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Smoother Sailing in BNI
How does the world of sailing and navigating apply to our world of BNI? The word navigator comes from two Latin words, navis, meaning "ship" and agree, meaning "to direct" or "to move." Navigation is defined as "the process of directing the movement of a craft from one place to another." Marine navigation methods and techniques will vary with the type of vessel, the prevailing conditions, available equipment, and the navigator's experience. There is a world of difference between navigating a pleasure craft and an oil tanker, even though you may use the same type of equipment and navigation techniques. In BNI, we are moving from a traditional way of looking at marketing ourselves to a primarily referral-based marketing! It can be very different navigating through this process as a newcomer to BNI as it is for a long-term member, but the basic techniques are the same! One of the greatest appeals of sailing is that you are dealing with the elemental forces of nature, and your ability to sail well depends upon your ability to sense and respond to changing conditions in the wind and water. Your ability to develop a word-of-mouth based business, or a referral-based business, depends on your ability to sense and respond to changing conditions in the marketplace and understanding how to navigate the ocean we call BNI. Three of the primary phases of navigation have relevant points that tie in with the phases of developing word-of-mouth-based business: Harbor Phase In this first phase, you are primarily visually navigating to keep yourself clear of other vessels and off the rocks as you approach or depart your mooring or dock on the way to the mouth of the harbor. A parallel phase in BNI is when you are first getting to know your fellow networkers. You will tend to see newer members using themselves as the referral for the first few months until they get to know the other members of the chapter on a more personal level. There are some techniques in BNI that we employ to help get through the Harbor Phase and onto the next two phases. The first technique is the Sixty Second Introduction. By teaching you to be specific in your intro's, breaking your businesses down into LCD's or Lowest Common Denominators, you are able to better educate the other members as to who they can refer to you. Many BNI members do the laundry list intro. A much more effective thing to do with your 60 minutes a week (which adds up to nearly one hour a year!) is to choose only one element each week and elaborate on that. For example, as a former chiropractic assistant, I would talk one week about how the doctor could help headaches; the next week, I would cover our successes with allergy sufferers, and so on! Another technique is the One-on-One Dance Card. Networking is a relationship-building exercise! Do the GAINS (Goals, Accomplishments, Interests, Networks and Success) exchange talked about in Business By Referral during your "dance." When you take the time to really get to know your fellow networkers outside of the meeting, you will begin to clear the harbor and sail toward coastal waters. Coastal Phase This phase is defined as navigation within 50 miles of the coast or inshore of the 200-meter depth contour. Now, I know that is way more about navigation than you wanted to know, but this phase is seen in BNI chapters as well. In the coastal phase, the navigator is using every navigation resource available with the possible exception of the celestial, because coastal sailing is usually done during daylight hours. As you begin building your business with word of mouth, you begin to really utilize the tools provided by BNI. You are: • on the website, reading back issues of SuccessNet, • joining the BNI Yahoo Club and taking part in the networking online once a month, and • listening to the BNI Conference tapes from our twice-yearly Directors' Conferences. These Directors are the very ones who contributed to Masters of Networking and have helped to propel this book to the number three spot on the Wall Street Journal's Bestseller's list the first week it was released! The more you utilize the resources available within BNI to develop your networking skills, the closer to your goal of wide-open ocean sailing you will become. Ocean Phase In this phase, you are well away from shore and your navigation takes on a rhythm of its own for days and sometimes weeks on end. This is true in a BNI chapter as well. Most BNI members are receiving one or more referrals every week! The chapters have a rhythm with the meeting agendas. The "crew" of the chapter works together to achieve success in developing word-of-mouth business for all members. Your chapter mirrors a sailing crew; every person on that team is vital. Each person has a function and without that person, the chapter doesn't work as well. That's one reason we instituted an attendance policy in the very first months of BNI's existence. How many of you have ever gotten a haircut over the phone? You must be present and accounted for to contribute to the success of the chapter as a whole, not to mention your individual success! Your President serves as the captain; your Membership Committee frequently evaluates where the chapter is and determines if you've gotten off course, if it's necessary to correct course so that the chapter can continue to be productive. You've heard of the term "tell-tale sign," right? That term originated with a sailing technique. "Tell tales" are attached to the sails so they indicate whether the airflow past the sail is turbulent or smooth. You must allow for shifts in the wind when sailing in order to keep the boat heading in the right direction. A 10-inch piece of wool string is passed through the sail with a needle so that five inches is left hanging on either side of the stitch. These strings are passed through the sail in several places and the crew keep an eye on the way the strings are fluttering to tell if they are going to get the desired drive from trimming the sail one way or another. Your Membership Committee has tell tale signs as to the drive of the chapter as well. They can look at the Vice President's report, which tracks referrals given and received as well as the numbers of visitors to a chapter each month, and tell you if the chapter is healthy or not. Your Leadership Team has been trained to keep an eye on the reports to evaluate if the chapter is about to stall or headed for success. Some of those reports and tools include: • Reality Checklist • Chapter Tool-Kit • Stack Day • Membership Drives • The BNI Game A healthy chapter: • has few absences; the crew is all accounted for; • will be exchanging a steady number of referrals—that's what we are all here for, anyway!; and • will be attracting other business professionals who visit, are excited by what's going on in the weekly meeting and who become a part of the sales team. That really is what you are for each other: a sales team on the lookout for new clients and business for each other. The philosophy of BNI is GIVERS GAIN. By that we mean, if you give referrals, you will gain referral. This is a dynamic that is the same the world over. Members who focus on what they get out of BNI don't make it to the Coastal Phase. Those who focus on bringing referrals to the chapter are the ones who, week after week, receive more referrals than anyone else! So, the thing to remember whether you're sailing or participating in BNI is that if you're taking the wrong tack, you're obviously going in the wrong direction. But if you stay your course, you'll get to your destination&mdashsuccess in BNI and success in your word-of-mouth-based business. This article was adapted from a live conference presentation in Brea, CA, at the 2001 International Directors' Conference for BNI, given by Elisabeth Misner, Special Projects Director and Senior Editor for SuccessNet Online. The presentation is available on CD from the Learning Center at http://www.bni.com.
