! The Champions are just that...Champions! You can listen to the podcast by clicking here

President's Weekly Letter, Champions SoCal BNI

2011-02-08T14:54:00.000-08:00

Wooooooo, CHAMPIONS:

Happy International Networking Week! The Champions started the week in style by welcoming a room full of printers! No it wasn't a stack day...the visitors happened to find us at the same time. Christina Pham from Elect Graphic and Printing visited for the second time and submitted her application. Kathy Penton, an owner of Performance Envelope visited (and completed an app after the meeting) and Linda Kamka, of Linda Kamka Designs visited as well (she left with app in hand). All were feted by Collette's Catering and enjoyed watching the Champion meeting experience! Our membership committed headed by Aric Gless will be busy this week vetting the apps. We could be at 35 or 36 Champions by month's end. Douglas Garrett, a partner of mine with Lee and Associates attended to catch the wave. Tom Roby subbed for Chuck Tipton and we had two "other BNI chapter" visitors...Joseph Maioriello Jr., and James Rosenquist. We always enjoy visitors from other chapters.

Please welcome, Carmina Perez, the newest Champion. Carmina is in Merchant Services and will be a welcome addition to the Champions. Carmina was sponsored by James Kashi and will be mentored by Steven Stakely

EC Moment:

Jim Sando, fresh from his visit to the Director/Ambassador team meeting yesterday presented a great educational moment on the characteristics of a good referral...someone in the market for your product or service that is expecting your call or a strategic introduction to someone that can introduce you to...expecting your call. Well done as always Jim!

International Tabasco Award for "hottest" SMM:

And the winner is...Richard Lane from Firstlight Networking...the IT kind of Networking! He cannot sing and he cannot dance (his words, not mine) but he certainly can catch our attention, have a specific ask, and complete before Rosanne gongs him. You could really tell that Richard practiced his introduction and it paid off for him. Congrats Richard!

Keynotes:

Your humble President presented today. I illustrated the VCP process through a client relationship of mine...film soon. I also issued a challenge to the chapter to have two one-to-ones this week and for next week's Stand and Deliver, come prepared with a tidbit from the face-to-face meetings...stay tuned.

Doug Luchansky from ACI bribed the audience with candy...great to hype their excitement for business software. I went first because I knew I couldn't compete with the candy give away. Doug is an outstanding listener (I have experienced this first hand!) He is a great strategic problem solver and a wonderful presenter of solutions. I believe that the chapter knows much more about Doug and his profession.

The Champions Spark Plug Award:

Mr. Jim Salem won this week for his production of the one page list of Champions that he accomplishes each and every month. Thanks for the effort, Jim! You can see Jim's handy work in the spces to the left.

Announcements:

Eight Chapter Mixer this Friday at 4:00-6:00 PM at JT Schmids...be there or be square!

Stack Day February 22nd. Don't forget to call those plumbers and family law attys!

Your humble President will be Dr. Ivan Misner's guest on the BNI weekly podcast this week on February 9th. Be sure to tune in and I will post a link on the blog as well. Click here to listen to the podcast!

The meeting was ended with an action quote!

Make it a Champion week!

My best to you,

Allen Buchanan, your humble President

Episode 190, International Networking Week 2011

2011-02-03T12:06:00.000-08:00

In this weeks podcast, Dr. Misner discusses the genesis of the Fifth Annual International Networking Week, the upcoming plans for the week, and the "Networking Disconnect" that people often experience that are new to networking. You can listen to the entire podcast by clicking here.

Dr. Misner alludes to next week's guest in this week's podcast...a real estate broker. Tune in next week as well to hear the story of the real estate broker's success in a tough economy.

President's Weekly Letter, Champions SoCal BNI

2011-02-01T12:53:00.001-08:00

Jim Sando with his "props" and the EC Moment

Pictured: The Beachside Business Builders (without Deanna Abrahams) From Left to Right: Trent Clark, Erika Jessie, Johnathan Tran, Leslie Van Deusen, Thane McCready, Dave Schuberth, Charlie Finn, Stacy Neuland, Robert Preciado, and Ken Duong.

Wooooooooo, CHAMPIONS!!

Today's meeting of the SoCal Champions BNI was filled with laughter, visitors, and our brethren from the west...the Beachside Business Builders from Fountain Valley. Trent Clark, a Socal BNI director was present, unofficially, for the festivities and witnessed the International Tabasco Award delivered first hand as well as his fellow director, Lem Bucago keynoting on the ways to present using Power Point...more on that, including film at eleven, in a moment.

Visitation:

In addition to our fellow BNI-ers, the Champions welcomed four visitors...three of whom have submitted apps and our membership committee is hard at work getting the apps vetted for approval...Carmina Perez, from FIS Merchant Services, Bonny Thompson from Time Warner Cable, and Joe Lynch, a general contractor. Christina Pham from Elect Graphic and Printing was our fourth visitor. I certainly hope that she applies as our chapter could use a printer!

EC Propped Moment:

Mr. Sando used the local talent to "prop up" his EC moment today and wrapped up the series on relationship building, time, attendance and how they all mesh to create V.C. and P! Thanks to the props Clay Colwell, Brett Adolph, Lem Bucago, Gary Lorge (two time Tabasco winner) and Doug Luchansky...who gave his first referral today! Vana White could not have done better, fellas!

The International Tabasco Award:

So the BBBs got to see the International Tabasco Award competition for the "hottest" sales manager moment today and I believe that to a person they were impressed by the snappy, specific SMMs and the camaraderie and skill that the award builds. Chuck Tipton emerged victorious from a packed field...rumor has it he bought the award...not literally but figuratively as he threw a handful of dollar bills to illustrate an owner throwing his money away on rent...VERY effective. Chuck won by a nose according to Gary Lorge, last week's winner. Now next week Chuck gets to award the Tabasco! Every past winner was given a lapel pin of a real package of Tabasco to affix to their name tag. We even awarded a secondary Tabasco to Ken Duong from the BBB. Ken truly went international to win the award by speaking in several different languages to pitch his "international" law firm. Now you have the International Tabasco Award to go along with your stellar record, Ken!

Keynote:

Lem Bucago, our award winning director, keynoted us about the BNI meeting experience. Specifically, Lem discussed the SMMs, Keynotes, and Stand and Deliver portions of the meetings. The three Ps are critical to your success with a Keynote...those three Ps being, Preparation, Practice, and Presentation. Below is a snippet of Lem's presentation that was captured on video. This is Lem doin' work. Lem was recently awarded best trainer in SoCal BNI for 2010 and 2009. Sign up for one of Lem's trainings. They're awesome!

Chapter Leaders and Biz for January:

The leaders for last month in the categories of visitors, referrals, and 1-2-1 meetings were recognized at the dais. Mr. Sando took the 1-2-1 honors, Angelo Dionisiou won for referrals, and James Kashi brought the most visitors to the chapter last month...and one submitted an app!

Greg Beck, our VP and sheriff, covered the chapter's progress in the categories of visitors, 1-2-1s, referrals, and TYFCB. The Champions welcomed ten visitors last month, participated in 232 1-2-1s, exchanged 125 referrals AND recorded over $68,000 in TYFCB. That brings our YTD total for TYFCB to approximately $230,000 for closed business for the four months ending January 31, 2011. Way to go Championes!! How's that Ken Duong?

