We're growing in winter

As we go in to the darker and colder mornings we're still growing our networking group as more serious business owners come and join us to work on growing their businesses. We're now up to 28 members and closing in on our target of 40+ and expect we'll be there within the next six months, it's definitely exciting times for the members of BNI Endeavour and it's great to keep business in the local area of Hertford and Ware.

Our newest members are Bradley Palmer from The Auto Agency based on Old Cross, the auto agency is an 'Estate Agent' for cars so if you're looking to sell your car without all the hassle then give Brad a call. We also welcome Jordan Marsh from Marsh Glazing UK Ltd

So far the group has passed £70,483 worth of business between us through 478 referrals which means each referral is worth on average £147 each.

A very special mention goes to Matthew Aubrey from Aubrey Homes Project Management who consistently passes high numbers in referrals each week.

Unfortunately we've said good bye to Martin Brophy as he has stepped down from the BNI Director Consultant role as he goes off to work on growing another business, this is a sad change for us at Endeavour as along with Dayle Guy he was instrumental in launching and growing Endeavour to where it is now and we owe him many thanks for where we are now and where the group is going, and of course for the impact it has had and will have on our businesses.

If you think you'll benefit from business networking in Hertford and Ware then we'd love to meet you, so if you'd like to come and visit us to see how a meeting works then do get in touch to book a place at the next meeting.

To your business success
Paul

I sell therefore I am (a salesperson)

The real truth is that we are all salespeople whether we run a business or not, some examples in life are when you have been for an interview you have to sell yourself, when you meet new people you sell yourself and even when you were a kid and you wanted something from your parents you had to sell the idea to them to try and get what you wanted.

I was once on a training course and the question of what do you sell was asked around the room. When an electrician was asked this question the reply came "I'm an electrician, I don't sell anything", He couldn't have been more wrong and I believe that this thinking was possibly limiting him in his business and how big he could have grown his company.

The real issue in the UK is that salespeople have been tarred with a brush that some people believe that a salesperson is going to make them buy something they don't want and overpriced at that and won't do what they need it to, or that they will come to your home and not go until late and only when the police are called.....This is an unfair stereo type developed by TV companies for 'entertainment' purposes, in truth it's a very small minority that will mis-sell or sell with pressure.

Selling is all about listening to people asking the right questions and helping them with their need. Good sales people sell with integrity and in a holistic way. An old adage is 'we have 2 ears and one mouth, use them in that proportion' - Sometimes it can be tough to listen intently to someone, especially if we think we have something important to contribute, If you have trouble listening to people then use the technique of repeating what they say to you back in your head, this way you'll find it'll be harder to think of what to say next and you'll find you can more easily remember what they say.


So if you run a business, you have a product or service that people buy from you, therefore you are a salesperson, embrace it and become even better by learning how to sell and your business will flourish.



To your success

Paul

The importance of weekly networking meetings.

Welcome to the latest post from BNI Endeavour, we're passing referrals thick and fast and we've had a constant stream of visitors to what is probably the best business networking group in Hertfordshire. We're now up to 25 members on our journey to 40.

We'd like to welcome our newest member Bev Moseley from Nockolds solicitors, we look forward to working with Bev to help her grow the business. Bev deals in the employment law sector so if you need her help give her a call, Click here for the employment law page of the Nockolds solicitors website  

The importance of weekly meetings.
At BNI we meet on a weekly basis, while this may not be for everyone in my experience it works, I've been to many different networking events that meet bi weekly or even monthly, I've found that networking on a weekly basis helps to grow relationships much much faster and because of that more referrals get passed. It's also important to be at meetings as often as possible so we can learn about the other members through their 60 seconds and for the person who's turn it is to do the ten minute segment so they can inform us more about the ins and outs about their business.

We're looking for quality businesses to join our group so we can help each other, if your profession isn't represented on the right hand side, then it is vacant and we'd love to see you at a meeting soon, so do get in touch.

To your success
Paul

The one where we did our business networking upstairs

This weeks meeting was held upstairs as our normal room was being used for the Hertford/ Ware business showcase. We had 5 visitors with us this week and 2 members come along from other local chapters to see how the fastest growing BNI Networking chapter in Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire runs things.

We welcomed new member Alan Tobutt from Celtel direct our new Digtal marketing man (Pictured right) which brings us up to 24 members as we strive for our goal of 40+ members and we also have had some applications in from our visitors this week so we should be going past 30 very soon.

