President's Weekly Letter, Champions SoCal BNI

Woooooo, CHAMPIONS!

Today marked another great meeting with the Champions! We welcomed two visitors, Janell Ruck, an account executive with Merchant Services and Fred Chen, the VP and Manager of Preferred Bank in Anaheim. We were also honored to have Jay Fullman, a business attorney from La Habra and an active member of the Go Getters BNI chapter in La Habra and Marieke Hensel, the owner of Branding Personality, a star from Liaisons BNI and the wife of our very own Rutger Hensel. Rutger had a late night conversing with international clients, so Marieke subbed for him.

New Member:

Today was also highlighted by our first new member induction of the 2010-2011 term, and my first as President of the Champions...Douglas Luchansky of ACI. Doug's induction was enhanced by the presence of Patrick O'Kane who invited Doug to attend and his new mentor (Rutger), Marieke Hensel. Doug sells and services software for the manufacturing industry and should prove to be a great resource for our chapter. Welcome Doug!! Please schedule a on-to-one with Doug and learn about his vast knowledge of the Mass software system!

EC Moment:

Steven Stakley, our Head Mentor delivered the EC moment with a breakdown of the mentors and their mentees. The goal of the mentors this year is to follow a member from "cradle to rocking chair" with the same mentor, build our skills and retain our strong chapter membership!

VP and Membership:

Greg Beck reviewed the chapter's goal progress with one-to-ones, visitors, referrals, and TYFCB. Membership is considering two applications. Victoria, our Collette's Catering server, received the "spark plug" award and is officially the only non BNI member to achieve the honor. Our meetings wouldn't be the same without the diligence of Victoria!!

SMMs:

The Sales Manager Moments were crisp and pointed and the Champions are getting very good with the "ask"...critical in receiving quality referrals. The evidence of training is apparent in our delivery. Of note, Rosanne asked for intros to bankers that originate SBA loans...Chuck Tipton?? Jody Houseman would like introductions to interior designers as the holiday season is approaching and everyone wants to "spruce up" their homes.

Keynotes:

We were enlightened by two wonderful keynote speakers...Patrick O'Kane (his maiden voyage) of Turnkey Mortgage and Bo Lowe with Graceful Appreciations...a BNI vet but his first keynote since changing categories. Some irony existed as Patrick is now the home loan specialist of the Champions...Bo's old category. Bo doesn't know home loans anymore but Patrick certainly does!

Patrick explained the difference between a "captive" mortgage lender and a mortgage broker...Patrick's specialty. The primary difference is the fiduciary responsibility of the broker to the borrower in insuring the borrower gets the BEST loan. Patrick skillfully outlined great referrals for his services which include: a borrower that is upside down, your mom or dad or other relative, someone desiring a fix from a variable rate loan, a new home buyer uncertain how much they can afford, or a borrower in a pinch. Please work hard to deliver Patrick those referrals...he won't disappoint!

Bo Lowe eloquently listed the five reasons that clients look elsewhere for services: pricing, competitive offer, an unresolved conflict, a move, or a perceived indifference. Graceful Appreciation, through the Send Out Cards platform allows busy professionals to "thank" their clients for business and keep in touch with them on a personal level that faxes, emails, blog posts, or texts just cannot accomplish. My company, Lee and Associates Commercial Real Estate Services, is a believer and we are a satisfied customer of Graceful Appreciations!

GRC:

Dr. Hercules Real circulated a phone script which will be used as a follow up to the invitations that SoCal BNI emails. More to come on inviting...Don't forget, Stack Day is November 16th and we want to fill the room with Business Attorneys, Merchant Service providers and Hair Stylists. We grew exponentially last year with Stack Days and this year should be no different if we all invite, invite, invite!!

Secretary/Treasurer:

Rosanne Grigsby covered the monthly fee increase to $75 per month commencing November 1, 2010 and a special assessment for the months of December, January, and February. Members are encouraged to pay monthly, eliminate the quarterly payments to ease the payment vacuums. Thanks to all for your support!!

Announcements:

International Member Day is the 12th of November at the Garden Grove Hyatt! You don't want to miss this event!!

The meeting was adjourned with a quote and several members scurried downstairs for their committee meetings and one-to-one meetings!

Make it a CHAMPION week ya'll!!

Jim Sando, Our EC on Networking

Jim Sando, from the Strategic Results Group delivers a wonderful EC Moment on that critical first 15 minutes of your BNI meeting. Are you using that time efficiently? Watch here and find out! Thanks to Robert A. Perez for his production of the video!!