Miscellaneous:

The details for the eight chapter mixer capping off International Networking Week were announced and all Champions and BBBs encouraged to attend. The mixer is February 11 from 4:00-6:00 PM at JT Schmids in Anaheim (across from the Honda Center). The eight participating chapters are Champions, Velocity, Beachside Business Builders, Tustin BNI, Yorba Linda BNI, Liasions, WOMBATS, and Premier Professionals. We encourage chapter members to bring significant others or spouses. The event is cash and carry with a no host bar. The event should be epic!

The meeting was ended "on time" with a quote from Dr. Ivan Misner..."The secret to succeeding without hard work is still a secret!"

Make it a Champion week, ya'll!

My best to you,

Your humble President

Allen Buchanan

President's Weekly Letter, Champions SoCal BNI

2011-01-25T16:15:00.000-08:00

Woooooooo, CHAMPIONS!!

Before I recap today's meeting, I thought you would enjoy the fun that we had last week delivering our SMMs with the "choose your prop" gimmick. A good time (and some very specific asks) was had by all...including the "sheriff's award winning SMM. Enjoy!

The air was full of BNI:

Something was in the air today at the Champions! I don't know if the visit from our new ambassador Bernadette Lazzara accompanied by Director Lem was the reason OR the fact that we hosted four visitors (in addition to Lem and Bernadette) and three subs OR if we were still wound up from last week's SMM competition OR if we are anticipating the beginning of International Networking Week on February 4 OR if we are anxious for the visit from Beachside Business Builders next week OR the seven chapter mixer scheduled for February 11 OR all of the above OR none of the above...but you could FEEL the energy!

Our proudest meeting of the term (IMHO):

We are proud that Gary Lorge is the Champions second two time International Tabasco winner for the "hottest" SMM...definitely not a "one size fits all" introduction, proud that we received two new member apps...one from a category repped by our upcoming stack day (before the day occurred!), proud that the Champions is exceeding its goals of referrals weekly, proud of the wonderful EC moment regarding email etiquette, proud of the keynotes from Vicki (James Kashi spokeswoman) and Bill, quack for me, Edman, proud of the Champion Spark Plug winner Lem Bucago for his mastery of BNI training moderation for the second year running and proud of the job that ALL the Champions did with our SMMs and the Stand and Deliver! In all my months...I have never seen or heard a BETTER display of SMMs...catchy, timely, and specific!! Alrighty then. In short...a VERY proud presidential day! Thanks for letting me be along for the ride today. Flying the plane was effortless!

Visitation:

Bernadette Lazzarra our new ambassador
Lem Bucago our eminent Director
Carmina Perez with FIS Merchant Services (app submitted)
Bonny Thompson with Time Warner Cable (app submitted)
Raymond Nanadiego (he had the last name before Cathy) with Ray-Lite Industries
Jason DePetris, a visiting BNI member from Sunrise BNI and a NY Life agent
Vicki Calhoun, a sub for James Kashi
Jennifer Chinn, a sub for Richard Lane
Janelle Ruck, a sub for Dr. Paul

Thanks visitors, subs, and visiting BNI members! You make the plane fun to fly!

We quoted, adjourned and busied ourselves for the BNI Networking week ahead!

Make it a Champion week, ya'll!

My best to you,

Allen

Episode 188 What Does My Referral Network Need to Know to Pass Me Business?

2011-01-22T09:37:00.000-08:00

Episode 188: “What Does My Referral Network Need to Know to Pass Me Business?”

In this week's podcast, Dr. Misner continues his discussion about network referrals. You can tune in to the entire podcast by clicking here.

Synopsis:

Mike Macedonio joins Dr. Misner again this week to pick up where Episode 187 left off So, what does your network need to know?

Referral Marketing Strategies: Invite a new BNI member to Member Success Program training and go through it with them.

Who to refer to you: Make it easy for them to identify good prospects.

How to refer to you: Give them qualifying questions to ask, or a testimonial to share. Let them know your preferred next step.

Why they should refer you: Your number one responsibility is to make the referrer look good.

It’s important to get all four of these elements in place in order to generate a steady flow of referrals.

President's Weekly Letter, Champions SoCal BNI

2011-01-18T14:39:00.001-08:00

Wooooooo, CHAMPIONS!

Well, as the image to the right indicates, there is a new sheriff in town and his name is Greg Beck! Greg, shown at the right, is the first two time International Tabasco Award winner for the "hottest" SMM. Today was "choose your prop" day. The chapter could choose to use one, two, or all three props laid upon the dais. The three props were a Bob Marley lava lamp, a hand weight, and a wooden kitchen spoon. Greg used a reference to all three and parodied the song "I shot the Sheriff" by singing "I shot the IRS"...Greg is a CPA in case you hadn't guessed. The approach was catchy, all three props were used (not a requirement, but extra points were awarded), and the SMM ended right before "the Sheriff" was buzzed for the time limit, AND the ask was specific! Outstanding effort, Mr. Beck. Don't be surprised if you are awarded a tin star next week! Robert Perez videoed the proceedings...film at eleven!

Visiting Visitors:

We welcomed three visitors today. The first was Diana Chen of Tobin Acupuncture. During stand and deliver, Diana exclaimed that she really learned alot about BNI...great, we intend to educate. The second was Bonny Thompson, from time Warner Cable and she commented that she has rarely seen a room so full of energy, fun, and diversity! We hope that you ladies find your way back to the Champions in the weeks to come and that you "block out your competition"! Third was Gary Reeves who was a special sub/visitor and added a great deal to our meeting by outlining some upcoming MSP training classes.

EC AND Champion Spark Plug Award:

Yeees that is Jiiiiim Sando! Jim, along with several "volunteers" demonstrated the closed and open networking groups. This is a very important networking skill to learn with our stack day fast approaching on February 22. Remember we are after a plumber, a merchant services provider, and a family law attorney. Several teams were seen meeting after the adjournment. Should be a GREAT day!

Jim was recognized for the work that he did with Tom Roberts and Tom's recent job search AND his willingness to allow BNI trainings to take place in his office...a true giver! Congrats, Jim! You deserve the award!

Keynotes:

Randy Clement, an attorney with Clement and Ho, and Angelo Dionisiou, Argo insurance, commercial insurance broker keynoted. Both discussed their backgrounds, reasons for choosing their professions, things that they both enjoy and ways in which we can provide strategic intros and referrals. By the way, both Angelo and Randy share something in common other than being active Champions...did you remember what that was? I especially enjoyed Angelo's graphic outlining the "anatomy of risk" and Randy's expanation of FAQ he receives...retainers, flat rate, and contingency fees.

Angelo Dionisiou's Keynote:

Chapter Biz:

The Sheriff (Greg Beck) reviewed our pace for referrals, one-to-one meetings, and TYFCB. If we annualized our month-to-date TYFCB, the Champions would exceed this year...wait for it...$1,200,000! If you dream it you can do it! December's category leaders were announced and the one-to-one leaders recognized at the dais. Jim Sando was the leader in one-to-one meetings last month. There may be a star in your future, Mr. Sando!

Upcoming Events:

February 11, 2011 Six chapter mixer to cap International Networking Week. More details to follow!

February 1, 2011 The Beach Cities Business Builders will visit our chapter with their director, Trent Clark. Should be epic!

