Rolling Out the Red Carpet

From February 2019

How was your first experience with BNI?

Did you feel welcomed?

In last month's newsletter we talked about the Value of a Visitor.  Inviting Visitors is part of the 'Givers Gain' philosophy of BNI.  It is a way to give to your fellow BNI members.  Your fellow members offer products and services that visitors may be looking for.  So by inviting visitors, you are bringing potential referrals to your fellow members.

So how was your first visit to BNI?  

Did you feel welcomed? 

BNI Chapters have a whole process to help ensure Visitors feel welcome.  

Here are the steps that are recommended to ensure every visitor gets the red carpet treatment:

 

• When a visitor registers to attend, they receive an email from BNI, thanking them for registering.
• Another email is sent to the Chapter Leadership Team and to the Visitor Hosts to alert them that they have Visitors registered to attend the upcoming meeting.

• The best practice is for the Visitor to receive a phone call from the president or designated Visitor Host to find out a little bit about the Visitor so that they may make the right introductions to their prospective referral partners at the meeting.
• The member who invited the Visitor, also follows up with the Visitor the day before to ensure they know the time and location of the meeting.
• Followed by the phone call, an email with the directions and other information the Visitor needs to know, is also suggested to be sent by a Visitor host.
• The Visitor Host prepares the Visitor name badges the night before thus letting the Visitor know when they arrive, that they were expected.
• The morning of the meeting, the member who invited the Visitor needs to arrive early to greet their Visitor.  
• The morning of the meeting, the Visitor Hosts arrive early to set up the Visitor registration table with all necessary material so that all the Visitors feel welcome.

• A Visitor hosts meets and welcomes the Visitors, helps them get signed in, and introduces them to someone in their contact sphere.
• (Great Chapters train their members, that ALL members are Visitor Hosts and they fill in and help out wherever it's needed.  After all, Visitors are potential business for all members.).
•  The Visitor is given a Visitor Information packet, i.e. BNI brochure, agenda, Chapter Member information/roster, etc.
• During the meeting, the member who invited the member, sits with their Visitor and answers questions and helps them through the agenda.  If there are any orphaned Visitors, a Visitor Host sits with them.  A Visitor should never be left alone.
• After the meeting, Visitor Orientation is held and the Visitors are given information about the benefits of BNI membership.  
• The Visitor Hosts helps the Visitors who have questions and assist those ready to complete an application.

• After the meeting, the Visitor Host follows up with the Visitors with a phone call, thanking them for attending and answers any questions they may have.
• The member who invited the Visitor should also follow up with their Visitor.
• Power Team members of the Visitor should follow up with the Visitor.  This could be the start of a referral partner relationship even if the Visitor doesn't join the chapter.
• The Visitor's information is verified in the system and their attendance is marked, so that they will become part of the BNI engagement process and receive periodic emails.

• It is recommended that Chapters keep in touch with past Visitors.  They are great resources for subs.  They may be able to fill open seats should they become available.  Invite them back for a second visit and/or for Focused Visitor Days, i.e. for a featured speaker, stack days, Power Team Days, etc.

Visitors who feel welcomed are more apt to do business with the Chapter members and quite possibly consider membership.  It's important to help them feel welcome from the time they register, at the meeting, after the meeting, and beyond.  They are potential sources of business whether they become members of not.  

Here are some additional resources:

The Value of Visitors - Click Here

Visitor Experience-1

Visitor Experience -DG

Making People Feel Welcome

Welcoming Visitors

Visitor Orientation

I encourage you to access the podcasts via BNI University so that you show up on the Leaderboard 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.

The Four Pillars of a Successful BNI Chapter

From March 2018

This month's newsletter is about the 4 Pillars of a successful BNI Chapter.  In Podcast # 520, Dr. Misner and Tim Paulin, National Training Director and Executive Director for BNI Louisiana and Mississippi discuss this topic.

Here are the 4 Pillars:

1. Many visitors or guests at each meeting. Not all of them have to qualify to join: bring people who can do business with members.
2. A well-run professional meeting. Pay special attention to the hidden elements. (See Episode 9 and Episode 16 for more about the hidden elements of a meeting.)
3. Follow-up post meeting. The leadership team needs to follow up with visitors and guests, and members need to follow up about the business they've passed.
4. Accountability for the chapter members. One of the most important parts of accountability is attendance, and it's up to the membership committee to maintain this.

