How does appearance affect your creditability?

 

Should we be judged by the way we dress?  No, but we are judged on everything from our age, our intelligence, how much money we make, etc. in the first 11 seconds.  First impressions do make a difference and are oftentimes hard to overcome.

In an article on 'What does business casual really mean,' I found the following.....

"Many highly intelligent, well-qualified, capable men and women are often disqualified or dismissed because 'they don't sell for what they're worth,'" Price told Business Insider. "They've left the 'business' out of 'business casual' and the lack of professional appearance holds them back. It's frustrating because clothing certainly does not determine one's actual competence and credibility; it does, however, influence others' perception of those qualities — and that reality impacts career opportunities."

80% of success is showing up, but how you show up also matters.  

For many years as an image consultant, I taught these concepts.  Even when I left my corporate job, I gave presentations on 'Dressing for success when interviewing for a job placement firm.  Many of the people I spoke with assumed they should dress according to the job for which they were applying.  Not necessary.  I advised to always dress a step above the job you were applying for.  For instance, if applying for a position where business casual is appropriate, an open-collared shirt with a sport coat would be more appropriate.  

Being in sales and meeting with potential clients means you are constantly interviewing.  Appearance does come into the equation.  Whether networking or on scheduled appointments.

Here are a couple of podcasts that further define the importance of dress and appearance.

In Podcast #649, Dr. Misner discusses the 12x12x12 rule.  In this article, Dr. Misner states....

You want to come across as a professional, whether you’re going to a chamber of commerce function or a big event. You want to come across as a professional, generally speaking. I try to dress at or above my audience level. But not all professions have to do that. If you’re a car mechanic, you don’t have to dress, you know, in a suit and tie. But you do want to come across, you know – khakis and a nice shirt. You want to look professional.

In Podcast #577, Meaghan Chitwood, BNI Northern Alabama Region Executive Director, recounts her experience with being 'not referable' as a business coach.

When Meaghan first joined a BNI chapter in Alabama, she’d just come out of the construction industry. Although she was now working as a business coach, she was still dressing to fit in on a construction site. She was focused on establishing credibility by knowing what she was talking about.

One day, two of her fellow BNI members came to her and said “We want to help you, because right now you’re just not referable.”

Are you referable?  What does your appearance say about you?  How are you showing up?  It's always been my philosophy that you never know when you're going to meet your next best client or referral partner.  I think sometimes BNI members take their weekly BNI meeting for granted in that these people know me, they know what I do, etc.  Maybe so, but what about the visitors or members from other chapters who could be potential clients or referral partners?  My advice....'Don't ever miss an opportunity to make a good first impression!'

Happy Networking,

Annette

BNI Area Director

Secret Formula for Success

 

There really is no secret.  You already have the formula.  It's just a matter of learning how to be more effective and efficient.

What I feel is the issue for most new members, is new members come into BNI thinking that BNI is going to be the Be All - End All for all of their networking and referrals. They think they are going to get a ton of referrals right out of the gate. The referrals are just going to fall out of the sky miraculously.  And they seem shocked to learn it's going to take some work on their part to either learn how to network effectively and efficiently and to un-learn past ways of networking that were ineffective.

I attended a webinar a few weeks ago and heard an interesting statistic from the presenter.  He said it's usually about the 3rd year that most BNI member's referrals and revenue really begins to kick in.  This was one of those Ah-Ha moments because most members aren't willing to give it that much time, must less do the work involved to get to that level.  We've always heard that members who renew their first year, usually remain members for 5+ years. But most new members give up and decide to leave about six months in when they have really not put forth the effort to be successful.  Most business coaches will tell you, it takes 3 to 5 years to have a profitable business.  Why would you think BNI is going to be an instant windfall of referrals and business?

So what is the Secret Formula?

Members who are Green report 6 to 8 times more revenue than those members in Red or Grey.

You see, BNI tracks everything and according to the statistics, the Power of One is the standard for success.  But, it's not just about going through the motions of doing the activities, it's learning how to do them the right way and that takes time and practice.  You've heard the phrase 'practice makes perfect.'  When you're trying to learn a new skill, how many times does it take before you get it right?  And once you get it right, you have to keep doing it correctly in order to achieve the results you desire.

So let's go through each one of these and break it down as to how to get more effective and efficient.  