Nigel Adams unveiled his plan for our referral launchpad which is a fantastic idea, it's going to be a booklet of all of the members and the sort of referrals we're looking for and what to say to those potential referrals, another way that will make it easier to get referrals for each other.
Allan Pennington kindly donated Phil Collins' plaque for over 1,500,000 sales of serious hits live as a prize for their Brocket hall, charity golf day on the 25th of October, you can visit the Isabel hospice events page here  

We ended the meeting with over 30 referrals passed and then down to the business showcase where we had a stand to promote the chapter.

Socials and Hertford & Ware Showcase

The referrals kept coming this week with a total 27 referrals 5 referrals coming from George Hughes which brings our total referrals past to 260 

At this weeks meeting our 10 minutes speaker was David West from the Probate Bureau who explained what he does and save our money from the hands of taxman and how planning for the future can save a lot of trouble. I also found out an amazing 70% of people do not have a will (I'll admit I'm one of the 70% but not for much longer!). If you need a will or probate dealing with give David a call.

Socials are another important part of participating in BNI as it helps to build relationships and get to know the other members a lot faster and on a personal basis, which can give us even more confidence in referring each other to people we know, whether it be friends, family, our contacts or customers. On top of that we generally have good fun, I think we did learn one lesson from a social we had last week when we went for a curry at Ruby on St Andrews St, Hertford on Wednesday the evening before our 0645 meeting, a few of us decided that it would be a good idea to go for a drink after the curry at the Black Horse on West Street, Hertford, it possibly wasn't such a good idea.

We have an open meeting this week along side the Hertford/ Ware business showcase and we also have a stand during the day, so if you'd like to come along and find out more, do get in touch.

To your success
Paul

In this episode of the Hertford and Ware business networking group BNI Endeavour.....

We have lots of news from our weekly networking meeting this week.

we officially inducted Emma lippiatt from The Isabel Hospice and Plasterer Robbert Rose from R Rose Plastering. we look forward to working with Isabel Hospice to raise lots of money for a very worthwhile charity and to Helping Robert grow his business. As you can see from the photo we are in need of a great photographer in the Hertford /Ware area to come and join us, as my skills on my smart phone aren't up to much. 

We passed 38 referrals this week, So far we've passed 233 referrals converting into £55,313.95 worth of business.

We had 2 Testimonials this week, one from Allan Pennington to Nigel Adams and one from Nigel Adams to Matthew Aubery, I'll be adding them to the testimonial page as soon as possible.


Isabel hospice are running their networking event the3rdthursday on the 20th September in Bishops Stortford.

John Lancaster our excellent oesteopath in Ware is opening his new shop at 94 Ware High Street this weekend, he has been very busy painting and decorating to get it ready and you'd be very welcome to drop in and visit between 10am & 4pm on the Saturday 15th September.

and Big Black Hen celebrated it's second birthday and has now become an established estate agent in Hertford and Ware.

Finally Sandra Jones spoke about her experience as a games maker at the paralympics, I must say it sounded like an amazing experience and I take my hat off to her and everyone involved for giving up their time to make it happen. 


To your business success

Paul

Top networking tips

I've personally been networking for a few years now, so I'd like to think I've got a bit of experience in the field and of various networking groups, Now I often see networking faux pars so I thought I'd put this networking tips post up.

• Don't expect anything. - This may sound like a strange one really, since we go to networking groups to get more business! The attitude you should enter any networking group or meeting with is that of making contacts to build relationships with and of how can you help people. I've met people over 5 years ago and it's only now that anything has come from it and not exactly how I would have thought either
• Be yourself. - People buy from people so don't try and be something your not, people generally get an unconscious signal if you're being false, then they just won't trust you
• Business cards are not confetti. - Forget just going to give out as many cards as you can or collect cards and add them to your email newsletter - It's just plain rude. Let me reiterate, networking is about building relationships
    
• Make the most of it. - Get their early and stay to the last, I've often found the best conversations happen nearer to the end of a meeting, so I always stay as late as I can, this may mean leaving extra time in your diary after, so you're not anxious to get out
• Ask open-ended questions. - So that the conversation isn't killed with a yes or no reply Such as questions that ask who, what, where, when, and how.  By using this it opens up the discussion and shows people you are talking to that you are interested in them
• Don't dismiss anyone as irrelevant. - this has happened to me on a number of occasions, such as butting into a conversation between 2 people and taking it in a different direction so it excludes the 3rd person or asking for someones card and then giving it back because you know someone from their profession for example. It didn't make me feel good and one of them in particular, I could have passed business to, also you don't know who they know
• Keep in touch. - Add them to you contacts database and follow them on twitter and linkedIn etc to continue building the relationship. Also make notes so you can follow up later, such as if you are talking about their next holiday note down where and when they are going, and bring it up next time you see them
• Get involved. - Consider taking up a role in a networking group, it builds your profile rapidly.

