Meeting Chairmans Business Networking Blog – 22nd May 2014
Only 17 present but what we lacked in numbers, we made up for with enthusiasm and decibels.
Our legendary Chairman Aidan Squire was still away on a well earned holiday and our usual understudy Brian Painter was absent due to undertaking top secret work for the Government – all very hush, hush! We had a very special visitor in the form of Jason Nortey from Barclays. Let’s hope it’s not too long before we see him again.
Terry Maylin delivered an admirable Education Slot reminding us of the importance of giving testimonials to fellow members. This is no doubt something that we could build on.
The 60 seconds round got off to a good start with Marcelle Saad giving examples of clients submitting challenging requests for unusual jewellery. Peter Hood seems to be breaking new ground by providing innovative bathroom suits in tight spaces and Michael Adeelizzi showed us how to take on larger competitors by simply providing good old fashioned personal service.
David Plumley reminded us of the demise of Windows XP and as such he is awash with businesses needing to upgrade their systems. Danielle White (standing in for Kim Redwood-Lee) seems to be upgrading a stubborn client by offering training on bookkeeping systems.
Mike Rogers & Neal Lewer were all about adding value. Mike talked about the many hours he can save clients and even if they might not qualify for their required mortgage, he will help them put a plan into place to get there at some point. Neal on the other hand is taking on new products and by integrating them into traditional systems, he can provide clients with superior results.
Then it all got a bit strange with Kevin Radford regaling us with a parable about Thora Hird (yes Thora Hird) being some kind of faith healer who could defrost frozen cows. I’m still not quite sure how he managed to link that back to insurance but link it he did. Even more obscure was how Terry Maylin managed to link defrosting cows to commercial distributer agreements and other legal services.
Fortunately Richard Reed (or Ravishing Richard Reed as he is now known) brought some order to the proceedings by warning of the dangers of booking holidays through off-shore travel firms. He then tempted us with some cracking cruise deals on 5-star liners.
It was pleasing to hear of some success stories – Jason Nortey seems to be smashing his targets for commercial lending and Dean Caldon recently took on a £1 million property and sold it well within his client’s expectations!
Finally Paul Booth (or Pretty Paul Booth as he would like to be called) explained the importance of submitting returns to HMRC even when one might assume that it is no longer necessary.
And so endeth the 60 second round. It was my duty to award the Oscar and Scott Griffiths was the worthy winner after explaining the new and quirky domain names that can now be acquired such as .diamonds and .plumbing. We were disappointed that .eyecandy was not available, although Scott later informed be that .sexy is up for grabs. A cheque is in the post to you Scott!
Stuart Smallcombe gave an accomplished and enjoyable 10 minute presentation. We all know the importance of having a vision for one’s business and Stuart is clearly aiming to create an atmosphere and culture akin to a Quentin Tarantino film. If it were after 9pm then I would be able to disclose one of the strap-lines he is considering but as it’s only 11am I had better adopt a position of caution!
19 referrals this week and £8,000 of business was logged. All in all, not to shabby!
You’ll be delighted to hear that Aidan will be back next week bringing stability & credibility back to the Chairman’s position. I’ve enjoyed my time in the hot spot but next week I can languish in the cheap seats, where I belong with Paul Booth & Kevin Radford.
Ciao from me – Howard Bullock
Well done Howard – a very able deputy !! As you said although low in numbers great enthusiasm helped by the great Jason Nortey whose smile lit up the room.
Well done to Stuart Smallcombe on a very slick ten minutes about his excellent Business – my personal experience of them is that they are first class in all that they do.
look forward to seeing you all in even greater numbers next week.
Thank you Terry. Yes Stuart was indeed a class act!
Great meeting with a very professional 10 minutes from Stuart, plus… credit to Howard for stepping in and showing what a natural born leader he is … look forward to seeing you all next week. All the best
Great meeting and good to see the great man Mr Nortey back in operation. Yes well done Howard. You made your stamp on the meeting. Excellent presentation from Stuart and as Danielle said, she didn’t know he was that big.
What an enjoyable meeting made even more so by not only seeing Jason back in the fold but we also had plenty of elbow room in the cheap seats with Howard being away on VIP duties, and very well he did too . You must also get the prize for the fastest blogger in town and if I didn’t know better I would think you were Aidan’s ghost writer.
What an excellent presentation from Mr Big both interesting and informative
Thanks Kevin. The blog only came through so quickly as I knew I’d forget everything if I left it too long. See you back in the stalls next week!
I agree with you all, what a great meeting, Stuart with his 10 minutes and great to see Jason back. See you all next week.
Well done,Howard, reading your blog made me feel that I was there.
PS Secret work didn’t finish until 3:00am Friday morning!
Howard, great Blog and my absence hopefully will make your hearts grow fonder…
My regret at being on holiday was limited to missing Jason’s visit.
We should all consider the possibility that our Pilgrim is an agent for UKIP, whjch is intended to be a dis cription of what he makes his client, do rather than a political statement.
Missing you all already!!
Aidan, I can confirm that Howard stuck to the agenda like a limpet. Not sure who is better though, you or Howard. Hmm … only one way to find out … FIGHT!
Good meeting, beers are on Dean I reckon after his 1 million deal breaker.