Communication…

 …well lack of it!

Two members that I have contacted, for the first time over three weeks ago, so far have not sent me any type of reply. And I’m not talking about just sending an email here.

I have sent them a number of emails, text messages and a phone message.

Now it might be that they don’t think a reply is required, they have no time, or that they just aren’t interested enough.

There could be many reasons as to why I haven’t heard a thing from them. It’s even possible that you can think of a good reason yourself.

But, have you, and more importantly have they, thought about the comeback of no reply more deeply?

What does no response really mean?

Does it even matter?

Well the BIG answer is – yes it does!

When I say, yes it does, the reason is massive. But, it’s to them, not me.

As, long term, they will get fewer referrals.

But why, you may be thinking.

Know, Like and Trust.

If you are going to be referred confidently, your fellow members need to: Know you, Like you, and to Trust you.

What no communication means is that they don’t know if you will contact the person that they could refer to you.

They have no evidence that they can trust you to do so.

So, they don’t (refer you).

Which means for the best results, and the most referrals that you will receive, you need to communicate on every single occasion and without any delay.

Even if you are busy or because what you have been asked is not really for you, you must reply.

But, be careful, as to what you say.

And, here are a couple of examples: ‘I’m too busy’, could simply mean I’ve no time for any more work. The result could be fewer referrals. ‘Not my sort of job’, can mean other referrals lost; unless you explain why and do your best to help them with their referral. Recommend someone good who could do it.

Good communication is essential to build Know, Like and Trust with your fellow BNI members and have your referral rate grow and be better.

Who should you reply to today?

Have you a spare minute?

That’s all – no longer.

Many BNI members are so busy that they find it hard to find any real time to work on their BNI membership and so find true success hard to come by.

But, I imagine that your answer to my question is a ‘Yes. Of course, maybe even a little longer.’ However, a minute is all you need.

So, now you have a question, what for? The answer is, to help you grow your business.

Most of us joined our BNI Chapter to build our business, by receiving referrals (recommendations) from other members, that get to know, like and trust us, over and over again.

And, visitors are very important to this, as they build your number of contacts, help grow your Power Team, which in turn will enhance your level of achievement.

Imagine if your chapter had three visitors every week. In a year that would make 150 prospective new customers; all whom you would meet and who would listen to your sales pitch.

It doesn’t matter if they join your chapter; the most important thing is that you get to meet them and grow your possible connections.

The fundamental thing is that they come to one meeting; that’s all. Of course, if they like what they see, they will come again; maybe even apply to join. However, just coming once, is what means the most to your chapter.

Anyway back to the one minute.

It will take one minute to invite a visitor.

Do that every day and you invite five people a week. Do it for 46 weeks (I’m allowing for holidays here) that will mean you will have invited 230 people in a year.

Even if only one person in 30 comes that will mean you will have eight visitors.

For a minute think about how long it takes you to speak to eight prospective new customers a year? Longer than 230 minutes I bet.

One last thing before you get going, as I know you will. Start first with the people you know, as far more will support you.

And, this could be a surprise; it was to me. One of my best customers became one of our best chapter members! Plus, I doubled my sales with them.

Good luck and enjoy.

How to get more referrals…

 It doesn’t matter who you are, or how many referrals you receive, because getting some more would be very useful. Plus, if you are unlucky, and don’t get the number of referrals that you would like, then this would be amazing.

Now before you think, he’s going to say, ‘You've got to do lots more work’, let me stop you, because you don’t.

You have to do a little, but small changes can make a large difference to the number of referrals you get.

Just imagine improving by just 10% on the things you already do, what effect that would have combined in total. It would be massive.

Here are a few things to think about: attendance, 60 Seconds, your Feature Presentation, referrals given, visitors, workshops, One-2-Ones, testimonials, social events, your Power Team - for starters.

Just a small improvement on all of those, would have a very visible result overall. More referrals.

One of the things that you could do is to update your BNI Chapter website; certainly your part of it. What’s your presentation like on it?

I looked at some BNI Surrey chapter websites last week and many members could do a little more. In fact some members could even make a start!

More than one member, not only didn’t have a photograph of themselves, but worse still, had no copy at all. This will mean that they are losing referrals.

Trust me, it’s a fact.

This one thing will take just a few minutes. Add a photo and some text. Talk about how you help people, not about you. Try to avoid using, ‘I ….’

Doing this will improve your referral rate, as over the years I have meet many people who have ‘passed on’ when they have found a member with very little info about themselves on their BNI website.

