Start a Referral Club
Start a Referral Club
Peter O'Rourke began ”City Club” in Mississauga in the fall of 2001 with two friends. It now counts 25 businessmen and professionals (lawyers and CAs) as members. Each business must have at least 5 employees, and professional firms at least 3 partners. There is only one member per category.
They meet every other Wednesday for a buffet lunch (so there is no delay waiting for the meal). In the intervening weeks each member is encouraged to lunch with another member.
At each meeting members are given 2 pages from the local business directory, and each member is asked to indicate if they have a contact at each listed company, or if they would like to get a contact at that company.
Peter says, “The whole key is to run the club professionally and be very selective about new members. We interview every member at their place of business and new members have to be approved by the Board of Directors. Some have been rejected.
“Membership fees are $300 per year. This is used for social events, development of a club website, and a paid part-time secretary. We registered with the government to protect our name, and to project a professional image. The operation of the club is governed by its constitution which is signed and approved by the City Club's Board of Directors.
“Our internet member is designing a website where we'll post local business changes such as new businesses, expansions, executive appointments, etc., as change creates opportunity.
“Some members are now presenting seminars together. One, who wrote a book on financial planning, runs seminars with the accountant and lawyer, which has produced prospects for all.
“And in May we're holding a social event where each member is expected to bring two key business clients.”
Congratulations, Peter, on a great way to build your image, and attract high quality prospects!
Start a Referral Club - To learn more about this author, visit Donald F. Pooley's Website.
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Last issue's BBB idea of a breakfast club brought TIP these ideas from a subscriber who started his own referral club.
Peter O'Rourke began ”City Club” in Mississauga in the fall of 2001 with two friends. It now counts 25 businessmen and professionals (lawyers and CAs) as members. Each business must have at least 5 employees, and professional firms at least 3 partners. There is only one member per category.
They meet every other Wednesday for a buffet lunch (so there is no delay waiting for the meal). In the intervening weeks each member is encouraged to lunch with another member.
At each meeting members are given 2 pages from the local business directory, and each member is asked to indicate if they have a contact at each listed company, or if they would like to get a contact at that company.
Peter says, “The whole key is to run the club professionally and be very selective about new members. We interview every member at their place of business and new members have to be approved by the Board of Directors. Some have been rejected.
“Membership fees are $300 per year. This is used for social events, development of a club website, and a paid part-time secretary. We registered with the government to protect our name, and to project a professional image. The operation of the club is governed by its constitution which is signed and approved by the City Club's Board of Directors.
“Our internet member is designing a website where we'll post local business changes such as new businesses, expansions, executive appointments, etc., as change creates opportunity.
“Some members are now presenting seminars together. One, who wrote a book on financial planning, runs seminars with the accountant and lawyer, which has produced prospects for all.
“And in May we're holding a social event where each member is expected to bring two key business clients.”
Congratulations, Peter, on a great way to build your image, and attract high quality prospects!
Start a Referral Club - To learn more about this author, visit Donald F. Pooley's Website.
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Joe DagerJoe Dager is President of Business901, a progressive coaching company providing no-nonsense direction in areas such as Lean Six Sigma Marketing and organized referral marketing. What others say: In the past 20 years, Joe and I have collaborated on many difficult issues. Joe’s ability to combine his expertise with “out of the box” thinking is unsurpassed. He has always delivered quickly, cost effectively and with ingenuity. A brilliant mind that is always a pleasure to work with.” - James R. If you want to learn more about Business901, start a conversation with us. We can be found @ Web/Blog: Business901.com Web/Blog: FundingYourNonprofit.com LinkedIn Profile Follow me on Twitter - Visit Joe Dager's Website |
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Staging DivaDebra Gould, aka The Staging Diva®, is President of Six Elements Inc., an internationally recognized home staging company. Inspired by many requests from aspiring home stagers wanting to start similar businesses, Gould created the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program. Gould has trained over 1000 Staging Diva Graduates worldwide to start staging businesses. Buying decorating and selling six of her own homes in four years lead to an interest in real estate staging which she turned into a career with the launch of sixelements.com in 2002. Since then she has staged hundreds of homes in addition to teaching home staging training. Gould is the author of several home staging resources including a series of popular ebooks made up of a Design Guide, Color Guide and Portfolio Guide. For more information about Debra Gould visit stagingdiva.com. - Visit Staging Diva's Website |
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Jeff FosterWebBizIdeas.com is a Minneapolis website design company founded to help people start an internet business by providing them with website, business, and internet resources that help foster the growth of successful online businesses and develop innovative Internet business ideas. We specialize in internet consulting & internet marketing. - Visit Jeff Foster's Website |
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Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
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Stephanie RobeyStephanie Robey is President and CoFounder of Pivot Positive, LLC - an Internet marketing business focused on helping people start work at home ventures. Previously, she was employed at The Search Agency with over 20 years experience in graphic design and 10 years experience in online marketing. She was responsible for launching the Conversion Path Optimization (CPO) unit where she and her team have conducted hundreds of optimization tests for online companies across multiple verticals. She is a successful entrepreneur having started and sold 2 companies and remains on the board of directors of the third, PhotoSpin.com Stephanie began her career in the direct marketing realm creating and producing direct mail for many of the major cable television companies and directly attributes her understanding of Internet marketing to those early offline experiences. Stephanie is a graduate of San Diego State University with a BFA in Graphic Arts and also holds an Executive MBA from the Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University. Read Steph's Blog Meet Steph and Dave Sign up for our Free 7-Day BootCamp: Self Employed & Rich - Visit Stephanie Robey's Website |
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