What is the most effective way for a BNI chapter president to motivate members to bring visitors and grow the chapter?

This question was posed by Pablo Scodellaro. Pablo is a bookkeeper from Sydney, Australia. I believe the subsequent comments from BNI members around the world warranted posting. When you read these comments, you realize how small the world has become and how social media connects us! I hope that you enjoy the comments and learn from the advice.

From Deepak Garg, an ophthalmologist from India:

"I don't know if there is one best way, but i would say that many ways are to be adapted to enable members to get more visitors. We at our chapter give weekly awards to the person who gets the maximum visitors for the previous four weeks. Also we have a hot seat programme, we write down everyone's name on a chits of papers and pick up, lets say five and these five members then have to bring visitors by hook or by crook in the next BNI meeting."

Allen C. Buchanan, a Commercial Real Estate Broker from Orange County, California:

I believe the best way to motivate the group is by example. I just began my president's term last week and have as a personal goal to have at least one visitor per week. Also, if your chapter has an active visitor host and open categories and attends chapter success forums, the region will send visitors to your chapter. We have had great success with Stack Days as a way to invite. Lastly, if I receive a cold call from a vendor, I ask them to attend my BNI meeting. If they are serious about building their business, they will see the benefit.

From Marty Morris, a printer from Ireland:

"Like Allen, i too have just started a term as Chapter Director (President), I believe the most effective way to promote the invitation of visitors is by PERSONAL EXAMPLE. I have seen this work in the past, and it is a great motivator for the chapter members, particularly, when the end of the month stats become available, to all of the chapter members."

Marty Morris Chapter Director, Castle Chapter, Dublin, Ireland.

From Frank Roe, a business mentor from Lancaster, UK:

"I took on the Membership Co-ordinator role for my Chapter from last week. We are working on a number of factors, personal example being a very good one. Our active Visitor Hosts and Visitor Orientators have worked closely with the previous Chapter Director and now with his successor in helping to find and bring in visitors. Both Chapters in our town are combining to host a new format "information and recruitment" event next month. We are concentrating on filling the open categories in both Chapters. Our 6 months goals include achieving target membership numbers. This event is being well supported by our Acting Regional Director and Assistant Director."

Frank Roe, Membership Co-ordinator, Redwulf Chapter, Kendal, South Lakeland.

From Dave Clark, a business consultant from Chattanooga, Tennessee:

"I will ask a question for all. How do you attract new customers? For us (A to Z Printing and Marketing), we bring a new visitor about once a month. You market your company, well BNI is "our company, sales team, biz partner, mentors and support network". Please email us at salesa2z@volfirst.net for some marketing Ideas and I will share some of our marketing tips."

From Lisa J. Raymond, a graphic designer from Phoenix, Arizona:

"I agree with Allen, leading by example. As the current VP for our chapter, I've taken postcards provided by BNI and filled out our chapter's information and my name; then, when I meet someone looking for a networking group, I hand them a postcard, inviting them to come join us for breakfast. We also have a regional coordinator helping the chapters fill positions by request of each chapter. For example, if our chapter is looking for a realtor (and ironically, we are), I e-mail a request to this coordinator asking them to send realtors looking for a chapter toward our group. We're just trying this for the first time this week, and we may have a couple of guests this next week! Our Education Coordinator is also challenging us with visitors by scheduling a monthly "visitor day", targeting one industry rather than three.

Remember to cite the number of referrals passed, how many are golden and explain to visitors what a golden referral is, and how much referral dollars your chapter has done thus far.

Last thought: there is no "cost" to joining any networking organization; rather, it is an investment toward the health and well-being of their business. Try breaking down the investment into a daily or weekly number so visitors can easily see how little investment it takes, but the overall impact and ROI for them would be substantial!"

President's Weekly Letter, Champions SoCal BNI

Woooooooo CHAMPIONS!! (watch above for the inspiration for our meeting opener)

Well today, I felt like "flying the plane" (running the BNI meeting) was on auto pilot! For the first time in three weeks, the meeting seemed to flow and the Champions were out in force! The room was filled with visitors, the EC moment was smart and pointed, the 30 second SMMs were timely and contained great asks, the keynote presenters had great content to share! The rain outside cast a gloom and snarled the SoCal freeways but the Champions were radiant inside!

Visitors:

We welcomed five visitors this week: Maurice Herron from Stratus Building solutions returned for his second visit and commented during the Stand and Deliver "our enthusiasm caused him to demand his boss write the check for application". Douglas Luchansky of ACI, visited for the second time and commented that "he had an intro to a company from an ask of two weeks ago!" Jack Charles from Alpha Property Inspectors visited and commented that "the enthusiasm was contagious!" Joseph Davis, an estate attorney, visited for the second time and commented that "he couldn't wait to become a Champion!" David Hibbard from Dialexis had several VERY complimentary things to say about our chapter. WAY TO WELCOME THOSE VISITORS!!!

