Club Meetings

My Referral Club operates primarily online, thus it saves lots of time, provides incredible visibility, and helps to insure that the club thrives and grows. However, our local meetings, usually held every other week, are absolutely essential to make a club successful. The meeting is where you create relationships. One of the most important commitments you make when you join a club is to attend meetings so that you get to know your fellow members personally, and of course, that they get to know you. When that happens, the leads start flowing.

Please Note: The meeting guidelines below are primarily designed for standard business Clubs. They are different for meetings in a Club within a Church environment. An update to guidelines will be coming in the future.

Doors open one half hour before the meeting starts so you can greet your friends, spend some time at the Exhibitor's table, and meet new members. We know that the level of referrals increases the more you get to know your club members.

Club meetings generally last for one and a quarter hours, are fast paced, and have a set format. At every My Referral Club meeting:

• Club business is conducted
• One or two members give 10 minute talks about their business
• Each member gives a 30 second to 1 minute commercial about his/her business
• One member will host an Exhibitor's table
• Refreshments will be served

Bring your My Referral Club business card caddy and lots of your own business cards. Every club member should have several business cards of all other members in his/her card caddy.

Each member has the opportunity to give a thirty second commercial (at smaller clubs it will be a minute) about his/her business to the entire membership at every meeting. Be prepared with your message. Think about what you are going to say before you arrive. It's the most important thirty seconds of the evening for you.

If you bring a guest you will be asked to introduce him/her to the membership. Be prepared. Your guest will have the opportunity to speak for a minute or two about him/herself and business. Let your guest know this will probably be the one time he/she will have to make a favorable impression on the club's members before joining. Make sure your guest knows to bring lots of business cards.

The referral database provides the club president with a list of all referrals given since the last meeting and includes to whom the referrals were given. At each meeting the list will be announced to the members. The top three referral givers will be given a minute or two to explain their success.

• Don't be shy when you get to the meeting. Introduce yourself to all the members and let them get to know you. This is the wrong time to "hide out".
  
  
• Bring lots of your business cards to hand out. If the club has twenty members, you will want to bring at least 50 cards.
  
  
• Ask questions. Learn who is in your group members in your same business grouping. Enjoy the refreshments. Meet new friends. Pick up extra club promotional materials. Have a good time.
  
  
• Pay special attention to guests. They are a potential future member and someone who could give you referrals. Try to have a short conversation with each guest before or after the meeting.
  
  
• Meetings start ON TIME! Please arrive early. The unofficial meeting starts a half hour before the meeting. It's the best time to meet club members.

Meeting Guidelines

Just as each local club chooses a meeting place to fit its membership (hotel, café, board room), each club will conduct meetings in its own style. Some will be very formal and others quite casual. Some clubs will have an official joke or storyteller. Some will have fines for different situations. Check out the Club Manual for more information. Your club's Board of Directors is responsible for the actual management of its meetings.

Three Main Participants

At each meeting there are three different members who are responsible for a particular aspect of the meeting in addition to the club's Program Director. All club members will be given the opportunity to fill these rotating positions on an equal basis. You can see who is scheduled for the next three or four meetings in the Meeting Information section.

The 10-Minute Speaker

At each meeting a member is scheduled to give a 10-minute presentation about his/her business. There are many ways to do this since each club member represents different products and will have different ideas on how best to make a good impression on fellow club members.

Being the speaker is a golden opportunity to become "well-known" in the club, so you will want to be fully prepared. In smaller clubs you may get to talk numerous times during the year, but in bigger clubs it may only be once or twice a year.

You will want to cover the following items in the first few minutes of your talk:

1. Your Company

2. How long in business

3. What makes you unique

4. What special thing you can do for your fellow members

In the second part of your presentation you have a chance to:

1. Explain something technical about a product or service

2. Discuss recent information about your industry

3. Talk about a new product

4. Explain changes in your business

5. Give a demonstration

Most talks should last 7 to 8 minutes with another few minutes for questions.

Only the Speaker and Exhibitor are allowed to bring promotional materials to the meeting unless your club allows other members to do so at a cost to be determined by the Board of Directors.

The Meeting Exhibitor

At every meeting a member will be designated to display some information about his or her business. A display table will be positioned in the meeting room. Larger clubs will usually have two or more exhibitors.

When you are given the opportunity to exhibit something about your business, plan wisely. The spotlight will be on you during the half hour period before the start of the meeting when refreshments are available and all members are encouraged to arrive early.

Exhibit things interesting to your fellow members. Bring signs, banners, props, literature, handouts, etc. Treat this opportunity like you are attending a trade show.

During the meeting, the President will give the Exhibitor a minute to explain what he/she is exhibiting. This can be a great time to extend a special offer to the membership.

The Greeter

It is the Greeter's responsibility to make sure guests and members feel welcome. The Greeter's main job is to welcome guests, give them name tags and have them sign-in, answer questions they may have, and introduce them to other members. The Greeter also gets the guests' business card, find out who invited them, and make sure the President has a list of guests before the meeting starts.

The Meeting Agenda

1. 6:00 PM. The President calls the meeting to order.

2. Make sure the VP, Program Director, and Membership Director, and/or other board members are at the front table.

3. Be Happy, Smile, It will be a great meeting.

4. Introduce yourself, welcome members, welcome guests.

5. Read the My Referral Club Purpose. An organization of business professionals whose purpose is to exchange business referrals, expand members' business contacts within the community, conduct business professionally and ethically, and create lasting friendships among the members.

6. Introduce the club's officers: (each officer then stands)

a. Vice President (president elect)

b. Program Director (responsible for all aspects of the club's meetings)

c. Membership Director (updates the growth of the club).

d. Secretary (responsible for attendance).

e. Treasure (manages the club's check book, collects for meeting expenses)

f. Sergeant At Arms (responsible for physical set up of meeting, time keeper)

7. Ask that guests be introduced by their sponsor (each guest will have one minute to give occupation, name and a quick commercial)

8. Pass business cards to the left (remind everyone to bring 40 to 50 cards to each meeting)

9. Program Director introduces speaker(s)

10. Program Director introduces the meeting's Exhibitor and reminds the members to visit the display table after the meeting. The Exhibitor is given a minute or two to discuss his/her information.

11. President passes out business card caddies and name badges to new members.

12. Membership Director discusses the business category hot list and indicates prospective members to be voted on (voting done at the web site).

13. The Vice President announces the top referral givers for the month (at the 2nd meeting of the month).

14. The Vice President starts the Referral Basket. The members have 30 seconds to give a commercial about themselves and/or their business, plus give any referrals and pay fines (optional for each club).

15. The Joke Master tells a "great" joke (optional)

16. The Program Director announces the 10-minute speaker and the Exhibitor for the next meeting.

17. The President wraps up the meeting:

a. Reminds everyone to share the club with prospective members.

b. Announces the "business category" to emphasize during the next two weeks for recruiting new members.

c. Notifies the club if a prospective new member needs to be voted on.

d. Reminds everyone to leave their name tags at the front door.

Drive Carefully, Have Fun, Think Referrals