Notably Green: Reflecting on 2020 and Looking ahead to the Road to 2021

Whew!! I think we can all agree, we are glad to have survived 2020! For some, it's been great and for others not so much, but we've all had to deal with some new challenges and opportunities.

Some recent stats as we close out 2020 -

End of November - BNI has passed over 10.6 Million in Referrals and 14.6 Billion is USD TYFCB. 26% of BNI Members now have never experienced an in-person meeting. First-Year Retention is up and so is Retention overall for all of BNI!

So as we close out 2020 and look to 2021, what are your goals for the new year? This is the question I've been asking the groups that I'm visiting and working with. I've heard everything from lose 25 lbs. to hire and train some new people because of increased business. What are your goals for 2021?

Looking back and reflecting on the year past and giving some serious thought to where you want to be this time next year is a good way to start with a plan to hit the ground running the first of the year.

What is your method of setting goals and making a plan? Do you have some BHAGs? Stretch Goals?

I believe you need to have a BHAG to reach for. Even if you fall short you'll be a lot further along than if you didn't set a goal at all or only set a goal you were somewhat sure you could achieve.

Setting a BHAG goal takes a lot of guts. Sometimes what we think are BHAGs if broken down into bite sizes pieces and applying some effort, we find are well within reach. That was my experience very early on in my career in sales. I was given a challenge and thought, No Way could I do that. Someone looked at my production and said, if I kept doing what I was currently doing consistently and added just one more element to the equation, I could achieve what I had thought at first was an impossible achievement. And I did and was awarded a trip to Hawaii. One of the main elements of achieving that goal was deciding to take action plus I REALLY wanted to go to Hawaii.

See, we can set all the goals we want to and make a plan, but if we don't take action and work the plan then we'll never meet the goal. It's like getting very clear about what you're looking for, be it more clients, more referrals, more sales, more visitors at your BNI meeting, etc. and asking everyone you know. If you don't ask 'Are you interested in growing your business and meeting other business professionals.....' Guess what, the answer will always be no. You're defeated before you ever start.

I heard a very good presentation the other day by Kip Kent, an Executive Director in Utah who was quoting some stats for successful BNI members as to their referrals, TYFCB, Visitors, new members sponsored, etc. And what he found in his research was interesting. Those with the highest CEUs typically had the most referrals, higher TYFCB, more visitors and sponsored more new members. Why is that you wonder? They are smart people. They know they don't know everything, but they are willing to learn, and that is exactly what they do. They learn how to be more effective and efficient in their networking and leverage BNI to grow their business.

They say that new members typically increase their bottom line their first year with BNI by about 20% and then it goes up from there. Why? They learn how to work smarter. They work to train their fellow members on how to find quality referrals for them. I would wager if you talked to most any BNI member who has been with BNI for 5 years or more, they would tell you that 70% or more of their business is attributed to BNI.

So what is your plan for 2021? Are you willing to learn how to be more efficient and effective? If you're coachable BNI can certainly help every member meet their BHAGS.