The meeting was adjourned with a quote from Dr. Martin Luther King.

Make it a Champion week, ya'll!

My best,

Allen

Three Things to Consider When Starting a Business

2011-01-18T09:47:00.000-08:00

Are you considering starting your own business? In this weeks entrepreneur blog, Dr. Misner outlines three thing to consider...Consult your list of contacts that have started businesses, engage a business coach that has experience with start ups, and read, read, read. You can read the entire article by clicking here.

Episode 187: “The Three Core Competencies to Referral Success”

2011-01-16T10:09:00.000-08:00

In this week's podcast, Dr. Misner discusses the three core competencies to referral success. You can tune in to the podcast by clicking here.

Some of the highlights:

Get the right education. Learn from the experts.

Stay immersed with the information. Apply what you know.

Educate your referral network. That’s what BNI’s Leadership Team training is for. (Hint—you don’t have to be on the Leadership Team to take this training.)

President's Weekly Letter, Champions SoCal BNI

2011-01-11T13:47:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday to Me! (yesterday)

Woooooooo, CHAMPIONS!

Rosanne surprised me before the Champions were called with the birthday cake pictured. Ms. Buchanan gave birth to a bouncing baby boy named Allen, many years ago on that very day! Thanks Rosanne for your thoughtfulness! You are welcome for the latte.

Visiting envoy:

The Champions welcomed one visitor and two subs today that had cool things to say during the Stand and Deliver:

Kim Welch of Send Out Cards and President of Liaisons spoke of the Champions fantastic reputation...coming from a fellow president, well received! Tom Roby, subbing for Chuck Tipton enjoyed the enthusiasm and energy. Tom mentioned the same was true last time he visited. Jenna Beck...no relation to our VP, Greg...from Colette's catering mentioned that the effort was lovely and she was surprised at the structure. We listen to our visitors and subs as we strive to create a "World Class" BNI experience! You will be hearing a lot about "world class" in the months to come!

My guests at the dais:

You all recognize the International Tabasco Award for the "hottest" SMM...this week's winner, Steven Stakley who finally had to promise Laker tickets to win the award...but it worked! No more singing, Steven.

The three you might not recognize...the lava lamp, the hand weight and the kitchen utensil...will play pivotal parts in next weeks SMMs as members are encouraged to use one (or more) of the items in their SMM...cannot wait to hear the creativity! The winner of next weeks SMM will be a true Champion. Will we crown our first two time winner? Tune in next week to see!

I was also happy to recognize the December visitor leaders...Ela Corcoran and Clay Colwell who together invited one half of the visitors! Well done, folks...and welcome back, Clay. As you may recall, Clay and Dawn said I dos in December!

EC phone home...or is it ET?

Any way, we learned to attend the meetings, build those relationships, and do more one-to-ones. Also, carefully choose your subs if you must be absent. The L/T team is here to help anyway we can!

VP on our Chapter Biz:

For the first three months of the new term vs the first three moths of last year, we have almost doubled the number of referrals we have passed! Last week, this resulted in $34,000 of TYFCB...annualized that is over $820,000...Ka Ching! and I didn't sneeze...that is the sound of the cash register, ya'll!

Keynotes:

Robert Perez, videographer of the Champions, showed us examples of bad video and good video. We are fortunate that Robert is with us each week and where Robert goes, the camera follows. Robert has developed quite the reputation among other BNI chapters as rumor has it that he will video several keynotes for other chapters. Good referrals for Robert are CRE or residential brokers that need video content for their listings.

One of our charter members, Steven Stakley, ended his pitch with a promise to host any Champion and their client to a Laker game in the Burnham Gibson luxury suite. I really enjoyed learning about Steven's focus upon small business owners and closely held corporations and their investment, life insurance, and financial needs. Greg Beck gave a riveting testimonial of Steven's ability during Stand and Deliver. What was truly poignant, was that Greg used himself as an example of the great work that Steven has done on his personal investments. Always a pleasure, Mr. Stakely!

Upcoming events:

Stack Day February 22, with Merchant Services, Plumber, and Family Law Atty as our inviting targets

Six Chapter Networking Event on February 11 with Liaisons, Velocity, YL, Premier Professionals, WOMBATS, and Champions. This event will conclude International Networking Week.

Chapter visit by the Beachside Business Builders chapter on February 1

Next Week: SMM using the lava lamp, weight, or the kitchen utensil...should be a blast!

Please make it a Champion week!

My best to you,

Allen

Episode 186: 50-70 Members at a BNI Meeting

2011-01-06T14:42:00.001-08:00

So can the Champions handle 50-70 members? In this episode, Dr. Misner discusses the ways to accomplish this and more importantly, how do you manage the meeting?
You can listen to the full podcast by clicking here.

President's Weekly Letter, Champions SoCal BNI

2011-01-04T16:00:00.000-08:00

Rosanne wearing her designer glasses and doing her best Lady Gaga impression...more in a minute...or maybe we will leave it there.

Wooooooo, CHAMPIONS:

The Champions welcomed the new year with much hoopla and a silent (not too silent) wish for the Razorbacks to wallop The Ohio State University this evening...WPS.

The Highlights:

Two new visitors...both returning...both claiming that they will complete apps.
EC Moment on "Relationships"
Say hello to Mr. 33, Jim McCracken
We crowned a new Tabasco Champion
New leaders for December were announced and properly feted
YTD progress vs 2009 on all of our key categories
Chris Vasquez keynoted us
Stand and Deliver and Champion's spark plug
Wonderful GRC and new stack day for February 22
A couple of cool upcoming events for the Champions
Quote and see ya'll next week!

The visiting dignitaries:

Wow, your meetings are very organized! This exclamation was made by Steve Pitchford from Search Optimizers on his second visit. Joseph Lynch, husband of Wendy Lynch from Velocity can definitely feel the Champion love! Joseph is a general contractor and is anxious to submit his transfer before stack day...more on that later.

EC Moment:

Jim Sando discussed the most important aspect...aside from "givers gain"...in BNI. That is relationships and relationships can only be fostered by time. Do those one-to-ones, AND strive for perfect attendance at the meetings. Those 15 minute networking stints really work.

Say hello to Mr. 33:

The Champions reach now stems down to the West Texas Town of El Paso, I met a girl...oops wrong. But we did just induct Mr. Jim McCracken from UFirst who becomes Mr. 33 and the fifth new member of the present term. We are especially excited since Jim visited 8 different chapters before choosing Champions...we won the beauty contest and got a great new member as a result. We are happy you are a Champion, Jim! Jim will be mentored by Dr. Paul Kwik.

Our newest International Tabasco Champion for the "hottest" SMM:

Wait for it...Aric Gless for his creativity, time frame, and specific ask. Aric, with the award inures all of the benefits of ownership, a tax deduction and your name on the Champions walk of fame.

December leaders:

Visitors, Clay Colwell
One-to-One Meetings, Jiiiiim Sando
Referrals, Jody Houseman

I believe all of the category winners are new to the winner's circle! Great job fellas.

Chapter Biz:

For the first three years of the new term:
Referrals 2009-275 2010-350
One-to-One Meetings 2009-489 2010-585
Visitors 2009-27 2010-32

Our TYFCB this term to date (first three months) $160,000. Rumor has it that we passed an additional $40,000 today which brings the total to over $200,000. Annualize that and you get $800,000...I bet we exceed that!

