Chamber of Commerce
Louisville, CO
Networking Groups Guidelines
2005
I: STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
generate business opportunities for chamber members by providing a structure where members may pass qualified sales leads in a non-competitive and mutually supportive environment.
II: CONDITIONS OF MEMBERSHIP
A. Membership Requirements
1. Chamber members-in-good-standing may join.
2. One Chamber member per business or category per networking group
3. At time of application, the applicant must disclose which occupation or category they wish to represent.
B. Possible Business Conflicts
1. If a current member feels there is a conflict with a potential member, the current member must notify the group moderator immediately.
2. Once notified, the moderators responsibility is to either facilitate current and prospective member, or failing that, to notify the potential member that there is no vacancy in that particular group. Efforts will be made to find another group for this potential member to participate in or they will be placed on the waiting list.
3. If the dispute can not be resolved by the moderator, then the issue will be resolved by the Chamber Board of Directors. The decision of the Board will be final.
C. Rejoining Groups
A. Members may rejoin groups provided that:
1. A period of 3 months has elapsed.
2. They are a chamber member is good standing.
3. Their occupation or category is not represented.
D. All networking group members must provide a completed networking group application to the group moderator upon joining the group. A copy of this application will be provided to the statistician.
III. NETWORKING GROUP FEE
A. The fee for each member to participate in the networking group is $40 per year.
1. The fee will be paid full on January1, or upon joining the networking group.
2. There will be no refundsor prorating of the fee.
3. If the fee is not paid at 60 days after the due date the member will be dropped and will have to re-apply for membership as outlined in II-C. All fees must be paid before the re-application will be considered.
4. There will be a weekly $10 fee to cover the cost of the room and/or food.
MEETINGS
A.
Group meeting guidelines:
1. Meetings are held weekly at times and sites determined by the group.
2. Meeting hosts must be Chamber members-in-good-standing.
3. Meetings should not exceed one hour unless approved by the networking group.
4. Regular agenda items should include:
a.) Welcome moderator introduces self and his/her business and states the purpose and function of networking meetings.
b.) A statement of the weekly meeting's day, time and place.
c.) Statistician explains lead forms and point system to new members or visitors.
d.) Explain duties of moderator and statistician if new members/visitors are present.
5. Member introductions, limited to 30 seconds each (members circulate card box & attendance sheet at this time.
6. Old business
7. New business
8. Chamber news/upcoming events (like Business After-Hours/ Breakfasts/Luncheons, etc.)
9. Lead passing/networking
10. Introduce Speaker
a.) All speakers are coordinated through the statistician.
b.) Speakers must be Chamber members-in-good-standing, (except noted below)
c.) Non-members may be a speaker if they are public officials, celebrities, etc. and are granted permission by the group members. They cannot be selling a product or service in their presentation.
of leads passed and announcement of speaker for the next meeting.
a.) Each person will verbally report on the exchange of leads and how many leads they passed and received at the meeting.
b.) The statistician will report on the total number of leads exchanged at the meeting.
12. Personal and Community Announcements
13. Adjournment
GUESTS
Chamber members guests may introduce themselves and give a brief description of their business.
VI. ATTENDANCE
A. Regular attendance is required. Members should notify the moderator or statistician in advance if they will miss a meeting.
B. In order to remain members of the networking group:
1. Members who miss four meetings in a quarter will be dropped from the group roster, but may re-apply as outlined in II-C.
2. Members who miss four consecutive meetings will be dropped from the group's roster, but may re-apply for membership as outlined in II-C.
C. Leaves of absence (no longer than one quarter) may be granted to members by mutual decision of the group's leaders (moderator, statistician, host) in cases of medical situations, family crisis, etc. If the situation will need more than one quarter to resolve, the member should resign and rejoin the group at a later time as outlined in II-C.
VII. QUALIFIED LEADS
A. The goal of each group meeting is the passage of qualified leads.
B. A qualified lead is defined as:
1. The name and phone number of someone connected to a group member who has expressed an interest in purchasing a product or service represented by another group member.
