June 2007
Art of Networking |
As someone who has spent my life traveling around the world, I thought traveling to a new region would be a piece of cake. Then I began the preparations for my adventure to the United Arab Emirates.
After booking tickets for our BSI® Business Services International Germany team (comprised of the Missing Link Brand Engineers and BSI® Business Services International), I set about the task of finding a hotel that would be centrally located to our meetings in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. I quickly found out that Dubai is set up differently than most of the countries I've visited—and outside of the immediate city centers, it's difficult to find a city plan that is up-to-date.
My business partner reminded me that I'd contacted BNI Middle East National Director Bijay Shah to inform him of our impending trip. He or another BNI member would surely have a contact that could help us locate hotels, rental cars, and regional phones.
I pulled out the BNI members list that our partners, Business Services International, had received from Sabine Poolke, ex-chapter director for the BNI Early Bird Chapter in Dubai. As a native German, she was excited to hear that a German contingent would visit Dubai, and recommended that I contact her chapter colleagues for help. Within 24 hours, her contacts had arranged not only hotel and rental cars, but a driver for the week!
Once in Dubai, we were greeted so warmly by the three chapters we visited (BNI Early Bird Chapter, BNI Falcon Chapter, BNI Business Eagles Chapter), that we hardly wanted to leave. I would like to thank a few members: Yohannes Mezenghe from Swissflora, who gave us a referral to the largest sporting event company in the UAE, and Nick Pearson from Pearson Consulting, who put us in contact with a customer we've been seeking for three years—one of the most prestigious airlines in the world! We hope to visit again in the near future to sign a contract.
Thank you to all three chapters! It was a testament to BNI's philosophy of Givers Gain that BNI guests from another part of the globe are welcomed and given referrals, too.
Submitted by Tanya Carter, BNI Munich Germany, www.tmlbe.com
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I am a distributor with Shaklee Corporation, and we recently opened in Taipei. Ten other Shaklee businesswomen joined me on this trip to attend the grand opening. Gary Chang, the president of BNI Flagship Taiwan, welcomed my visit and provided an interpreter. The group had approximately 25 members, and I was able to give a referral to a Taiwan member. Three of the Taiwan BNI members attended the Shaklee grand opening. Additionally, I set up an interview for a BNI Taiwan member with the Shaklee Corporation.
The interpreter, a fellow BNI member who is an English professor at the University of Taiwan, invited us to an English club meeting the next day at the university. The English professor is now a client of mine. Another club member is working with my associate, and we gave a few referrals to the English professor.
Because of my visit to Taiwan BNI, I was able to get into a very special gathering at the Taiwan Bar Association in NYC. My associate and I went, and we both have two contacts who we will be working with. And the business associate I brought to the BNI Taiwan meeting joined as a BNI member in NJ.
Submitted by Jaclyn Rothenberg, Trumbull Quest Chapter, Trumbull, CT
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Why would a small private college join an international business networking organization? The answer can be summed up in one word: opportunity.
In 2001, King College launched its first venture into adult education with the announcement of its Master of Business Administration program. I was selected to begin recruiting for the MBA and, later, two bachelor's level degree completion programs. I was also looking for a way to communicate our new programs to the business community in the most time- and cost-effective way possible. A creative alumnus sent me an invitation to a Visitors Day for the Bristol's Best Chapter of BNI. I seized the opportunity.
I attended the meeting and learned about the outstanding system that BNI offers to companies. When I joined, I entered with the initial intent to recruit students. Quickly, it became evident that I would not be raking in referrals each week. But by teaching my fellow networkers what I was looking for in contacts, I began to receive warm introductions into the local business community. That led to students.
Each semester, we gain students through direct referrals from BNI members (and in some cases BNI members themselves) and through the business contacts generated through the weekly meetings. Since our inception in 2001, the Graduate and Professional Studies programs have grown by more than 3300% due in part to the networks that were built through BNI.
Thank you, BNI, for helping us to become the fastest growing school in Tennessee. That is why business networking gets an A+ in my book.
Submitted by Micah R. Crews, King College Assistant Director of Recruitment for Graduate & Professional Studies
The Benefits of Reading SuccessNet!
In March's My BNI Story, I read about Karen Schmedeke, a partner in a web design/creative services firm called DezignMatters Creative Group, Inc.