Make a start now – it will only take a few minutes. And, you will be one step toward a better referral rate.

Have you invited a visitor this week?

It’s a simple question, and if you haven’t, why not?

Inviting visitors is probably the easiest thing that you can do in BNI; not just for BNI but, more importantly, for you; as the result is more business being passed.

So, the question is, why don’t you invite more people?

Now an answer I’m often given is because it’s hard. But, believe me, it’s not. In fact it’s so easy, I’m surprised you don’t do it every day.

But, BNI members have excuses for not inviting (some have not had a visitor for a year or more) and two reasons tend to be mentioned often.

One is that they don’t know if BNI will be good enough for them. Well there are many answers to this, but there are two very important ones. First, you joined BNI because you saw it as very promising, and second, it is up for your contact to decide; not for you to decide for them.

So, invite your contacts along.

Reason number two is often that you don’t know someone who would want to join your BNI chapter. And the answer here is very simple. You don’t need to. As all you are looking for are business people, who want more business, and can come to one meeting. That’s it, nothing more at all.

So again, invite your contacts along.

Inviting is simple, can lead to lots more business, and often comes with a BIG thank you.

I know that you could invite someone this week. So, why not do it right now? Use a text, email or phone call.

It will take you just 30 seconds.

7 Weeks!

 The start of the New Year and the beginning of your businesses extended future plan; where you hope to be in the years to come.

As with all plans, however distant they are, there are things that must be done today, if you are going to succeed.

And, a seven-week plan, for your BNI success, is a great way to start, not only for your BNI Chapter but also for you.

Often your chapter will have a goal and all the members will be given targets to meet. New targets (plans) are essential to your success, as otherwise, if you keep doing the same things, you will just get the same results.

Now chapter plans are sometimes difficult for some members and easy for others. For example, as a member you are asked to bring along five new members a year. If on average you invite 11 a year (and they attend) it’s very easy, but if last year you didn’t have one visitor, then it could be very hard.

And, that’s why I love the ‘7 Week Resolution’. It’s your commitment to your chapter, chosen by you. Signed and sealed! But, there is one condition; your commitment has to be better than your normal activity; based only on your actions.

The things to cover are: visitors, referrals, One2Ones and workshops.

So, if in seven weeks you would on average have three One2Ones, then in the next seven weeks you would commit to having, say five. With workshops you might not often attend, so your commitment would be to attend one. Referrals you might give 10, so you could commit to giving 12. And, with visitors, you may not have had one for months, so you would commit to bring one. But, if normally, you might bring two visitors, then you would commit to bringing three.

What’s great about the ‘7 Week Resolution’ is that is what you choose and commit to doing, and when every chapter member commits to doing this the results are often outstanding.

But, the best thing is that it’s part of your future business success. So, if you are truly serious about your future, then the BNI ‘7 Week Resolution’, is a must do.

Note: If you would like a '7 Week Resolution' form then let me know or ask your BNI Director.

A Shed-Load of Money!

2022 is coming - in fact fast!

And, I would imagine, as a good business person that you are well into planning your New Year. What you would personally like and what your business has to do to achieve it. If not, maybe we should have a chat.

Now I would certainly think that the amount of money you receive will be important, but even more significant than that, is the amount of profit you will actually make.

After all you have lots of bills to pay like gas, insurance, mortgage, school fees, car costs; I could go on and on. And, of course, there are other things you would like as well, holidays, nights-out, karting, golf; again the list will be long.

Certainly it was what I always had planned into my business plan, for example; skiing, sailing, classic Mustang, school fees; to name just a few.

So, to help you, Surrey BNI has an amazing workshop coming up, on Tuesday 25^th January, at Denbies Wine Estate in Dorking.

It’s going to be very special, as the host is Phil Berg and, he is more than good, because he gets it (I've worked and listened to him for a long time), and he will help you achieve your goal. Helping you get what you want.

Whatever your plan, however far you have already got with it, I promise you that meeting Phil will help you succeed; and on so much more than just your Surrey BNI membership.

2022 could be an attractive year for you and Phil’s workshop could truly help you, so please don’t miss the chance of attending. 

You can book here:

HOW TO MAKE A SHED-LOAD OF MONEYFROM BNI – hosted by Phil Berg

Tuesday 25th January 2022 4pm – 8pm

Woodlands Park Hotel, Cobham KT11 3QB

Your great photo!

That’s assuming you have one and it’s good.

