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HUDDLE TIME
Top 10 Activities for BNI Member Success
By Charles Legalos
Always attend your weekly BNI meeting, training and chapter functions. Your strongest business relationships must be built with your BNI members and leadership. Make sure you participate in who becomes a member of your chapter by serving on the Membership Committee or being a Visitor Host. The most effective way to strengthen your chapter is to hand pick and invite potential members yourself. How strong is your Contact Sphere in your chapter?
Listen for a need (Golden Egg) and make a quality business referral. Present your members business card and offer to set the appointment. Call your member on the spot and arrange for a meeting. Whenever possible, be there to make the introduction! And be listening always, not just at work.
Have a ONE-on-ONE meeting with a BNI Chapter member. Building a solid business relationship takes more than a polite exchange during Open Networking at your chapter meeting. First meeting, exchange the Gains Profile. Second meeting, come prepared to identify who (names of people and businesses please) you need to be in a relationship with. When your member indicates he/she can introduce you, strategize the most effective way to make the introduction. Use your imagination. Your goal is an introduction, not a sales call. Third meeting, open up your contact database and identify whom you know that you could effectively introduce to your BNI member. Again plan an effective introduction between your member and your contact.
Effectively introduce a member to someone with whom they need to be in a relationship. This is the 4th step in the 5 Step Referral Process. A One-on-One meeting and agenda items during your chapter meetings (Open Networking, Sixty Second Presentations, and Speaker Presentations) are your opportunities to announce to whom you need to be introduced. When your members identify a person or business in your contact sphere, contact the member outside the meeting and strategize how to effectively introduce them to the person they have identified. Ask each other, "How can we make this better?"
Go to "People Gatherings" and take a BNI member with you. Any place that people get together can become a networking event. Take a chapter member with you because it allows you to introduce each other to people you know at the gathering. It's fun and expands your network of potential relationships. Don't make sales pitches, start building a relationship with people you meet.
Invite guests to your BNI Chapter meeting. Use the meeting to make favorable introductions to members. Tell them to bring lots of business cards and ask your guest with whom they need to be in a relationship. Once they identify to you a match with a member of your chapter, ask to arrange a one-on-one for them with your member right after the meeting. Let your member who you are bringing before the meeting. Don't forget your member's Speaker Presentation this week. Help make their efforts more valuable by inviting a guest that would enjoy their presentation.
Follow up with people you meet at "People Gatherings" and especially guests at your chapter meetings. Time and time again, new BNI members comment to me that the reason they wanted to be a part of BNI was because chapter members began building relationships and networking almost immediately after they visited a chapter meeting. Maximize the follow-up by asking your new networking friend who they do business with and who they would like to do business with. Ask them if they know anybody who needs a product or service of one of your BNI members who you have not had a quality business referral for in some time.
Promote your BNI chapter members. Talk with your members and determine if you can display their product literature, distribute information, endorse their products and services, publish information for them, nominate them for an award, or sponsor an event they are having.
Build your client relationships. Even if you sell a product or service that is only sold once, you should make it a point to maintain a relationship with your buyer. After all, your clients have contributed to your success and can easily provide a referral for you. Ask them how you could help them this week. If you can help them with a problem, they will help you continue to succeed. It's Giver's Gain!
HUDDLE TIME
Want $1,000 a week or more in closed business?
- Be seen as a "giver" not a "taker"
- Connect with interdependent businesses
- Have a clear view of your relationships with other members.
PowerGrid™ research data being collected by Ed Craine, Dawn Lyons and Charles Legalos from the San Francisco region is showing that these are the three secrets of members who average more than $1,000 a week in closed business from BNI referrals.
Givers do gain!
Members described by others in their chapters as good sources of referrals are, without exception, the top earners. Those who are seen as being there mainly to get business are at the bottom of the earnings' scale.
How strong is this effect? The majority of the members in their chapter sees every one of our members who has reported a six-figure total referral income as a "giver". One individual, for example, who has received $200,000 in closed business is described by 18 of the 23 other members in her chapter as a "giver", while only 2 members view her as primarily there to get business. Another member of this same group who reported $300,000 in closed business is seen as a "good source of referrals" by 20 members, with no one viewing him as a "taker". A third member of that same group, described by 17 members as a "giver" and by only 1 member as a "taker", has reported a total income to date of $201,000 from BNI referrals.
