15 of us struggled through the darkness for the pre meeting networking. Horror of horrors….. There was no granola, but despite this setback we moved forward to the meeting with Lee Banks joining us on behalf of ERB in Steve Chilton’s absence. Mike Skinner need have no worries; we all recognised him despite his absence over recent weeks and Paul Corrigan attended with recent apprentice Amy who also happens to be called Corrigan. She also has the advantage for being better looking but enough of this sexist nonsense!
Performance League
After one meeting Terry Maylin is well out front on an impressive 124 points. Paul Booth has a creditable 96 points with David Rose following with 72.
Education Slot
Scott Griffiths had enlisted the help of Claude to enable him to deliver a piece on our 60 second presentations. It is comforting that IT came up with nothing new, but that does not detract in any way from the message that Scott delivered. Don’t be generic. Specificity Includes; who your message should be aimed at, the trigger that prompts the message and precisely what issue is being addressed. It was a useful reminder to us all and yet slightly comforting to learn of no earth-shattering revelation that we have all been missing over the years. Maybe we will be able to stop AI from destroying the human race……..
60-Second Presentation Round
Terry Maylin was in the hot seat and told the tale of a client who was chasing a substantial debt but only had a couple of days before his claim was statute-barred. Not only did Terry sort him out but his claim was advanced by the interest on a commercial debt of £55,000. Don’t ignore the collection of outstanding debts. Make sure you don’t get caught out by time limits…….. And remember the commercial interest rules that will enhance your claim and if you should be lucky enough to recover everything that is owed to you a good rate of return!
Paul Corrigan is so busy that he has had to dust the cobwebs off his tools, which is perhaps an image that will stay with many of us.
Matt Barry has been involving students in presentations for the Brentwood Business Awards and Silvia Neveda explained about her recruiting process including the training her cleaners receive.
Notwithstanding Scott Griffiths urgings to be specific Mike Skinner has been away from us for so long that he felt the need to be generic in what amounted to a reintroduction to his services. We did remember you Mike, so you can be specific next week!
Catherine Foley was very specific. She’s looking for those business persons who like to settle down with a glass of wine in the evenings and put thoughts of their business to one side. This luxury can only be afforded if you take every opportunity to advance your business and use her services in enhancing your website content.
The effort that needs to go into the running of a business was emphasised by Shannon Savege who gave an insight into the many hours of work that often go into obtaining mortgage offers for clients who lose their purchase and have to have to keep reapplying. They do not earn on the time basis for this!
Dave Roberts was consistently specific this week by once again explaining the importance of making sure that all of your electrics are regularly tested. The ‘stitching in time principle’ definitely applies to electrics.
Howard Bullock is advising a lady who has recently lost her husband but has the prospect at least of obtaining a tax-free income from it.
Jane Malyon was explaining the sort of attention to detail that is necessary with the production of her Cream Tea product. Labels become an important, if not overwhelming obligation whether it is to warn of the absence or otherwise of gluten or the perishability of her product you get lots of them….. Labels that is…..when you order one of her products.
An interesting round but pride of place this week went to Stuart Smallcombe who was explaining the project he has been involved in with the refurbishment of Simpsons Tavern in London which has been standing since 1757. It is being reopened with complete rewiring and all of the other things that he brings to a modern office. Congratulations Stuart.
Visitors Corner
Like it or not, this regular feature is now what it has become. Remember we are looking for estate agents and locksmiths this month but don’t let that stop you from looking for anyone else that is more appropriate to your contacts. Remember if they’ve got a bum; we’ve got a seat for it!
10-Minute Presentation by Catherine Foley
English tutor extraordinaire, Catherine Foley gave us a really useful rundown of what she can do for students who need private tuition both with English language and literature. She talked us through how she works and of course additionally emphasised her support work to anyone who is looking to enhance their website with well-constructed content. I’m sure her presentation will greatly assist the referrals that she receives which of course is the whole reason for giving a 10-minute presentation
Referrals and testimonials
As always we rounded off with the round that is one of the fundamental reasons for us being there. I look forward to seeing you all next week!
Great meeting today. Lovely to welcome Mike back and an excellent presentation from Catherine even if I was absolutely terrible at the very hard quiz!
I can only apologise for the ridiculously hard quiz (although I’d be confident your children could answer many of those questions!) Great advice from Scott about making our 60 seconds more focused. Lovely to see Ivy there – what a lovely addition to Solitaire.
Good meeting and insightful 10 minutes. thanks Catherine. Great to see Ivy supporting the Tall Paul!
Excellent presentation from Catherine today and lovely to have Mike back!
Lovely to see you all again, believe it or not its weird not seeing you all at 6.30 on a Thursday morning!
Great helpful ed slot from Scott; Catherine, fantastic 10 minutes that really made clear what you do and its high value.
Is that correct use of a semicolon?