Quad Cities
Business Leads
Association
Guidelines
• Membership in the QCBLA is by invitation only. Only invite people you like to do business with.
• All persons invited to attend a meeting must be cleared with the secretary prior to the attending their first meeting. This helps to make sure that there are no competing businesses (An invitation to join the association may be made to the guest after the first meeting. )
• The QCBLA is career sensitive so that no member will have to compete with other business professionals within their career field. When there is a potential crossover the current member has right of first refusal. (When that permission is given do not grumble about it.)
• Yearly membership fee is $50 per company represented. Current members will be grandfathered in and until further notice will pay only $50 per year. All membership fees are nonrefundable.
• Membership fees will be due from new members at the second meeting they attend. Payments may be made in cash or by check and a receipt will be given to all paid members. Membership fees are tax deductible.
• New members may not make a presentation to the group until their membership fees are paid in full. (They will then be put on the schedule.)
• If a member is unable to attend, another representative from their company may take their place. Please notify Collette prior to the meeting so we will be ready to greet them.
• Other than married couples who work together only one representative from a company may attend meetings on a regular basis. Other employees will be allowed to visit on occasion however the visit needs to be cleared with Collette 2 days prior to the meeting.
• Attendance is important and all members are expected to attend each meeting. If unable to attend you must regret by phone or email by contacting Collette prior to 5:30pm the Tuesday prior to the meeting. Any regrets received after that time will be noted as a No Show. Regretting to Robert or another member of the group is not acceptable and will be noted as a No Show also. Attendance is crucial to building rapport with the other members.
• Members are expected to arrive and have ordered their meals prior to the starting time of 12:30 pm. Many members have only a certain amount of time for lunch and the meeting and it is very important that the meetings begin and end on time.
• When members are late they will need to enter quietly and take a seat close to the door without making a scene and disrupting the meeting in progress. If there is time they will be allowed to introduce themselves sometime during the meeting.
• If you are unable to attend on time we ask that you let Collette know prior to the start of the meeting. Members who know they are going to be more than 10 minutes late are asked to regret the meeting and then plan to attend the next meeting.
• Members will only be allowed to regret to 3 meetings in a row. If you miss more than 3 meetings in a row you will be removed from the membership without notice.
• If you do not send regrets this will be noted as a No Show and if you miss two meetings in a row as a No Show you will be removed from the membership without notice.
• Any member who resigns from the group will have to pay the $50 membership fee if they wish to rejoin.
• Members are expected to present themselves in a professional manner during all meetings and events, which include not talking, laughing or causing disturbances especially while others are addressing the group or making presentations.
• Members who are rude, disruptive, and abusive or otherwise disregard the association guidelines will be subject to removal from the QCBLA.
• A membership waiting list will be maintained and any openings in the membership will be filled from the list.
• Members will be asked to introduce themselves at each meeting. Please use this opportunity to explain what it is that your company does, which are your best referrals and how the other members can help you in building your business. During the introductions we ask that everyone present themselves in a professional manner and that you respect others by being attentive as they make their introductions.
• Introductions are more productive when each member follows the 30 second format. This is not a time to sell your products or start a discussion; this is the time to make a first impression through your introduction.
• Members who use this time to sell or talk about their business or products will be stopped and the introductions will continue.
• Members will occasionally be asked to make a 5-10 minute presentation at the meetings. This is an opportunity to provide the other members with information about your business and what services you provide as well as to educate others in a specific area of interest you may have.
• Members will be encouraged to bring a lead referral for the speaker to the next meeting.
• Starting January 2010, the first meeting of the month will have two speakers and the second meeting will have one speaker and a topic discussion or a second speaker.
• To be able give a presentation each business will have to attend 3 consecutive meetings prior to their scheduled presentation date. Any business not meeting this requirement will not be able to present to the group until they have attended 3 meetings in a row at which time they will be rescheduled.
• Positive Moments - We believe that this is one of the most important facets of our meetings and we feel that everyone deserves the respect of being heard. We expect all of our members to listen and participate in the applause for others. This is a way of sharing and building report.
• Although Positive Moments are open for both personal and professional moments we ask that this time not be used as a commercial for your business. Sharing important business events or new products is welcomed but please don't use this as an opportunity to go into detail about your products or services. Respect the other members time.
• Members are encouraged to post information about their businesses on our website. This can be in the form of a Business Profile, Member Article or Events.
• We also encourage the members to provide a business profile that can be posted online during the month that they are scheduled to give their presentations.
• A speaker schedule will be posted/handed out at the first meeting of the new year.
Lead Generation
The success of the QCBLA is dependent on each member and their active involvement. The purpose of the association for each member is to obtain business leads as well as provide leads for other members.
Members are asked to provide a lead for at least one other member at each meeting.
Once given a lead it is very important that members act on the information and make the necessary contacts. Those members who make the referral are encouraged to follow up with the member given the information to assure that the lead was acted upon.
Members are encouraged to carry with them a business card holder with the business cards of the other members. It is easier to make a referral when you can give the person a business card so that all the contact information is available to them.
There is a business card box where you can put extra business cards that will be brought to each meeting so that your cards are available, whether you are in attendance or not.
Please make sure to refresh your business card holders at each meeting.
If your business card changes please remember to replace them as well as inform the other members so that they can refresh their business card holders.
We also suggest that all members add the other members of the group to their cell phones.
General Information
If there are any topics or issues you would like included in the agenda please send them to the secretary at least one week prior to the next meeting date. If you have any events, announcements or specials you would like to share during the meetings please have it included on the agenda also. Any information for the group not on the agenda should only be shared after the official meeting has ended. You may also forward your information to the secretary to have it posted on the web site.
Meeting reminders will be emailed to members.
Member names and contact information is restricted from being sold without the expressed permission of each individual member.
We encourage you to use all networking avenues available to you to help you build your business. If you have information about networking methods that are working for you please consider giving a presentation for the group.
We hope that you will find the Quad Cities Business Leads Association both enjoyable and beneficial in helping you build your business while helping others build theirs
By joining this group you have made a commitment to meet with everyone in the group on the 2nd and 4th Thursday of every month. By not showing up you are saying that there is something more important than meeting with them.