While these may be exceptionally high earnings, the principle holds true across the full income spectrum. Members who are seen as good sources of referrals (i.e. "givers") get the most business. Those who are viewed as being there primarily to get business, tend to get the least. Givers gain!
Connect with interdependent businesses!
What are "interdependent" businesses? These are companies that depend upon you for their success and vice-versa. That's right. If you fail, they suffer. If they fail, you feel the pain. And when you succeed, they do likewise.
Building contractors, realtors, mortgage brokers, appraisers and title companies are one example of strongly interdependent businesses. A company that provides training and consulting in word-of-mouth marketing has interdependent relationships with temporary staffing agencies, event planners, referral organizations (like BNI) and business coaches. A commercial photographer may have interdependent relationships with copywriters, graphic designers, advertising agencies, event planners and product developers. These are just a few examples of businesses that rely upon one another for their growth and development. In fact, all businesses are linked by this invisible web of interdependence.
Interdependence is an extension of the concept of "contact spheres". For example, if a training company has materials printed for their course participants, the training company will be in the printing firm's contact sphere. However, the printing firm's success won't help the training firm. It is a one-way relationship. They are not interdependent.
All the individuals mentioned above who reported closed business ranging from $100,000 to $300,000 had relationships with between 5 and 9 interdependent businesses in their chapters.
The emphasis here is on relationships. These members take the time to get together outside of their regular chapter meetings. They know one another's business goals, accomplishments and the challenges each is facing. To keep current, they meet at least once every 3 to 4 months.
Be clear on your relationships in your chapter!
"The reliability of this measure is critical: Does a person's casual perception of connections among his connections match reality? Most people's casual perceptions don't reflect realityŠa few lucky people do have mental maps that reliably represent the social terrain. Such people are much more effective and influential as a result", thus writes Wayne Baker in his book, Achieving Success Through Social Capital.
Our most successful members have a clear perception of their relationships with their fellow members. That is, if they see another member as a good source of referrals for themselves, the other member agrees. If they feel they can be a regular source of business to someone else, that party also agrees. If they feel they have a reciprocal relationship with another member, both individuals agree they can give and get business from each other. The most important thing is that the perceptions are shared.
Members who have flawed perceptions of their relationships with other members tend to do poorly. For example, we recently met a member who claimed reciprocal relationships with everyone in his chapter; however, this perception was shared by no one. He was averaging only $26 a week in closed business from BNI referrals! This is a long way from the $1,000+ per week of the top earners.
Join the "$1,000 a Week Club"
Knowledge is power! PowerGrid™ research data will give you and all the members of your chapter the information you need to build stronger chapters and increase your earnings. Stronger chapters mean stronger businesses.
If you want to participate in this research, please contact Charles Legalos (charlesl@criticalcontacts.com), Ed Craine (ecraine@smithcraine.com) or Dawn Lyons ().
HUDDLE TIME
Five Ways to Train Your BNI "Sales Team"
By David Mallen, Past President, Waverley Chapter, Melbourne
At the Waverley Chapter in Melbourne we teach members five ways to train fellow members and educate them in each other's business so that they can look out for referrals. I would like to share the five points with you below:
- The business cards
- They are often the first impression a prospective customer gets of you and your business.
- Use a graphic designer if your not skilled in this area.
- Have them professionally printed in color. Avoid the 'do it yourself' cards.
- Include a photo if possible
- Use the back for details of your services.
- Avoid folded cards. (They don't fit very well in the BNI card folder either!)
- The largest font items should be your name and telephone number, not your business name or logo.
- Make sure your first and last name and address are on the card. (You will be surprised how many cards we see at BNI that do not contain this basic information!)
- When you update your card make sure you announce to members to replace the superseded cards in their folders.
- Take the business card folder everywhere. Place it on the desk when interviewing people or having a meeting. If often 'creeps' into the conversation and a referral may result.
- The 60-second 'info-mercial'
- Follow the recommended BNI format
- Make it slightly different each week
- Tell a story about a recent experience with a client or prospect.