During the 90's, companies raced to implement new technologies with hopes that their organizations would communicate better, share data faster, and sell more of their products, services and ideas at increasing speeds and profits. Sales and marketing professionals (SMPs) benefited from this new economy and new technology. We were given faster computers, running powerful new contact management programs. We were able to access information and 'surf the web' at speeds faster than ever before. We began wielding portable cell phones with national coverage areas, carrying our entire database of contacts inside them, hooked to our ears via tiny little headsets, giving us the opportunity to answer email, surf the web and type in a customer's order; all while remaining hands-free enough to enjoy a steaming hot latte'. Times were good and many new sales and marketing "superstars" were born overnight. Looking back, it's clear that almost everyone was buying almost everything. Sales and marketing professionals, companies and customers were all experiencing tremendous prosperity. It was truly a glorious and prosperous decade where everything was in plentiful abundance. Even before the life-changing attacks of September 11th 2001, one could look at almost any information source, be it print, television, radio or the Internet, and easily read and hear about the "dot.bomb" fallout that so many companies and customers were beginning to experience. Almost overnight it seems like the economy began to change. With this changing economy, orders for products began to slow and corporate inventories were on the rise. This placed many SMPs in a new environment; especially the under-30 generation. Most under-30 SMPs have never experienced anything other than prosperous times. They began asking, "Where did all of the sales go," and "where are all of the customers?" In times like these, where everyone is all of a sudden not buying everything, it makes sense to take a look at the philosophies and activities of veteran sales and marketing giants. What have they done when times like these have hit in the past? They got back to the basics. Five basics to get back to: 1) Sales is a System. James A. Ray writes, "The golf club itself can't make someone a pro. Yet a pro can take a cheap driver and make a better shot than an amateur can using the best and biggest club golf has to offer." I believe James Ray hit a hole-in-one with that statement. Sales is a system. Having all of the latest tools and technology will not replace fundamentally classic sales training. Just like a musician or professional sports player must practice the fundamentals before they can earn a living as a star, SMPs must learn, understand and master the art and strategies of sales in order to graduate to the major leagues. There are many classroom and self-study sales systems available, from Sandler to Dale Carnegie, and Zig Ziglar to Brian Tracy, to name a few. If you have never studied a sales system, start now. If you are a graduate of a sales system, go back and review, refresh and re-energize. 2) Strong Relationships. Sales is, has been and always will be a transaction between a buyer and a seller. With every sale comes an opportunity to develop a customer for life. In a recent Sales and Marketing Excellence (SME) article, sales and marketing giant Brian Tracy wrote, "relationship selling is the core of all modern selling strategies." In many cases, the quality of your relationship with your customer is the key factor that will enable you to edge out others who have similar products, services and pricing. The classic work, How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie, despite it's hokey title, is one of the single most effective works on how to build and maintain quality relationships. Develop and maintain your position as an expert in building relationships, and your sales results will follow. 3) Attitude is everything. Over the summer, Dr. Ivan Misner, a good friend and Entrepreneur Magazine's 'networking guru' wrote an article in SuccessNet Online titled, "I Refuse to Participate in a Recession." This can-do, over-the-top winning attitude and style is the hallmark of all great SMPs. In sales, there will be plenty of 'no' answers and as history has shown, there will even be a few recessions. Don't let a bad economy be your excuse for failure. Having a winning and confident attitude is 'key' to making it in the major leagues of sales and marketing. If you need more inspiration to get your winning attitude going strong, the audio book version of Zig Ziglar's "Over the Top" will light your fire. 4) The "Fortune is in the Follow-up." "One mark of a true sales professional is that they always deliver what they promise" writes Mark Sanborn. Whenever I work with a group of SMPs, one topic that always comes up is effective and not-so effective follow-up. It seems that in sales, a lack of follow-up runs rampant. Our integrity and character show through strong when it comes to follow-up. Either we do what we say or we don't. If you have taken the time to develop strong relationships with your customers, follow-through on the promises, commitments and deadlines you have offered them. Remember, customers buy from SMPs whom they like, know and trust. Delivering on what you promise builds trust, keeps customers and is one of the smartest selling fundamentals you can and should master. 5) Be a good student. This is my personal favorite and I've saved it for last. As the legendary speaker, motivator and business philosopher Jim Rohn teaches, 'develop the habits of becoming a good student.' Read the books, listen to tapes and attend the seminars. Subscribe to the journals, join the organizations and go to work on yourself. Do whatever it takes to become better. Every chance you get, try to learn something new to help you become a more professional salesperson and a better, more rounded human being. Our economy has changed. Some are calling this the "new, new economy." Whatever it's called, the fundamentals of selling and marketing are as important now as ever before. Go to work on yourself and "get back to the basics." ACTION: Get back to the basics Jeremy Allen is the executive director for the Youth Excellence Foundation and is a contributing author of the New York Times bestseller, Masters of Networking. http://www.youthexcellence.org HUDDLE TIME
Powerful Incentives—Starting Today! We knew it was coming; the analysts and the pundits have been giving us economic warnings for the past 17 months, telling us the bull was going to turn into a bear. However consumers/customers had the last say and they continued to spend their discretionary dollars. Then, consumer/business confidence began to wane. The economy started to slow down and with it came a slow down in sales/revenues/profits and a slow down in employee/customer motivation. In addition, the events of September 11th have not helped either. This means, as a leader it is your responsibility to keep your teams and customers motivated while they ride these waves of uncertainty.