A fair number of BNI members don’t have their photo on their BNI Chapter Website; instead there’s just a silhouette of their head.

Then of course, some members even have a misleading photo, which, trust me, hurts their referral numbers. And, please do believe me, as I have a lot of knowledge on this, based on the experience gained from members over many, many years.

First you need a good photo; one that clearly shows who you are. It needs to be up-to-date, with a good pose, nice lighting, and, of course, in focus. Now I’m not saying it needs to be the perfect professional portrait, but it does need to be a good photo. Which means not using the first thing you find; on holiday, down the pub, blurry, from 15 years ago, just a mess.

Why? Because a good photo seen on your BNI website will save you losing referrals.

No photo of a member on your BNI website may not affect how you think about that person but, it’s how other people think that matters, not you. I know of many people that have left a BNI website because of the lack of a photo (also a bad photo) of the member they were considering.

So, if there is no photo of you on your BNI website, then I recommend you get a good one put up as soon as possible. I promise, you are more than likely to receive more business.

Five Referrals!

 A good friend of mine (he does plumbing and heating) is not only a very good BNI referral giver, but he also receives a very good number of referrals himself from members of his chapter.

He has been a member for many years and a few years ago he did some maths, which led to him getting even more referrals. Now I know that you can do the numbers, but you will require some information, and there are three things you will need on record. First, the number of referrals you give each year, second, the number of referrals that you receive each year, and third, the amount of business you receive from those referrals each year. That’s it!

Okay, so firstly, divide the amount of business you received by the number of referrals you were given. For example: you get £16,000 of work, from eight referrals, which makes each referral worth £2,000.

Then secondly, work out how many referrals you give in order to receive the number of referrals you are given.

My friend worked out that for every five referrals he gave he received one £2,000 (roughly) referral in exchange.

To drive him, he worked out that for every referral he gave it was, in effect, worth £400. But, this is the part that impressed me, he passed more and more referrals, and for every five he passed, he received about £2,000 in return!

So, if you did your maths, could you increase the number of good referrals you receive? All I can say is it’s worth a try – because it certainly worked for me!

American Pickers

I have to say that I rather like this programme. Mike and Frank are amazing and Danielle is more than good in finding them leads and referrals. I’ve even got a friend (who lives in Whitton – just down the road from me) who has visited their shop in Nashville and purchased an item.

They find some incredible objects: lots of motorbikes, cars, toys, paintings, guitars, and often things from sheds that haven’t been opened for years and years.

Well I was watching it yesterday and they were taking about how stuff was found. The things came from all sorts of places, plus auctions, car boot sales and lots by word-of-mouth.

That’s why, word-of-mouth is very important for us in BNI; as it’s all about knowing what members would like and letting others know about whatever it is - recommending each other. And, often it leads to amazing things, and remarkable business, being found.

So, if you haven’t done it already, how about this week making a list of your fellow members and against each name, writing down something special they are looking for and why.

For example: not Martin – accountant. But instead – Martin loves helping film location people to make the right moves going forward.

Of course this could require a One-2-One, or at least a phone call, but I promise you, would be really worthwhile long-term. And, a great deal of fun!

150 Prospective Customers!

 I was talking to a friend of mine recently about them finding new customers and I asked them what it would take to find 150 to talk to. How long it would take, how much effort it would be and how much it would cost them? Not just money but the time lost, doing what they liked best, working on the good parts of their business.

The answer was that they didn’t know and, in fact, that they doubted that it would ever happen.

But, by being a member of BNI, meeting 150 new prospective customers every year is easy; well it can be!

Just imagine what 150 different people listening to you about your business every year might do for your business. I know many people where the results for them have been outstanding.

So, why does this often not happen? The answer is, not having three visitors at your chapter every week; because in a year, if the chapter did, that would be 150 prospective new customers.

Now I know chapters that often don’t have any visitors in a week. I also know members that have not brought a visitor in over a year. I find both of these things hard to understand.

And, I’ll tell you why. Most of us have a business to grow; we are members of BNI to help us grow our business. We are asked by BNI to bring visitors and they give us training to help us. But many members still don’t bring visitors.

Here is a little bit of maths for you. If you are in a chapter of 38 members and each member brings four visitors a year, the chapter will get 150 visitors per year.

Now, as an individual member, you find four prospective new customers, but if every member does it, you get to sell to 150 prospective new customers.

Now, I don’t know about you, but I want to grow my business, and finding four prospective new customers is far easier that finding 150 myself.