Keynoter, Mr. Chris Vasquez of Union Bank:

Chris discussed primary business goals, his competitive difference, his three best clients, things to look and listen for, qualifying questions to ask, power partners, his love of his job, and the best way to reach him...cell phone, 714.396.9497.

Stand and Deliver:

The S and Ds were heart felt...highlighted by Greg Beck and his praise for Brett Adolph. The Champions Spark Plug Award went to the original recipient, Dr. Real for his "pinch hitting" in the L/T meeting and his diligence in presenting the stack day details.

Stack Day February 22nd...be there or be square!

Three categories are:
Merchant Services, General Contractor, and Plumber
More to come each week!

Upcoming Events:

Six Chapter mixer on February 11 billed as OC's second largest mixer (the first was taken). Members from Velocity, Yorba Linda, Liaisons, WOMBATs, Champions, and Premier Business will be present. More to follow in conjunction with the International Networking Week.

The 18th of January will be a "fun" SMM week. More details next week.

The meeting was adjourned with a quote and a hearty happy new year!

My best to you,

Allen

International Networking Week. Watch here for details

2011-01-03T14:55:00.000-08:00

Ivan Misner, founder of BNI discusses the International Networking Event.

President's Weekly Letter, Champions SoCal BNI

2010-12-21T14:59:00.000-08:00

Wooooooo, CHAMPIONS!!!!!

Well we will start the last weekly letter of of 2010 with an image montage from the VERY talented Ms. Carla Buchanan, my wife of over 31 years, recent graduate of FIDM, future small business owner and visitor to the Champions SoCal BNI chapter this morning! I hope you enjoy the images!

The room was splendid with holiday decor, several Santa hats, and visitors, visitors, visitors! We inducted our 32nd member in the person of Dan McCoy from Paul Davis Restoration. Welcome to the Champions Dan! We know that you will be a welcome addition to our trades and real estate group.

The Champions welcomed the aforementioned Carla Buchanan with Carla Buchanan Designs, Steve Pitchford from Search Optimizers, Doug Symank from Priority Plumbing, representing himself as a general contractor was Joseph Lynch, Jack Tafreshi who will blaze a new venture in 2011, and Patty Deloera a real estate investor. Returning for his third visit was Jim McCracken of UFirst and subbing for Gary Lorge was Cody Hicks...whew! That is a lot of non stack day visitation! A VERY special guest in the person of Dawn Revelle, from Spark of Love and the Fullerton Fire Department was present to collect the toys that the Champions donated. Dawn also collected something much more meaningful...but more on that later.

EC Moment:
Jim Sando, complete with his own custom Santa hat educated us with the theme, when did someone do something special for you and tied the message in to the season of giving. After all as BNI members we aspire to the motto "givers gain".

SMMs and Tabasco award:
Bill Edman, quack, quack, confessed in the Stand and Deliver that a certain member (Jim Sando) has schooled him on the quality of his "asks". Well if Mr. Sando consults small businesses (and we know he does) as well as he counseled Bill Edman...we will have many more Tabasco winning small businesses. Bill's SMM was spot on...the opening was catchy "definition of insurance", the message flowed to the specific ask for an introduction to Gary Cooper from 3D Instruments in Anaheim and Bill quack, quacked before the bell rang him back into his seat! Steven Stakley sang his moment as did Greg Beck, but Bill's was clearly the best IMHO!

Keynote Pitches:
Rosanne Grigsby from Grigsby Bookkeeping and Rutger Hensel from Branding Personality delivered two very fine Keynotes today...the last of 2010. Rosanne described her "desire" which resulted from overcoming personal adversity to graduate from college and licking cancer. She takes the same tenacity into her bookkeeping assignments. I loved the color squares that Rosanne blended into the pitch...very visual. Well, we can win an IPad if we refer the most biz to Rutger in the first three months of 2011. Rutger expertly explained SMM, SEO, Google ad words, SMO, and how the whole lot of them combine to create a great online marketing strategy. Rutger and his lovely wife Marieke have quite a passion for the auto industry and have great success stories for transforming their branding through social media.

Stand...or should we say kneel and deliver?
The Stand and Deliver portion of the meeting was eclipsed by Clay Colwell kneeling in front of his soon to be bride, Dawn Revelle...that is correct, the same Dawn that was at our meeting to collect toys! Well, she collected a whole lot more as we witnessed. The moment was special for all of the Champions and I know that Dawn and Clay will never forget where Clay "popped the question". Greg and Rosanne were quick to point out that both Dawn and Clay are in line for the joint tax filing benefit...gotta love the tax folks! Best of luck for a VERY happy life together, you two! Clay also doubled down and won the Champions Spark Plug Award...but who else?

Spark of Champions:
The Champions chapter donated many, many toys for the Spark of Love campaign. We should be very proud of the giver's attitude that filled the room with toys today. I am confident that many children will have a merrier Christmas because of the giving!

The meeting was adjourned with a quote and a wish. The quote: "If your holiday spirit is not in your heart...you will have a tough time finding it under a tree." The wish: to all Champions, friends, and loved ones, have a VERY safe and sane Holiday season!

Presidentially Yours,

Allen

Three Networking Trends to Watch - Entrepreneur.com

2010-12-20T20:42:00.000-08:00

Three Networking Trends to Watch - Entrepreneur.com

President's Weekly Letter, Champions SoCal BNI

2010-12-14T15:32:00.000-08:00

Wooooooo, CHAMPIONS!!

Well the holiday spirit filled the room at the Meridian Health Cub along with several visitors, subs, and our very own AD, Mr. Lem Bucago! The inflatable Tabasco was regaled in holiday garb and awaited a new place to sit. The SMMs were crisp, timely, and the asks were specific. We enjoyed two great veteran keynote presenters, Jim Salem from First Team Realty and Brett Adolph from Payday Payroll, and Jim Sando did a usually brilliant job of EC ing the Moment. The highlight of the day for me however was awarding the Champions Spark Plug award to a truly deserving, very selfless Champion, Rosanne Grigsby! We are blessed as Champions to have a Secretary/Treasurer (and former caterer) in the person of Rosanne. Look "Giver's Gain" up in the manual...next to the definition will be a photo of Rosanne! Rosanne planned, purchased the food, made the delicacies and delivered the tasty morsels to our holiday social last Thursday. All who attended at Co-Working Fullerton were amazed by the spread and Rosanne greeted us as if we had entered her home. She is a beauty and we love her dearly! Thanks Rosanne. The Champion Spark Plug Award is give to the Champion each week that goes "above and beyond" the week before. The award was created in 2007 by Mark Waterman, a former VP and the first recipient was Dr. Hercules Real.

SMMs and Tabasco:

Yes, yours truly is now the proud recipient! I had to sing, however, and all of the Champions look at me a little less presidentially...

EC Moment:

Tremendous as always! Jim has a way of bringing the script to life like no other. Today Jim's topics centered around our goals for 2011 and how networking should play a part in our marketing efforts. Even our AD, Lem was impressed and said so afterward.

Welcome, Welcome, Welcome:

Three great visitors attended today and two submitted apps...wooo hooo!