• CEU - Chapter Education Unit.  Learn More to Earn More.  Another interesting statistic.  Those members with higher CEUs typically receive more referrals and have higher TYFCB. BNI is a marketing system that teaches us how to build relationships in order to grow our business.  BNI provides all types of learning opportunities via websites, podcasts, webinars, BNI Business Builders, Advanced Trainings, Monday Mugs, Live Help Friday, books, etc.  It's up to us as members to take advantage of these trainings.  So where do you start?  Start with the basics.  Even if you've been a member for a while, it's always good to go back to the beginning for a refresher. It used to be that every member was asked to complete MSP, Member Success Program, every year when they renewed. Did you complete MSP, Member Success Program?  It always helps to have a refresher of the basics. Did you attend the New Member Next Steps Webinar?  What about the Passport to Success Program?  Did you complete yours?  Do you have a Mentor? Talk with your Chapter's Mentor Coordinator and get assigned to someone who would be willing to mentor you. Ask yourself, where do you need help?  Is it more referrals?  How to improve your weekly presentation?  How to improve your spotlight presentation?  How to invite visitors?  Search for these subjects on BNI Business Builder, BNIPodcast.com, BNIPowerofOne.com. Seek out the people who do these things well and have a 1-2-1 and ask them for their tips.  These members could be in other chapters. Seek them out.

• 1-2-1s = More Referrals. In order to receive referrals, other members have to get to know you, like you, trust you, and want to help you.  How do you achieve that?  1-2-1s. And not just one 1-2-1.  It takes meeting with other members over and over to really get to know them and their business and learning how you can help them find referrals.  Yes, the BNI philosophy is 'Givers Gain.'  We have to give in order to receive. It also takes learning how to do an effective one to one.  You see a 1-2-1 in BNI is not just a 'coffee chat.'  It is not a 'one and done.' To truly have an effective one to one takes some preparation.  It starts with completing and exchanging your GAINS profile with the member you are meeting with prior to your 1-2-1.  You can also use the One to One Planner.  I was just talking with a long time BNI member the other day about this subject and he said, "I have a one to one with someone about twice a month, because it means 2 to 3 referrals each time." This is the 'secret sauce' for receiving and giving referrals.  It is the developing of the relationships with strategic referral partners with whom you can leverage referrals for each other. Your 1-2-1s can also be with other members from other chapters as well as with visitors. And by all means, have a 1-2-1 with your Director Consultant and pick their brain on what it takes to be successful in BNI.

• Referrals - Members are expected to pass 1 referral a week. If members are doing 1-2-1s consistently every week and learning what to listen and look for, it becomes second nature to find referrals. When they take it to another level and get proactive rather than reactive, they learn how to start conversations in order to uncover referrals for their fellow members. The other way to bring referrals to your fellow members is to invite visitors and make introductions.  Listen to your fellow members.  Who are they looking to meet?  Ask your contacts if they know someone in that industry and invite them to network. Use this reason for the invitation, is that you have someone in your referral group who is looking to meet someone in their profession for the purpose of passing referrals.  That introduction could turn into business.  And to receive referrals, a member needs to build relationships and build their creditability.  So, what does a Power of One score of Red or Grey say to your fellow members? How comfortable do you feel passing a referral to a member who has a Red or Grey Power of One score?

• Attendance - 80% of Success is Showing Up BNI is not the like other networking organizations.  You are not just a name of a roster.  Another interesting statistic, is those with low absences get more referrals. To get results from BNI you not only have to show up every week, but you also have to participate.  Because how you show up, is how your fellow members think you show up everywhere.  What does that mean you ask?  Do you show up late?  Or are you on time or better yet early?  Your fellow BNI member does not want to give a referral of his best client to someone who can't even get to a meeting on time.  Are you prepared each week? Part of showing up each week is to train your sales team on how to find you referrals.  Do you have a good weekly presentation prepared that describes that perfect referral for you?  Perhaps it's a story of a client you recently worked with.  Or a testimony from a client you helped. Or an interesting piece of industry information your fellow members could use to help find you a referral.  Participation also includes being engaged in the meeting.  Focusing on the speaker, not multi-tasking, texting, etc.  And since we are on Zoom calls, are you on camera, in good lighting, etc.  Dressed for a business meeting?  Have a good setting or a virtual background?  No distractions?  And back to participation - What other duties have you taken on in your chapter?  Part of building creditability is being visible and volunteering to help in needed areas. This helps to build trust and shows you are a dependable reliable person.

• Inviting Visitors - I covered this topic in last month's newletter, i.e. the value of visitors and how to invite.  Click here to read the article.

