Chairmans Blog 13th April 2023

It was a great day for conspiracy theorists and London bus spotters. We had a full turnout of Mikes, namely Skinner Hickson and Rogers and with two guests attending both called Paul teaming up with Paul Booth created a further group of three. Such strange imbalance could make you feel that there was a plot afoot to disrupt the universe and certainly when they don’t just come in ones but come in threes makes it a field day for the bus spotters. It also represented something of a triumph for the Mayor of Gants Hill Village, both visitors being there at his invitation.

Celebration and whimsy to one side, it was all tinged with the sadness of Mike Rogers announcement at the end of the meeting that he will be retiring from EBF at the end of this month. We will miss the old curmudgeon, not only for his curmudgeon but also for his contributions to the meeting. He stands head and shoulders above the rest of us in his ability to respond by way of comment or 60 second presentation seemingly without notes or preparation. Those of us who fancy ourselves as good presenters would all do well to take out a leaf from his book. I hope we will continue to see him at synergy team meetings.

Moving to the business of the day, with a bright and sunny prospect outside, inside was equally bright and lively. There were 21 persons present including our two visitors

The Performance League

After one week Scott Griffiths is out front followed by Terry Maylin and Paul Booth.

Education Presentation

In Ben Golding’s absence I introduced this week’s presenter, Stuart Smallcombe. He recounted how he was looking, sometime in the past, for an office in London. Merely a bolt hole, inevitably his approach reflected an intention to keep costs down in an expensive market. His unwillingness to go further with an inquiry until he knew of the price that was likely to be charged by way of rental elicited the response, “if price is your main concern you are probably not the right person for these premises”. Getting clients to value your services and therefore hopefully being someone who values the services that are provided illustrates the need to be more than single-minded when approaching someone who provides services as we would expect to be dealt with ourselves.

The 60 Second Round

With Stuart’s message still resonating we embarked upon this central part of our meeting. Mike Skinner was this week’s adjudicator and kicked matters off. Several of the presentations were reflective of what the individual actually does. Mike Skinner found the process of promoting a company through video meant he had to get through to grips with exactly how they did what they did. Similarly, Nick Cooke was called to examine cracks in a second-floor apartment which the buyer had purchased without having had a survey carried out.

By contrast, Brian Painter, anticipating another holiday, told a story about an ex-marine who was either blind or blonde and was threatened by people who were blonde and muscular… It was something like that anyway.

Terry Maylin by contrast was straight to the point. He will sue anyone for anything, so all you have to do to give him a referral is find someone who wants to sue someone…. Simples. Scott Griffiths’ message was equally simple. If you’ve got a website people will visit it. Make sure that you have an effective way to convert visits into leads.

Howard Bullock made a welcome reappearance after a long absence through his wife’s recovery from an operation. His subject matter was central to what he does. He has a client on the brink of retirement and he is looking to balance the income that he needs and the income that he wants from his investments.

Jane Malyon was displaying slightly royalist tendencies in advertising her coronation tea party and also a potential interview on Radio 5 live that was rudely interrupted by Joe Biden. She was cut off in her prime by the aforementioned President’s start of an interview. I suppose it would take the President of the United States to stop Jane’s progress although it appears that she was at least introduced  on national radio. By contrast, nobody cuts Vincent Goode off in his prime. He’s been around since 1983. And he was able to read out a glowing testimonial from a set of barrister’s chambers for his services to printing.

So who had caught Mike Skinner’s eye as the stand-out performance. None other than Toby Action. He manages to produce business plans for his clients on one page. ‘Keep it short and make it work’ appealed to Mike and the Oscar was duly awarded.

Meeting Secretaries Report

Scott Griffiths announced an amendment to the Activity Form so that you can record sharing things, such as this blog, on social media. Check out the amendment and use it.

Synergy Team Report

Paul Booth reported on this week’s meeting that took place as usual at the George and Dragon for the Finance group. There were half a dozen of us there and once again it was a highly effective meeting.

10-minute presentation by Fran Brabham-Neil

Fran Brabham-Neil was on her maiden voyage this week and quite sensibly gave us a potted history of her working life to date which created an appropriate context for her current activities in her Estate Agent business. Even her bio-sheet informed us. Misophonia describes a reaction to sounds (in her case of chewing) and she is wound up by this. More impressively she has climbed Kilimanjaro. We do all now have an idea of the setup of her business and the sort of work that she will be looking to receive referrals for. A good performance.

Referrals and Testimonials

Visitors always sharpen up a meeting and this round was particularly busy and a good advertisement for EBF.