• Be Happy. - This is possibly the biggest tip and that's why I saved it until last and that is Smile, Nobody wants to talk to someone who looks miserable. 

Happy networking

Paul

Open networking meeting at the Hertford and Ware business showcase

Endeavour the new dynamic Business Referral Group for Ware and Hertford open meeting Thursday 27^th September at the Roebuck Hotel

As part of the first Hertford and Ware Showcase the ‘Endeavour’ business referral group are delighted to support and open this event with an Open by invitation meeting at 7:45am.

Say Hello to your new sales team!

THIRTY well connected and experienced Hertford & Ware based business people planning to share £1 million worth of new business opportunities through each other’s professional and personal contacts. Endeavour use BNI’s (Business Networking International) globally proven strategies to maximise every members opportunity to win new business. The strict application process ensures only the best local professions and trades become members. Having only one business per profession, guarantees maximum exposure for every business member.

This is a great opportunity for good businesses in Hertford, Ware & surrounding areas to experience this successful dynamic group. So come and meet your new sales team. 

Click here to email and book your place for Thursday 27^th September 07:45 – 09:30am at the Roebuck Hotel, 1 Baldock Street, Ware, SG12 9DR. 

There is a £10 meeting fee and a light breakfast and refreshments will be provided.

Lock out your competitors, call us now.
                              Ring Martin: 07710 353 054; Dayle: 07515 050 392

“It’s time to breathe new life into the local economy and maximise the amount of business to increase profits, it’s not easy but it works” - Dayle Guy

The power of Power teams

Another lively meeting this morning with BNI Endeavour, packed with energy and plenty of activity showing that we're getting closer to our goal of 40 Members passing over £1,000,000 worth of business in the Hertford & Ware area.

Wendy receiving her new member pack

We'd like to welcome 2 new members Wendy Stevenson from PS Cleaning and George Hughes from Alex Clarke Lettings The Pictures show them both receiving their new member packs from our Chapter Director David West. We look forward to learning more about them and their business and helping them grow their businesses over the coming weeks and months ahead. 

George receiving his new member pack

In BNI we have what we call power teams, a networking power team is a collective of businesses within the chapter that have synergy, Therefore can work well together. You also find that a member will get the majority of referrals from their power team and we certainly saw a power team in action this morning when our builder Matthew Aubery of Aubery Homes gave out a massive 11 referrals to members of the construction (or trades) power team.
We're currently still looking for members from the construction industry such as a gardener, carpenter, tiler and painter/ decorator among others so if that's you and you'd like to get in on this power team action I'd suggest you get in touch ASAP before your competitor does and locks you out.

This weeks 10 minute speaker was, well erm..... me. I had fantastic feedback from the members saying how good my 10 minutes was. I gave the chapter an insight into my business as an Independent  Distributor for The Utility Warehouse Discount Club and I think I covered all the bases after going on the presentation skills workshop on Monday. I covered a bit about me and how I joined Utility Warehouse, Why I think the company has integrity and what makes the company so unique to other Mobile phone, Home Phone, Broadband, Gas and Electricity suppliers and the (over 40) benefits of switching. 

I did learn one extra thing about presenting though and that is always have a glass of water to hand. 

We had lots of contributions today even if you exclude Matthews fantastic 11 referrals, We had a total of 34 referrals, and 6 visitors in attendance and several testimonials. 




To your networking success 
Paul

The stats are coming in......and they are great.

Well we had another great meeting last week, I wanted to leave the blog post until today as 11 of the chapter members went on a presentation skills workshop yesterday evening and I wanted to cover that too, plus I've been pretty busy.

We had the stats in of how many referrals have been passed and how that's turned into revenue for the members.