Jim McCracken from U First and all the way from El Paso, Texas

Joseph S. Davis from the Law Firm of the same name

Peter Zazzara from Zazzara Construction

Also:

Donna Edman from People's Care subbed for Bill...Quack, Quack

and Margaret Ornelas from Stratus subbed for Maurice Herron.

Keynotes:

From two vets that know how to describe their businesses! My quick take aways fom Jim Salem; he is experienced and uses his education to the benefit of his clients. You get Jim...not an intern. Expert representation is more important than ever when navigating the complex world of home purchasing. You can use Jim's 40+ office network to your benefit as well. Brett warmed the room with his typical charm...and candy bars which are his trademark! Payday is a local payroll provider that has been in business for twenty years and has approximately 2300 clients. 900 of those were originated by Brett. In the words of Forrest Gump, "That's all I have to say about that!"

Next Week:

SPECIAL TREAT!! We are collecting toys for the Spark of Love Campaign. Dawn Revelle will be here to collect the toys and receive a special "THANKS!" You don't want to miss this one, folks!

And remember, this is our last meeting of the year!

Old Biz:

If you missed the Twelve Month's of Champions, here it is again. Enjoy! Thanks to Robert Perez for the wonderful production. All I can say is that we shouldn't quit our day jobs, fellas...

The Morn' of our Stack Day, Another Holiday Parody

2010-12-12T11:14:00.000-08:00

The Morn' of our"Stack Day"

Modified by Allen C. Buchanan, President of Champions SoCal BNI

A Holiday Parody on the story

"The Night Before Christmas"

by Clement Clarke Moore
or Henry Livingston

'Twas the Morn of our Stack Day, before the agenda;

Not a visitor was stirring, not even a pretenda.

The breakfast was set by Victoria with care;

In hopes that the visitors soon would be there.

The LT was ready all secure in their roles;

While visions of referrals increased the chapter's goals.

And the Sec/Treas with her buzzer, and I with my shtick;

Had just settled down for 7:30 to tick.

When out on the lot there arose such a clatter;

I sprang from the table to see what was the matter.

Away to the visitor table I flew like a flash;

Tore open the name tags and braced for the crash.

The sign on the steps of the Meridian Club;

Pointed up to our room near the racquetball hub.

When, what to our GRC team should appear;

But visitors in new categories from everywhere.

With our visitor hosts, so lively and quick;

I knew in a moment that the name tags would stick.

More rapid than eagles the visitors they came;

And we whistled, and shouted, and called them by name;

"Now, Sign Guy! now, Lawyer! now, Roofer and Electrician!

Get a place at the table, Don't be Stupid! Block your competition!

To the top of the category! to the head of the table!

We called the Champions to order the best we were able.

As the leadership team was introduced with applause;

It became apparent to all that the guests were our cause.

And then, in a twinkling, I heard to my left;

The best EC moment delivered with deft.

As I drew in my head, and was turning around;

The Sales Manager Moments commenced to abound.

We were all rapt attention, as the Keynotes began;

And our knowledge increased as the ten minutes ran.

The guests -- how they twinkled! their smiles how merry!

Their anticipation peaked as we approached the query.

The Stand and Deliver was especially compelling;

As we passed referrals, referrals, and the dollars were swelling.

As the moment approached for the orientation;

The visitors stood and heard a standing ovation.

The rules were explained with the utmost of care;

and the new apps were shared with the greatest of flair.

As the guests returned to the room with exclaim;

We hoped that the Stack Day had not been in vein.

A wink of the Veep's eye and a twist of his head;

Soon gave me to know we had nothing to dread.

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work;

And approved all the apps; then turned with a jerk.

And laying his finger aside of his nose;

And giving a nod, up to the podium he strode.

He sprang to the dais, to his Champions gave a whistle;

and twelve members were added like the down of a thistle.

But I heard him exclaim, as the meeting adjourned;

"Happy Stack Day to Champions, the Corners Been Turned!"

The Twelve Months of Champions (A Holiday Parody), The Video

2010-12-11T12:00:00.000-08:00

OK, Ya'll, you asked for it and you got it!! Here is the Twelve Months of Champions...the video version!! We taped this at our recent Christmas Social.

Starring (First through twelfth): Dr. Hercules Real, Michael Figueroa, Doug Luchansky, Christian Vasquez, Bo Lowe, Greg Beck, Jim Sando, Dr. Paul Kwik, Aric Gless, Chuck Tipton Jr., Angelo Dionisiou, and our Area Director, Lem Bucago.

Produced by our very own Robert Perez!!! Videographer to the Champions!!!

Episode 184, BNIs New Global Branded Look

2010-12-10T07:32:00.000-08:00

In this week's podcast, Dr. Misner discusses the new branded look for BNI. You can click here to learn more about the new global brand.

Here are the five reasons for the change:
1. BNI is a global organization and brand (almost 5o countries worldwide)
2. The brand needs to be memorable visibly
3. The protection of the brand
4. Uniform look will protect against copying
5. Protects poaching from others

This new logo cements the credibility of our organization and keeps us "coloring between the lines" as the organization grows!!

President's Weekly Letter, Champions SoCal BNI

2010-12-07T17:17:00.001-08:00

Woooooo CHAMPIONS:

Pour Some Sugar on Me!!:

As previously written in October, "Calling the Champions" is a play on a semi-"religious" event that occurs multiple times at Arkansas Razorback football games. Having hailed from these hallowed grounds, calling the hogs is in my DNA...and the DNA of my children!! The call was heard from our weekly meetings and the Arkansas Razorbacks completed their Sugar Bowl recipe and were awarded the school's VERY first BCS bowl bid to play in the Sugar Bowl against Ohio State on January 4th!! After calling the Champions this morning a "bowl" of "sugar packets" was prominently placed at the LT dais in celebration of the Champions "calling" efforts. I believe some of our SC fans who are without a bowl birth this year became de facto Hog fans for the bowl!! Go Hogs!! and great job Champions!! Enough of this excess frivolity and on to the chapter biz:

Four visitors and three subs filled the ranks among the Champions this morning and their comments during Stand and Deliver were revealing:

Dan McCoy from Paul Davis Restoration loved the musical SMM provided by the VP...more on that in a minute. Al Beard and Wayne Diamond from Diamond Beard Construction loved the energy. Jim McCracken from UFirst exclaimed that he cannot wait to become a Champion and traveled all the way from El Paso, Texas to prove it!! Our Subs...Tom Roby from Spectrum Financial enjoyed the interaction and the Keynotes. Dennis Leonhardt from Battery Express has subbed in other BNI chapters and has never had such a Champion experience. Finally, Margaret Ornelas from Stratus said that we seemed like a BIG FAMILY...alright!! From the voices of our visitors...telling...I think so!!

Keynotes:

Jim Sando, our business consultant and EC, and Greg Beck, our VP extraordinaire and CPA presented two extremely well rehearsed and specific keynotes for our enjoyment. The things that both keynotes had in common...well delivered, great use of handouts and multi media, wonderful stories about the experience of each, AND ways in which we can refer business to each of them. We are VERY lucky to have such consummate professionals in our midst!! Tremendous job Jim and Greg!!