So for #1, what is many visitors/guests.  That depends of the size of the chapter.  For an average chapter of 24 members, it is suggested to have 4 to 7 visitors/guests each week.  4 on the low side and 7 on the high.  For larger chapters, there should be more visitors/guests.  According to Tim who teaches this to his chapters, not all of the visitors have to qualify for membership. Bring guests. Bring people that can do business with the members of the chapter. If you stop focusing on folks that can join the chapter and just bring people who can do business with the members of the chapter, you can get that many visitors/guests each week.

#2 - Once you have many visitors and guests in the room, we have to run a professional meeting, a well-run put together agenda that is provided by BNI with a special attention that is paid to the hidden elements of the BNI chapter meeting.  (For more on the hidden elements of the meeting and their importance, listen/read Podcasts #9and #16).  We talk about everything from entering the meeting 15 minutes prior to the start of the meeting, being there, being prepared to welcome your guests and your visitors through open networking and through each point of the agenda, taking special attention and care to introduce that portion of the agenda, run it professional, and as the meeting concludes, to make sure that we are doing a great, spectacular orientation with our visitors and guests and offering them the opportunity to be considered for membership by filling out an application.  Professionally run, that is the core of a good BNI group- running a great meeting.

So with #3, as that meeting concludes, our job is follow up. Not only is a chapter, leadership team and members to follow up with the visitors and guests to answer any questions that they might have, to invite them back for a second look at our chapter meeting, but also for our members to follow up with each other about the business that was passed at the chapter meeting that week. Make sure that you are following up on the referrals that you received, that you are following up on the referrals that you have given to make sure that the person that you have referred gets the right care and the right treatment from your BNI members. Follow up is key to success in this organization.

Tim goes on to say that, One of the things I ask my members is if you gave a referral to someone who didn't follow up with it, do you give them a second chance? Would you refer them a second time? Most people would not.  So follow-up, follow-up, follow-up.

With #4, which is our last pillar of a successful BNI group, we talk about accountability in and around the chapter. Now, the accountability is provided by our membership committee for our chapter. One of the most important things that we are accountable to is attendance. Being there each and every week on time so we can participate in the meeting appropriately. Participating in the meeting appropriately is bringing visitors, bringing guests, bringing referrals, being prepared for your Weekly Presentation, being prepared for your Spotlight Presentation when it is time to do so. All of these things come into play in that accountability to making sure that everyone in the group is participating and making the group successful comes from the membership committee.  The groups that are most successful are the ones that 'get it' that accountability is key. They have accountability with their groups, including things like attendance.

Tim goes on to say, that to help your chapter get better, get involved.  Step up into a support or leadership role.

Ivan concludes, hit all four cylinders on this and you will have a successful chapter. The four pillars, again, are - #1 have many visitors, #2 have a well-run professional meeting, utilize the hidden elements (check out episodes #9 & #16, if you would like to know more about hidden elements), #3 follow up after the meeting, and #4 accountability. Do those four things, do them well and you are going to have a successful chapter.

 

To listen or read this podcast in it's entirety - Click here.

