On a morning when the human race set off for a second time to the moon there was a full moon to herald Maundy Thursday. There was of course therefore a theme for the 60 second round and 18 members there to exploit it.
Performance League
The results were in for an excellent month of referrals and business passed. Out front for the month was Stuart Smallcombe with 462 points with Paul Dulieu runner up and John Hammond third. Six of us had more than 300 points. We need months like this!
Education Slot
Stuart Smallcombe was our presenter and his subject matter was the value added that we can all give to our product by our approach to clients/customers. Be responsive, return telephone calls and emails promptly, end deliver what you promise to deliver.
Membership Matters
Clara Downton has renewed and was urged to apply for the mark of excellence.
60-Second Presentation Round
Blake held the Oscar end accordingly was judge and jury for this week’s offerings. With our intergalactic theme what was clear, was that lots of us had made positive efforts to present something different in advancing our respective businesses.
The scene was set for Toby Acton in particular to Indulge in what he does best….. Mix metaphors with puns and to illustrate his message urged that we should not be looking to rocket business to success but carefully plan business development and very deliberately appraise progress. Paul Dulieu referenced NASA urging the need to plan for things that really matter. Steve Chilton referenced extensively the Hollywood side of science fiction in emphasising the need for protection that all businesses need that can equally apply to insurance.
It was all going so well until Paul Corrigan stood up and we suddenly were confronted with the Maldon mud race. Never fear! This year’s competitors will have the benefits of hot water. And Solitaire Plumbing are pulling out all of the stops for the good burghers of Maldon.
Mike Skinner was very impressive in his David Bowie pastiche of ‘Ground control to Major Tom,,,,’. Surely the absence of applause at the end was not indicative of an audience too young to remember but maybe we just didn’t want to show our age!
Clara Downton has been brought down to earth by recent events making mortgage providers panic. It is a times like these that a chat with her would be useful to any potential house buyers or remortgagers.
Sarah Smith explained how she got her inspiration for Orbital and how appropriate it is for the service she provides that revolves around people.
Dave Roberts was very much on topic with the importance of battery storage end the needs for energy conservation in these difficult times.
Back to earth Terry Maylin was warning landlords or would be landlords of the new Renters Rights Act. He has a summary of the changes available upon request for all interested and if the information he provides you with does not scare you off it’s always worthwhile getting his advice for the new regime that is coming into force.
Jane Malyon was very much in her element by examining in detail the scones and other components of her cream teas relevant to re-entry and stage separation and how scones need to be dealt with just as effectively and carefully….and without a knife. Pride of place however was with Sally Waters who had constructed a very intricate metaphorical poem that highlighted her scented products.
Blake was given a hard time in making the correct adjudication from a lot of well-prepared presentations. Well done to everyone!
Meeting Secretaries Report
Scott Griffiths was able not only to report March as being a good month for business recorded – £78,000, but he was able to also report a great start to this month with £19,000 worth of business recorded against 11 new referrals.
10-Minute Presentation by Paul Booth
Just when we thought that AI had been put back in its box, up stepped Paul Booth, phone in hand, to ask Chat GB T to answer questions he posed to it about Paul Booth Associates. Other than the comment that this particular artificial intelligence needed to speak up a bit, it was a highly entertaining presentation that makes you realise that if Stuart Smallcome’s Ed Slot meant anything, it emphasised the value added that human beings can provide.
With Easter almost upon us, we departed in bright sunshine in search of the Easter Bunny.
Great read as always 👏
The mix of presentations and shared insights is what makes it work so well. Looking forward to the next one!
Good meeting all, love reading these blogs!
Really enjoyable meeting. Spot on Ed Slut from Stu. Interesting and innovative 10 mins from Paul B – I actually thought the AI voice sounded more like a traditional account that Paul does!
An inspirational meeting on a day when other humans are doing inspirational things too.
A really interesting take on a 10 minute presentation by Paul B, and very valuable advice from Stuart’s ed slot too. I for one am glad I was at EBF and not circling the moon…
On point ed slot Stuart, and i thought Paul’s 10 minutes was really novel and good fun! Think we’ll stick to accountants for the time being though!
Sorry to have missed the meeting today – sounds like it was out of this world!
The whole team for another high-energy meeting yesterday morning.
It was great to see everyone at Calcott Hall Farm as the spring mornings start to get a bit brighter! The ‘Education Slot’ was particularly insightful this week—it’s these small, actionable takeaways that make the EBF community so valuable for refining our business strategies.
I especially enjoyed the 10-minute presentation; it provided a really clear picture of how we can better support each other through quality referrals. The atmosphere of genuine collaboration and the ‘Who can I help?’ mindset was as strong as ever.
Looking forward to catching up with several members for 1-2-1s throughout the week and seeing everyone again next Thursday!
An interesting use of A.I which showed off its limitations as well as its benefits – well done Paul for doing something different and a timely Ed slot from Stuart which is always worth reiterating.