Collingtree Break the 40 Barrier

As more and more members of the business community appreciate the importance of networking, the Collingtree chapter of BNI has been reaping the benefits.

In just a couple of months, membership of the Northampton chapter has risen by almost 30 per cent, making Tuesday morning's at Collingtree Golf Club a vibrant forum for doing business.

But it wasn't the chapter that was boosted by the influx of interest and new recruits. Some members found themselves a bottle of bubbly better off thanks to their efforts in attracting visitors to their Tuesday morning meetings, who in turn became so impressed they joined up.

"What we did was split the existing membership into three groups, and those who turned the most visitors into new members won a prize," said chapeter director Chris Horsman, of Green Thumb, which specialises in lawn treatment. "Obviously an incentive - or bribery, call it what you will! - worked wonders.

"Everyone knuckled down to encouraging people to come along to our meetings and take a look; happily 12 of them over a period of a couple of months converted into members, and that can only be good for the chapter.

"Indeed, we've also had former members return, having seen how well our chapter is performing. That's great news, and I'm delighted that my spell as chapter director has produced such good results in the form of membership."

Pictured are the team that won the bubbly - going to prove that a little effort between meetings can go a long way to building a thriving BNI chapter.

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