What a great day to do business!

It was a great 10 minute presentation from Harold Barnett of Accu-Print East. He has a lifetime of printing experience beginning his career with Ebsco Media. After 32 years with Ebsco, Harold retired to help his wife with the Accu-Print East location and has been printing business cards, invitations, flyers, church programs, and many other printing services including a copying service for the past 10 years.

Visiting this week was Bill Koons with Blue Marble Books publishing.

One to ones, power teams, and referrals. Want to know how these terms can help you with your businesss? Come visit the Trussville Chapter of BNI and see how our network can help you.

What a great day to do business!

The Trussville Chapter of BNI is charging up the power teams. Power teams are businesses most likely to refer business to each other. The power teams are: Personal Services, Real Estate, Financial Services, Business to Business, and Health and Wellness.

Freddy Williamson of Williamson Financial Services was our 10 minute featured member. He began in the 1970s selling life insurance. He is now a registered financial planner and helps people with investments, mutual funds, retirement plans, and other wealth building services.

Make your plans to visit our every Friday morning meeting.

What a great day to do business!

The Trussville, Alabama Chapter of BNI met with team work in mind for the next 6 months. Jeff Wilson’s network education focused on building team work within our chapter.

Another great 10 minute presentation was given by Chris Williams of Experior Mortgage. Did you know Experior Mortgage can provide you with great refinancing options. Excellent 1st mortgage rates. Home owner, real estate brokers, and 1st time home buyers will benefit greatly with the knowledge Chris can provide regarding home loans. Did you know over the many years Experior Mortgage has been providing mortgage loans, only 1 has been to foreclosure. That’s a great record.

Want to have a great sales team? Visit Trussville BNI and meet the outstanding members of our team.

What a great day to do business!

The Trussville Chapter of BNI begins another 6 months. The leadership team brought the chapter up to date on how far we have progressed over the past 6 months. The most exciting news was about the addition of 11 new members. We look forward to more great news over the next 6 months.

Our 1o minute program was presented by Jamey Russell of AmeriSpec Home Inspections. Jamey grew up in Piedmont, Alabama and attented Jacksonville State. He performs home inspections for many real estate agents, home owners, and potential real estate buyers. The detail reports generate a checklist of needed repairs, maintenance suggestions, and other information necessary to inform his customers of potential problems within a home. You can also call Jamey to inspect single items such as roofs or electrical wiring.

Where were you this past Friday? Looking for new business? It may be closer and easier to find than you think. Try a BNI Chapter.

What a great day to do business!

BNI Trussville’s final meeting for March brought great news. We totaled over 150 business referrals for the month.

Terry Richmond with Send Out Cards was our 10 minute speaker. Terry is a Vietnam Veteran and enjoys flying. He is also considered a good listener. Send Out Cards is an excellent and simple method for being heard. Visit Terry’s website, www.myniftycards.com, and see how easy and inexpensive it is to Send Out Cards from your home. Artists take note; Send Out Cards is an excellent method for displaying your original art. Contact Terry for more details.

We hope your business is booming. BNI helps keep our members busy. Why not visit our chapter and see just how it could help you?

What a great day to do business!

The Trussville Chapter of BNI met this past Friday before Easter and we filled our baskets with business referrals.

Jeff Wilson presented the network education by urging members to use the least common denominator (LCD) when asking for referrals. This works very well in helping the group to recognize a good referral with the mention of a name or keyword.

One of our most popular referrals, Chris Hollinsgworth with Express Oil Change on Hwy. 11 in Trussville, was our 10 minute speaker for the week. He explained how Express Oil Change began as Goob’s Lube in 1979 and was relieved the name had been changed. Express Oil Change in Trussville offers: a full line of mechanical services, oil changes, brakes, timing belts, tires, fuel injection cleaning, air filters (inside also), and free trip inspections for peace of mind. Chris gives great service and has earned trust among all members.

Do you seem to constantly searching for hidden business? We meet again next Friday, March 28, 2008. Come visit our group where business is easy to find. See you there. 

What a great day to do business!

On the second Friday of March the Trussville Chapter of BNI inducted 2 new members. Colby Sisson with a New Creation Landscaping and Zach Archuletta with WABM-68/WTTO-21 television were added to our rolls. We continue our steady climb to 40+ members.

Regional Director of Northern Alabama BNI,  Meaghan Williams, visited our chapter and we welcomed a couple of first time visitors. Mark Koch, owner of Express Employment Professionals, and Samuel Ellington, Jr., Retail Commumication Consultant with Sprint, learned about member’s businesses as well as presented their businesses to our group.

During our Sales Manager Minute, Meaghan read a story to the members about a couple with various challenges. Members were urged to tell how their businesses would be a good referral to this couple. This excercise should open the door for many new ideas for the group to gather more referrals.