So, who are you going to invite this week? You will get more new customers and more referrals if you do. Make it fun.

10 Minutes of Fun!

 Sounds good doesn’t it, but it does involve a little hard, physical work.

I was chatting recently with a Personal Trainer, who’s pretty much closed for business at the moment. But, she is doing lots to make sure that her business is not only better, but ready for training sessions when the lights go green and lockdown ends!

One thing she is doing is making a 10-minute training video. It’s aimed to not only keep people fit but also for them to have some fun. A real bounce! She suggests that you do it every day because it will relax you and help make the whole day better. One of my other friends actually works out, at 8.30 every morning, and it energises their day.

But, as far as her business goes, it’s even better than that, because it will be sent to every one of her customers and friends. Many of whom I’m sure will thank her for it. But, also she is going to ask them, if they enjoy the workout, if they would send it to three of their friends.

I asked her how many people she was sending it to and her answer was 43. Now not only is that fun for them but business-wise it could be a real winner. Imagine if people that are not already one of her customers, really find it stimulating; maybe they will become a new customer? But imagine if those 43 people each sent it to three of their friends; that would be another 129 people.

Now that really makes you think about the possible number of prospective customers she could have when the lights go green!

So, what could you make a 10 minute video about? Why not do it today!

Zoom, Zoom Two!

We have been having Zoom meetings for around nine months now and it looks like many more months of them are to come. Our current Leadership Team could well do a whole year without sitting with the chapter, all together, in our normal venue (a lovely golf club). I have to say that I think that is sad.

However, a lot has also been learnt for us as individuals. For example: many people have discovered that meetings can be shorter and at the same time, more productive. They have also discovered that you save a great deal of time by not having to go long distances to places. But, as one of my friends has discovered, it can also lead to not receiving as much work, as random meets and conversations are less likely to come up.

There is also the ‘on/off situation’. I expect you have noticed this in a meeting; someone is with you and then they aren’t. Their connection has failed, for some unknown reason. Then, of course, their voice might disappear or they sound like they are in outer-space.

Now, with more months to come, the technical problem I think could be looked at, if for nothing else, but to improve a person’s thinking (sanity).

Another of my friends has this very problem and they cannot stand it. Their meetings could well come to an end. You see the difficulty is that the issue could be one of many things or a combination of the whole lot. So, where do there start?

And, that’s where we as members of BNI can help. As a Utility Warehouse Partner, for example, I can help with broadband, supply a modern router, and check the wireless channel (and some other stuff). Of course hardware might need looking at, so an IT member is perfect for advice and any new kit.

One of my friends, with his children now learning from home, had a problem with getting everyone on the web at the same time. A Mesh system (click photo to see it) solved his problem. Then there is sound and vision; a good camera could be the answer here.

So, with what looks like many months of online meetings to come, if you are having problems, I would suggest passing a few referrals to members that can help solve your problem today. And, of course, chat to friends who are also having these problems. You might just be able to give them help.

Printinc

 ‘If you can think it…We can ink it’.

I’ve just been looking at the new website of Printinc: the printers in BNI Elmbridge run by Carolyn and her husband Ian.

It’s a lovely new design with a really good first page. It has everything there: telephone number, email address, what they can do for people (including their primary purpose – which is to serve their customers) and the opportunity to get a quote. You can also see recent work they have done and customer testimonials. There is everything you need as a new prospective customer and, without doubt, it will increase the number of people contacting Carolyn.

For Printinc it’s perfect, but it’s also great for Owen Carr the web designer, as he has put together a wonderful new site for Carolyn (and I’m sure other people were involved). However, it can go much further than that.

Now, for the moment, let’s just think about me. I’m looking at the first page right now, I love it, but what does that mean? Well, one I’m writing about it, but more importantly, I will be sending it on to people I know, to show them what Printinc can do for them. So, just imagine the result, if the 37 members in the BNI Elmbridge did the same. Carolyn’s referrals would increase even more.

However, it can go far further than this. I’ve looked at members' sites and discovered things I didn’t know about them; so the possibility of referrals to them increased.

So, I have a question to you (yes, you). Have you looked fully at the website of every member in your chapter? If not, then I recommend you do. The result? You will get the opportunity to give more referrals, but it goes further than that; imagine what might happen to the referrals you receive if every member in your chapter studied your website as well!

Why not start looking today?

90 Minutes!

 

I had a One-2-One with a member this week which was very interesting.

