Endeavour Into our third year...

The Number One Business Networking Group

BNI Endeavour is now into it's third year since we first came together back in February 2012, and we're still going strong actually we're stronger than ever we're on 35 members and growing with new visitors every week and we've become the number one chapter in the Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire area.

Undoubtedly this all means more sales made for the members of BNI Endeavour and so growing our businesses and becoming more successful, which means more members joining us on a Thursday morning and passing business over breakfast.

Why not come and visit  

Of course though, as the old saying goes "the proof is in the pudding", so why don't you come and have a look for yourself and see if joining our growing business networking group is right for you and your business?

To your success

Paul Jennings

PS. If you'd like to come along as a visitor then give me a call on 07940 846 413 to book a seat for our next meeting.

How responsible are you for others success?

Here's a question for you, If you're in a team or group of people working to achieve something together and in particular a networking group, how responsible are you for each member of that groups success and how much effort should you put in to helping them succeed?

Now I'm sure the responses vary from not at all responsible to depends on how many people are in the group, so if there were 20 people in the group it would be 5% responsible.......What was your answer?

Well I'm here to put to you that we are each 100% responsible for ensuring that each member is successful and we should put 100% effort in to helping them achieve their goals within the team!

So why do I believe this, well if everyone in a team succeeds the team as a whole succeeds if we concentrate on what others want or put another way help enough people get what they want we by default get what we want.

In BNI we have visitor hosts, members assigned to look after visitors that come to have a look at a BNI meeting, it's their job to guide them around and make them feel welcome to the meeting, however it is recognised in BNI that it is every members responsibility to be a Visitor host, In the same vein we have Mentors assigned to new members to help guide them through their early days of membership, however I think a chapter would be even more successful when each member also takes on the roll of mentor and ensures that each other member is succeeding in BNI.

If a member is succeeding in their BNI chapter they are more positive and upbeat and we all know how like attracts like, which means more people coming to the group therefore it grows which means we all get more business.

Agree/ Disagree, what are you thoughts?


To your success
Paul


PS I know sometimes you can lead a horse to water......but that's just people!

My BNI Journey - Nigel Adams - Big Black Hen - Estate agent

I am +Nigel Adams the owner of www.BigBlackHen.com estate agents. 

When I opened an office in Hertfordshire, having previously been down in Somerset, I was invited to various networking events but I found them to be too informal to really benefit a business such as mine. All anyone seemed to want to do was to sell to me! Then I got invited to BNI in St Albans which was a very different proposition with its focus on accountability and results. 

I decided to give it a go and joined the Chariots Chapter in March 2011. As recommendations have always been my biggest source of new clients I felt it was right for my business model. I had a good year learning the ropes of network marketing and getting a lot of properties on the market, and selling, in areas that I hadn’t been marketing in to that date. 

When a BNI Hertford/ Ware Networking group started in early 2012 I joined immediately as this is the area that I do most of my business in. BNI has continued to be both a powerful source of quality leads and a major and growing revenue stream for my business. But it has been much more than that as by mixing with other business owners and entrepreneurs you get lots of really good ideas that you can use to build your own business. You also create an invaluable and supportive group of friends who you can call upon at any time. I couldn’t recommend it more highly.

Nigel.

My BNI story.....Paul Jennings - The Utility Warehouse Discount Club

I started BNI back in November 2005 when I joined a BNI chapter in Enfield called Vision, I joined as the Electrician of the chapter, I then left the chapter when I was moving to Hertford and was involved in starting a core group (a starting BNI Chapter) this chapter never got to launch so I joined a Chapter in St Albans called Chariots, I left when my membership was up at the end of 2008. 

BNI worked extremely well for my business as a way of getting new business and has been the best networking organisation for getting referrals to new business. I saw that BNI would work for my business from my very first meeting as a visitor, and made the decision that I would join halfway through the meeting.

I started my Utility Warehouse Discount Club Business at the end of 2008 and I then re joined a BNI group in 2009 that had an opening for my category, at the end of my membership I left BNI due to a change in circumstances. 

When a friend told me that BNI Endeavour was launching in Hertford/ Ware I didn't even think twice about making sure I was at the first meeting in February 2012 and already knew that I was going to make an application to join the group.....It was really a no brainer. I've always enjoyed BNI meetings even though they start early, it makes a great start to the day and I've had more from BNI than just business referrals. The other benefits I've found include growing my business contacts, making new friends, increasing my business knowledge and I've found the meetings to be fun with a bit of banter too. A surprising thing I also found out was that I get a great buzz from finding and giving referrals to my fellow members and helping them to grow their businesses.

BNI Networking has been one of the best investments in my business marketing I've ever made and the Return on Investment has been tremendous value, I'd recommend it to all business owners to at least give it a go for a year.

I help people to save money on their household bills and for those that need or want an extra income stream I help them to make money on a part time basis.

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

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

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