Executive Ramblings
By Jerry King

The holidays are upon us and a big one has already passed! I stopped to wonder how all of that occurred. I remember enjoying a great Thanksgiving weekend, counting my blessings, experiencing a family milestone, and pondering some business challenges facing CBN-USA and my management consultancy, ABBA Enterprises. There were ups and downs to walk through, but last weekend was really about Thanksgiving.

I‘m sure that all of you took time to praise for the blessings of your lives, but I want to encourage another very active dimension of “thanks giving”, which is investing in those around us. God has provided all of us with resources that we fully tap only on rare occasions. I want to encourage you to be thankful by giving of all of those talents, stores of energy, insights, experience, assets, financial resources, and tools over which God has given you stewardship.

Consider the great gifts you can give to clients as we move through the holiday season. I’m not just talking about gift baskets, desk accessories, or other typical seasonal items that we shower on those who provide our income. I’m talking about delivering a level of service, a custom-configured product, a unique collection of deliverables, as part of your daily business with them that will be truly astounding! I’m suggesting such a high level of performance that they will wonder where it all came from. Then, of course, you can tell them who really provided the capabilities for your superior performance.

We all have chances to testify in words, and sometimes in actions, to our clients and other stakeholders during the year. In this season, we have an extra reason to testify about the Savior who made it all possible. And it won’t hurt your levels of customer satisfaction either! This season is the perfect time to fulfill that third part of our mission statement “…so that God is honored in our work efforts and in the marketplace.” Why not make it personal, so that it reads “…my efforts?”

While you’re working through your list of holiday “to do’s” please remember to renew your membership in Christian Business Network. Your gifts and talents are essential! You have a unique contribution to make in causing God to be glorified in whatever marketplace you serve. Further, your brothers and sisters in CBN-USA need your unique value to help them grow in their professional and personal lives. In more mundane ways, having early renewals will save our membership team a lot of effort with roster changes and it will keep our finances stronger as we enter another year. Together, we can help our team to be focused outwardly toward the clients and markets that God has given to us as a mission field and realm for stewardship.

Be blessed in all of your endeavors!

Networking Tip of the Month

How to Network by John Kocher

Previously, we have talked about the origin of networking. Today we’re going to discuss some basics on how to network. There are many different venues in which we network, but for the sake of simplicity, let’s assume you are at an event with networking as one of the primary objectives. The first problem most of us encounter is “fear”; the fear of approaching a stranger. Did you know that some studies suggest that nearly 90% of successful sales people are uncomfortable with walking up to a stranger and introducing themselves? The point being, don’t worry about being uncomfortable. Odds are, most everyone else is so uncomfortable, no one will notice your nervousness. So prior to entering the event, it’s always good to set some realistic goals. Depending on the size of the event, determine the number of people you’re going to try to meet. For a small event, I recommend 1 or 2, and for a larger event, try meeting 3–5 people.

Now you might wonder, isn’t that too few people to meet? But, the priority is on having a few quality conversations vs. having many hurried ones. When you meet someone, always start by asking about him or her. Besides exchanging business cards, genuinely try to understand what they do and who a good lead might be for them. The conversation should naturally flow to where you can share your 30-second commercial describing your business, product, or service at a high level. After everyone has described their business offer, introduce them to any friends who might be interested in what they have to offer. If they aren’t a potential prospect for you, then kindly ask for referrals from them. Now I realize that the real world doesn’t always follow our nice and neat textbook script, but if you remember to set realistic goals, and try to help others first, you’ll be well on your way to becoming a successful networker.

CBN-USA Dayton Region Raises Money for Hurricane Katrina Relief

In early October the Dayton Region of CBN-USA participated in events to raise money, one of which was WFCJ's annual Chocolate Festival on Oct 1. The Dayton Region had a booth and sold chances on a very nice gift basket that was donated by a number of local merchants. All the proceeds went to the Red Cross to support Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. Close to $200 was raised. Thank you to all who made this event a big success!

CBN-USA Dayton Region Hosts Golf Outing

On October 3 CBN-USA, in conjunction with Habitat for Humanity, sponsored a golf outing. We had 44 people participate, including CBN-USA members from Dayton, Cincinnati and Columbus.

Habitat for Humanity believes that every child and family deserves a safe, affordable, and decent home. We were thrilled to be able to donate $850 to a cause as worthy as Habitat for Humanity!

The winning foursome for the event was Wayne Essex's group. Congratulations!

Featured Member – Mike Peters
By Darrel Geis

Mike Peters is a Mortgage Loan Officer with Guardian Savings Bank, and he is also a proud father of two daughters: 13 year old Libby and 12 year old Katie. He is an active part of Vineyard Community Church. Mike has been involved with CBN since it began meeting in Cincinnati, and has been the point man for planting CBN North and CBN West. A graduate of Miami University’s Paper Science & Engineering program, Mike spent 17 years as a Chemical Engineer before transitioning into the financial world in 1996.

Mike has been involved with countless start-ups, ranging from ministries to church planting. His skills include organizing, team building and people gathering. Much of his volunteer work has leveraged these skills. Mike is one of the top producers at Guardian for new business, but also has responsibilities in hiring and training new loan officers. Networking is a critical part of his business. Guardian’s business has been impacted in a very positive way as a result of Mike’s involvement with CBN, but even more importantly, Mike has built some incredibly valuable personal relationships that have been an outgrowth of CBN.

Guardian Savings Bank is one of the top lenders in the Greater Cincinnati market, both in Residential housing and in Apartment lending. Mike often refers to Guardian as the Best Kept Secret in Cincinnati, because the company offers incredibly low closing costs, along with local servicing of your loan. Many of our local CBN leaders and members are Mike’s customers.