During BNI training it is suggested that we all put in our diary one hour for BNI every week with the focus solely on BNI activity. Sadly for them, many members don’t have an extra hour free, so lose out on what they could gain.

At the moment most of our meetings are via Zoom, which means that there are some disadvantages but also some advantages. In fact, in the future there may be some Zoom-only Chapters formed.

Anyway, back to the lady that I was having a One-2-One with. One comment she made during our conversation, was that one thing a Zoom meeting achieved, was saving her 90 minutes getting to and returning from the meeting. There were a number of things that she really missed from a usual meeting but, there was also one large thing that she gained. And that was 90 minutes.

Now I’m not talking of time for her to rest! What she had gained, was not one hour for BNI activity, but 90 minutes instead. This led her to spending more time looking for referrals for fellow members (in a difficult time), having more useful One-2-Ones, and spending time, and learning, on the BNI U. And, all of this has led to her having more success in BNI than ever. I think you will agree that it’s not only very valuable but also rather wonderful.

And it got me thinking about things which I feel are very interesting and could make a big difference for all of us. First, use your saved travel time on BNI activity. What a great way of having more time to work for your BNI success and your fellow members' success. Second, if you think you don’t have the time for 1 hour of BNI activity a week, this has proved that you should make it, because it will lead to more success for you. More business, which I’m guessing means more profit.

So, how are you using your saved travel time? Sleeping?

A Beachball!

 In 2008, I met Andy Bounds for the first time, at the BNI Directors European Conference in Dublin. He was a main speaker and I loved what he told us. I also got a copy of his new book (at the time), The Jelly Effect.

The Jelly Effect is a brilliant book all about communication skills. Your business could improve a great deal if you get this right and Andy will help you do so.

Here’s an illustration Andy gives; it’s a great way for improving your sales. And, it’s about a beachball.

As I expect you know, a beachball has six coloured segments. They might be red, white, blue, yellow, green and orange. If you and a friend hold the ball between yourselves, the ball might look red, white and blue to you. However, from your friend’s side, they would think it was green, yellow and orange.

The same beachball looks completely different from different perspectives. The great thing to do is add the beachball view to your own business.

You look at your business – the beachball – from a certain point of view. You think of lots of selling points and you focus on these.

A possible prospective customer hears what you say, they’re looking at your company – the same beachball – but, maybe from a different point of view. What they want to hear, and see, is evidence that you can provide the ‘Afters’ that they are looking for.

Are you selling what they want? Will they receive what they want? Because at this moment that’s all that really matters. If they are not sure, then they have a reason to look elsewhere.

Here is a suggested example for you. ‘A building you are proud of, that meets your needs.’ This would lead to better and more results than, ‘I am an architect with three qualified staff.’

So, have a look at your communication. What do you open with? Is it who you are and what you do, or, is it what you give your customers and what they want?

The key, for real success, is to start with the end result first (The Afters). So, what are your customers looking for?

Four Referrals…

 I was asked by a new member recently how many referrals they should hope to receive in the coming year.

The first thing I said was ‘…have you time for a coffee?’ And, they replied, ‘Of course, but why?’

Well, this is part of what we talked about.

How many referrals would they need to get? But, as important, even more important, was how many referrals they were going to give? Givers Gain, BNI’s core value, is giving to others, before expecting anything from others. Giving first and getting second.

But, let’s get back to what they wanted to know. How many referrals would be a good return? The answer is pretty simple to work out but many members have never done the maths.

The first thing to do is to work out how much business you would like? This should be based on your money invested: BNI membership, venue costs, transport costs, etc. and, of course, time. As an example, let’s say £15,000.

Next we need the average value of your orders. If you don’t know that, just divide your turnover (no VAT) in a year by the number of invoices sent. Again, for example, let’s say £68,000 divided by 120 invoices; answer £568.00.

Okay, now divide the £15,000 by £568.00; answer 26. So, you need 26 jobs to make your £15,000. But, that’s not referrals; because now, you need your conversion rate. How many estimates do you give to receive a job? Let’s say it’s three. Therefore, 26 times three equals 78; which means you need 78 referrals per year to reach your £15,000. That’s 6.5 referrals each month.

The new member and I worked this out for him and, oddly, the number we worked out for him was the same number I have. One referral needed each week to reach our goals.

So, do you know the number of, qualified, referrals you need? If not, why not work it out? I promise you it could be very worthwhile.

All Zoomed!

We have now had a couple of months on Zoom and at BNI Elmbridge we have a fully attended meeting every week, plus some really amazing Feature Presentations.