I contacted her to see what type of creative services her firm offered. I was impressed with what she offered, and we clicked. Now we will be working together, and I already have a client for her.
The following transactions are a result of reading SuccessNet:
1. I've referred Dezign Matters to On Point Printing, the printer in my chapter. Now On Point Printing is quoting a job for Dezign Matters!
2. Dezign Matters is adding a page to their website featuring ad specialty/promotional items. My company, Free Advertising, Inc, will handle any orders placed with Dezign Matters for these items.
3. I plan to run a promo piece to let my existing and potential clients know that my company, Free Advertising, Inc., is celebrating its 20th year of business. Based on my association with On Point Printing and Dezign Matters, I'm going to offer printed material and web design—and those orders will be passed along to them.
4. On Point Printing plans to produce a promo piece letting its current and potential client base know that they now offer ad specialty/promotional items, which will be handled by my company.
I'm wondering where this will all end! One day the network may become a powerful advertising agency, with roots in BNI.
Submitted by Miriam Burrows, Free Advertising, Inc.
www.freeadinc.com
Building Relationships Between Chapters
When you're a BNI member, your network spans beyond your own chapter. Mark Pipich, a member of the BNI Manassas Chapter, called me last week with two referrals—one for renters insurance and another for commercial insurance. He found me on the BNI website. This is more evidence of how BNI members work together to help each other build their businesses. It also shows the importance of building relationships not only with members in your chapter but also with other chapters.
Al Freeman III, Allstate Insurance, President of BNI Greenbelt Thursday Breakfast Chapter
Submitted by Jerry Schwartz, BNI Executive Director Maryland & D.C.
A Referral Deal
I work for Dansikring Direct (known worldwide as Securitas AB), selling security systems for stores, offices, and other businesses. A year ago, I met a salesman for the largest insurance company in Denmark. We made a deal: Every time he gave me a referral that led to a sale, I would give him a very good bottle of wine. He liked the wine so much that over the next three weeks, I received three referrals from him. Those turned into three more contracts.
I had to buy more wine! I went to the wine store in Copenhagen and bought 24 bottles of very good wine. With all the bottles in tote, I went to see the salesman at his office and gave him five of them. Then, I took a chance. I placed a wine bottle and a company card on each of the other employees' desks.
After some time (probably after they tasted the wine), I was provided with more referrals—more than I could ever imagine. Now, I'm buying 20 bottles of wine each month, and still getting referred to others in the same insurance company.
I learned that you might get a referral because you give something of significance to a potential referral source. If you close a contract and the customer is pleased with your service, go back to where you got the referral. If that happens every time, you will continue to receive referrals from that person as well as from others in the same company, friends of his, or others in his community.
Submitted by Thomas Gervig, Sikringskonsulent
The Value of a Substitute
Karen Russell, senior branch manager of NatWest Bank and founding member of the Tonbridge Chapter in Kent, England, arranged for a substitute to attend a meeting on her behalf.
During the 60-second presentations, I said, "A good referral for me would be a company requiring a monthly magazine." Karen's substitute, Trevor, passed me a referral that introduced me to the editor of a magazine. He turned out to be my own bank manager of five years!
Until he attended the BNI meeting as a substitute, my bank manager had no idea that he had two clients who could and should be doing business together!
This referral led to an ongoing monthly contract for the magazine, and, a couple of years later, all the marketing material for the client. The size of the referral necessitated my reluctant resignation as an assistant director for BNI.
Cumulatively, the value of that initial referral has resulted in over 770,000 euro, a figure that continues to grow yearly!
The lessons I learned from that meeting are following:
• Get a substitute … please!
• Be specific.
• Cultivate relationships and trust, which lead to 3rd-party referrals.
Finally, by way of an observation, the editor of the magazine, the printer, and my own company all still bank with NatWest. Givers do gain!
Submitted by Mark Keatley-Palmer, Founder Member, Tonbridge Chapter, Kent, England
New Business Built with BNI Support
I am currently planning to launch a new business, and, thanks to BNI, the last thing I am worried about is how to promote it. BNI will be the perfect vehicle. Interestingly, without exception, every person who is helping me develop the business (and there are many) is either a BNI member or someone I have met at BNI—no exceptions.
Submitted by Roger Hick, RhD Office Limited