Ahhhh...the International Tabasco Award for the "hottest" SMM:

Given this week to...wait for it...yes Greg "Rudolf the CPA" Beck...I know, you kinda had to be there!! Its always risky to sing your SMM. Greg pulled it off!! Some notable runners up were, Tom Roberts, Randy Clement, Angelo Dionisiou! Remember...catchy opening, specific ask, and complete within the time frame. The large inflatable Tabasco will now grace future meetings and Greg gets to "rule" the SMMs next week and choose the winner.

How about those November Individual leaders??...and Chapter Stats??...

Referrals last year (two months) 100, this year 132...most referrals, Brett Adolph 13...great efforts by Clay Colwell and Steve Barnett.

1-2-1s last year, 178, this year 261...most 1-2-1s, Bo Lowe (Bo knows Tabasco also) 18...nice going to Aric Gless and Steven Stakley

Visitors last year this time 15, this year 28!!...most visitors...tie between Brett Adolph and Jim Sando 2 each, close was James Kashi.

TYFCB last year, $90,000, this year to date...wait for it...$122,000...even a math challenged President can compute that is over $700,000 annually! We can do $1,000,000!!!

One of the most impressive stats is # of members...31 vs 22 this time last year!!

That is how we CRUSH our goals, Champions!! WAY TO GO!!

Special Thanks:

The Champions Spark Plug Award went to Angelo, our fantastic visitor host team member, who beat every Champion to the meeting this morning and greeted us all with a friendly smile and a cheerful hello!!

With the Holidays fast approaching, the Champions will celebrate with our Christmas Social on Thursday night and will collect toys for Spark of Love on the 21st!!

The meeting was closed with a quote by Dr. Hercules Real...not literally...he provided the quote from Henry Ford about goals!!

Make it a Champion Week!!

The Twelve Months of Champions (A Holiday Parody)

2010-12-05T09:31:00.001-08:00

In honor of the season and all that we are grateful for as Champions SoCal BNI members, this parody on the old tune seemed to be in order...You can sing the words below to the original song and improvise on the syllables and it should work. As you will find, the parody is non-denominational to appeal to all faiths. Happy Holidays!!

In the first month of Champions my chapter gave to me, a T-Y-F-C-B.

In the second month of Champions my chapter gave to me, 2 Vis-it-tors, and a T-Y-F-C-B.

In the third month of Champions my chapter gave to me, 3 Stack Days, 2 vis-it-tors, and a T-Y-F-C-B.

In the fourth month of Champions my chapter gave to me, 4 Power Teams, 3 stack days, 2 vis-it-tors, and a T-Y-F-C-B.

In the fifth month of Champions my chapter gave to me, 5 One-to-Ones..., 4 power teams, 3 stack days, 2 vis-it-tors, and a T-Y-F-C-B.

In the sixth month of Champions my chapter gave to me, 6 Chapters Forming, 5 one-to-ones..., 4 power teams, 3 stack days, 2 vis-it-tors, and a T-Y-C-F-B.

In the seventh month of Champions my chapter gave to me, 7 Keynote Pitches, 6 chapters forming, 5 one-to-ones..., 4 power teams, 3 stack days, 2 vis-it-tors, and a T-Y-F-C-B.

In the eighth month of Champions my chapter gave to me, 8 LT Trainings, 7 keynote pitches, 6 chapters forming, 5 one-to-ones..., 4 power teams, 3 stack days, 2 vis-it-tors, and a T-Y-F-C-B.

In the ninth month of Champions my chapter gave to me, 9 Mentors Menting, 8 LT trainings, 7 keynote pitches, 6 chapters forming, 5 one-to-ones..., 4 power teams, 3 stack days, 2 vis-it-tors, and a T-Y-F-C-B.

In the tenth month of Champions my chapter gave to me, 10 Apps Reviewing, 9 mentors menting, 8 LT trainings, 7 keynote pitches, 6 chapters forming, 5 one-to-ones..., 4 power teams, 3 stack days, 2 vis-it-ors, and a T-Y-F-C-B.

In the eleventh month of Champions my chapter gave to me, 11 Veeps Reporting, 10 apps reviewing, 9 mentors menting, 8 LT trainings, 7 keynote pitches, 6 chapters forming, 5 one-to-ones..., 4 power teams, 3 stack days, 2 vis-it-tors, and a T-Y-F-C-B.

And in the twelfth month of Champions my chapter gave to me, 12 EC Moments, 11 veeps reporting, 10 apps reviewing, 9 mentors menting, 8 LT trainings, 7 keynote pitches, 6 chapters forming, 5 one-to-ones..., 4 power teams, 3 stack days, 2 vis-it-tors, and a T-Y-F-C-B!!!

Gramma Betty's, A Great Gift Idea

2010-12-04T18:35:00.000-08:00

Gramma Betty's is a GREAT gift idea!! I just attended a chocolate tasting at CoWorking Fullerton and got the first hand taste of a delicious praline!!

A Brief History:

In the early 1940s Gramma Betty began making candy using a family recipe passed down from generation to generation. It started with a delightful milk chocolate turtles & praliné recipe her great grandmother discovered in Paris, France. Today, the family takes great pride in these recipes and ships these gourmet candies coast to coast.

When you share Gramma Betty's you are sharing a family holiday tradition. We hope you'll consider starting a tradition of your own. Happy Holidays!

You can contact Gramma Betty's:

13337 South Street, Ste 14, Cerritos, CA 90703

1-714-521-0555 • 1-877-521-2655

ask@grammabettys.com

ask@grammabettys.com

Slip-It by Platinum Coast a MUST watch

2010-12-03T16:30:00.000-08:00

Ok...this is too funny!! I place this in the category of MUST watch You-Tube. Way to go to our Platinum coast brethren!!

Episode 183: “Ten Networking Questions”

2010-12-02T16:29:00.000-08:00

In this episode of Dr. Misner's weekly podcasts, he discusses ten networking questions to ask. #1 How did you get started in your business? #2 What do you like most about your business? For more of the questions... You can access the link by clicking here.

From Naysayer to Leading Referrer

2010-12-01T07:00:00.000-08:00

Hey check out this month's Success Net! Prominently featured is the President of the Champions!...yours truly!! This is a tremendous honor and I am humbled to be featured in this month's issue. You visit Success Net by clicking here. Enjoy the post!

President's Weekly Letter, Champions SoCal BNI

2010-11-30T16:49:00.000-08:00

Wooooooo, CHAMPIONS!!

Well, well, I believe the Champions enjoyed turkey day and the four day holiday a great deal as the energy level needed a little lift once the Champions were called promptly at 7:45. The room was rather sparse with visitors but we did welcome Peter Buechler, a certified financial planner with Cohesive Financial. Peter subbed for Angelo but seemed very interested in applying if we can find an open category for him. I noticed that Peter and Steven Stakley were in serious talks about how they could work together and not conflict. Recognition ruled the day however as the meeting was highlighted by several recognition opportunities:

International Tabasco Award for "hottest" SMM:

.........and the winner was........Chris Vasquez!! Congrats Chris. Your name now is permanently attached to the hallowed pepper and a small bottle will be placed prominently in front of your seat from here forth. You get to start the SMMs next week and choose the winner.

October Leaders in 1-2-1s, referrals, and visitors:

Greg Beck, Bo Lowe, Ela Corcoran, Brett Adolph (absent because of strep throat...wait, that's what Jenni has...must be going around...feel better guys!!), and Dr. Paul Kwik were all called to the dais and the leaders announced...Brett for 1-2-1s and referrals...Chapter Star?? and Dr. Paul with the visitors!