So how will you keep your team motivated? And what about your customers? The first thing you need to do is look at your incentive programs for your sales/service people. Incentive programs for these team members will help them focus on certain areas of your business; mainly increasing revenue and profits. Then, you will need to look at your customer incentive programs for the people who purchase your products/services by creating "point" or "reward" incentives to reinforce the buying behaviors of your customers. Let's breakdown these two incentive programs: With your sales/service team, you need to first make sure that everyone is "getting back to the basics" of selling and servicing your products/services. I know you've heard this before and yet you know that we all get complacent from time to time and when we do, we lose our competitive edge. I have always found that by reiterating the basics, your teams will get re-focused on the principles that got them where they are today. So pull out your training materials and get busy. The second key to look at is how will you motivate your sales/service teams and dangle the proverbial "carrot" in front of them for the next 6-12 months while the economy begins to make a strong come back. The carrot is "sales incentives". I have been running national sales organizations for fifteen years and I can attest to the fact when new monies are waved in front of the eyes of sales/service people—they get juiced and they are ready to sell, sell, sell or service, service, service. By implementing incentives you not only motivate your top-level team members, but more importantly you motivate your mid-level team members who are larger in numbers than those at the top. A small improvement from all your mid-level performers adds up. Money is a motivator (but not the sole motivator), but as I always say "cash is king". If cash money is not freely available, try using incentive trips or prizes like a DVD player or even lottery tickets. The key is to re-energize and re-focus your sales/service teams and add a little fuel to their tanks. I promise, carefully selected incentives will help you to meet your budgeted revenue numbers. The next area you need to focus on is your customers because they also need a little incentive to invest either additional dollars or to get back to their former levels of investing with you. This means you need to change their buying behaviors and habits. Please know, you are not asking your customers to spend more money with you, you are asking them to re-direct their current budgeted dollars with you and away from your competitors. Always remember, your customers do not spend their money with you, they invest in you. So it is your job to share with them ways to achieve this. I have recently coached some sales/service organizations on ideas/programs they can implement for their customer/client incentive programs. One idea is to grant "reward points" for each client who invests x-number of dollars on either a quarterly, semi, or annual basis with you. These "points" can then be redeemed for upgrades or new business promotions. A second idea is offer a business retreat to your top clients that allows you to "schmooze" and to provide free seminars on industry topics to help them better run their business. Remember your job is to find solutions for your customers' problems. Tip: There are many companies in business today who specialize in employee/customer incentive programs. Remember to include everyone in your organization in these incentive programs to create "team" based incentives so everyone can take part. For your customers, conduct a "brainstorming" meeting with your team members to decide what types of "point" or reward systems you will implement and how you will track them. There are many creative and fun programs to put into place so have fun as you re-energize your company's destiny. Andrew L. Botieri is the founder of Total Peak PerformanceTM, a business coaching and sales training company. Andrew has 46,000 hours of coaching and training sales/customer service companies around the country. Andrew is the former Vice President of Sales & Operations for SpringStreet.com, a division of Homestore.com, a publicly traded Internet company and was the former "Turnaround Specialist" and National Sales Trainer for HPC Publications, a division of Primedia. Andrew conducts sales/leadership/motivational seminars for sales/service companies and is a nationally published author. Andrew can be reached at 508-747-9883, by E-mail andrew@totalpeakperformance.com or visit his website at http://www.totalpeakperformance.com HUDDLE TIME
Getting Specific—the Top "Winning Without Intimidation" Sales Tip I'm often asked how to handle a situation in which you you feel your prospect is obviously bothered by what you're saying but won't—or refuses to—admit it. In other words, "Bob, if you can sense that your prospect is just not 'buying in' to what you're saying but they're not telling you such, is there a way to overcome this and learn their true objection?" This is a common challenge for several reasons. One, your prospect might not want to offend you by telling you they don't believe you. Two, your prospect may be too embarrassed to admit not understanding what you are telling them. And, three, he or she may be the type who doesn't want to let on what they are thinking. The most effective way I've found to handle this is to interrupt yourself in mid-sentence and simply ask, "Mr./Ms. prospect, may I ask you something? I'm getting the feeling— and this might just be me (remember the "I Message")—I'm feeling as though there is something in my presentation that possibly I'm not communicating correctly, and with which you are uncomfortable? Would you mind sharing with me what that is?" You have (very kindly and tactfully) asked a very direct and specific question. You're not asking "if" there is a problem, but "what" the problem is. This is generally much more effective than asking "if" there's something wrong, or "if" there's a point with which they don't feel comfortable. To that type of question, they'll probably answer, "No, keep going." In that case, you'll lose out on helping them own your terrific product or service because of the hidden objection you never receive. Instead, politely ask for the specific, while utilizing the "I Message" and you'll find yourself WINNING WITHOUT INTIMIDATION. Bob Burg is author of several books (and contributing author to Masters of Networking), as well as one of the hottest FREE weekly eZines on the Internet. Subscribe to "Winning Without Intimidation" and learn how to take any "people challenge" and have everyone turn out a winner. For a sample visit: http://www.burg.com/newsletter.html. Bob is a friend and supporter of BNI. Error processing SSI file North America
BNI HAPPENINGS — U.S. Red Cross New York Fund—"Where The Money Goes"
On December 3rd, The Pomona Valley Chapter of the American Red Cross invited BNI Headquarters to their Heroes Briefing to recognize our BNI members' generous contributions to the Liberty Disaster Relief Fund and show us how your support has helped to heal lives shattered on September 11th. Those assisted include: • Survivors of the attacks and their families • Evacuated residents • Famlies of individuals who have died from anthrax exposure The assistance provided includes: • More that 11 million meals and snacks served • Over 18,000 pairs of boots per day to use in the rescue efforts • Funeral expenses, clothing, hotel accommodations, personal items, etc... for survivors and their families • Mental health counseling to more than 1,177,000 people nationwide (including continuing patients from the Oklahoma bombing) • More cash assistance to families and dependents than all other major services organizations combined The American Red Cross continues to meet with families daily and will continue to provide services as long as necessary to meet the needs of those affected by the tragedies of September 11th. The ARC has already sent 3,441 checks to 2,945 individuals and families. $111 million more in Family Gift checks will be distributed by the end of the year. This is just a few of the wonderful things that the ARC is doing with your donations. The priority of the ARC is to provide assistance to families and individuals affected by this tragedy. This is the largest disaster response in the history of the ARC. ARC has already spent more than $153 million to assist people affected by the September 11th terrorist attacks. ARC has launched a special Family Gift Program to help meet the immediate needs of grieving families. The program can help with living expenses such as rent, mortgage, utilities, tuition and childcare. Thanks to overwhelming support from BNI members and the general public, more than $582 million has been received to help the ARC respond. More than $536,000 has been collected here in the Pomona Valley American Red Cross Chapter. If you would like a copy of the detailed press release e-mailed to you, please send your request to roxy@bni.com. She will also include a copy of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). At the BNI International Directors' Conference in November 2001, held in Brea, CA, Dr. Misner announced that the total donation to the American Red Cross added up to $90,000.00! BNI members really prove that they believe in the philosophy BNI is based upon—Givers Gain! BNI HAPPENINGS — U.S.
