Leaky Bucket, Pilots, and Leadership Teams

                                  

So, what on earth does a leaky bucket, pilots, and Leadership Teams have in common you ask.  Here is a short video by Dr. Miser who explains - 

In the video, Dr. Misner talks about the Leaky Bucket theory of education and training.  I relate it to the game 'Telephone.'  Have you ever played that game?  Where you tell one person something and they, in turn, tell the next person and it goes through about 5 or 6 people and the story that the last person conveys is nowhere close to the original story.  That's why BNI has yearly as well as on-going training.  For one, things change.  Two, it is to ensure that everyone on the Leadership Team is doing all their duties and nothing is slipping through the cracks.  The 'leaky bucket happens when information/training is passed down from one Leadership Team to the next and some important key elements get left out.  Maybe not intentionally, but it happens.  

"As a leader, you can never stop investing in your own growth. There will never come a day when you know enough, have experienced enough, or have seen enough to get you through the challenges every leader faces."  ~ John Maxwell

Don't you want to be part of a team that is well trained and a high performing team?  Your Leadership Team is the pilot, co-pilot, navigation team, etc. for your chapter.  You depend on them to lead you in the right direction, therefore you want them to be trained and taught the right way to do things.  I wouldn't think, as a business person, you would want to be lead or coached by someone who was not trained in their position.  And BNI tenure is not a replacement for Leadership Training.  One of the Core Values in BNI besides Life Long Learning is Traditions and Innovation.  Things change and it's important that BNI Leadership Teams keep up with the changes and learn new and better ways of doing things.

There is one more Leadership Summit, Wednesday, Sept. 23rd.  Click here to register to attend.

Chapter Members also depend on their Leadership Team to set the Vision, Mission, and Goals for their Chapter.  Every business has these and your BNI Chapter should be no different.  The Vision, Mission, Goals, and Mechanisms are what keeps a BNI Chapter moving forward.  It's the roadmap to help chapter members get more referrals, get more revenue, and grow their business.  Does your chapter have a vision, mission, and goals?  Are they announced periodically at your meeting and compared to the actuals?  Ask your Leadership Team what your Chapter's Goals are.  

Why is all of this important?  For a BNI Chapter to be successful it needs a well trained motivated Leadership Team with a clear vision, mission, goals, and mechanisms.  It doesn't matter if you're meeting in person or on Zoom, the basics of BNI are still the same.  And if the basic principles of BNI are implemented and followed, you will have successful members as well as a successful chapter.

If you or your chapter need help and support, reach out to your Support Director.

Here are some additional resources:

 Leaky Bucket Syndrome - Dr. Misner

Why Everyone Should go to Leadership Training - Dr. Misner

Why do I have to go to Leadership Training Again? - Dr. Misner

Leadership Team Vision & Goals - BNI University

Goals Training - BNI University

For previous articles refer to my Notably Green Blog.

And join the Facebook Group - Notably Green

I encourage you to access the podcasts via BNI University so that you show up on the Leader board for your Chapter and your area.  To make it easier, you can also download the app to your smart device.  It's available from ITunes and Google.  Also, be sure and report your CEUs, 1 hour = 1 CEU.

Let me know if you have any questions and how I can be of help.  

 

To Your Success,

 

Annette Mason

Area Director Consultant

In Order to Grow We Must Retain

Years ago when I first became a sales rep I was presented with this statistic - 'By retaining 5% of your customers you can double your income.'  I didn't understand the math behind this, or that acquiring a new customer is anywhere from five to 25 times more expensive and time-consuming than retaining an existing one. Now, many years later, it makes sense: you don't have to spend time and resources going out and finding a new client - you just have to keep the ones you have happy.  And by increasing customer retention rates by 5% increases profits by 25% to 95%.  Another important factor to these numbers is, if we create raving fans of the customers we keep, they will not only keep doing business with us but will refer new business to us.

So in thinking about these statistics, doesn't it also apply to BNI members?  If we want to grow, we must retain and keep the members we have.  Chapters spend a lot of time inviting, growing the chapter, getting new members, training new members, etc.  What if we spent an equal amount of time on retaining the members we have and make them raving fans of BNI.