Champions Spark Plug (awarded to the Champion who went above and beyond):

Given during the Stand and Deliver portion of the meeting to emphasize its importance, to Ms. Rosanne Grigsby who while moving, servicing an ailing auto, nursing a sick mom back to health, still found time to plan the Champions Christmas Social, design and print a brochure to announce the event, plan the menu (she will prepare it also)...whew!! You can see why she won! Thanks for making the chapter GREAT, Rosanne!

Stack Day Winners:

They call them "mellow yellow"!!...the winner is the Yellow Team. Give it up for the Yellow Team Cap, Ela Corcoran and her teammates: Robert, Rutger, Brett, Jim Sando, James, and Bo. The team finished with 860 points...Champion effort, mellow yellow!!

Outstanding Keynotes:

We had the privilege of hearing Michael Figueroa and Tom Roberts today. Michael gave us a primer on wood floors and the subtle difference between engineered and "tree". Michael has built his career on the saying that "if you do it right, they will tell a friend, if you do it wrong, they will tell the world!"...great motto for word of mouth referring. Michael would like introductions to hospital facility managers as he has extensive experience in hospital flooring. Tom is in transition and did a brilliant job of outlining his background, accomplishments (Eagle Scout), Skills, and perfect companies for his services. Tom epitomized the BSA slogan and was VERY prepared for the presentation. I believe that all of the Champions left with a much better understanding of the position Tom is seeking.

EC Moment:

Jim Sando took a risk and asked for audience participation in answering "what is your biggest obstacle to receiving more referrals?" The question was one of the many survey questions that Jim asked of the chapter before his term began and these survey questions have formed the bases for many of Jim's EC moments. The prevailing reasons seem to be the segue from conversation to request and knowledge of those in need of the services. A specific ask in the SMM should help all of the Champions receive more quality referrals...and the Tabasco Award!!

Chapter Biz:

November vs October...more 1-2-1s, more referrals, more visitors!!

TYFCB...$58,900 this month...$26,000 ahead of Oct and Nov of 2009!! Ka-Ching!!!

Due$ are due so don't be blue next week!!

Christmas Social, Thursday December 9th, Branding Personality, 6:30-8:00. If you want to participate in the gift exchange, bring a wrapped gift for you and one for your spouse, guest, significant other, etc.

December 21, last regular meeting of this year, we will participate with Dawn Revelle and the Spark of Love toy campaign and contribute unwrapped toys. Dawn will be at our meeting to take the toys with her. Dawn was featured in the OC Register last weekend. You can read the article by clicking here.

The meeting was closed with a dialogue quote from the movie Airplane in memory of Leslie Neilsen who died last weekend.

Make it a Champion week!!

Episode 182: “The Best 60-Second Presentation I Ever Heard”

2010-11-24T15:51:00.000-08:00

In this week's episode of the BNI podcast, Dr. Misner discusses the very best 60 second commercial he has ever heard. The results will surprise you...it is not about the "memory hook".

You can listen to the podcast by clicking here. Enjoy the information!

November Chapter Success Forum

2010-11-24T08:05:00.000-08:00

One of the highlights of my BNI month is attending the Chapter Success Forum! I attended my first one out of shear curiosity back in February of 2010. I was new to BNI and wanted to see what the Forum was all about. Man, was I impressed! Clement Muwele was the moderator and the group met at Mimis on Euclid in Anaheim. I was visitor host at the time and ironically the topic was "how to make the visitor host position more effective!" I took away MANY helpful ideas and couldn't wait until the next one. Well the next one was headed by Nancy Board...great, but different! My keen investigation uncovered the fact that each Forum is headed by a new director each month AND the Chapter Success Forum used to be the President's Success Forum until the attendance became diluted and others subbed for the Presidents. What has emerged is a GREAT way to expand your Visibility, meet other chapter members as well as directors and enhance your BNI "givers gain" experience! Yesterday's meeting at Mimis on 17th in Tustin was headed by Todd Hansberger, SoCal Director, a member of the Yorba Linda BNI and owner of a pest control company. Todd's wife Kris, a member of Platinum Coast (a small start-up in South County ;)) was also in attendance. Great job you two! You know the Forum is well presented when another director, Lem Bucago attends!

The two topics well discussed were Inviting and the Hidden Visitor Opps of your BNI Meetings:

Inviting: (consider these ideas)

Place emphasis upon it in meetings

Check our attitude before opening our mouth

Use social media marketing to attract visitors (LinkedIn, Facebook, and Meetup, etc.)

Follow your dollars

Would you pay $1000 for $20,000 in new business?

Convert a cold call on you to a visitor

Use your business blog to attract visitors

Use MS Tags as an inviting technique

Stack Days, Stack Days and more Stack Days

Remember your role as President...your are a visitor host on steroids!

Meeting Visitor Hidden Opps: (consider these and make your meetings shine!)

Arrive early...visitors do

Use open groups vs closed groups

Create a "buzz" during open networking with a question

Early bird prizes

Keep the meeting distraction to a minimum

BE PREPARED...motto of BSA...but true in BNI

Wear your name badges...paper badges for those who forgot confuse visitors

Recognition

Consider attending a Forum! You will not be disappointed.

President's Weekly Letter, Champions SoCal BNI

2010-11-23T17:39:00.001-08:00

Wooooooooo, CHAMPIONS!!

The Champions chapter of SoCal BNI welcomed Darice Nicoletti from Nicoletti Creative and second time visitor, Jason Becker from Sunset Signs and Printing! Additionally, the Champions welcomed an esteemed visitor, President of Velocity chapter and a member of our President's Power Team, Cary Facer!

Today was prop day! The anticipation built until the first SMMs were delivered!! The Champions patiently waited in the breakfast line, called the Champions, listened to visitor intros, L/T intros and the EC moment...all the while anticipating their turn to deliver their SMM with a prop and vie for the coveted Tabasco award for the "hottest" SMM. The Champions had the 1000 yard stare as each rehearsed their 30 second pitch and silently wondered if the "pepper" would find its place in front of their seat...ahh the Tabasco award. Who knew that the pace would be sooo frenetic? We placed a little"spin" on the contest this week. First, the SMM had to include a prop. Second the SMM had to fit within the 30 second time frame and contain a specific ask. As Dr. Misner says..."specific is terrific"!! I have to admit, the profitable introductions are getting much better and the winner is difficult to determine. Dr. Real, last week's winner, gave a valiant stab to start off the competition. Several memorable SMMs were heard. Robert used some old video formats and asked for intros to companies that would like to video introductions; Rosanne used checks and invoices and asked that everyone have a Happy T-giving, and Brett used his mobile phone (did he secretly forget that today was prop day) to demonstrate the fact that he was always available and asked for companies using ADP and Paychex. Steven Stakley used an image of half of a brain to demonstrate "piece of mind" and asked for intros to retirees!...the best pun IMHO. In the end, one of our newest members, Gary Lorge prevailed with a GREAT SMM using...piece of pizza, piece of trash and once again "peace of mind" and asked for auto insureds. So now Mr. Lorge gets to have the pepper displayed!! Way to go Gary!!