The Key To Action Is Involvement Craig Campana, BNI Executive Director for Wisconsin and Houston East, recognizes the importance of jumping in to get involved in a project.
He was given an opportunity to contribute to BNI's best selling book - Masters of Networking, and ever since his entry was published in the book, his productivity momentum has gone nowhere but up. Campana never considered himself much of a writer, but he feels very strongly the action to become involved in the "Masters project," gave him the confidence and credibility to continue pursuing his dream. The exposure his business received by participating in the book propelled him to become involved as a contributor to two other books: Confessions of Shameless Self-Promoters, (released in May 2001), and The Entrepreneurial Parent (to be released in 2002), and currently he is working on his first solo book titled Turbocharged: Turning Career Adversity into Power for Success. His exposure didn't stop there. Always being somewhat of a gutsy marketer, he launched an electronic newsletter (or ezine) which provides what he calls the G.U.T.S.Y. Marketing Tip of the Week. Within a few short months of distributing the weekly ezine, his efforts were recognized by www.entrepreneur.com and he now writes a column for the online magazine called the G.U.T.S.Y. Tip of the Day. If you wonder what the concept is with the acronym of G.U.T.S.Y. - it stands for Campana's Goal-oriented, Unique tactics with a Targeted reach to Show your assets and Yield results. Within a month after being featured in Entrepreneur.com, his career took flight to a new level as he began hosting his own internet-based radio show via the Voice America Network. The show is titled none other than "G.U.T.S.Y. Marketing with Craig Campana." The show runs every Wednesday from 10-11 a.m. (Pacific), and is accessible from http://www.voiceamerica.com. Campana's website at http://www.gutsymarketing.com features archives of the past shows as well. Here's a complete list of the line-up of authors and experts Campana will be interviewing on the show: 2-Jan—G.U.T.S.Y. Structuring your time/starting business. Author: Sue Rusch 9-Jan—G.U.T.S.Y. Electronic/Web Marketing. Author: Alexandria Brown 16-Jan—G.U.T.S.Y. Networking. Authors: Dr. Ivan Misner and Don Morgan 23-Jan—G.U.T.S.Y. Publicity Strategies. Author: Joan Stewart 30-Jan—G.U.T.S.Y. Marketing Trends. Author: Wendy Weiss 6-Feb—G.U.T.S.Y. Promotion By Phone. Coach: Dave Buck 13-Feb—G.U.T.S.Y. Connections. Author: Robert W. Davis 20-Feb—G.U.T.S.Y. Time Mastery. Authors: Jed Niederer Germaine Porche' (BNI Members) 27-Feb—G.U.T.S.Y. Customer Service. Author: Debra J. Schmidt, America's Customer Loyalty Ambassador 6-Mar—G.U.T.S.Y. Shameless Self Promotion. Author: Debbie Allen When asked about why he enjoys sharing his G.U.T.S.Y. tips, Campana stated, "I really enjoy helping businesses increase their marketing efforts by giving them ideas about creating attention-getting exposure for themselves. I never dreamed I would have my own radio show, but I feel confident that it will propel my efforts beyond belief." BNI HAPPENINGS — U.S.
Michigan Members Take BNI Prize CONGRATULATIONS to Bob Herriman (Downriver/Wyandotte chapter member), Mark Bergsma (Gand Rapids V chapter member), Jim Hewelt (Woodward Corridor chapter member), Chuck Tomasello (Jackson I chapter member), Tom Archer (Tricounty/Hartland chapter member), and Moira Robinson (Metro Novi chapter member): Cancun Trip winners for the BNI 2001 Membership Drive!
You can see a picture of the Michigan winners the Photo Gallery on the Michigan BNI website. Go to http://www.bni-mi.com and click on "Photo Gallery." To view the Cancun Trip winners, click on "2001 Membership Drive Winners" on the right hand side of the web page. Europe
BNI HAPPENINGS — UNITED KINGDOM RBS and BNI—a blossoming partnership
The Royal Bank of Scotland, one of the UK's largest and top-performing listed businesses, has forged a long-term relationship with BNI which it says has already generated millions of pounds worth of additional income for RBS managers.