EC Moment:

Jim Sando delivered a well rehearsed and informational EC moment with conviction on the importance of an agenda when networking. Know the who, what, when , where, and why that you want to accomplish before you network. GREAT JOB JIM!

Spark Plug Award:

To Robert Perez on his tireless efforts in video taping our meetings! Way to Go!!

Membership:

We have four New Apps and four Renewal Apps!

Keynotes:

Clay Colwell spoke on residential appraisals and Aric Gless recapped access issues relating to ADA compliance. Clay's years of experience persuaded him to recant several "war stories" about square footage discrepancies, under and over values, and probate matters. Aric creatively forwarded to all of the chapter members the following reminders about his keynote...a VERY well timed reminder indeed!

1. You don’t need an elevator

· The California Building Code states that the first floor above and below ground level is not required to be accessible by a ramp or elevator.

o But every activity that happens on those levels much be available to be held on the ground level.

2. Retrofitting existing buildings has its limits

· It’s only required when construction happens.

· Only the path of travel from the street to the area of work has to be upgraded for accessibility.

o Spaces outside of this path & area, even if in the same suite don’t have to be touched.

· The Building Code “cost threshold” determines the amount of retrofit.

o If total construction cost is below this threshold, only 20% of that cost must be used for accessibility.

3. There is a total exemption for certain scopes of work

· The California Building Code states that certain limited scopes of work do not trigger accessibility work.

o Projects limited to painting, flooring, doors, windows, electrical, air-conditioning do not require accessibility retrofit to be done.

o But each of these installations much be fully code compliant in themselves (e.g. doors must be right size with right hardware)

Next week, Bo Lowe and Patrick O'Kane will be speaking. This is Patrick's first keynote as a Champion! Good luck Patrick!

Growth and Retention:

Our GRC committee reviewed the process of entering visitors on the SoCal BNI website. Remember, Stack Day is November 16th and we are trying to fill three important categories...Business Attorney, Merchant Services, and Hair Stylist!

The meeting was adjourned with an action quote: "Our mistakes will not irreparably damage our lives, unless we let them." by James E. Sweeney The action is to forgive your self for a mistake that you have made!

Evening Among the Stars, Images Available!!

Wooooo, CHAMPIONS!!

For those who attended (and even those that didn't) the "Evening Among the Stars" Gala a couple of weeks ago, the images are now available for purchase at Ivan Vejar Photography. You can visit the website by clicking here. These images make great Christmas gifts for those "hard to buy for" family members! Or, they just make a great keepsake from a fantastic evening...Plus, Ivan is a BNI member sooo your order counts as a BNI referral and a TYFCB.

BNIs International Conference in SoCal!!

From Jenni Nering, our Executive Director:

BNI's Int'l Conference is soon approaching and I'm excited to share that registration is now open for the once-a-year Members' Session Day.

Members' Session Day

At the BNI Int'l Conference

With Harvey Mackay

November 12th, 2010

Join us at BNI's 25th Anniversary Celebration! Network with over 600 hundred Directors and members from around the world!

Our keynote speaker is Harvey Mackay, syndicated columnist, and author of the #1 bestseller Swim With the Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive. His newest book Use Your Head To Get Your Foot In The Door: Job Search Secrets No One Else Will Tell You, was released this year. Toastmasters International named him one of the top five speakers in the world!

The cost for this event is only $45.00 per person, including a continental breakfast, event manual, and BNI gifts. In addition to our keynote speaker, there will be numerous educational and informative breakout sessions.

The event will be held on Friday, November 12th, 2010.

Check-in & networking at 7:00am and program begins promptly 8am & concluding by 1:30pm.

It will be held at the Hyatt Regency Orange County, 11999 Harbor Blvd., Garden Grove, CA 92840, (714) 750-1234. Seating is limited! Tickets will NOT be sold at the door: you must pre-register!

Please note: Self-parking is $15.00 and valet parking is $19.00 at the Hyatt.

Important Registration Details:

Reservations can only be made online at www.bnievents.com.

Credit card payment required at the time of registration. Please print your confirmation receipt for your records.

No registrations will be accepted after 5:00pm on Friday, Nov. 5th.

If you have any questions, please contact Lonie Misner-Feigerle at Lonie@bni.com; 909.608.7575 ext. 129.