- Announce any weekly 'specials'.
- Mention the type of referral you are seeking this week.
- Practice and make sure it takes 55-60 seconds. If you take only 30 seconds you are not getting your money's worth!
- Do not walk around passing out brochures. Leave them on the Trade Table.
- Target member's contacts, not the members themselves. Use the words, "if you know a person or business that requires . . ." not, "if you require . . ."
- Start with a 'one liner', if appropriate.
- End with your 'memory hook'
- The Presentation
- Give an overview of your business. Make sure it is in line with your BNI Category.
- Go into detail or specifics on 1 or 2 topics only.
- Make it different from earlier presentations, if you are giving more than one a year.
- Give members a handout or flyer on your business.
- Handout your 'Ideal Referral sheet
- Hand out product brochures or samples, if appropriate.
- Use the overhead or data projector as an aid.
- Show product samples. An audience remembers 75% of what they see, but only 11% of they hear.
- Attend a 'Basic Presentation Skills' training course at a local TAFE college to further enhance your skills. This is really worthwhile and will be useful when promoting your business with clients also.
- The display folder
- Keep handouts from members in an A4 display folder. (They have clear plastic pockets and come in the dark red BNI color.)
- Use the folder when discussing a member's services with a prospective client. Give the client the member's brochure and 'Ideal Referral' sheet. (You can always ask for a replacement at the next Chapter meeting.)
- The folder is also handy to keep spare copies of your brochures and a printout of your 60-second 'info-merical'.
- The 'Dance'
- Schedule at least one per month.
- Visit the other member's office or place of work. Avoid having them on 'neutral territory'.
- Provide refreshments.
- Prepare a list of questions about things you need to know so you can promote the other member's business.
- Collect brochures, samples, 'Ideal Referral' sheet, etc.
- Ask to see typical examples of their work.
- Ask to see a client list so you can gauge the type of organizations they do business with.
- Do a 'Dual Dance', if appropriate. i.e. Once the original 'dance' is over and you now have an idea of what the member does, and if you provide a service to organizations similar to the member's, then perform that service (either in full or in part) for the member. In this way they will really get to know what you do and have a sample of your work- as applied to their business. This gives them a far better appreciation of the products and/or services you offer. They can also show prospective customers a real live example of what you do. "I recommend this person. Look what they did for me."
Here are some additional tips from Australia's first lady of networking, Robyn Henderson:
How to be remembered positively when attending a networking function . . .
- Remember your business cards. Have at least 25 cards on you at any one time. Additional cards may be kept in your car, briefcase, wallet or coat pocket. Most importantly, women often change handbags or switch briefcases as they go from one function to another. The ideal situation is to have business cards in every bag.
- Carry blank cards in case you meet people who do not have business cards with them. Then when you meet someone, who is not carrying their business card, you can ask them to give you their details on a blank card. You may also offer a couple of extra blank cards to them in case they meet others they want to network with post event.
- Always carry your diary. At networking functions, you are often invited to other functions. You can often miss this opportunity, purely because you cannot give a "yes" or "no" answer on the spot.
- Look out for first-timers-that is, people who look a little uncomfortable and out of place. Befriend these people and remember every best friend was once a perfect stranger.
- Book and prepay any functions you plan to attend. If you cannot attend on the day, try to send a replacement. Most organizers charge for no-shows and most will send you an invoice for your non-attendance. Act like the host not the quest.
- Turn off your mobile phone and pagers during the function. There is nothing worse than listening to a great speaker only to be interrupted by a beep. It is even worse when the person answers the call and starts to have a loud conversation. This is a really quick way to turn the whole group against you.
- Decide prior to booking what you want to get from attending. If you just want a meal then go to a restaurant. Don't waste the time of serious networkers who are looking to grow their business.
- Read the daily paper or listen to the latest news on the day of the event. Select one or two topics that will feel confident introducing into the conversation.
- Follow up if you say you will. Most people miss out on sales because they don't follow up.
- By the end of the function, if you are thinking it has been a perfect waste of time and you have not generated any business for yourself, find someone you can give some business to. With the law of reciprocity, what you give is what you get back. As Ivan Misner always says, great networkers give without remembering and receive without forgetting.
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