RBS has been working hand in hand with BNI since the first UK chapters opened more than four years ago and, with some of its local business and relationship managers already members of BNI groups throughout the UK, the success generated for both organisations has led to a unique nationwide partnership approach being struck. "A significant number of chapters throughout the UK now have a Royal Bank manager filling the banking position and the reason for this is quite simple - it works for both parties," said RBS's Communications Manager - Business Banking, Colin Nichol. "At the Royal Bank, adding value to our clients' business is a major part of our customer proposition and what better way to add value than to introduce them to BNI! In the true spirit of "givers gain", there are benefits for the Bank and for BNI," he added. RBS says that BNI works for its managers because: 1. Royal Bank relationship managers are based in the local community instead of a business centre, and so have a wide circle of contacts to bring to meetings. 2. Its relationship managers are used to networking and are familiar with the power of the giver's gain principle - 'If I give you business, you'll want to give me some business back'. 3. They are hungry for new business and BNI delivers new contacts and new customers! Colin Nichol stressed that the partnership was not a one-way street. "For BNI, the advantages are numerous; including having dependable members who are aware of the benefits of networking. This gives RBS members the ability to tap into their circle of contacts and clients, spreading the word about BNI, and generating business for other BNI members. He added: "It is this approach that has led to a unique relationship between RBS and BNI throughout the UK - one in which both parties now meet regularly to review progress and to further educate and train members to generate even more business. "When any new BNI chapters are being considered, the local RBS manager has usually volunteered himself (or herself) as the first point of contact, to ensure that the new chapter gets off the ground quickly and with the right quality of member right from the start. It's just one of many ideas put into place jointly by two organisations that have recognised the power of working together to achieve more." The value of the RBS/BNI partnership was reaffirmed at the recent BNI Northern Conference in Manchester (sponsored by RBS) when the Bank's Regional Business Banking Director Robert Grindrod told delegates: "Our managers have completed millions of pounds in new business by joining their local BNI chapters. We see BNI as an important part of our forward strategy. "It is cost-beneficial to us, since one good referral more than pays for the subscription, and we can use it as an added-value item for our customers, by inviting them to join the BNI group and build their business." Ron Hain, BNI's Regional Director for Scotland North has been a key player in forging the partnership with RBS, and driving it forward through regular meetings and presentations to Royal Bank executives. He states, "We have laid the first planks in what I believe should become a prosperous relationship for both BNI and RBS. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the partnership is particularly strong in Scotland, with agreement on a number of reciprocal initiatives linked to new chapter launches, as well as training initiatives with the Royal Bank's existing BNI members, including seminars to share best practice. I am also hoping RBS will feature the partnership on its own RBTV network, highlighting the benefits to every Royal Bank manager across the UK." Ron, who hopes RBS will sponsor BNI's Scottish Members Conference later this year, added: "I would not try to impose any one bank on any chapter, but I am in no doubt that RBS is closely aligned to our business philosophy and has shown itself willing to provide solid support in our development of new groups. There is no reason why other BNI regions cannot achieve the same reciprocal success with RBS as we have established." BNI HAPPENINGS — UNITED KINGDOM 'Mind-mapping' to Chart BNI Course "This new way of business thinking transforms 60-sescond infomercials," says BNI Director Terry Hamill. A simple method of identifying potential new clients is radically improving the business fortunes of BNI members in parts of the UK where its adoption has transformed the way in which they promote their services to chapter colleagues. The relatively new technique of "mind mapping", devised by Tony Buzan, has been adapted and developed by BNI Executive Director Terry Hamill whose introduction of the concept to chapters in Merseyside and Scotland has produced some dramatic results, including: • Over £100,000 worth of unexpected business in the past two months for a 'quietly spoken' Liverpool electrical contractor who had set himself a lesser target for the entire year. • A prestigious £10,000 contract with Everton Football Club for a kitchen catering company, whose boss received the referral just hours after visiting another local chapter. • A £4 million contract for a former Liverpool noodle bar proprietor to manufacture and supply ASDA stores nationwide with a unique range of sushi products. The technique will be featured in detail by Terry Hamill in the next issue of SuccessNet, but its potential for focusing members' minds clearly on their preferred new business customers has been acknowledged by other regional directors who are already promoting the concept among members in their own chapters. In its simplest guise, the BNI-adapted version of mind-mapping has been developed to improve members' 60-second' informercials, by showing members how the weekly minute-slot can be utilised to describe precisely the businesses - and even better, the specific people - to which they would like a personal introduction. "It has worked for me in a quite dramatic fashion," said Phil Brumfitt, boss of Birkenhead-based catering equipment company, Windsor Catering. "There's no doubt that if you are specific in telling your colleagues exactly who you want to reach, they will help you get there. I always finish my one minute presentations by giving colleagues the names of two or three specific companies or organisations I'd like to do business with- and it works. "A few weeks ago I stood in as a substitute for a friend at a neighbouring chapter - Merseyside Beta - and told members I would love to get a contract with either Everton or Liverpool football clubs. Within 24 hours I'd been put in touch with the catering head at Everton and I've now been given a £10,000 contract which, I'm hoping will put me in a strong position to win even more business when the Club relocates its ground later this year," he added. So impressed is Phil with BNI's way of winning business that he's even had his delivery van signpainted in large lettering to read: "BNI gives me a buzz. What could you gain?" along with the website address of his Merseyside Indigo Chapter. "I'm so taken with the whole thing, I've even fitted a flashing red light to my BNI badge which I always wear on business. Inevitably people ask me why, so I tell them that I'm one of BNI's shining lights—and they could benefit from membership too! "My wife Lynda who runs the business with me thinks I'm a very sad case—but I'm proud to highlight what BNI has done for us—generating £75,000 worth of extra business within six months of my joining," he added. Meanwhile, being more specific on the customers you want has also paid even bigger dividends for Crosby electrical contractor John Goodwin, whose 30 year old family business has seen its size and profits grow significantly since he joined Merseyside's Lima Chapter less than six months ago. "I was very skeptical when I joined BNI and doubted it would help me find much new business, but I've been proved totally wrong. The local work we particularly wanted has just flowed in through my chapter colleagues and in the past two months we've been given contracts worth well over £100,000, and I am very optimistic that this will become much larger in the near future with more sizeable contracts coming from the new business contacts I've made through BNI." John said that by focusing on 'named' potential customers, his chapter colleagues had been able to find him the ideal personal referrals. "The other week I said I was really keen to establish contact with the contracts and maintenance division of Liverpool University, since it owns so much property in the city. Immediately a colleague said he knew the right person, and gave me a referral to the appropriate manager with whom we are now discussing considerable work." Terry Hamill told SuccessNet: "Quite simply, it's all about concentrating purely on the customers you want to gain. The trouble is that most of us are so entrenched in our businesses, that we've lost sight of what is important and what isn't. Having head so many wasted 60-second infomercials at breakfast meetings, I felt that mind-mapping could help members focus on the important issues and forget about the rest. It seems to be successful because, whenever I visit chapters whose members have adopted the concept, they tell me how much better they are doing." BNI HAPPENINGS — AFRICA
South Africa National Director Interviewed by Press South Africa's National Director, Mike Levin, was recently interviewed by the Weekend Argus as the Cape Argus Classified Personality of the Week. In an article entitled "Business Over Breakfast," Mike told the story of how standing in for a friend at a networking breakfast on overseas holiday changed his life.
