Valerie Brutti Achieves the Shooting Star Trophy

Valerie earned the Shooting Star Trophy because she invited 25 people who joined PowerCore! I asked why.  “I believe I can create win-win situations by sparking energy. New people bring new energy. Constant new people coming in is what creates sparks; without new the fire dies  – everyone sits in the same place and talks to the same people. In order to create the constant new sparks of synergy there has to be a constant stream of new people. I do that.” How you decide who to invite? Do you just invite everyone? “Oh no! I’m picky! I look for people who I feel are skilled at what they do, but I can sense they need a platform to grow their business. Then I say ‘Do you have business booked for the next 120 days?’ If they say yes, this may not be for them – but most people laugh and shake their head so I say ‘this could be a platform for you. Join for 90 days and you’ll know if this is going to work for you, or not.'”
On behalf of everyone who has benefited from your sparks, thank you Valerie. < wild applause>

Chip Ivie Adds a 10 Year Pin

Chip Ivie was a Member – then he wasn’t – now he is. I asked why he left, and why he came back.
I went into management with my Real Estate firm. I was no longer selling so I took a break from PowerCore. This seat is so competitive that when I transitioned back into sales, it took a while to find an opening.

What was it that made you want to come back? Because seven o’clock in the morning is a choice, not a requirement. What was it when you went back into production that made you look for an opening in a seven AM meeting?
The bottom line is I got business from it. I don’t get a referral every week, and it’s a long term commitment, I understand that. But when I get a referral that closes it can be a significant paycheck and for that, it’s worth getting up. And it’s good being friends with all of you. It’s been a good run. 

Bob Stone Awarded Gold Star

Because Bob has invited John Haring, Leslie Pierce, Michael Johnson, Luciano Stone and Tony Defaria to PowerCore he has a Gold Star on his badge.  Three of the five are CPAs – there was a time when Bob’s goal was to be the first person to earn Gold Star for a single classifcation! so I ask what he says to CPA’s when he’s inviting them to a PowerCore meeting at 7:00?

Well, I know they want to grow their business, so I ask, “Hey, you wanna go someplace that’s really neat that you can secure your business and meet a bunch of like minded people that can help you and you can help in return?” 

The like minded and the secure your business — you can help them and they can help you — so you’re invoking the highest level in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs here.  I guess so.  Congratulations and cheers to Bob Stone for self actualization!

Dru Ferris Receives a Hand Pin and Joins the 5 Year Club

Dru, it’s your day. You joined this Team five years ago. In that time you’ve held all five Officer Positions, and for that you’re getting a Hand Pin. Which was your favorite?  I really enjoyed being TeamCoOrdinator.  And you were good at it.

What do you know now that you didn’t know when you joined five years ago? I have learned that this is an investment in time. I do chart where all of my business comes from, and PowerCore has been the most successful marketing segment of my business, amazingly enough.  Those of you who sit with me in the mentoring session know I say past Members and Visitors are a gold mine for us. People who drop off the Team don’t go anywhere else, so they’re not going to another Realtor. I think it’s a great investment. Bravo and congratulations to Dru Ferris and congratulations!

John Bennett Earns the Hand Pin

When one Member has held all five leadership roles they add a Hand Pin to their badge, and I ask: of the five Officer positions — and John has  been MentorCoOrdinator four times! — which is your favorite?

I like being MentorCoOrdinator the best. Why is that? I get to meet the incoming people with their excitement being new and I love explaining things and how they work. 

As a closing attorney, being good at explaining is a benefit. Congratulations John!

Steve Goins Is In The 5 Year Club

I asked Steve to share the best thing he’s gotten out of a 7 AM meeting, every week, for five years.

A lot of it is the people. Every occupation is going to be different as far as volume and the number of referrals. I’m not going to get as many, and they are a higher-dollar transaction and relationship.