I will see you there!!!!

Jenni Nering

Executive Director

SoCalBNI

jenni@socalbni.com

888-476-5350 ext 3 (office)

www.socalbni.com

President's Weekly Update

Wooooooo, Champions!!!

The meeting today was enthusiastic, fast paced and fun filled! We welcomed four visitors today; Maurice Herron from Stratus Building Solutions, Joseph Davis from the law firm of Joseph Davis, Paula E. Meyer from the law firm of Paula E. Meyer, and Marc Berg from the RSH Group. Additionally Desiree Stimson from DSYL visited from the Velocity Chapter and Ed Johnson from the Prosperity chapter subbed for Jody Houseman. The Champions SoCal BNI chapter was honored to have its Director, Lem Bucago and a former Champion and Executive Director of SoCal BNI, Jenni Nering in attendance. Thanks to Lem and Jenni for making the day a special one!

Jim Sando delivered a noteworthy Educational Moment on the importance of categories and the various categories within a category that may exist.

The spark plug award this week was awarded to Jenni Nering for her tireless efforts in the Evening Among the Stars Gala on October 1, 2010. Thanks for a memorable evening, Jenni!!

Lem Bucago and Jenni Nering were the week's key note speakers and delivered the Champion's category awards for the BNI year of 2009-2010. Leaders in Trainings, 1-2-1 Meetings, Referrals, Visitors, Attendance, and Longevity were awarded and are outlined below. Recognition was also given to the outgoing Leadership Team...Cathy Nanadiego, President, Emily Davidson, Vice President, and Chris Vasquez, Secretary/Treasurer...GREAT JOB!! Let's make 2010-2011 even better!!!

Trainings:

· Hercules – 7 · Jody – 7 · Aric – 8
· Allen – 13

· Bill – 13

1-2-1:

· Emily – 52 · Steve Barnett – 58 · Jim Sando – 62 · Jim Salem - 64 · Stakley – 71

· Rutger – 73 · Bill – 83 · Aric – 95 · Brett – 97 · Cathy – 99 · Greg – 106

· Allen – 262

Referrals:

· Emily – 51 · Bill – 52 · Stakley – 53 · Hercules – 55 · Bo – 56 · Cathy – 69

· Brett – 116

· Allen – 424

Visitors:

· Cathy – 10 · Rutger – 10 · Brett – 14

· Allen – 19

Attendance:

· Allen – 1 year (no subs)

· Greg – 2 years (no subs)

Longevity:

· Jim Sales – 3 years

· Cathy – 3 years

· Clay – 4 years

· Brett – 4 years

· James Kashi – 5 years

· Bo – 6 years

· Hercules – 6 years

· Steven Stakley – 6 years

· Greg – 6 years

TYFCB ($):

· Greg – 20,928 · Cathy – 21,260 · Stakley – 23,101 · Hercules – 23,991

· Allen – 87,357

Emily Davidson and Dr. Real presented the Stack Day Teams, Captains and Rules:

The Stack Day is scheduled for November 16th. We are asking for a minimum of 10 invitees from each member from any of these three categories:

Business Attorney

Hair Dresser

Merchant Services

We have split the chapter into teams and you will receive points based on the number of visitors invited, visitors attending, and visitors joining! The team with the most points will win a prize. Here is the list of Teams, with the captains listed first in Bold letters:

Red Team:Tom Roberts, Emily Davidson, Hercules Real, Aric Gless, Bill Edman, Jim Salem, Chris, Vasquez

Blue Team: Angelo Dionisiou, Steve Barnett, Jody Houseman, Rosanne Grigsby, Steven Stakley, Clay Colwell, Richard Lane

Yellow Team: Ela Corcoran, Robert Perez, Rutger Hensel, Brett Adolf, Jim Sando, James Kashi, Bo Lowe

Green Team: Paul Kwik, Greg Beck, Allen Buchanan, Gary Lorge, Chuck Tipton, Patrick O’Kane, Michael Figueroa

In order to receive points for inviting, names need to be submitted to your team captain, on the attached spreadsheet, by Friday, October 15^th at 5:00 p.m.

(Remember - More invitees equals more points so feel free to invite beyond 10 people!)

You may continue to invite visitors on your own after this deadline, and will receive points for the visitors that attend.

(Since we have no way of tracking visitors invited individually and/or through the BNI website, we cannot grant points for those invitations. Sorry L)

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me or any member of the GRC team!

The meeting was closed with a quote by Benjamin Franklin..."Well done is better than well said!"

Please make it a Champion's Week!!