Interesting business notes from the Shoreline East BNI meeting at the Madison Beach Hotel on May 07, 2013

Guests
    •    Scott Wilson, Debt Resolution Services
    •    Eric Foster, Lindh Foster, LLC
    •    Kristen Feeney, GS Promo Source

Education
Be Prepared!  Taking a page from the Boy Scouts, Jeff Robinson reminds us that having BNI member contact information at the ready really facilitates successful referrals.  Jeff, personally, has all member names and numbers stored in his phone.  The other day, when somebody mentioned an issue with his generator, he had fellow member, Jeff Signore’s, information in that person’s hands in seconds.

30 Second Commercials
The following is a sample of BNI “30 Second Commercials”, in which members have 30 seconds to talk about their business and what kind of sales lead they are looking for.
    •    Care of Trees – if cicadas are nesting in your tree or your friend’s tree, call Larry Dvorsky  http://thecareoftrees.com/index.php/contact_us/office_listings/
    •    Repellapest Pest Control – Guy Esposito makes it possible for people to enjoy the outdoors.  Sometimes, this does not even involve killing pests.  For example, LED lighting, artificial air currents, and other tools can be used to outsmart them! http://www.repellapest.com/
    •    Prime Pay – Justin Galvin is a member of Junior Achievement, which strives to increase financial literacy among kids.  He is looking for donations. http://www.primepay.com/
    •    Halagan Design Group – Paul Halagan advises that visual design, in its many form, drives people to purchase http://www.halagandesign.com/
    •    Gracious Interiors by Diana – Diana Hall is working on a project for a handicapped client, and needs an advisor with expertise in that area. http://www.interiorsbydiana.com/
    •    Landscaping With Hart – Chris Hart can help clear overgrown landscape, fix lawns, do Spring cleaning, and provide ideas. http://landscapingwithhartllc.com
    •    William Raveis Mortgage – Frank Kolb reminds us that values and rates are both still low, but on the way up.  Now is the time.
    •    Personal Benefits – Mitch Langer is an expert on buy-sell agreements, particularly insurance-related issues between partners that can be disastrous when partnerships are dissolved.

10 Minute Presentation
Today’s speaker was Lisa Gresham, owner of Equitable Divorce Solutions.   Lisa has a background in corporate finance and marketing, and got her Series 7 in 1983.  After going through her own divorce, but became aware of other women who lacked her own professional background, and were much less well equipped to deal with the financial aspects of divorce.  She felt that she could really help these individuals – men too – and formed Equitable Divorce.  E.D.S. tackles issues such as: property division, alimony, tax implication, and debt allocation/restructuring.  She also has mediation training, and can either represent one party in a divorce or both collectively.  Her methodology includes the following five steps: 1) budgeting, 2) “wish list” creation, 3) analysis/evaluation, 4) “what if” scenarios, and 5) projections.  E.D.S. works hard to separate the legal, emotional, and financial issues of a divorce and focus on the financial.  For more information, contact Equitable Divorce Solutions at: www.equitabledivorce.net.


Performance
S.E.B.N. closed 107 of 129 referrals passed last month, generating $112,500, and $564,000 since January (78% closing ratio).  There were 24 one-to-one’s conducted, with Justin and Lurrae leading.

Coming Up
    •    Frank Kolb, broker at William Raveis Mortgage, will be speaking on May 14.

About BNI
BNI is the world’s largest referral network.  In 2010, Business Network Int'l passed over 6.5 million referrals in 5500+ chapters with over 135,000 members in 45 countries resulting in more than $2.8 billion in business! BNI membership in CT now stands at 2,027 and growing.

Visitors are welcome!  If you’d like to visit the Shoreline East BNI, just fill out the contact form under “Join Shoreline East” on our website (shorelineeastbni.com) and a representative from our membership team will contact you.