Two years after opening the South African market for BNI, he can state that over 7,000 referrals have been passed in one year, resulting in between R12 to R15 million of business has been generated by South African member-businesses! Australia/Asia
BNI HAPPENINGS — NEW ZEALAND Web-Based Tracking Adds Value in New Zealand We have taken a huge step forwards here in New Zealand and developed a Web-based BNI tracking system. One of the many new features the system offers is the ability for Presidents to produce weekly newsletters along the lines of the sample found below—this is done from the BNI website—each leadership team will have access to a proforma style blank newsletter for its Chapter, and will be able to email it directly to the members of their.
To view the sample newsletter, click on www.bni.co.nz/newsletter. A number of my chapters are already producing a weekly newsletter and we have found this to be an excellent way of bringing members closer together and speeding up the team building process. We hope that by streamlining the process and offering them a professional template that we will be able to encourage more chapters to do the same. —Graham Southwell, New Zealand National Director www.bni.co.nz. BNI SUCCESS Program Highly recommended for new members and all who have not attended any New Member Program. Next Meeting: Monday, Dec 3rd at 5:30 pm. NETWORKING NUGGET Be Specific Every week you have the opportunity in your 60-second infomercial to ask your sales team for some help. Help in finding exactly the type of person you are looking for. Your 60 second infomercial is a little like a 60 second TV ad in Prime Time. That's because it is not a shotgun approach. You are talking to people - your BNI sales team - who can go out and find exactly who you need to talk to. Not just anyone off the street but exactly who it is that is a candidate for your product or service. There is only one rule here—you must be specific! Remember the old adage—"be careful what you ask for because you just might get it!" Well it is never truer than when you tell the team what a good referral is for you. Be specific—ask for exactly the business or person that you need to get to know. BNI has numerous examples of members changing their infomercial and being specific ... and getting just what they asked for. So go ahead! Be daring! Ask! You will be amazed at the results. Have a great week! Best regards on behalf of the Leadership Team, Ben Slater, Vice President BNI Ellerslie-Penrose, Auckland, NZ. PROSPECTIVE MEMBERS
Is BNI for Me? So you've recently been invited to a BNI meeting and wonder where you fit into the mix! First of all, let me say, thank you for checking us out. We've been putting business professionals together for over 15 years in a word-of-mouth marketing environment. To date, we are the largest business-to-business networking organization in the world! 40,000 plus members feel that BNI is certainly for them. We hope you will agree!
BNI was started in 1985 with a single purpose: to develop the referral business of the members. From that point, BNI has grown to the vast networking group it has become. We allow one person per profession to join each chapter, thus guaranteeing exclusivity to the members in their business category. If you are a florist, you will be the only florist in your chapter! One member values his chair at the table each week to be worth over $30,000, because that is the amount of referral business his fellow members generated for his company in one single year. Annual membership in BNI costs less than a business suit—it's the most cost-effective way to market yourself in today's highly competitive marketplace. If you value having 20 to 30 other business people marketing you to others, then BNI is the right place for you! We hope that you like what you see and that you will join a chapter near you and experience firsthand the difference a structured referral system can make in your business. FAQ's
Ask BNI This is the place where you can ask any question about BNI. If you have a question for BNI's CEO and Founder, Dr. Ivan Misner, send it to askbni@bni.com he will post his response here, as space allows. From time to time, a guest Director will post a response.
