Business Mastermind Groups

You know the truth of the old adage, you never get a second chance to make a first impression, so why should you think that doesn’t apply to your mastermind group?

Just because there is no dollar cost for being involved in a 21st Century mastermind Group – there is still a huge investment.

Each person is committing their time, energy, and attention to the process, something more scarce for most of us than our money.

So getting the right people to buy in to the process and make a decision to get on board requires serious preparation on your part, before the call.

If you want all future meetings to achieve their potential you will address each of these issues thoroughly and conclusively at the very begging of the process.

This is the call when people meet officially for the first time as a group to learn more about each other and to discuss goals, protocol and logistics. Therefore it needs to be handled thoughtfully so that each member is heard and their input recognized. Remember you are forming a group of coequals.

There are four parts to this initial call:

• Preparation
• Setting the Course
• Scheduling
• Preparation

Prior to the call, as the organizer, you will want to send each member an email stating the date and time of the call as well as the call-in number. There are numerous Internet conference call services available at no charge or for a few dollars per month. We have provided a list of those we’ve used successfully in the Resources area.

The email should include the following:

Welcome note with date, time and teleconference call-in number
A short bio of each member who will be on the call
A brief outline of the agenda for meeting

How this first call is handled will set the tone for those that follow. Therefore it is important that you manage it professionally. You are asking people to make a commitment to this process and their first experience will communicate the level of respect, professionalism and efficiency they can expect going forward.

Management
Someone needs to be the host for the call. That person most often is the original organizer, although it does not have to be. Someone, however, needs to assume that role for the call.

The host’s role is key in this call. The host needs to lead at times, and stay out of the way at others. The host’s role is to keep the meeting on tract so that the goals of the meeting are met.

The host should be on the call first to welcome the members. The official start should ideally wait until everyone is present to start, however, if one or two people are delayed more than 5 minutes, then call should begin. Late-comers can be brought up to speed at the end of the call on what they missed by the host.

Setting the Course
The purpose of the group meeting call is to allow the members to meet, discuss goals and logistics. Therefore the next step is to go around the virtual “room” and have each members introduce themselves in turn. Set a timeline for this so the members can be selective with their comments and to establish early on a procedure that insures everyone a voice.

You may find it helpful to draw a circle on a pad of paper before starting and them adding the names of them people as they arrive. This will allow you to picture them around the table and any notations you make on the pad will be helpful when considering what’s being discussed and to note if someone is not participating in the conversation.

Once this is completed, the host will move to the discussion of the mechanics of the regular group calls. Each call will have:

Scheduling
This is a critical moment. Finding a time to meet causes more face-to-face groups to collapse or never get off the ground than any other single reason. Because everyone has responsibilities and commitments and because each of us operates our businesses on a different schedule, setting the time for a face to face meeting often doomed the process from the beginning.

In the case of a 21st Century Mastermind Group, where meetings take place over the phone – the challenge of working out the day and time of the calls is handled more easily. Often all it means is closing the door to your office and asking not to be disturbed unless the building is on fire and the fire department can’t get it under control.

Because at least one of you will likely be in a different time zone, so some give and take will be required, but since the only time being set aside is the actual time you are on the call, scheduling a time that works well enough for each person that no one misses a meeting – should be easily accomplished if everyone is fully committed to the process.

It is best to not leave any opening for further change of this established date and time as the time chosen will never be ideal for everyone. You need to make the commitment as a group and move on. People will adjust and soon get used to the day and time.

Once the members see that value they get from the meeting, all else will be forgotten and the day and time will become a sacred one.

Recommended Reading

• Business Mastermind Groups Are A Proven System For Organizational Success
• Will You Think and Grow Rich?
• Jeff Dennis and his 12 steps to entrepreneurial success Part 1
• Mastermind Groups … Are They REALLY All That??
• Business Mastermind Group Blueprint (ebook)

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