MELINDA POTCHER

I've been priviledged through my affiliation with BNI Founder Dr. Ivan Misner's Author Mentor Program to have the opportunity to write for Ed Craine, and Broker Banker Magazine.

Ed asked me to write about the mortgage business and tie in networking. Ed is not only the driving force behind Broker Banker Magazine, he's also a BNI Director.

here are the first 11 entries - I hope you like it and I hope you will give me your honest feedback.

best,

Melinda Potcher

Mortgage Maven

Trinity Mortgage, LLC

www.HomeLoansAlbuquerque.com

Hi Melinda-

We've posted all your entries so far. (11 entries.) To view go to http://brokerbanker.com/page54.aspx.

Let me know what you think. Keep them coming!

Ed

A friend of mine, Melinda Potcher, adapted some of my material and created the 10 Commandments of Business Networking.

She did a great job and I thought I'd share it with everyone here on my blog.

1. Thou Shalt Not Sell To Me.... If we are trying to help one another get more business, you tell me your target market, I tell you my target market, and when we are out in the world, we speak well of one another and refer one another, do not try to sell me - I am your referral resource. If I need your product or service, know that I will call you. Use our relationship to sell through me, to get to those 250 + people I know.

2. Thou Shalt Understand The Law of Reciprocity.... If I am sending you business, please keep me top of mind. Giving me a new client is the best thank you that I can receive, and I will continue working to find you referrals if I know you appreciate me.

3. Thou Shalt Not Abuse Our Relationship.... Sending me a bogus referral just to use me, my expertise, or my resources for free without asking permission first is the fastest way to lose my respect.

4. Thou Shalt Not Be Late .... If we have a meeting set to get to know one another and strategize how we can refer each other business, do not reschedule our appointment more than twice. I blocked a chunk of time in my schedule FOR YOU, and I respect you enough to be on time.

5. Thou Shalt Be Specific .... Specific Is Terrific! If you tell me your target market is "anybody" or "everybody" that means nobody to me.... the more specific you are, the easier it will be for me to find you business.

6. Thou Shalt Take Your Business Seriously .... As your networking partner, I need to know your intentions. If your company is a hobby business, it will be difficult for me to assist you. If it is part time, you are limited in the time you spend working on your business and working to find me referrals. However, if you are working your business part time with a goal of making it full time, I am there for you, 100%.

7. Thou Shalt Follow Up On Referrals... When I send you business please follow up with that prospect in a timely fashion - say 24 hours - if you are going out of town, or will not be available for some time, a quick email or phone call to the person to let them know when you will be available will preserve your credibility and protect my reputation in recommending you to someone I know and care about.

8. Thou Shalt Communicate... If I do something to upset you, send you a "bad" referral, or cause you to have ill feelings toward me, please communicate with me as soon as possible. I may not be aware I have caused a problem for you, and if you tell me, I can try to fix it. Referral networking is about relationships! Relationships and Referrals are at the heart of my business.

9. Thou Shalt Protect My Reputation... Most people would rather die than risk their reputations. If I receive feedback from a referral I have sent you that is disparaging or derogatory, it is as though you cut me off at the knees. Please do what you say you will do and live up to the ethical standards of your profession.

10. Thou Shalt Prepare For Success... If you really want to grow your business, then prepare to receive it. I will move mountains for my networking partners to ensure they get referrals on a consistent basis. I am a Ninja Networker - you may not always see me working on your behalf.

Thanks to Melinda. You can visit her website at: www.HomeLoansAlbuquerque.com.

Monday, November 10, 2008

My Very Own First Podcast!!! Current mood: giddy Category: Jobs, Work, Careers OMG I am so excited and wanted to share with you my first ever produced PodCast. Let me know what you think! BNI Powercast: Melinda Potcher http://www.smallbizamerica.com/sbb/detail/bni-powercast-melinda-potcher/ [OMG! I have a podcast to my name] Currently listening : Got to Be Real: The Best of Cheryl Lynn By Cheryl Lynn Release date: 1996-06-04