Q: Does paid advertising benefit BNI chapters? A: As you might expect, I have had some experience with this in the early days of BNI. We did a fair amount of local print-media (newspaper & magazine) advertising much like you described. My response percentage was horrible. What small number of people did respond were almost all in professions that are extremely common in BNI (such as insurance agents). I showed my ads and various chapter ads to an adverting expert. He said that print media advertising is "pre-sold" advertising. In other words, when you decide you want a car, you look for car ads. When you decide you want a computer, you search for computer ads. When you want to do some home improvement, you look for home improvement ads. However, when you decide to join a networking group - you do NOT look for networking ads. He said that you might look in the calendar section—but you won't look for ads. This means that you have to rely on the right person, at the right time to literally stumble of your ad. Since most people don't read all the advertising unless they are "looking" for something—it means that your response ratio will be very poor. The following month, I starting focusing on tradeshows and have never looked back. Now, having said all of that—I have found that there are many members who just won't believe it. They want to "see for themselves". My advice to them is the same, but I don't try to stop them from doing it. If members are convinced that advertising will work, nothing I can do or say will change their mind until they try it themselves. One last point—since 1985, I've never seen any chapter do an ad more than 2-3 times. In every case I've seen, the results were so bad, they lost their comitmment to the approach after a couple trys. Q: Do repeat referrals from one member to another count as a referral? A: There are several ways one can look at this. Some people feel that repeat "inside referrals" are not legitimate referrals. Others feel that money is money and every referral should count. First, I think you should meet with the chapter's Membership Committee and discuss it with them. This is a perfect example of helpting to "guide" the members in a positive way over a positive issue through the Membership Committee. On this issue - we believe that there should be LOCAL control. The Membership Committee should discuss the pros and cons and make a decision based on their feelings. For the record—MOST chapters DO count these referrals because they are legitimate referrals given for a legitimate reason. This money made from these referrals spends just as well as the money made from any referrals. On the other hand—and this is important—sometimes people get ridiculous in giving referrals. One chapter had a member that ordered a ream of copy paper (500 sheets) every week and counted it as a "referral." The chapter that this was crazy and the Membership Committee met and decided that "repeat inside referrals were OK to count as long as they equaled at least $25." Although this seems a bit arbitrary, it set a standard that the CHAPTER liked and could live with. It also opened a positive dialog that the members could be involved in to help establish guidelines that fit the nature of their membership. Bottom line—get the Membership Committee involved and work out something everyone likes. In my personal opinion I think they should count inside referrals—I think they should count inside referrals as long as they are a minimum value. BUT, let them decide.
GIVERS GAIN
BNI Members Write Coaching Book Recently, two BNI members from the Kingwood, TX, chapter, released a book entitled Coach Anyone About Anything. Below is a short bio for both members, who are BNI Ambassadors! Coach Anyone About Anything˜How to Help People Succeed in Business and Life can be purchased from http://www.eaglesview.com; Wharton Publishing 1-800-208-2127; http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1569120501/qid%3D1005335005/ref%3Dsr%5F11%5FO%5f1/103-2237472-5944604; and your local book store. ISBN 1-56912-050-1 Author Profiles: Germaine V. Porché, MS Germaine Porché specializes in working with organizations to produce performance breakthroughs in productivity and leadership. She coaches executives and groups at all levels in achieving their commitments. Her 14-years consulting experience has been multicultural including work in Europe, Indonesia, Israel and Canada. She is a resourceful and innovative designer of consulting interventions and dynamic deliverer of programs in personal effectiveness, empowerment and coaching. Germaine is co-founder of CoachLab, President of Eagle's View Systems, Inc., Kingwood, Texas and co-author of Coach Anyone About Anything by Wharton Publishing. Edward Niederer III, CLU "Jed" Niederer has led seminars and workshops for over 100,000 people in personal effectiveness, coaching, communication and leadership in the US, Canada, South America, Europe, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, Israel and Australia. A skillful program deliverer and developer, he has provided coaching to executives and managers in effectiveness, leadership, and coaching for 23 years. Jed is co-founder of CoachLab, Senior-Vice President of Eagle's View Systems, Inc., Kingwood, Texas and co-author of Coach Anyone About Anything by Wharton Publishing. GIVERS GAIN
Kick Off Generates 37 New Applications! CONGRATULATIONS to the Grand Rapids VII, MI, chapter for their great Kick-Off meeting on September 26th. The chapter had an extremely successful Kick-Off meeting with 37 NEW applications submitted to the Membership Committee the day of their Kick-Off meeting (these are in addition to the 14 core team members). You can see the latest addition to our photo gallery (a shot of the members who attended the Kick-Off meeting as well as a great picture of the Core Group Team!) at the Michigan BNI website. Go to http://www.bni-mi.com and click on "Photo Gallery." There was a great turnout for the BNI Jump Start workshop on Friday, September 7th. Members from several Mid-Michigan chapters were in attendance. To see the BNI members that attended this workshop, go to our on-line photo gallery at the Michigan BNI website. Go to http://www.bni-mi.com and click on "Photo Gallery." MEMORY HOOKS
7 Second Marketing
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
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Technology That Supports Your Network Community
Hello. My name is Brett Oliver. My wife, Hilde and I run a software company in Thousand Oaks, California. We have been building professional client/server systems for 20 years and started working with the Internet when it first appeared. However, some of the technology used to build the Internet—since it grew so fast—is quite unsuitable and irritating. (For those of you technically minded, please ask me when we meet. I won't bore everyone with the details.) So, we have built better technology. It includes everything you generally do on the Internet, only better. The result is a private communications network that delivers! This system can be used by clubs, groups and chapters. We called it TrustedFaces, because everyone in the system is a trusted face. Membership is by invitation only. We invite those organizations in, which we consider trustworthy. I met California Regional Director Harvey Branman and Executive Director Linda McCarthy and their chapters, and eventually Dr. Ivan Misner and the staff at headquarters. So with everyone's cooperation and support we've put 17 chapters onto the system. Each chapter has a group picture and a separate picture of each member with data about him or her. Doing this helped me understand how a BNI chapter works and what members are all about. I then became a BNI member myself. The requests I have gotten since from single members of the group are for customization. For example, we have customized order taking to work for photographers, thanks to Tony Maddox in our group, by creating a "preview and order" site. In fact we have customized the system for every trusted organization we run into. We have invited in the Rotarians, the Kiwanis and Home Owners' Associations. Everyone has slightly different needs. We cater to them in terms of reports, secretarial duties, rosters or whatever is important for that group. Are you tired of spam and viruses on the Internet? Our system is secure—being accountable—without spam or viruses. TrustedFaces does not lend itself to carrying viruses from one user to the next or even run them. Isn't that refreshing? With the "face" and data of each member available to others, with chat, email, file transfer, images and sounds, the system is very usable. What else could one want? We do now understand what a chapter, president or BNI member wants in terms of personal promotion of business. The price for this we set at $20 per month per chapter. Of course private business sites for members of the chapter are also possible. Web pages can be linked to your picture in your chapter site for $36 per year. This makes the web site way more accessible by others. So, are you interested to see what the staff at headquarters looks like? Go to http://www.trustedfaces.com/bni There are 24 slides of the system in action, with pictures of people you might know. If you would like to do any of the following, send an email to brett@trustedfaces.com: register your BNI chapter with the system, get more information, put on a local Rotary, Lions, Kiwanis or HomeOwners Association (a great way to develop new leads), suggest improvements to the system, or create a template for your business type. What Can Our Company Do for BNI? Wouldn't it be great to have access to millions of other trusted organization members? We can bring 40,000 BNI members (as they join the system) into contact with 1.2 million Rotarians, 1.4 million Lions members, 600,000 Kiwanis and 20 million homeowners (as they also join the system). It may take us three years to build out the service but we are already well on our way. Every week we put on more Rotary clubs, Kiwanis clubs and Home Owners' Associations. Also, in appreciation for the support given to us by Dr. Misner, his staff and Directors, we are pledging 20 percent of all BNI member-generated Business Directory revenue to the BNI Charitable Foundation. "People do business with people they trust! Become a trusted face at TrustedFaces.com" TrustedFace Samples
BNI Strives for Cross Cultural Diversity
What is the BNI Cross-Cultural Council?