2. Any other leads deemed acceptable by the recipient.
3. All leads must be deemed acceptable by the recipient.
C. If you have a lead and no one in your group is in that profession, you may pass the lead to someone in another group and earn points.
D. Any leads that do not meet the conditions in VII-B will not earn points.
E. All leads must be turned in to the statistician on a lead form, including those passed to a member of another group.
III. POINT SYSTEM
A. Member points are scored as follows:
1 Perfect attendance in a quarter
1 point: Member-to-member referral of a qualified lead, or that of a family member
2 points: All other nonmember-to-member qualified leads.
1 point: Bring a prospective chamber member guest to a meeting, or bring a prospective
networking group member to a meeting.
2 points: Your guest joins the Chamber or your guest joins the networking group
1 point: Quarterly for ongoing business with another networking group member
B. Members must have at least 8 points per quarter to retain group membership.
C. If members do not accrue 8 points in a quarter, they will be placed on probation for the next quarter. If at least 8 points are not accumulated during the probation quarter, the member will be dropped from the group.
D. Points for leads are only awarded in the quarter such leads are passed. In order to be counted in the current quarter's production, leads must be passed before the end of the quarter.
E. If a passed lead is deemed to be not acceptable by the recipient, the points awarded for the lead will be deducted by the group's statistician.
IX: LEADERSHIP
A. The success of the group is dependent upon its leadership. Therefore leaders should be selected care fully. The Networking groups recommend a candidate for moderator and statistician. The Chamber Board must then approve them. They will serve for at least 6 months.
B. The role of the Moderator is to:
1. Chair meetings and make meeting arrangements
2. Serve as a liaison to the Chamber staff, relaying feedback on behalf of the group, and working with Chamber staff to obtain all supplies
3. Work with Chamber staff to publicize the group through the Chamber newsletter, newspaper, etc.
4. Determine when letters should be sent for poor attendance
C. The role of the Statistician is to:
1. Schedule speakers and call to remind them.
2. Keep membership records and deliver group guidelines to all prospective group members
3. Keep a completed application for each member of the group and maintain a list of all current members; submit this list monthly to the Joint Networking Task Force.
4. Report lead results from the previous week at the end of each meeting and track points earned by members.
5. Ensure that the business card box holds adequate supplies.
6. Chair meetings in the absence of the moderator.
D. The role of the Host is to:
1. Greet all guests who are not escorted by a group member.
2. Make sure that all guests receive a membership folder.
3. Follow up with any guests that attend meetings.
4. Chair meetings in the absence of the moderator and statistician.
E. The Chamber staff provides to the group:
1. Coordination of group mailings, faxes, etc. as the moderator requests
2. Orders, purchases, and issues supplies as needed.
3. Coordination of all publicity of groups, including articles in the Chamber Newsletter, newspapers, brochures. etc.
F. The Chamber Board provides to the group:
1. Approval of the moderators, statisticians, and hosts.
2. Administers the funds collected. This includes, but is not limited to: the networking fee, fees collected at events that are sponsored by the Networking Task Force, etc.
3. Maintenance of the membership waiting list
4. Keeps in contact with potential Chamber or networking group members, giving out information on all networking groups.
5. Resolution of any conflict within the groups, which the group could not resolve on its own.
6. Maintenance of the master roster list for all groups.
7. Anything else that will help the networking groups.
X. RELATIONSHIP OF NETWORKINC GROUP TO THE CHAMBER
A.The networking groups are a program administered by the Chamber for the sole benefit of its membership, and as such, are subject to such regulation deemed appropriate by the Chamber Board of Directors.
B. Actions of the group are to be communicated to the Chamber in a timely manner. Any disputes regarding these guidelines are to be submitted in writing to the Chamber office in a timely manner.
XI: GUIDELINE REVISION
The Chamber Board of Directors may revise these guidelines periodically.