You see, you have had the Secret Formula for Success in BNI all along.  

It is just learning how to execute the formula efficiently and effectively 

to be successful.

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

Here are some additional resources:

First Year of BNI is the Hardest - Dr. Misner

Learn More Earn More - Tom Fleming

Proactive Referrals - Dr. Misner & Frank de Raffele

80% of Success is Showing Up - Dr. Misner

Power of One - Visitors - Tim Roberts

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

Balance = Retention

Does your chapter keep adding new members and you keep to seeing about as many leave?  Yes, life does happen and sometimes members move, change jobs, have health issues, etc. that necessitates them having to leave BNI.  But what about the ones that decide BNI wasn't right for them.  What do you suppose the reason was for them leaving?  Studies have shown it may be because they didn't have an equal opportunity to receive referrals.  How can that be you ask, if BNI provides all of these resources and the member takes full advantage and does all the activities that are suggested?  It may be that the chapter is not balanced.

So why is balance important to BNI Chapters?  For years BNI has said 'Grow your membership in order to make more money.'  Which is true to a point. in further research and tracking results for many BNI Chapters, what has been determined is that the more balanced the contact spheres are in a chapter the more opportunities members have to receive referrals and thus have the potential to make more money.   Why is that?

A member tends to receive 60 to 70% of their referrals from their contact sphere.  If they only have a few members in their contact sphere, then they are not going to get many referrals.  

Here are some examples of balanced and unbalanced contact spheres and their stats:

In the above example of an unbalanced Chapter, the Home Services Contact Sphere has the most members followed by the Trades and Financial Services Contact Spheres.  However, the Marketing and Health & Wellness Spheres have few members.  In this example, there are 36 members, the TYFCB reported was $420K and there is a retention issue.

In this example of a more balanced Chapter, the Home Services Contact Sphere is still the largest, however the other spheres aren't that far behind.  In this example of a 36 member chapter, the TYFCB was $1.2M and there is no retention problem.  Why? Because the contact spheres are more balanced and gives members more of an equal opportunity to receive referrals.

So, in order for a Chapter to give their members more equal opportunities to receive more referrals, make more money, and stay and renew, Chapters must ensure their Contact Spheres are as balanced as possible.  

Here are the steps to create balance:

• The first step to creating balance is to figure out where you are.  Doing a spreadsheet like the ones above will identify which contact spheres (CS) are lacking in members and need to grow.  
• Second is to devise a plan to even out the contact spheres by working to grow the smaller spheres to the same size as the largest contact sphere in the chapter.  Looking at the examples above, for the unbalanced chapter, the home services team has 13 members. The goal would be to grow the other contact spheres to 13 members each, starting with the smallest ones first.  To grow out the other CS would mean adding 41 new members.  Even the balanced chapter example has opportunity to grow and balance even more. To balance their CS would mean adding 13 more new members starting with the smaller CS of Marketing/Events. This needs to be an ongoing exercise in order to know at all times who the Most Wanted are for your chapter.  Typically this falls to the Membership Committee and the Community Builder which includes the Growth for the chapter.
• Once you determine which CS needs more members, then comes the task of determining which industries are needed.  Which industries can the members in that CS pass referrals to.  How do you find out?  Ask.  Seems simple, yes it does.  Are they currently passing referrals to other members in other chapters?  If so, to what industries?  Are they passing referrals to people outside of BNI?  If so, what industries?  Also ask, who is typically sitting on your referrals?  Meaning who can pass you referrals?  And who are their good referral partners?  
• After asking the above questions, compile your list. There will be industries that are mentioned by more than one member.  Give that industry more weight. Rank your most wanted with the CS with the least amount of members at the top of the list.  For example, in our unbalanced chapter above, the Marketing/Events CS only had one member, so focus would need to be put of this CS and the industries needed to grow that CS, i.e. event planner, photographer, gift service, travel agent, etc.
• On your most wanted list, determine the Top 5.  Have your Membership Committee announce during their report each week, who your Top 5 most wanted seats are.  It plants the seed in the minds of the members as well as the visitors. If a visitor is there who could fill one of your Top 5, that's a nice way to say, 'We want you in our Chapter!'
• Publish your Most Wanted on your Facebook page.  This publishes to a larger audience of those people who 'Like' your page but aren't members of your chapter.  They may know someone they can refer.
• Post your Most Wanted on the Notably Green page.  There may be members in other Chapters who have business colleagues who are looking for a BNI Chapter.
• Each time you add a new member, take their photo of their induction and announce on your Facebook page.  'We are very excited to have Jane Smith joining our Marketing & Events team filling the Event Planner seat. We are still looking for a Photographer, gift service, and a travel agent to pass referrals to.'  People who follow your Facebook page will want to help you find prospects to fill these seats.
• Ask on social media, do you know, i.e. 'I'm looking for a good family photographer, who would you recommend?'  Usually you'll get many referred and many recommended more than once.  Take those that are recommended the most, give them a call and tell them that you belong to a referral group who is looking for a photographer to pass referrals to.  Would they be interested in meeting your referrals partners?  If they say yes, invite them to your meeting.  If they say no, ask who would they recommend.
• Have 'Focused Inviting' Days.  Invite prospects just for a particular Contact Sphere, i.e. Marketing & Events.
• Have 'Stack Days.'  Focus on inviting one of two from a particular industry, i.e. photographers and travel agents.  Usually you'll have several from each industry.  Which is usually a good thing because it creates a sense of competition and often one will submit an application.
• Use your Most Wanted list and have a full blown Visitor Day. By focusing on just the industries needed for the chapter, rather than come one come all, it will lead to a more focused approach and be a more successful event.
• Keep track of where you are as you add new members and as members leave.  Adjust your focus accordingly.  It will take time to get your chapter more balanced, but the more balanced your chapter, the more of an equal opportunity for ALL the members to receive referrals and make more money, thus a happy member.  Happy members renew and stay thus the chapter has higher and better retention and thus more growth.