Follow up on Referrals

From May 2017

The Theme for the 2017 International Networking Week, was FOLLOW UP! This month our focus is on following up on Referrals. Following up on referrals is part of BNI's Code of Ethics. This is a Networking Education presentation given by Sima Awad of ActionCOACH. Each week we are all looking for referrals for each other and as you know a lot of the time it's not easy. In fact, the referrals I have given over the last few weeks have just dropped into my lap and have not been a result of the efforts I have made. We are all busy and are focusing on our jobs and day to day tasks but if you give or are given a referral I'd like to talk to you about the importance of follow up. 1. If you GIVE a referral, make sure that you follow up with the recipient to make sure you gave a GOOD referral. Don't just assume that NO NEWS IS GOOD NEWS. It isn't 2. If you GET a referral, immediately make it your highest priority. You have to show that you're good at what you do, that you can provide the expected products or services, and that your customers are happy with the result and with you 3. Understand that a referral in BNI is NOT a guaranteed sale - it's the OPPORTUNITY to do business with someone who is in the market for your product or service. The referral is only HALF THE BATTLE - the other half is TURNING THE REFERRAL INTO A CLIENT. 4. SALES SKILLS are essential here. 34% of BNI referrals turn into sales. That's a huge number but it doesn't happen automatically. You really have to BECOME GOOD AT SALES. 5. BNI's philosophy is GIVERS GAIN. This works in sales too. Remember that selling isn't something you do TO someone, but rather something you do FOR someone. If you believe in your product or service and can show your referrals how it can solve their problems, your result will be good. 6. What do you do if a problem comes up? FIX IT. Whatever it takes FIX IT! You won't have a more important client than the one your BNI chapter referred to you. This is not someone who replied to your Advertisement or your Direct Mail or your Website or a Telemarketing campaign. This person came from a fellow member who trusts you and their own reputation is also at stake. So take really good care of your referral, deal with them with integrity, and do everything possible to make them a happy, successful client. Keep everything above board and communicate clearly. No hidden charges and no unexpected exceptions. Walk your talk or your BNI members will never refer you again. 7. Finally, let the person who GAVE you the referral know how things are going...and how EFFECTIVE the referral was. Be honest, be positive and be clear. Remember that each of us has to train the rest how to make the referral that works for us - this is why it is so important to have your 121s with EVERY MEMBER in the chapter. We can't do any better for each other without feedback. Please keep it positive and if it wasn't a good referral say so in a CONSTRUCTIVE way. Best to have this chat in private and say something along the lines of "a better fit for me would be....." So, just to summarize: * If you give a referral, follow up to make sure it was a good referral * If you get a referral, immediately make it your highest priority * Sales is a necessary part of your business - get good at it! * If problems arise, handle them quickly and honorably * Give feedback on the effectiveness of the referral If you get good at all of this you will get a higher quantity and quality referrals! What if you give a referral and the member does not contact your referral?  Refer to podcast #298 for information and suggestions on how to handle.  Click Here to read the entire transcript from Podcast of #298

Following Up with Existing Members

From April 2017

The Theme for the 2017 International Networking Week, was FOLLOW UP!

This month our focus is on following up with existing members to ensure their success.  Never assume all members know and understands all the BNI processes, procedures, policies, and expectations.

The current retention rate of BNI members overall is 47%.  There are many reasons why BNI members don't renew after the first year, i.e. changed careers/jobs, moved, to much / not enough business, not enough time, etc. 

Statistics show that members who renew after the first year stay with BNI on average 5 years.  So how do we retain good members.

Here are my recommendations on improving retention:

- The first step is to ensure new members get off on the right foot by engaging them in the Mentor Program.  Refer to last month's newsletter for more information on the Mentor Program.
- Membership Committee Review Performance - The Membership Committee should review all members performance every month.  The MC should review personal PALMS report and Traffic Light reports to ensure members are on track or may need help in certain areas.  If the MC sees areas that need some tweaking they should recommend steps that will help the member make improvements where needed.

• Attendance - Is the member present and if not are they sending a sub?
• Referrals - Is the member giving and receiving quality referrals?
• Visitors - Is the member bringing visitors?  At least 1 per month.
• CEUs - Is the member taking advantage of training?  Online / Face to Face.  Earning on average of 1 CEU per week. 
• Accountability - Is the Membership Committee holding members accountable?

Just like retaining good clients / customers, it's easier and costs less to retain good clients and customers than it is to get new ones.  The same applies to BNI members. 

In podcast 294, Dr. Misner goes over how to Attract and Retain Quality Members.  Click Here to read the article. 

If the Membership Committee strives to help members be successful and the member is doing their part to be successful, then when it's time to renew, it should be a 'No Brainer.' 

Following up with New Members

From March 2017

The Theme for the 2017 International Networking Week, was FOLLOW UP!

This month our focus is on following up with new members to ensure their success.  Never assume a new member knows and understands the BNI processes, procedures, and expectations.

