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Get Results from Your Relationships
By Dan Georgevich, Executive Director, BNI-Michigan
Successful BNI members will tell you that Relationships equal Results. And as another year winds down, we start to think about how we did over the last 12 months to increase the number and quality of relationships with other BNI members. We ask ourselves the same questions every year:
“How did I spend my time developing relationships?”
“What was the one area where I gained the best return on my investment of time?”
And perhaps most importantly, “Next year, how do I replicate and increase my successes from this year to make next year better?”
On a regular basis, we survey BNI Leadership Team members (Presidents, Vice Presidents and Secretary Treasurers) by asking, “What is going really well in your chapters?”
From among the many and varied responses, the top answers are the same every time, and the result is always two-fold: (1) we have great relationships among members and (2) we get great results by passing a ton of referrals between members.
Another way to frame this response from BNI leaders is: Relationships = Results!
It really is the little things that count!
Successful BNI members know that every little thing you do and say will determine how other members evaluate whether you deserve referrals. They will tell you that they spend a great deal of time thinking about and executing these common sense strategies for solid business relationships.
1. Be on time; be early if you can. When you show up for a group or one-on-one meeting barely in time or late, you send a message to those present that you are not organized and they are not as important as what caused you to be late. When you get to a meeting early, you send a strong message that you are in control of what you do with your time, and that you are meeting with someone important.
2. Always follow up. This one is so simple but so often overlooked because of the busy lives we lead. After you pass a referral to a BNI member, follow up with that member to see how it is going. If you receive a referral from a member, provide them with an occasional update on the status. When you follow up on referrals you give and receive, you will send the important message to your members that they are valuable to you. You will also send the message that you deserve the referrals they pass to you.
The perception that others have of how much you value your relationship with them will impact what type of results you will receive from them. Doing the small things well takes more time, but you get better results in the long term.
Dance card meetings are like exercise: hard work but worth it!
The first time I joined a gym, it didn’t do any good. I didn’t lose weight and I still felt like I had no energy at all. The problem was that I was a member of the health club, but I didn’t go to the gym to exercise!
Productive BNI members realize that dance card meetings, or one-on-one meetings with other BNI members, are one of the best exercises you can do to get the most out of your BNI membership. To make the most out of this exercise, try the following:
1. Set a goal (one dance card a week is a good starting point).
2. Remember that dance card meetings are an ongoing process: do multiple dance card meetings with the same member.
3. Meet with new members right away.
Dance card meetings require a commitment and an investment in time with your members. However, the payback is there. If you do the relationship exercise, you’ll get the results.
Trust takes time!
Relationships are based on trust. You give and get referrals from people you know, like and trust. In the book "Masters of Networking," the confidence curve shows how the number of referrals (results) you can expect to receive over time increases with the level of trust (relationships) you have with other people. It takes time to develop relationships that yield results.
It’s the same thing every year: “Where did the last 12 months go?” As you think about where to invest your time and focus your energy over the next year, remember there are many things you can do to turn relationships into results.
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