If you ever have relevant news for the next issue, please use this easy form. Thanks, Gil, Editor in Chief
Who’s New, Who’s Up & Who’s Out: Membership Report
In April, we inducted one new member, so please set up a dance card with him. As soon as he completes his New Member Training, he’ll be put into our speaker rotation.
Our newest members:
April 2: Jeff Fenigstein
These members were up for renewal by June: Dan Chomko, Dr. Mike Hack, Carlos Ramirez, Tamara Steele
These members were due to renew by May 1: Kay Heatherly, Mischa Purcell, John Seeley and Anita Hubbard.
These members dropped in April:
Ana Costa and Susan Campbell.
Message from Our Chapter President
BNI Embarcadero Maternity Leave Policy
With all the wonderful pregnancies our chapter is experiencing, the Leadership Team has taken the opportunity to revisit and clarify our policy. Maternity leave is viewed the same as medical leave by BNI Headquarters. (We’re aware this merged classification is controversial.
Under either type of leave, members may take up to 8 weeks off without attending meetings or needing to pay the monthly chapter dues. At the end of 8 weeks, if additional time is needed members are required to send substitutes and resume paying monthly dues. While all chapters are required by Headquarters to cap the leave at 8 weeks, the monthly dues part of the policy is not standard from chapter to chapter. In many chapters members are still required to pay the monthly dues during leave.
Kathy Olberts, President, BNI Embarcadero
Membership Message
How The Best Chapter Can Get Better
What categories would you like to see filled by new members? What power team members are we lacking? Do you have a friend or colleague who could be a great addition to what is currently the largest BNI chapter on the West Coast?
Click here to put in your two cents for Mike Hack and Dan Chomko, Co-Chairs of our Membership Committee.
Meet Our Leadership Committee
President: Kathy Olberts
Vice President: Elaine McCarty
Secretary: Dave Meronuck
Treasurer: Jerry Becerra
Education: Kay Heatherly
Power Teams: Rachel Walls
Membership: Michael Hack (Chair/Current Members), Dan Chomko (New Members), Richard Reinholdt, Pamela Rosin, Julia Ten Eyck
Mentor Coordinators: Colleen O'Connor, Marty Wall
Webmaster: Bradley Charbonneau
Visitor Hosts: Carlos Ramirez (Chair), Mario Martinez, Karen Saghi, Daniel Wheeler
Social
Committee: Sandy Minella (Chair), Cathy Cohn, Skip Dion, Dennis Nix
Timekeeper: Seth Tajbakhsh
New Facilities Manager: Dave Llorens
New Go For The Gold: Rachel Walls
E-Newsletter: Bradley Charbonneau, Gil Zeimer
How Power Teams Can Supercharge Your Marketing Efforts
by Gil Zeimer
(This article first appeared in Sparks™ - Your dose of energy and insight from Your Marketing Lab™, April 10, 2008)
Strategic alliances. Virtual partnerships. Power teams.
Whatever you call them, having a network of trusted allies is a critical component for any company’s long-term marketing success. And if you’re a small company, networking is absolutely essential for survival in troubled times like these.
Feature Story: Referrals
Harnessing the Simple, but Effective Art of Referral Marketing
By Paul B. Brown
New York Times
Published: April 15, 2008
A few excerpts:
“Business owners tell me every day that the way they generate the most new business is through referral marketing,” John Jantsch writes on ducttapemarketing.com, a Web site devoted to helping small businesses with their marketing. “Yet they don’t seem to grasp the power of this statement. Few if any businesses harness the true power of referrals by making the receiving of systematic referrals a cornerstone of their marketing efforts.”
Referrals, he says, work because they are credible. “When a trusted friend tells you about a business, you transfer that trust to this company, he writes, “even if you’ve never heard of them before.”
In addition, the people referred to you “tend to spend more money,” he says. “Research has proven this beyond the shadow of a doubt and it is likely because people tend to refer others who are highly qualified and not just tire kickers or price shoppers.”