Here are the steps BNI recommends to ensure a new member's success along with a few ideas of my own.

- The day the new member is inducted - On the day the new member is inducted they should receive their new member packet which includes their Passport and their member folder already filled with their fellow chapter member's business cards.  After the meeting the President of the chapter should conduct a new member orientation with the new member which should include the attendance policy, sub program, chapter by-laws, and any other pertinent information the new member needs to know.

- The Mentor Coordinator follow up with the new member - The Mentor Cood should schedule a meeting ASAP with the new member to go over the Passport Program and fill in the names of the members that the new member should meet with as designated in the Passport.  The Mentor Coordinator should also ensure the new member gets registered and attends MSP within their first 60 days of membership. The 1st month, the Mentor Coordinator should check in with the new member every week to make sure they are scheduling their meetings designated in their Passport and offer pointers where needed.  The 2nd month - every other week.

- Three Month Follow Up Review by the Membership Committee - The Membership Committee should schedule a meeting with the new member 3 months after their induction to see if the member is having any issues, go over their personal PALMS report and Traffic Light reports to see where they may need additional help and/or training.  Based on that meeting, the MC should recommend steps that will help the new member make improvements where needed.

- Six Month Follow Up Review by the Membership Committee - Basically the same as the 3 month review. At this review, it would also be a good idea to have the Mentor Coordinator check in with the member to ensure they are still continuing their meetings to complete the Passport Program because they should be about 3/4 finished by now.

- Nine Month Follow Up Review by the Membership Committee -  It's time to review and talk about the member renewing their membership. If the steps above have been followed then the member should have completed the Passport Program by now and be a contributing member of their Chapter in all areas, i.e. giving referrals, receiving referrals, inviting visitors, TYFCB, CEUs, etc.  Renewing their membership for another year becomes a no brainier.   

Follow Up to build Relationships

From February 2017

In this month's SuccessNet there are two short articles on how to follow up when you meet someone at a networking event.

Click here to read the first article 'Master Following Up With New Connections' By: Eden Creamer-Hurdle

The second article is 'The Three-Step Follow-Up Formula'

By: Ivan Misner, Ph.D Featuring guest co-author Brennan Scanlon

Click Here to read about the 24/7/30 System.

And lastly, I am including a link to a blog post of mine that I did in January 2010 and I've used this many times when asked to speak on networking.  I feel it also has some tips that can be used for following up.  Click Here to read 'How to Build a Strong Network.'

I believe the Fortune is in the Follow Up.  This chart is just as applicable to following up with new connections as it is to our business prospects.  If you want to build relationships - You have to Follow Up!

Follow Up - Visitors

From January 2017

For this newsletter I want to touch on the Follow Up plan a Chapter should have in regards to their visitors.  But let's first understand the 'why.'  Visitors are important to BNI chapters for several reasons.  Not only as prospective members to grow the chapter, but visitors, even if they don't join, bring on average about $1200 in additional revenue to the chapter.  This is why it is important to have a Follow Up strategy for visitors for before and after the meeting to ensure they feel welcomed and appreciated.

Here are some recommendations:

• Visitors should be registered prior to the meeting.  That way the entire Chapter receives an email that a visitor has registered to attend.  The members (particularly those in the visitor's contact sphere) should reach out and let the prospective visitor know they look forward to meeting them.  That lets the visitor know that they are being expected at the meeting and they will be much less likely to be a no-show.
• Just prior to the meeting, a follow-up confirmation email* with directions,expectations, i.e. bring business cards, prepare infomercial, etc. should be sent.  This task could be delegated to one of the visitor hosts or the growth/event coordinator.
• After the meeting the Secretary/Treasurer enters all of the first time visitors into BNIConnect.  This triggers a Follow Up email and phone call from BNI, however there should also be Follow Up from the BNI Chapter within 24 to 48 hours by phone and email*.  A phone call should be placed asking if the visitor had any additional questions, etc.  An email* can also be sent with additional information along with other resource information about BNI. This task is usually done by a member of the visitor host team or could be done by the Growth Coordinator.
• The member who invited the visitor should also be following up with their visitor. 
• Some chapters also add their visitors to theiremail newsletter distribution list as a way to keep in touch.  Not all visitors can or choose to submit an application at the time they first attend.  By keeping in touch, when they are ready to pursue a membership they will feel compelled to submit their application with the chapter who kept in touch.
• It has also been suggested to Follow Up with those visitors who registered to attend but didnot show up.  A courtesy phone call could be placed to ask the prospective visitor if there was a problem finding the location, etc. and to invite them to attend a future meeting.  This task could be done by the visitor host member doing the other Follow Up phone calls.  I would also suggest adding these individuals to the 'keep in touch' distribution list.