Growth and Retention go hand and hand.  You can't have one without the other.  New Members are great, however renewing members mean you have a happy member that has seen the value in their membership.  Statistics have shown that the longer a BNI member is a BNI Member the more successful they are.

Here are some additional resources for Creating Balanced Chapters and Contact Spheres

Growth is NOT the Goal - Dr. Misner & Tim Roberts

Growth is NOT the Goal - Tim Roberts presentation from BNI U

Why you want to have a Visitor Day - Jamie Stein

I've Invited Everyone I Know

How to Bring a Visitor into the Room

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

Why am I NOT Getting Quality Referrals?

People do business with and refer those they know, like, and trust.  With that said, how do you 'show up' and present yourself to your fellow members?  It's not so much what we say, as how we show up and what we do.  This quote about sums it up - 

'What you do thunders above your head so loudly, I cannot hear the words you speak.'  ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Here are some things to think about to build trust and to be more referable:

• Attendance - Low absences equal more referrals. In podcast #436, goes deep in reviewing the attendance policy.  Did you know that all of the BNI policies were/are created by members, i.e. the International Board of Advisors made up entirely of BNI members. In this podcast, Dr. Misner talks about the results for two chapters and what happened when they started adhering to the attendance policy.  The bottom line, when people show up consistently, they are going to build relationships, they are going to get to know and trust each other better, and they are going to be more committed to giving referrals. The "why" for making sure you have regular attendance is that it has a direct and dramatic linear correlation to referrals.
• Being on time is part of showing up. If you frequently arrive late, you become less referable, because not showing up on time makes you seem less reliable. People will assume that if you show up late to your BNI meeting, you'll show up late to appointments and miss deadlines. Show up to your meeting on time. It's your credibility and your reputation-and participating in open networking leads to more referrals. Read the entire transcript of Podcast #583 with Hazel Walker, 'How late is late?'  Hazel says about people who consistently come late, "what you do some of the time is what you do all of the time. If I am going to refer you, I need to know that you are going to do all the things that you could possibly do to make me look good when I give you the referral. If I give you a referral and you are going to show up late, that does not make me look good, so the likelihood of me giving you referrals dwindles every time I see you come late, especially if you do that consistently. So it is going to impact your referrals over time because it is impacting trust and credibility."
• Presenting yourself and being referable.  In Podcast #577, Meaghan Chitwood talks about not being referable due to her appearance and not making a very good impression.  Per Meaghan, 'I always thought credibility came from knowing what you are talking about, being effective, and things like that. That's what I was focused on, was making sure I was a really good business coach and that I was effectively communicating, but I didn't look the part of a business coach. Perception is reality. So imagine that something as simple as adjusting the way you look, looking more professional to improve your first impression, can lead to more referrals.'
• Full Participation. In Podcast #545, Dr. Misner talks about full participation during the meeting. Putting your phone away. Participate 100% in the meeting. Treat whoever is speaking as if they were the biggest client you could possibly land.  You have to earn trust by showing your fellow members how professional you are and by treating them like prized clients. You wouldn't sit and text on your cell phone in front of a prized client would you?  No, you would give them your full attention. By not giving your fellow BNI members your full attention during the weekly meetings leads to the assumption this is your MO.  And they will not want to trust you with their prized customers.  In Podcast #385, tells about a visitor who didn't want to join a BNI Chapter because so many people were using their cell phones during the meeting.
• Weekly and Featured Presentations.  In Podcast #532, Tiffanie Kellog joins Dr. Misner and explains why members aren't getting more referrals based on their weekly and featured presentations.

