[simonr]

any one got any experience or knowledge good/bad of these groups cos i,ve just been invited to join a group & i'm totally lost

[colley614]

2 sessions free, try it out. I don't think its for our profession though unless you find a chapter with a lot of tradesmen in it

[simonr]

i went to one & there was a roofer, a decorator & a leccy that i vaguely know & they like it & have been going for years one of them & i can see how it could work as some of the others have big office buildings-  but its an american thing eh & that makes me nervous

[Inside Out]

I went to one meeting, as said I didn't think would be good for our jobs. And after 2 free sessions, costs about 6 or 700 quid a year. Plus your breakfast every week! Very dear. Suppose would depend what other people and businesses were in the group! Most of my business help has come from succesfull customers offering advice. Untill I found CIU obviously!

[richywilts]

I went for six months had two one off cleans which I didn't bother to do its good for building self confidence as u have to give 60 sec elevator pitch and also once or twice a year do a ten minute presentation, I was an active member giving about 4 referrals a week which is a lot n they say givers gain load of bull poop it's very clicky yet I did enjoy it but dreaded getting up at 5.30am.

I was considering going bk I was asked to leave due to attendance

[simonr]

yeh the time things a problem!   richy did you lose all your money when you left, i was gonna pay by dd as i cant afford it all upfront

[William McCafferty]

I have been going to Bob Clubs for almost 5 years now, and I can say its is worthwhile, I have had many thousands £ of new business from them, but I have also saved even more from who I have met.

There are various groups out there that do this, the one I am with, meets every 2 weeks, you pay a yearly membership fee plus your breakfast cost, which works out at around £600 for the year.

What can you get from it, well more business is the main reason to join, but a lot of people expect to join one week and by the end of the month, they want refferals galour.

This is not going to happen, and the reason is, you need to prove yourself, would you recommend someone to a friend or contact who might do a p poor job, would your refferal look kindly on you if you recommended someone and they where useless.

What you will find is some will give you small one-off jobs and  if you do a good job, you get a testominal to this effect, this will convince the other members to praise you to their contacts.

You also need to turn up all the time, if you don't them how are you going to build up a relationship with the other members.

I am now at the stage that I am known by most of the Bob groups in my area, and I do get phone calls from third partys who have heard good things about me and my company.

[simonr]

hmm thanks, im very tempted to try it for a year.  i just find it hard to believe i'll pick up enough work to double what being a member costs me in a year

[George P]

I have been going to Bob Clubs for almost 5 years now, and I can say its is worthwhile, I have had many thousands £ of new business from them, but I have also saved even more from who I have met.

There are various groups out there that do this, the one I am with, meets every 2 weeks, you pay a yearly membership fee plus your breakfast cost, which works out at around £600 for the year.

What can you get from it, well more business is the main reason to join, but a lot of people expect to join one week and by the end of the month, they want refferals galour.

This is not going to happen, and the reason is, you need to prove yourself, would you recommend someone to a friend or contact who might do a p poor job, would your refferal look kindly on you if you recommended someone and they where useless.

What you will find is some will give you small one-off jobs and  if you do a good job, you get a testominal to this effect, this will convince the other members to praise you to their contacts.

You also need to turn up all the time, if you don't them how are you going to build up a relationship with the other members.

I am now at the stage that I am known by most of the Bob groups in my area, and I do get phone calls from third partys who have heard good things about me and my company.

good post,

[glen parva]

we joined a business club in leicester just before christmas we have just got our first years money back around £600 very worth while but you have to give something back aswell as take  

[William McCafferty]

hmm thanks, im very tempted to try it for a year.  i just find it hard to believe i'll pick up enough work to double what being a member costs me in a year

here are a few tips for you

Do Not join the first club you visit, there are a lot of BNI clubs around and they all operate differently, do the circuit as a visitor first.

Some will be clicky/laid back or strict try to find the one you are more comfortable with.

When you do your 2 minute pitch, stand up (even if all the others do theirs sitting down), kept your hands still, flapping hands distracts what you are saying to what they are doing.

Do not say that you are after window cleaning work, be specfic, say what you want ie pubs/schools/nursing homes, etc

Mentioning companys you want to get into by name is also good, you will be surprised by who they might know.

A lot of these clubs have social events, go to all of them, at them you are off duty and they will look at you differently.

Take all refferals seriously, it might be a one-off worth only a few quid, but if you don't do it, why should they bother giving you something worthwhile.

I picked up one contract that was worth £100 a year, it has now grown to £5600, so you never know.

[simonr]

i thought you had to be invted to visit ??

[William McCafferty]

i thought you had to be invted to visit ??

no, you can just go, most have websites where you can say you will be turning up as a visitor.

[simonr]

ok cheers mate

[Ian Rochester]

I was a member of one for 18 months, up until June last year and picked up a fair amount of work from it.

It very much depends on who else is in the network, if there are a lot of financial people or IT/Web people then you'll not pick up much work, however if there are tradesmen and other business people who meet lots of people every day then there's a good chance that they'll know someone who wants your services.

[bobplum]

is it tax deductible

[George P]

Yes its tax deductable,