Bonnie D Keown Edna's Quilts BNI Rocks! Wow, I am totally amazed at the amount of referrals and thank you for closed business that is shared at each meeting I attend. It is really true that you do business with people who you Know Like and Trust. When I first joined BNI it was for selfish reasons, I wanted to build my business and make money. After 3 years I have now realized that although my business is doing well, it is the people that keep me in BNI. I could go the rest of my life attending BNI meetings without ever recieving another referral and I would be happy. I enjoy bringing business to others and making them successful. If it was possible for the world to be run like BNI we would be on a much better planet. For those of you who have not attended a BNI meeting, what are you waiting for?

BNI Colorado Mentoring Program Pikes Peak Professionals Chapter Dear Margie, I’m writing this note to let you know how pleased I have been for the privilege of taking the new Mentor Training Course and being the Mentor Coordinator of my chapter, Pikes Peak Professionals. The training is already making a huge difference in our chapter and will continue to do so as more current members take the mentor training and more new members are mentored. This new training makes BNI membership more valuable than ever before. When I first took the training I realized that neither I nor my chapter were making proper use of all of the exclusive tools that BNI offers us. The mentor training puts all of the tools in one place in logical order to help each of us make a more positive contribution to our chapters. Even more important, as new people are being mentored I am hearing repeatedly that the training is helping them better define and communicate to others the elements of their businesses. Mentees are already noticing the value in terms of their own business plans. In one case the mentee has been very excited to see much more potential for her business than she had ever thought about before. I’m also noting that the mentees are able to make their presentations with clarity and confidence that is not normally evident so quickly with new members. As members of our chapter have taken the Mentor Training Course they have each given very positive reports of what they have learned and how they believe the training will help improve the value of our BNI memberships. Each of them has encouraged the other members to attend the training and each has been excited about being able to teach the process to others. Thank you for making this great training available to us. I believe it would be of great benefit to all of BNI. Judy Ireland H: (719) 599 8663 C: (719) 339 1164 http://jireland.isagenix.com/

BNI Member Computer Repair Givers Gain … Confidence It’s important for me to tell you something that BNI membership has done for me personally that, I'm sure, wasn't intentional. You see, I've been afraid of people; particularly in large crowds for most of my adult life. In my business, I deal with absolutes: zeros and ones. I'm a computer network engineer, and my whole business life revolves around cause and effect. Lock me in a windowless room with a sick computer, tell me what's wrong with it and what you want me to make it do, close the door and leave, and I'm happy. Needless-to-say, my first BNI meeting was terrifying. I've never been comfortable at a chamber mixer and therefore never go, my social skills are terribly lacking even to the point that family gatherings are a chore, and even medication with my family physician has not been successful. If my wife and I go shopping in a grocery store, and there is no one in the isle but us, I'm comfortable, but if someone comes into the isle from either end, my first thought is to look to the other for an escape route. If someone comes in that end, I'm trapped. This has been debilitating to the point that I've become almost a social outcast, and in the business world this just can't happen. Without the ability to comfortably interact with others, one's business just can't survive. The result has been 6 years of mediocre success even though I'm both a talented and knowledgeable engineer with certifications from both Novell and Microsoft. What's happened since my association with BNI? I've made many new and good friends in "my" chapter, and am comfortable in a large room with them all. That's OK, but the real test was yesterday when many chapters and their members were in our hall. Again, I was able to easily move among those in the crowded room and never be concerned that I was going to be attacked. I confidently came up to you and introduced myself without even the slightest worry about anything that might happen. Three months ago, this would never have taken place. Commitment to BNI and its purposes has changed things for me in this area, and I'm looking forward to more. I always come out of our meetings charged!!! Tuesdays are my most productive days as I confidently take on new challenges in the computer industry, and I feel confident that it's because of the association with those at our meetings.

Randy Schillinger Hondac Auto in Colorado Springs, CO From: Randy [mailto:randy@hondacauto.com] Sent: Wed 10/18/2006 5:01 PM To: Margie Cowan Subject: Thanks for the Cruise! Dear Margie, Please accept our sincere appreciation for the wonderful cruise we had this past week-end to Encinada. We truly enjoyed our time together and with the new BNI friends we met this past week-end. I'm sure some of those friendships will extend in to our futures. It was an honor meeting Dr. Misner and a pleasure talking with him. The free time on the ship was full of adventure and relaxation (but really not much rest). This cruise idea is a fantastic incentive for future membership drives so keep that in mind for other BNI members! Sincerely, Randy & Vicki Schillinger @ Hondac Auto in Colorado Springs P.S. We met the other automotive couple from Denver, Dave & Linda from Your Favorite Mechanic, and will be referring each other's business between Denver and Colorado Springs. (The BNI way, right?).