BNI has officially initiated the Cross-Cultural Council whose sole purpose is to increase the number of representative business owners of diverse cultures in BNI chapters. The Cross-Cultural Council is a volunteer group of BNI Directors and BNI Members who develop Cross-Cultural policies and guidelines, educate and train staff, Directors, and Members about cross-cultural issues and monitor Cross-Cultural Council programs. The Cross-Cultural Council meets at Director's Conferences and corresponds as needed usually by email and periodic teleconferences. How can you participate on the council? Just contact Stacia Robinson, council chair, and tell her you're interested in being on the Council! It is just that simple. So far, the council has been developing for the past three years through the efforts of BNI Directors and a few members from all over the world. Now, we need many volunteers, (Directors and Members), who are willing to be a point of contact to help BNI reach it's cross-cultural goals of increasing culturally diverse membership in BNI chapters worldwide. Some members of the council may have expertise with specific cultural groups, while others will be able to advise and assist the council broadly because of experience with global business alliances. Basically, the only requirements to participate are interest and willingness to expand your business network and target markets. What's next? Once the new members of the council are identified, we will publish their names, areas of expertise, and how to contact them. We will assist the entire organization in implementing strategies that will continue to move us forward in being 'the' global business referral organization for business owners of ALL cultures! Stay tuned for our next issue to see if your chapter members have "BLM!" Stacia Robinson BNI Cross Cultural Council Chairman Phone: (334) 279-1824 Fax: (334) 277-8193 Email: sfrobinson@bni.com 2002 BNI Members' Cruise
Since several BNI members mentioned they missed our annual Members' Cruise, we have decided to plan a special BNI Cruise. Please join us for a 4-day, 3-night cruise with an ocean view cabin onboard Carnival's "MS Ecstasy." The ship will sail from San Pedro, CA, to Ensenada, Mexico. After a day at sea, we will return to San Pedro, CA. The MS Ecstasy will depart on April 19th and return on April 22nd, 2002.
The cruise includes a FREE mixer hosted by BNI, a networking workshop presented by Dr. Ivan R. Misner, Founder and CEO of BNI, and much, much more! Members from all over the United States will be sailing on this cruise along with BNI Directors. BNI has been offered a special price of only $465 per person (airfare not included). If you want to join us, all you have to do is contact Amy Brown by phone—(909) 305-1818 inside So. California, or (800) 825-8286 outside of So. California—or email amy@bni.com. A non-refundable deposit of $50 per person is due by January 15, 2002 (VISA, Mastercard and American Express are accepted). Space is limited, so call or email immediately to reserve your cabin for this incredible event! Attention BNI Travel Agents!! You may sell this cruise to your BNI members out of our group. —Contact Amy Brown for the details.
BNI International Director of the Year 2001
Congratulations to Robert French, Executive Director, United Kingdom. Robert was chosen in November at the International Directors' Conference in Brea, CA, as BNI's International Director of the Year (IDY) 2001. The IDY is chosen each year from National Directors of the Year for each country.
BNI Membership Drive Trip to Cancun
This year 40 lucky BNI members won a 3-day trip to the Cancun Palace Resort.
BNI members got together for a mixer by the beach on Friday. Mary Monogue of the Rock River, WI, chapter said, "It was really great to meet and talk with members from other chapters to get their ideas and perspectives on what they do to make their meetings successful.
Dr. Misner's workshop was Sunday and members and their spouses were there to enjoy his talk and delicious refreshments served. Mark Bergsma of the Grand Rapids 5, MI, chapter said "Dr. Misners workshop was good. I enjoy him and always leave with new ideas. My wife, Kim, used to ask me why I couldn't skip a BNI meeting now and then. Now she says, "You'd better set your alarm and make sure you don't miss your BNI meeting." The rest of the time, many members enjoyed snorkeling, sight seeing, parasailing, and just relaxing. Lynn Hill of the West Houston, TX, chapter exclaimed, "What an experience! I never dreamed that the water shown on the post cards is the true color of the water—it was beautiful!" Mr. & Mrs. Chuck Tomasello of the Jackson MI, chapter said that the All-Inclusive feature was "the best part of the trip. It was a relief not to worry about how much things cost, exchange rate, and tipping. Great! I am going to be trying a lot harder to win next year since I found out how great the trip is."
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