That’s the single thing that keeps me here, the relationships and the credibility it gives me outside of PowerCore when I help my clients satisfy problems they have with things I don’t do. I know somebody, I’ve got somebody I trust to help them. That’s really about the relationship. If it was just transaction, I’m not sure that I would come to a 7AM once a week. 

Everyone who has benefited from a relationship with Steve joins in the congratulations.

Terry Furuta Earns a Gold Star

Gold Star means Terry has invited five people to visit who joined a PowerCore Team. (Click her name to go to her profile page and see who they are.) I asked Terry what she says when she’s inviting someone to this business meeting? 

I tell them that, in the beginning when I started Terry Furuta Designs, when I first joined I got 80% of my business from PowerCore. Now I tell them I get great energy from the Team, because these people don’t like to get up early, but they’re here, and they excited to start the day with business, and it’s the most productive day in my week.

With an endorsement like that, I’d attend, too! On behalf of the people who’ve benefited from your invitation, thank you, Terry.

Lonnie Anderson Locks 10 Years Down

Did you think you would make it to 10 years here at this table?

“It was pretty easy at the beginning to see the value of building relationships and I was already sold on the idea of networking, but the structure and that PowerCore has I think is different than anyone else and the value, I think, is stronger and better than any other networking. And I just love the way that it holds together, it stays together, the continuity of it’s there and it helps us in continuity with our work and what we do and the relationships that are built because of that.”

Continuity is a good 10 year word, Congratulations Lonnie!

Douglas Durham Joins the 5 Year Club

   “I have always been a behind the camera person, formerly a professional photographer. When I joined PowerCore 5 years ago I was lost. I had no idea why these people met every week, or whether I had the stamina to stick with the program. I got lost going to my first meeting, arrived 5 minutes late, stumbled through my InfoMinute only to be told by a Member, Bob Darden, “You’re a natural.” So I kept coming back, and rebuilt the business I inherited, largely with lessons I learned during the 7-Minute presentations on Tuesday mornings.

   Times changed and so did my career; my desire to grow did not. I changed businesses, and Teams, and I attribute my success to the education and opportunity I have found in the PowerCore platform, the 78 Corridor Team and the 6 Teams I regularly sub for.  My business has exploded, crossing $1,000,000 in sales this year.” 

Michelle Mechem Acheived a Gold Star

Gold Star means you’ve invited a lot of people to visit this meeting, and five of them have joined. What is it you say to stimulate someone to meet you at this table at 7 o’clock in the morning?

“I like to work with people who are fun. If I have fun people in my life, they tend to refer other fun people! I have a small real estate team, and here I have a huge force of really awesome, credible, professional and fun people, who introduce me to fun people to work with.

So I’m say, ‘don’t you want to hang out with those kind of people?’ That’s my I experience and I like to share it.”

Sounds fun to me! Congratulations Michelle Mechem!

Lynn Spencer Attained a Gold Star

Lynn Spencer has a Gold Star because five people she’s invited to visit have joined PowerCore.

“I always wait for the opportunity. I don’t go door to door asking, but I’m alert for the opportunity of somebody saying they want to grow or things things are not right. It’s a perfect opening and I can’t up-sell it enough. I wish everybody came that I invited.” 

Congratulations Lynn for observing opportunity and offering to people you think with benefit.
Wear your Gold Star proudly, you’ve earned it.

Paul Shimek Adds a 20 Year Pin

What were you thinking at your first meeting? It was a little overwhelming, but I saw the potential, I was out on my own for the first time after ten years working with a firm. I saw the potential, so I thought I’d give it a shot. I was so impressed I submitted my check that first day on the first meeting.  

Partly because your seat was taken on the Team of the person who invited you! Right, it was the CPA on this Team who invited me. There was a conflict with my classification here, so I started off with the Cumberland Team. 

With 20 years of membership experience, were you correct? Was the potential you saw initially there for you? It exceeded all expectations. I recently reviewed my top largest cases and realized to my surprise that seventy percent, seven out of ten were from PowerCore referrals. I was thinking I wanted maybe fifty percent. Seventy percent.