I just completed reading the book, Retention Point, which by the way, is available on BNI University.  I recommend every member concerned with growing their chapter, especially Presidents, Community Builders, Mentor Coordinators, Mentors, Growth Coordinators, etc. to read this book.  It's a short quick read but packed with 'food for thought' in regards to retaining customers/members.

Every chapter typically has a goal to increase its chapter size.  Why?  Because we continuously provide statistics that show that more members equal more referrals.  Typically when a chapter doubles in size, the referrals triple.

Also, we have discussed that creating more balanced Contact Spheres will help with retention because most members receive 75% of their referrals from their Contact Spheres.  

Do you know what your Chapter's current retention percentage is?  It is part of your monthly Traffic Light score.  You can look it up on BNIConnect or you can ask for VP.  Of the chapters that I support, the average retention is 60% while the average retention for the NW region is 65%.  My BHAG for my chapters is 85% retention BTW.

So if your chapter has a goal to increase the number of members in the chapter, why not also add increasing the chapter's retention rate.  When you set the chapter's next six month's goals and mechanisms, I would like to challenge you to also add increasing the chapter's retention rate.

What are some things a chapter can do to retain its members?

One of the things that were mentioned in the book 'Retention Point,' is the author says that you're not successful with a new membership until the member renews.  If that's the case, then the first year is critical to member retention.  Statistics show that if a BNI member renews after the first year, they will stay a BNI member on average for 5 years.  So, wouldn't you agree that a crucial element for member retention is the on-boarding of new members?  

Key Elements of On-boarding - 

• New Member Orientation with the Chapter President
• Assignment of a Mentor
• New Member Webinar
• Ribbon Cutting
• Member Success Program
• Passport Program

Getting a new member up to speed and producing takes a lot of time and work, but by investing the effort in new members, produces a successful member which equals a happy member who will gladly renew and be a raving fan of BNI.

Other Key Factors to Retaining members:

• Mentor - Teach members how to be successful.  Never assume they know what and how to be a good BNI member.  Assign them a mentor that will 'hold their hand' and teach them how and what to do to be successful.  Each new member is different.  Each learns in a different way and at a different pace.  Take this into consideration when assigning them a mentor.

• Recognition - One of the Core Values of BNI.  Celebrating the success of members. This is key in the beginning for a new member.  Recognize them for completing MSP and the Passport Program.  Celebrate the first time they achieve Green on the Power of One report, etc.

• Balance -  Work to balance the Chapter's Contact Spheres which will help members give and receive more referrals therefore increase their revenue and give them the value of their membership.
• Engagement - Have the current members reach out to the new members for One to Ones, especially the Passport Member Mentors.  Also, get new members involved.  One of the best practices of chapters is that everyone is responsible for a job within their chapter.  Many hands make light work, but also it gives members a sense of belonging and being part of the Team.
• Accountability - Most people become part of BNI because they want to be part of a successful system.  Part of what makes BNI successful is accountability.  New members need to understand expectations and how certain recommended activities will help them be successful.  This starts when the President meets with the new member for their New Member Orientation and continues as they meet regularly with their Mentor.

Hopefully, this article helps in understanding why retaining members is equally as important as bringing in new members. In order to grow, Chapters must retain existing members.  If you need help with Growth and Retention or any other area, contact your Support Director.  They would be happy to help.  That's their job, to help and support you and help your chapter grow and be successful.

Other Resources for this article - 

'The Value of Keeping the Right Customers'

'21 Quick Tips for Customer Retention'

Here are some additional resources:

First Year Member Retention - Tim Roberts

Growth is NOT the Goal - Tim Roberts

The Networking Mentor - Dr. Misner

Breaking the set Point - Dr. Misner

Bigger is Better - Dr. Misner

I encourage you to access the podcasts via BNI University so that you show up on the Leader board for your Chapter and your area.  To make it easier, you can also download the app to your smart device.  It's available from ITunes and Google.  Also, be sure and report your CEUs, 1 hour = 1 CEU.

Let me know if you have any questions and how I can be of help.  

 

To Your Success,

 

Annette Mason

Area Director Consultant