Beth Anderson OrgTrack.com The following is part of a response Beth Anderson wrote on the BNI Yahoo group to another member asking about referrals and how to track them. This BNI Yahoo Group is a wonderful benefit to BNI membership. If I remembered to write down every referral I ever gave I'd probably have twice as many slips as I do....but to me it doesn't really matter. What matters is that the business gets done, people LIKE AND TRUST ME, and everyone feels good at the end of it. I've been in BNI for almost 8 years, and I am, admittedly, the "poster child" for BNI in Minnesota. 95% of my business comes from BNI. Just last week I landed 5 new clients - all of them from BNI and not ONE of them had a referral slip attached to it. How? Here's how: 1 - referral from another OrgTrack customer who is an ED and not a chapter member, no slip 2 - restaurant in town. I moved here because of someone I met through BNI. Town site is an OrgTrack site. No slip, but still BNI Bucks. 3 - AD from Minneapolis. I do the BNI MN site, he wants me to do his. I guess he might have filled out a slip at his chapter. 4 - Hotel that is on an OrgTrack.com site for a town downriver from me. Wouldn't have OT without BNI. There you go. No slip, still BNI. 5 - former BNI member who remembers me & referred me to her friend. No slip, still BNI. I also received 3 referrals from my chapter yesterday - haven't had a chance to follow up with all of them yet, but they all look promising. So don't get too hung up on referral slips, because that really isn't the point now, is it? I'm on 5th and 6th level referrals but they all can be traced back to BNI. p.s. Phone just rang - another new client from a website I do for the next town up the river from me. OrgTrack site. BNI Bucks. Go BNI! Beth Anderson BNI Minnesota OrgTrack.com

Crystall Hoch Mary Kay Sales Director As a business woman working from home, BNI has afforded me the opportunity to meet many other professionals not only to expand my business but also to have a great resource of business people to access for myself and others. It is difficult for someone new in the area to know who to go to for various services without doing the old "yellow page" search. I can now comfortably refer people I meet to professionals who back up what they say with an already estableished reputation and great integrity.

Dr John Rabins Optom-Eyes There is no better way to advertise than word-of-mouth, and BNI figures strongly into my business plan for years to come. In just under four years, BNI has provided me with over 550 referrals, resulting in over 450 patients. My optician has joined another BNI group and has already been given 56 referrals. Is it any wonder that I consider BNI to be my most cost-effective form of advertising?

Victor Lin Dynasty Mortgage BNI has increased by business. I have this group of professionals looking out for my interest and advertising my business daily. Their referrals have resulted in transactions that will pay for my BNI membership fee for many years. It is a powerful system.

Kathie Thomas Australia Whilst people joining are looking to get increased business there is another side to this networking business! Getting reliable services and products. I have sourced through BNI the following for my business and for me personally: Printing, Stationery, Insurances (business and personal), Travel arrangements for myself and clients, Catering for a party, Logo design for another business I'm running, Printer supplies, a Printer, Computer parts and accessories, Mobile Phone and accessories for myself and my family, human resource training for an associate and the list goes on. Gaining business is just one side of being in BNI but getting good reliable service providers - ones you get to know and trust and feel confident in referring to your associates, family and friends is the other side. And yes, I've gained business for myself and my team - it took a while for people to understand what we were about, and it took a while for me to understand how to fully communicate it, but it's working for me - I've been in BNI 4 years in May. Regards, Kathie M. Thomas, AFAIOP, MVA, ASO

Mary Scott Michigan BNI member We have an art gallery/framing company in our group in Whitehall, MI. After being in BNI for only one year, he calculated that he had an overall increase in sales 32%, of which 68% was due directly to BNI. Most of us could handle those types of increases. That was only after one year! Just think how word of mouth referrals get around! It can only be exponentially better. Mary Scott

Linda Ousnamer The Pencil Pusher, Inc. My reason for joining BNI more than 8 years ago was not to get business, although I knew that would come. My reason was that I had been sitting behind a desk for many years and had gotten to the point that I didn't really want to go out and meet people. I knew that getting involved in BNI would make me stretch and grow, and it has! I have been involved in my chapter as visitor host, Sec/Treas, VP and President, and am currently an Assistant Director, responsible to assist other chapters in their growth. Being a member of my chapter, with all of the friendly, supportive people really enabled me to enjoy being in a crowd of people. It allowed me to get comfortable speaking in front of the group, and now I speak to other chapters, also! Of course, the referrals and new business that I have received have been great. The new clients that I have secured through BNI have added a long-term revenue source, as well as some great contacts and more word-of-mouth business. It works in more ways than I ever imagined! Linda Ousnamer Network Masters Chapter

Debby Miller Phases Accounting & Tax Service Last year my revenue from BNI was $75,000. That's quite the return on my fees of only a couple of hundred dollars a year. Charter Member and President of Colorado Springs Professional Partners Chapter BNI Member since 1997

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