It was always going to be a good meeting for four reasons. First, it was definitely sunrise before the meeting started although the dullness that pervaded made the concept of a rising sun a somewhat farfetched notion. Secondly Chris de la Prida turned up for his second meeting and presented us with an application to join. Thirdly ‘Apollo has landed’. By that I mean Scott Griffiths long lost Python turned up on Tuesday evening in one of Scott’s subwoofers. How long he had been there was uncertain but at least he’s now being fed and watered and apparently doing well! And finally the 29th February 2024, signifying a leap year, coincided with a Thursday. For the shortest month of the year we have experienced five Thursdays. The cosmic significance is immense.
The Performance League
The order of play in the performance league can only be altered by any electronic recording or referrals etc today. The present leaderboard shows Stuart Smallcombe on 268 points, Toby Acton on 314 points and out front once again is Matt Barry with 336 points. Next week will reveal the final standings.
Education Presentation
This week’s contribution was from Nick Cooke, our structural engineer. As one of our more senior members he went a bit retro on us. An elderly client did not receive his report and subsequently his invoice both sent by e-mail. Upon being chased by Nick he claimed no knowledge of either document. Nick was obliged to use the Royal Mail to provide these items and he was rewarded with payment by cheque also contained in an envelope. I do not know what the moral of this story is but at least consistency was maintained both as to method of communication and also the use of a cheque. Will it be possible to maintain this form of communication in the years to come. Thank you for the trip down memory lane Nick.
New Member Induction & Existing Member Renewal
There are seven of us up for renewal of membership and Terry Maylin was therefore obliged to overcome his customary reticence
The 60 Second Round
Toby Acton went first as the current holder of the Oscar. As champion of the self-employed he has finally been obliged to be employed in order to do work for NatWest bank or rather it’s umbrella company. I do not think however that we can jump to the conclusion that he is involved in the marketing or any other use of umbrellas.
Brian Painter’s case study was about the man who broke into sweats and needed to have a rest when his car reached the 70mph mark on a motorway. As this man was in his 50s and am accident whilst a child was the reason for this behaviour, most of us have probably been behind him at some time on busy motorways.
Ben Golding was upbeat…… whenever isn’t he! The reason was that with the April price cap approaching he was not only able to celebrate Utility Warehouse’s lowest rates but also the £150 additional reduction for its members to add to the lower price good news. It was almost the sort of good news that came close to those who visited Matt Barry in a professional context who apparently get the opportunity of having a biscuit and at the same time to pat a dog. With such opportunities on offer you really need ‘an extra pair of hands’. This was Tina Walker’s slogan for how she can help people that we refer to her.
Nick Cooke was less retro in his sixty second presentation. He had been called upon to produce a structural survey for a house that had crack damage that needed investigation. No letter through the post in this instance. The client had made contact with Nick through the EBF website.
Terry Maylin was able to boast a great result for a lady who contacted him for advice having been made redundant. Her company had got it completely round their necks. They were moving to Dubai and it didn’t occur to them to offer her the job that was being moved over there and that she currently occupied. They simply hired somebody local. With double the salary she would certainly have considered the move and their failure will result in a substantial further payment if they are going to avoid the Employment Tribunal.
Scott Griffiths is always looking to provide quality rather than quantity. He did himself out of work updating a website by looking carefully at whether potential clients were actually getting to the website. It wasn’t a conversion problem. Good quality advice often comes with losing out on the financial benefits of additional work.
Jane Malyon and her English cream tea product is all about etiquette. A pouch with a dagger was a 16th century method of bringing your own cutlery with you to the feast and apparently the noble fork was invented by the Italians so that they could effectively negotiate spaghetti. Don’t say you don’t learn anything at EBF.
It was Howard Bullock however who was selected this week as our Oscar winner. He successfully diverted a new client from investing in the US stock market when he learned that the client was not interested in high risk stock.
10-minute presentation by James Humphrey
It was James Humphrey’s maiden voyage and he had a haircut products in anticipation of the meeting in order to put is best foot(or was it head) forward. He then went on to illustrate his career path from child to now in a very entertaining way. A great introductory start only served to affirm the already formed opinion of members of his competence in providing the sort of advice we should all have before we commit ourselves to the many insurance products that he can provide.
Referrals and Testimonials
Once again this week this round lived up to its reputation as being probably the most important rounds of our meeting.
great 10 minutes James – really great to hear about your antics
Really enjoyed your presentation James – full of humour and warmth. Great meeting and super to see Chris wanting to join. Fab x x
Well done James – see it wasn’t that bad was it!?
Good turnout and a lively meeting.
Sounds like I missed a great meeting . Wish I could of been there unfortunately working in Belgium this qeek
Great job James!!!
A good lively meeting and an amusing, informative presentation from he of the short hair.
Delighted that Chris has joined
Your presentation was great fun James, well done.
Great meeting as always. Good blog. I look forward to seeing everyone next week. Nick
Great presentation, Great haircut, Great meeting all round!
Great meeting well done James for your first 10 minutes (its not that bad really) have a great weekend everyone
Great first presentation James – fun and professional, just like you…