BNI Referral Success Story: By Dave Llorens
Dave reports that he met Mr. Benjamin, Paul’s father when he subbed one day. As a retired SF cop, Mr. Benjamin now sells electric faux fireplaces.“He’s going to be saving $3,000 per year on his giant power bill by installing a solar powered roof,” Dave says proudly. “Best of all, I beat out our biggest competitor and my personal arch nemesis of a salesperson.”
Way to go, Dave! The future of solar Power Rocks certainly looks bright!
IF YOU HAVE A SUCCESS STORY TO SHARE, SEND IT TO GIL <AT> ZEIMER <DOT> COM.
Step Up To The Mike: Speakers Schedule
04/30: Karen Saghi, Anita Hubbard, Brian Pensack
05/07: Dave Llorens, Katherine Bernitt, David
Meronuck
05/14: Kate Antonini, Tamara Steele, Mischa
Purcell
05/21: Bart Saling, Richard Reinholdt, Kay
Heatherly
The speakers are always up to date on the speakers page.
Recent Presentations
TransitionSteps Consulting & Coaching
You can always find past presentations here.
Taking Care of Business: VP Report (As of 04/22/08)
YTD referrals: 1,829
Oct-Feb referrals: 3,389
Average attendance: 90%
Number of members: 66
Closed business, term: 10/1/07 – 4/22/08: $349,205
Final closed business 2007:
$1,285,665
REMINDER: Please provide all Closed Business you received in March to Elaine McCarty. Only report the Closed Business revenue you personally received from BNI Embarcadero members, referrals or other chapters. For those of you who close large contracts and receive a commission on the total amount of revenue, please submit only the amount of commission or revenue you received or will receive, not the amount of the total contract.
Party Central: Social Events Calendar
Smuin Ballet, May 2: Contact Carlos Ramirez.
SF Pot Luck Dinner Party, Monday May 19: RSVP to Sandy Minella.
Salsa dancing: Due to poor turnout, this event will be rescheduled soon. Stay tuned for details.
Also keep an eye on the upper right sidebar of the website: Upcoming Events.
Recent Subs & Visitors
SUBS: 25 during March.
To contact any of the visitors or subs, please ask Carlos Ramirez for their contact info.
Scheduled Power Team Meetings
Check out this post on the website for the latest scheduled meetings.
Word of Mouth: Gossip
Colleen O’Connor has a new email and Web address: colleen@juiceplussf.com & www.juiceplussf.com
Pat Miller has an updated email: abedofrosessf@sbcglobal.net and a new fax: 415.550.2495
Creature Story #1
Who’s Got the Cutest Dog in BNI EmBARKadero?
Ray Simon does. That’s who. His pug Buddy (see photo) copped the prize for our cutest dog with 39% of the vote, and he’s doggone cute, isn’t he? Tom Redmond’s Einey was second with 17% and Andrea Schuitema’s Abby Punky was nipping at Einey’s paws with 14%.
Creature Story #2
Now, it’s time for the Cutest, Cuddliest Cat in BNI EmbarCATdero. Send your photos for your kitties to gil [at] Zeimer [dot] com and he’ll then feed them to Bradley to create a poll page.
Baby Boom: The Next Generation!
After Roselyn Calangian delivered her boy in March, we’re waiting for the next shoe… er, baby to drop.
Sharon Schanzer is due in early May, with Sandy Minella, Isabella Schwarzinger and Rachel Walls in line behind her. Plus, new member Jeff Fenigstein’s wife is due in September.
(If we’re recruiting new members, how about a diaper service rep or nanny finder?)
Other Stuff: Miscellaneous News & Announcements
Using The Comments Feature on The BNI Embarcadero Site to Write Testimonials. See Example.
See what Andreas and Pamela have done. Below their company descriptions are testimonials -- that won't be deleted by Yelp!
Finally: Please keep your contact info up to date on the BNI site. Lots of members–and potential clients–use this site to find names and number and email addresses. Here’s how.
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