We had the pleasure of having Jeannot Lamarre - BNI Director Consultant for our chapter - demonstrate how absenteeism at your BNI meeting hurts your business by reducing the number of referrals you get from your referral partners.

Without saying a word, Jeannot put a chair in the middle of the room and set one of his business cards upon it. He then gestured to BNI Leading Edge Dentist Dr. Cyril Tahtadjian to approach the seat, after which Jeannot promptly left the room.

Befuddled, Dr. T took the seat and the card an proceeded to improvise an infomercial for Jeannot. The point was that in order to get referrals you have to be present at the weekly meeting, and even if you send a substitute as per BNI rules, they can't give as good an infomercial as you can because after all: who knows your business better than you do?

Elliott Dale (right) is BNI Leading Edge's Notable Networker for the month of June. He has provided 14 external referrals to members of the chapter during the month of June. He is seen here receiving the award from BNI Leading Edge President Saverio Di Mondo (left).

Elliott is one of the founders at Dale Streiman, a full-service law firm in Brampton and serving clients all over the GTA.

To find out how BNI can help your business grow through referrals, please come and visit our chapter and meet our referral professionals!

No, this is not about getting rid of your referral partner, it was a social event enjoyed by members of the BNI Leading Edge chapter and some of their business colleagues.

Not only is it a good way to release stress - imagine a particluarly tough boss or client - but it also requires coordination between the eye, the mind and the body. It is harder than it looks!

A fun evening was spent throwing axes around and discussing how we can exchange even more business referrals in Brampton and Mississauga with our chapter members, our business colleagues and associates, and even our families!

Check out the complete photo album on Facebook

BNI Leading Edge President Saverio Di Mondo is seen here awarding the Notable Networker Award to Balbir Pabila for the month of May. The Notable Networker Award is given to the member who has consistently strived to meet or exceed networking goals such as referrals, one-on-one meetings with other chapter members or inviting visitors to attend the weekly meeting.

Balbir has invited the most visitors to attend our Visitor Day held on May 31.

BNI Leading Edge provides excellent business networking opportunities for Brampton and Mississauga-based businesses.

During the month of May, we held a contest to see who could have the most one-to-one meetings with the other members AND provide the most referrals to the members they had met with.

Here we have Education Coordinator John Mullen (Civil Litigator) rewarding Maureen Bennett Henry (Family Law) for winning the contest. Maureen has proven the most adept at generating business referrals for her partner during the contest period.