EC:

Jim Sando outlined the characteristics of a great SMM...a catchy opening, a story or example, a specific ask, and all done within the time frame. Jim stressed the importance of rehearsing the SMM!! Jim closed with the famous Einstein insanity quote...doing the same things over and over and expecting a different result!

New Member:

The Champions inducted Mr. Randall (Randy Clement) a business attorney from Fullerton. We are VERY happy to have Randy in the chapter and look forward to his contributions. Randy was a group effort as three Champions had a hand in bringing him to the chapter. Rutger will mentor Randy! Welcome number 31...but number 1 in our hearts!!

VP and Membership:

For November, we are on pace to crush our monthly goals for 1-2-1 meetings, referrals, and visitors, and how about $106,569 in TYFCB in the first seven weeks of the new term...KA-CHING!!!

Keynotes:

One veteran BNI member, Jody Houseman, painter extroadinaire; and one somewhat new BNI member, Dr. Paul Kwik...international chiropractor of the Champions, presented our 10 minute topics today. Jody discussed his services, his target market, his contact sphere, his value, and great referrals for him...contractors, interior designers, residential and commercial RE brokers, and of course homeowners. Dr. Paul led us through the "whys" that he became a chiropractor, five people he has helped and how, and perfect referrals for him. The keynotes were well rehearsed and well delivered! Great job you two!!

Stand and Deliver:

We mixed up the "Champions Spark Plug Award" timing to award the plug during Stand and Deliver. Patrick O'Kane, through his tireless efforts as a L/T sub and minute taker was the recipient.

GRC:

Team leaders were announced and the final winners will be determined as the team that achieved the most apps received from the visitors list...stay tuned!!

Announcements:

Champions Christmas Social...Thursday December 9th at 6:30...Branding Personalities, Fullerton. Hors de vours and non alcoholic beverages will be provided!

Champions Toy Drive...bring an unwrapped toy to the meeting on December 21...this is a new date...not the 14th as Dawn will be there on the 21st for her special Christmas wish!! More on this next week.

The meeting was ended with a quote from John Fitzgerald Kennedy about words, deeds and gratitude.

Make it a Champion week! I am THANKFUL for all of you!!

BNI Podcast: Episode 181: “Turn the 80/20 Rule Upside Down”

2010-11-21T11:46:00.000-08:00

Click here to listen to this week's podcast on the 80%/20% rule:

Synopsis:

Jim Butcher from Capital Trust Realty, “retired” president of the East Texas and Houston East region of BNI, joins Dr. Misner to talk about how his chapter used Fast Track to ensure that every single member brings 3-4 referral every week. That’s more than 300 referrals per month, up from 100-150 before the program.

The Pareto Principle says that 20% of the people yield 80% of the results. Chapters that find themselves in this position are usually operating at the Visibility level of the VCP process. Once you get to Credibility, you can get 80% of the members bringing results.

One technique they applied is to focus their 60-second commercials on asking for referrals, and even asking for introductions to specific people.

Sign your chapter up for the Fast Track program at www.bninetworkingsecrets.com. Make sure to contact Flynn or Sara to arrange for additional coaching.

Brought to you by Networking Now.

President's Weekly Letter, Champions SoCal BNI

2010-11-16T16:58:00.001-08:00

Wooooooooo, Champions!!

Today was an epic meeting as the Champions chapter of SoCal BNI welcomed the ten visitors (pictured to the left) to our first Stack Day of this term!!! Way to go Champions...way to turn 'em out! What is more impressive is that we received three apps from the ten visitors with a couple of maybes! That is called blocking out your competition. Our three categories of Business Attorney, Hair Dresser and Merchant Services will soon be filled...we hope!! From left to right our visitors pictured are: Virginia Croudace, business attorney; Jason Becker, Sunset Signs; Jerome D. Stark, business attorney; John Brennan, Associated HVAC; Theresa Williams, Hertz; Brenda Broussard, hairstylist; Carmina Perez, FIS Merchant Services; Dan Georgopoulos; DGVC Visuals; Peter Zazzara, general contractor; and Louis Alonzo, Avery Weigh-Tronix. We hope all of our visitors will return for a second visit really soon. It was GREAT having all of them!!

EC Moment:

Mr. Jiiiiiiimmmm Sando shared with us the results of a recent survey conducted with our membership regarding the SMMs. Jim expertly described the responses to five questions about the chapter's perception of SMMs, their effectiveness, and the trepidation that occurs when preparing and delivering them. Stay tuned next week for the elements of a perfect SMM...OR...just listen to the Tabasco winners...See below.

New Champion:

I had the privilege of inducting our third new member of the term, Joe Davis, an estate planning attorney! Joe was sponsored by Dr. Paul Kwik and will be mentored by Gary Lorge. Dr. Paul, Gary and Joe joined me at the podium and recited the BNI code of ethics. Joe is now our 30th Champion and we are VERY happy that he is a member of our chapter!

The Tabasco Award:

The Tabasco award is gaining steam...no pun intended! For the third straight week a new Champion was awarded the Tabasco award for the "hottest" SMM. This week was a close competition as several Champions "upped their game" with the pepper on the line! Angelo Dionisiou brought in several umbrellas, Maurice Herron made his usual strong effort (he will probably be the first two time winner) and Greg Beck quipped...."you just may need a new CPA!" In the end Dr. Hercules Real won the award. I will never look at a cracked egg quite the same...Remember next week, Dr. Real begins the SMMs as this week's Tabasco winner and delivers the award to the "hottest" SMM next week and so on. Every week the past week's winners will have a small bottle of Tabasco in front of their seat as a reminder that they were a past winner. I believe this will become a GREAT Champion's tradition. Don' forget next week is prop week so your SMM must include a prop...I cannot wait!!

VP Report:

The Champions are on track to exceed our monthly goals for one-to-ones, visitors, and TYFCB. We need to step up the pace on those referrals...I know we can do it!! We have a pending transfer app for Randy Clement, a business attorney.

Keynotes:

We were informed and entertained by the keynote presenters, Chuck Tipton and Gary Lorge! Both were making their maiden voyages with a great deal of pressure as Stack Day presenters. Both performed brilliantly and I believe our visitors have a great understanding of SBA loans (Tipton) and auto insurance (Lorge)...we all felt like "good neighbors!" Chuck recited his company, Spectrum Commercial Lending's mission statement, reviewed the management team...former B of A producers, and described good referral sources for his services. As one of Chuck's power partners, I have referred Chuck extensively and believe he is the BEST at what he does! Gary Lorge educated us about car insurance, had numerous questions and give aways and described good ways to refer him. The amazing thing that happened during one of Gary's questions was that Rosanne Grigsby (Sec/Treas) re-canted what year (1962) that California's liability limits came into effect...who knew? The Champions chapter is VERY fortunate to have two professionals such as Chuck and Gary on board! Thanks guys!! We are also fortunate to have a secretary/treasurer with such and active recall of numbers and dates...better pay those dues on time...

Stand and Deliver:

We stood and delivered many, many one-to-one slips, referrals, testimonials, and TYFCB. I believe the visitors (who collectively enjoyed our enthusiasm) were impressed with the amount of paper that ended up in the bowl!

The action quote was from JD Rockefeller and challenged us to transform each disaster into an opportunity!!

Make it a Champion week!!