Some feel that this is way to much Follow Up.  In my opinion I had rather see to much rather than not enough, or worse - none at all.  If Follow Up is done correctly with the 'Givers Gain' attitude then it helps the visitor to feel like they are appreciated, welcomed, and hopefully will want to become a part of BNI and/or do business with their members.  However, often times I see chapters not doing anything and losing visitors as members because the visitor did not feel that they were welcomed and appreciated.  From the first BNI meeting I attended until I finally submitted an application (about 2 years), I attended about 3 or 4 different BNI meetings and I don't remember any Follow Up.  It was only after a personal friend called to tell me there was an opening in her chapter and she thought I would be a good fit, that I finally made the commitment.  

 

I believe the Fortune is in the Follow Up.  This chart is just as applicable to BNI visitors as it is to our business prospects.  If you want to see Growth and Revenue in your chapters - You have to Follow Up!

 

What is the #1 Trait of a Master Networker?

From June 2015

Recently I was asked to present to a new Core Chapter - What is the #1 Trait of a Master Networker.  Later the same week I attended a ProNetworker meeting and guess what part of the presentation was about?  You guessed it - What is the #1 Trait of a Master Networker.

So What is the #1 Trait of a Master Networker - Follow Up.  Sadly though, most people do not do this well as the statistics below show.

48% of sales people never follow up with a prospect

25% of sales people make a second contact and stop

12% of sales people only make three contacts and stop

Only 10% of sales people make more than three contacts

2% of sales are made on the first contact

3% of sales are made on the second contact

5% of sales are made on the third contact

10% of sales are made on the fourth contact

80% of sales are made on the fifth to twelfth contact 

BNI conducted a survey for the book Masters of Networking that asked business professionals what the most important traits of a master networker were. The most important trait was following up on referrals. Not giving them, following up on them.

Remember, the best system for following up is the One you're going to use.

There are many kinds of follow-up. You should follow up when you meet a person, not just when you get a referral. Following up is part of building a relationship, not just closing a deal.

Week 20 in The 29% Solution, discusses follow up and how critical consumers are with their expectations.  So, when you meet people networking what is your typical follow up plan?  Is that different when you speak with a qualified prospect?  And do you have a plan for future follow up like a 'drip' campaign?  What does that look like?  And why do we follow up?  The answer - To show we are credible, 'stay in the game,' etc.

From page 115 of The 29% Solution ..."Good follow-up is not just doing what is required or what you've promised to do.  It also involves going BEYOND what is expected.  I think we all agree that this type of successful follow up system takes consistent work."

In the The 29% Solution, there is a real simple form called The Networking Follow-Up Report Card, and it's very simple.  Simply just going in to automatic follow up tasks doesn't cut it.  Every prospect is not the same and you have to differentiate and personalize, don't you?  This Networking Follow-Up Report card syas, "Hey, here are the contact names.  When did you first connect?  What follow-up is necessary?  When did you complete the follow-up?  Did you follow-up after three months?  Six months?  Nine months?  Did you follow up afterwards?"  Any kind of system like that can be very effective to help track the connections and the referrals and the opportunities you have to reconnect with other people.

Does your BNI Chapter have a Follow-Up system for following up with Visitors?  If not, why not?

You might choose something as low tech as a personal note, greeting card, or email an article or podcast of interest or as high-tech as an electronic marketing campaign through CRM program like Infusion Soft, Constant Contact, or ACT.  Regardless you must make sure it fits your follow-up 'personality" of sorts.

To learn more  listen to Dr. Ivan Miser's podcast #290

Become a Master Networker - Follow UP!