A Referral Slip

Since the Endeavour chapter was set up at the end of Feburary, we have passed an amazing 163 referrals – that’s approximately 32 referrals per month! £52631.95 worth of business has been passed!  That’s approximately an average of £10000 per month since the start! Now the thing to remember here is that from the first meeting we had four members and grew that up until now with most of the membership joining within the last couple of months, and at launch we were on 22 members. 

Personally I think that is an amazing amount of business passed, and of course there are business referrals passed in that time, that are still in progress.

Thank you for the business box

In case you don't know, we monitor the business in the chapter, business is passed on a referral slip and once a member has invoiced for business he thanks the member by adding a card in to the 'thank you for the business' box. That's how we can show the figures above and show that our networking group works. 

This week alone, we have had an incredible 24 referrals given and an additional £474 worth of business in the Thank you for The Business card box.

A particular well done to Matt Aubery from Aubery Homes for 7 referrals and brand new member Wendy Stevenson from PS Cleaning for 5 referrals!!

We had a great 10 minutes from Nigel Adams from Big Black Hen telling us about his business and what makes him different to other estate agents. I'd say his business is very different and would not hesitate to recommend him, as they have fixed pricing and no contract term, why wouldn't you go with BBH to sell your home. Also Nigel has a background in advertising and marketing so he really knows his stuff, On top of that since most people look online for houses these days he has no high street office, so his overheads are lower which is great for his clients!

We also had 2 Testimonials one from Nigel Adams to Andy Richards from PC Resolve and a Very emotional one from Michael Rudd from Berkshire financial services to Isabel Hospice.

Finally onto the presentation skills we attended last night, As I mentioned in the last post, part of BNI includes training and we spent 3 hours last night learning how to present our business so that we get remembered and make it easier for our colleagues to find referrals for us. I certainly picked up a few tips for my 10 minutes which happens to be this Thursday. Some great tips were things such as the structure of a 10 minutes of letting the members know how I add value, being specific about who I'd like as a referral, what to listen out for and what to say to get a referral. It was certainly time well spent.

If you'd like to join our growing group and get new business and lock out your competitors then get in touch for an invite to a meeting, we'd love to meet you.

To your success

Paul

Training for networking for success

Part of the success of BNI is the training, that the members can attend, which helps them to become a better member and increase their skills in Networking, presentation, chapter development among other workshops and therefore able to give something more to the group. These trainings not only help business owners in their chapter but they also learn skills that they can use in their business too. The best thing about the trainings is that it's all included as part of the membership, where if you went on a course you could pay hundreds of pounds for these courses.

The first training Endeavour did together was Member success training which is a condensed training of the other trainings along with covering what BNI is all about, The philosophy, mission and polices. The training covers how to give a good 60 seconds presentation, how to find and give good referrals and what a good referral is and how to find and invite visitors to the chapter.

Personally I've been networking since 2005 and been to many other networking groups and the thing that sets BNI apart is it's training for members that helps them to 'give' to the group and it's philosophy 'Givers Gain'. At many other groups, members are left to network on their own and a lot of them just go to a meeting just looking to sell, this way of networking is just not sustainable as no business is being passed around, With BNI training and specifically the referral skills workshop, members are trained in techniques to easily find referrals for their fellow members, which means more business is being passed within the group and as the membership grows, it is found that the referrals grow exponentially.

At BNI Endeavour we're working to grow our group to 40+ members, which means we'll each have at least 39 other people looking for business for us on a weekly basis, if your business could use that size team helping you to grow your Hertford or Ware business then get in contact and come along to one of our meetings.


To your success 
Paul J

1st official networking meeting for BNI Endeavour

After months of working to grow our BNI chapter and a very successful launch meeting last week, we finally had our first meeting this morning, we had 28 Hertford and Ware business owners in the room and as ever, it was full of energy. 

We had 5 visitors and a new member Simon Judd (Pictured left) from SJ creative - Simon is a graphic designer based in Hertford.  

Over the coming weeks and months we'll be looking for referrals for Simon to help him grow his business, if you need some graphic design work doing then get in contact with Simon through his website http://sj-creative.co.uk and why not follow him on twitter @sjcreative 

We also had our first 10 minute speaker Michael Rudd the groups IFA, from Berkshire Financial Advisers, Every week one of our members gets 10 minutes to present to the chapter to help them more understand their business and how to find them referrals. A member cannot present to the chapter until they have attended the Presentation Skills training workshop (another benefit of BNI). 
It must have been tough to be the  first speaker but Michael has set the bar rather high, he explained how he takes a holistic approach to financial advice to help his clients reach their financial goals through investment or helping people to get peace of mind for retirement. If you need financial advice then get in contact with Michael www.bfaonline.co.uk

We don't just get up at silly o'clock for meetings we also socialise with each other to build relationships and we're off to the Millstream tonight to celebrate our success in growing our group and passing business.