Micah Adkins from Massey, Stotser, and Nichols used his 10 minute presentation to give an insight into the many types for referrals he is seeking. He began by telling how it has been a long time dream to become an attorney. His first encounter with litigation began in high school. Later Micah attended the University of Texas and Cumberland Law. He would like referrals from persons having problems with identity theft, disputes arising form credit reporting, debtor protection, products liability, personal injury from car accidents, on the job accidents, patient injury from prescription medications, or failure to qualify for social security benefits.

We meet again Friday, March 21, 2008. Isn’t time you visited this BNI Chapter?

(The More YOU Give, The More YOU Get!)

1) Your business card holder: don’t leave home without it. Keep it current with cards and referral slips; place the cards of notable networkers in the first and second slots.

2) Wear your name badge one entire day a week (people will ask you about it). Share any results you receive with your chapter and encourage others to do the same.

3) Put up a card holder with each of your chapter members’ cards in your office. Spread the word.

4) Send a follow up letter to everyone that you have been able to refer, and thank everyone (also a subtle way to promote yourself).

5) Hand out your chapter roster to all people you do business with, showing them graphically the variety of services you can refer to them. Teach them that there is more than one reason they should call you.

6) Don’t be a hermit; practice the three-foot rule! In other words, start a conversation with anyone within three feet of you.

7) Get yourself an extra set of eyes and ears! Give your spouse or significant other a set of cards from your chapter.

Whenever you write up a sale, give your BNI cardholder to the client to browse through while you do the paperwork. The client will be drawn to the business cards like a magnet and will ask you about the people and services represented. This gives you a chance to brush up on giving someone else’s presentation.

9) Do a seven-minute phone call to one other member each week and concentrate on getting a referral for that member.

10) Pick one business card each week from the business card holder

11) Make other people in your office, home, and neighborhood aware of how to generate referrals, and keep them informed about members in your chapter.

12) Review your cardholder each morning before your day begins to keep members in mind when speaking to others.

13) When sitting across from clients actually remove the cards from your cardholder and lay them down. Then ask the clients to take any they may be interested in. They are more likely to take the cards if they are out of the cardholder.

14) Power Teams Unite! Team up with another member of your chapter who is in your sphere of interest and take a day off to spend going on calls with the other person. Introduce each other to your clients and offer your services as a team.

What a great day to do business!

The month of March brings new excitement for the members of BNI Trussville. We continue our march to 40+ members with the induction of our newest member, Steven Newbold, career management coach with My Own New Start. Colby Sisson with A New Creation Landscaping has been approved for membership.

March has also been designated “give more referrals month”. We have set a goal of 160 business referrals for this month. Jeff Wilson’s network education moment gave members methods for giving more referrals. He will be posting these methods in the “Education” portion of our website.

Members were urged to listen carefully to the sales manager’s 60 seconds from all and challenged to find referrals for members sitting directly to our left and right.

Dennis Massey with Kyocera and Nohab Business Products (color copiers, fax machine, scanners, all in one, printers) had his first 10 minute presentation. He serves the Gardendale, Fultondale, Pinson, Center Point, Roebuck, East Lake, Trussville, Springville, Moody, Leeds, and Irondale areas. Dennis has many years of experience in sales and his product knowledge is second to none. Solving problems such as: copier down time, slow printing, expensive toner costs, fax malfunctions, and lease commitments make Dennis an excellent referral. If you’re church, real estate office, printer, manufacturer, physician’s office, animal clinic, accountant, school, municipal office, daycare, attorney, or other businesses are in need of a document solution, call Dennis Massey at 205-879-3309.

As the landscaper category has been filled, our chapter’s list of most wanted businesses is down to 34. Members were asked to invite plumbers and health insurance sales representatives to visit BNI Trussville. We meet again Friday March 14, 2008 and always welcome visitors. See you there!

What a great day to do business!

February 29th only comes once every four years but BNI Trussville came together for another meeting on this unusual date. With working toward 40+ members squarely in our sights, we inducted new member Kerri Gulledge, Stylist at Salon 2000 in Trussville. Landscaper, Colby Sisson, submitted his application and Steven Newbold has been approved for membership.

Jeff Wilson’s educational moment urged us to listen for the many opportunities to give referrals. When 2 or more persons gather to do business, listening can open the door for Trussville BNI members.

During our sales manager’s 60 second, members were given fortune cookies and instructed to use the fortune inside as part of their presentation. This excercise brought out many new ideas for members to develop when seeking referrals.

Erica Work, from Don’s Carpet One, did an outstanding 10 minute presentation. With an extensive education and background in interior design, Erica will be an excellent referral to many. She introduced products for both home and office. Erica’s knowledge of carpet, hardwood, laminate, porcelain, and several types of stones used in decorating is enormous. Erica also explained how carpets can be bound into rugs or customers can choose from an extensive line of Orientals.

Looks like our member numbers are growing right along with our business referrals. This would be a great time to introduce your business to our group. We meet again Friday, March 7, 2008. See you there!