I find it interesting as you see partners, children and many pets, especially lots of happy, friendly dogs. Drinks come and go (well mine do). Clothing is a ‘little’ different to that worn at actual meetings! And, chosen locations are very different and fun. For a few weeks we had someone attending on their exercise bike.

The education slots have been very useful for help in the current situation and the new Leadership Team are doing a lot of extra work, as are our website and social media team.

What I like the best is that our BNI group is keeping everyone active, whatever the status of the business at the moment. Many are using their time to plan the future, organise how they operate and improve their marketing; plus how to give better customer support.

Many of us are now getting back to ‘actual’ work. I think that if we are using this time in a positive way our businesses will be much stronger in the future.

Have useful BNI meetings, make sure you attend, and use your time, and help others, to plan a great future success.

Have you let anyone down recently?

Trust is a major factor when it comes to people recommending you. Let’s face it, however good you think a company’s service is, would you easily recommend them if you couldn’t completely trust them?

I’m guessing that the answer is probably no – certainly I know that I would think twice.

It’s really important that we don’t raise people’s hopes by making a promise only to dash them by breaking that promise.  It wrecks our credibility and therefore any trust that person has in us and our company.

Now I not talking big events here, it’s the build up of those small broken promises that do the real damage.

For example, have you ever said to someone, ‘I’ll call you in the morning’ and not done so?  Or, ‘I’ll pop it in the post’ and forgotten?  Maybe, ‘How about coffee on Thursday?’ and totally forgotten about it.  Even, set a date for a meeting, ‘No fail’ you said, and then changed it.

The list may seem unimportant, but each is a broken promise.  Sooner or later people will stop believing you and with that goes your credibility.  And, after that goes the trust a person had in you.

The result of all these broken promises is fewer recommendations.

A client asked me recently how they could improve their image and by doing so get more recommendations and my answer was easy.  I replied, keep your promises. Only that very week I knew they had forgotten to call someone and the person concerned had stayed in all morning waiting for their call.

Okay, life happens, we all know that.  So, how can we avoid these little ‘killer’ things happening?  Here are my five top tips:

1)      Immediately make a note of anything agreed.  Put dates in your diary.  2) If it is possible, do whatever it is there and then.  3) Once a date is set, don’t break it.  What makes one meeting more important than the one you have already?  What does it say about the way you feel about the person that you are happy to break an appointment with?  4)  If you know that you are going to be pushed, don’t set a definite time.  Rather than saying 11.00am tomorrow, just say sometime tomorrow (but make sure it is tomorrow.  5)  If you do need to let someone down, because it will happen, let them know as soon as possible, don’t leave them guessing.

Follow these simple tips and you will find your credibility increases, the trust grows, and recommendations follow.

Under Pressure!

I love that song, especially the Queen and David Bowie mix; in fact I’m listening to it as I write this.

But, that’s not why I titled this blog – Under Pressure.

You see we have started the Hot Seat initiative at our chapter, Elmbridge, and as part of the Leadership Team (and VP) you could even say it was my idea. And, as I believe in leading from the front, I put myself top of the Hot Seat inviting list.

Now for those of you who have never heard of the Hot Seat, in simple terms, it’s about inviting visitors. In our case three members are given the job of finding a visitor in a given number of weeks, with the knowledge that should they fail….well there will be some form of consequence!

Now of course not many members like this concept and many in fact hate it. So why are we running the Hot Seat?

Well, the answer is two-fold: first, to replace members lost by natural attrition, and second, more business for our members. By far the most important of these is losses. On average a chapter will lose 12 members every year through no fault of their own. It just happens. Members move, retire, change jobs, have children and just about every other reason you can think of to leave. So unless these members are replaced the chapter gets smaller and smaller and smaller. I have even seen chapters completely disappear because nothing was done to keep the visitors coming. It happened to one of my chapters once and I never want to witness that again. It still saddens me to this day.

So I totally understand why members feel under pressure, because I feel it as well. In total I have five weeks to find a visitor and one of those weeks has gone already. I’ve tried my best possibilities so now I’m really Under Pressure and I have to say I’m feeling it a bit!

However, I also know that it is essential that I find a visitor for the well-being of my chapter (to do my bit) and so whatever it takes I will find one. I hope very soon.

Sometimes I wish I didn’t believe in leading from the front because then I would be further down the inviting list, have extra time to find a visitor and feel a lot less pressure. But, as they say, someone’s got to be first and it may as well be me. At least I have two friends with me (well they were!).