If you'd like to grow your business by word of mouth referrals and join our group get in contact with us for an invite to a meeting.



To your success
Paul

5...4....3....2....Endeavour is go

BNI Endeavour has firmly set itself as the business networking group to be in, if you want to grow your business in the Hertford and Ware area.

If you don't then probably best to stay in bed! 

We met this morning at 0630 for the official launch of BNI Endeavour and  it's confirmed that Endeavour IS the fastest growing/ Launching Business Network International chapter in the Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire areas, so why wouldn't people want to come and join in, that's just what some smart business owners did today at our launch and we had over 50 Hertford and Ware business owners come together to meet and find out more about us and how we can help each other.

Todays event happened because of the current members focusing on growing the group over the last few weeks by inviting other businesses to come to our launch and find out how we help each other grow our businesses by word of mouth referrals.

Would you want a team of professional focused business owners helping you to grow your business and at the end of the day make more money? I certainly do and that's why I made the commitment to show up to a 0630 meeting every Thursday to help them in return, it's a win win way to get business.

If you think that you couldn't get to a business meeting for 0630 or make a commitment to show up every week then I have 2 sayings for you

Successful people do, what unsuccessful people won't do. and..

Opportunity is never lost, someone else will always take it.

None of what happened this morning would of happened without 2 great guys who helped us to keep on track and get to this point, and the Endeavour members thank them, Dayle Guy from CodeThirtyNine and Martin Brophy from Brophies The Caterers 

We're now on our journey to 40+ members and if you'd like to join us then you'd be welcome to come to our next meeting at the Roebuck Hotel, Ware and see just how we work. Give me a call on 07940 846 413.



To your success
Paul

Growing our group, Growing business

We had a great meeting this morning, we spent the morning preparing for our launch next week, Last week we all sent out 40 letters, so over 800 in total. We counted up the yeses from the follow up calls we made for all the people who have said they will be coming to the meeting and it was a huge 42. 

We also have 42 people who have said they may come, so we'll be calling them next week to see if they will. On top of any other invite that will be made, I'd say we'll have well over 60 local Hertford and Ware business owners at the meeting on the 16th.

I expect after next weeks meeting we'll be up to 30 members, which will be great, it'll mean more people in the room which means more referrals being passed within the group, meaning we'll all be making more money and growing our businesses.

It's then just a short step to 35 and then 40 members, which we'll make by Christmas...

If you are a serious business owner in Hertford and Ware, why not come and meet us and see how we can work together, after all it's only going to cost you a couple hours one morning and £10 for the meeting and you'll get breakfast included and as much tea or coffee as you can drink...

See you soon,
Paul


PS. If you're just looking for a great local business like a plumber to an estate agent, electrician to a bookkeeper in Hertford or Ware check out the the members list on the right and give the member a call.

We're Launching for business

Since February 2012 we've been working hard to grow our new BNI (Business Networking International) group in Hertford and Ware, We've now grown to 22 members and are now launching the group on the 16th of August 2021, we meet at the Roebuck hotel in Ware every Thursday morning in order to help each other grow our businesses by word of mouth referral.

We have the goal of growing our group to 35+ members and passing over £1,000,000 worth of business in the room within 12 months. Yes that means on average as a member each seat is worth around £30,000, As a note we've already been passing business to each other and are well on our way in reaching this goal.

So, the 16th of August will be our official launch meeting and I'm really looking forward to it, we're going to have 50+ local business professionals in the room and it's going to be a meeting with a buzz, we've been busy inviting visitors to the meeting so I'd not be surprised if we beat the 50 visitors goal by a mile.

If you'd like to come along and meet us at our launch meeting and find out how we can help each other, give me a call on 07940 846 413 and I'll book you into the meeting.

Paul

PS. we're currently looking for a good Printer, Plasterer, Graphic designer, Photographer, Mechanic, Florist, Carpet fitter/sales among other categories.

PPS. We only allow one person from each industry, so get in quick because once a seat is taken it's too late.