Friday, October 17, 2008

From The Local Organic Farmer - Words of Wisdom Current mood: enlightened Category: Jobs, Work, Careers ..TR> ..TR> October 16th, 2008 ..TR> ..TABLE>..TABLE> Our Self-Fulfilling Prophecy Ok, if I see another picture of some dude on Wall Street with his head in his hands about to cry or looking into space like he has just seen the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, I am going to scream. Enough already. We get it. The stock market is in the tanks. But here is the frustrating part. We, and I mainly point the finger at the media right now, have created a self-fulfilling prophecy. With all this attention on Wall Street, we are perpetuating its downturn. And it all boils down to one phrase, consumer confidence. Sure stocks rely on earnings and quarterly reports, but as a whole, they are dependent on what the confidence of the consumer is. Take Amazon for example during the '90's. Amazon would never post a profit. Every dollar they earned they sunk back into the company. Always in the red. But their stock price (through the '90's) was going through the roof. Why? Because people had confidence in the company. Not rooted in anything, but just a good feeling. So stock went up. Is our economy (nationally) in trouble? Sure it is, but this trouble has been here for over a year. This is nothing new. The only thing new to the whole scenario is a word called "meltdown." If you use terms like "meltdown" too much, people might start to believe it. But this stubborn Norwegian is not going to. I refuse. And here is why. New Mexico is an island in many cases. When the economy nationally shoots through the roof, we lag behind. When the national economy falls through the floor, we stay afloat. We stay out of the riff raff for the most part because we have solid economic drivers and players in NM. Los Alamos Labs. Sandia Labs. Kirtland AF Base. Univ. of NM. APS. Intel. Among others. We have always been very stable here. Yes, missing the high time of the peaks, but to compensate we miss the valleys too. Much of this is due to our strength in diversity. NM is not a one industry state. Thankfully. And our banking system is one of the most solid in the country. So if that is all good news locally, then what is the problem? The problem, as I see it, is that the national manure sandwich is starting to affect our local confidence in the local market. And I will use LPO as our example because it is obviously the business I know best. As I previously noted, the national economy has been having problems for over a year now. Throughout that though, LPO was able to grow our CSA membership over 50%. A sign that our community was still doing well and supporting business. Then the stock market started to slip, trip, and panic set in. People began holding on to their wallets to see what the economy is going to do before venturing back out into the world. So in the last two weeks our renewals drop 20% (not members, just those renewing). Not a good sign. LPO is small enough and our over-head low enough that it is not that detrimental for us. But it makes me worry about other businesses. Most businesses cannot withstand a 20% loss in sales for very long before going under. Cash fuels our world. Fuels our economy. And not cash in a greedy way, but in a necessity way. With no exchange of cash, the wheels of the economy stop moving. Fewer sales equate to fewer employees needed. Fewer jobs mean fewer paychecks to pay the rent/mortgage. The more bad loans, the harder it is to get credit. And without credit, the economy stops. Now, I am not trying to give a "get out there and shop" lecture. We all have to be smart financially right now. But what I am trying to say is that we, as a community, need to be realistic and do some honest evaluation. If one has a stable job, and is not overly leveraged in the stock market for short term needs, things will be fine. The economy, and our consumer confidence, will bounce back. It always does. This is not economic Armageddon, and the sooner we realize it, the sooner we will get back on track. At least that is how I see it, Farmer Monte ..TABLE> Los Poblanos Organics Copyright ©2007 by Los Poblanos Organics. All rights reserved, but please feel free to forward this to anyone you think may enjoy it. Currently listening : Jordin Sparks By Jordin Sparks Release date: 2007-11-20

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

What Affect Does the Bailout Have for You, The Consumer? Current mood: confident Category: Jobs, Work, Careers I got a great question from a client today about what affect the announcements from the federal government agreeing to back all bank lending would have on the consumer. Here is the question and my answer. Good Stuff! Greetings Melinda - What effect does today's announcements have in lending decisions? Oct. 14 (Bloomberg) -- Citigroup Inc. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. were among banks that soared in New York trading after the U.S. government said it would invest in nine of the country's biggest financial firms and guarantee debt they issue. Shares of Morgan Stanley, Bank of America Corp., Merrill Lynch & Co. and Wells Fargo & Co. also climbed on the plan, in which the government will spend $125 billion to buy preferred stock in the companies. ....It's a good thing, it's what needs to happen, it will allow the markets to start functioning again,'' said Ralph Cole, a vice president for research at Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. in Portland, Oregon, which oversees $2.7 billion including shares in JPMorgan, Wells Fargo and Goldman. ....We'll know if it's working when we see if overnight rates go down and banks start lending to each other.'' Citigroup, JPMorgan, Bank of America and Wells Fargo will each receive $25 billion, according to people familiar with the matter, while Morgan Stanley and Goldman will get $10 billion. Bank of New York Mellon Corp. will receive about $3 billion and State Street Corp. will get about $2 billion, the companies said today. The investments are part of a $250 billion plan to put capital into U.S. financial institutions, which have been burdened by bad loans and rising borrowing costs. Michael Michael~ This announcement has to do more with money that banks lend each other on a national and international platform then us down at the consumer level. Best, Melinda Potcher Mortgage Broker Trinity Mortgage, LLC (505) 259-6397 cell (505) 214-LEND fax melinda@trinitymtg.biz http://www.homeloansalbuquerque.com Currently listening : The Information By Beck Release date: 2006-10-03