Here are some common mistakes - 

• Weekly Presentation Mistakes
  • Reading your presentation. It's better to practice than to read, and better to have a few bullet points to remind you what you want to say than to read your whole presentation.
  • Being vague. Remember, "specific is terrific," especially if you only have 30 seconds. Focus on one product, or service. Never say "anyone" or "everyone."
  • Giving up your weekly presentation when you do a featured presentation. Your weekly presentation can be a great introduction to your featured presentation.
  Featured Presentation Mistakes
  • Focusing on your history instead of why you do what you do and how you help your clients. Remember the goal is to drive referrals.
  • Not making an emotionally charged connection. People won't do business with you if they don't know, like, and trust you.
  • Staring at the screen. Reading your slides will send your audience to sleep. Use images and a few bullet points in your slides.
  • Opening up for Q&A. This can take your presentation far off track. Instead, invite people who have questions to schedule a one-to-one with you or ask them to write it on their business card so you can answer later.
  • Saying "I haven't had time to prepare." You've had six weeks. Saying this makes you look unreliable.
  • Spewing tons of details about your business (verbal vomit). People won't remember it all anyway. Share a couple of points people can hang onto.

• Givers Gain - finding referrals for fellow members.  In Podcast #379, Dr. Misner talks about being in sync with our fellow BNI members. Holding one-to-ones with each other to learn more about one another's business, asking each other how can you help, having that Givers Gain focus is really an effective way of staying in sync and supporting your referral partners. We all need to make a commitment to maintain focus on how we can help each other in business. To look for ways to help each other and to be in sync with one another.  Relationship building is all about collaboration and cooperation and being in sync.
• One to Ones - In Podcast #570, Dr. Misner goes over the statistics that show that more one to ones equal more referrals. Those who do three or more 1-2-1s per month give and receive twice as many referrals as those who do one or fewer 1-2-1s in a month.  In Podcast #562 gives strategizing tips on how to be more effective in your one to ones and how to give and receive more referrals. Scheduling and preparation. Sending Gains profile. Interviewing fellow members to get the most information possible to help find them referrals.
• Follow up. As the old saying goes, 'The fortune is in the follow-up.'  That means following up with fellow members, referrals, clients, etc.  In Podcast #623, Dr. Misner goes over a 24/7/30 plan for follow-up.
• Always learning.  What's not working?  In Podcast #590, Dr. Misner and Meaghan Chitwood talk about if something is not working, perhaps we need to change or eliminate what we're doing. 
  - If you're doing something that works for everyone else and it's not working for you, ask yourself "How can I do this differently and get a better result?"
  - Take a look at the tasks you're engaging in-both within and outside of BNI-and eliminate the tasks that aren't getting results. If you think BNI is taking too much time, talk to your director consultant about how to work your BNI program more effectively.
  - If there's a skill you need to hone in BNI, search BNI University for that topic and you'll find tons of resources.
• Take a Leadership role - Show Up, Participate and Step Up. In Podcast #383, Dr. Misner interviews Don Romero.  'Dan estimates that he could cover 650 years of BNI dues in what he gets out of one year's membership in BNI. His business has so far gathered $25,963,639 in assets from referrals or referrals that come from referrals. For Dan, the ROI of BNI membership is impressive indeed.'
• Time - In Podcast #596, Dr. Misner talks about the time it takes to build good business relationships and when the referrals start clicking in BNI. 

Here are four questions to ask yourself to gain perspective on your efforts and results. Keep asking them until the answers become obvious.

1. Am I being realistic about the amount of time it will take in my profession to gain the critical level of confidence I need?
2. Am I regularly making stimulating, educational presentations to my fellow networkers about the value I provide my clients.
3. Am I doing business with others in my network so I can give them dynamic testimonials and steer business to them so they will return the favor?
4. Am I meeting regularly with my networking colleagues to learn about their businesses so I can confidently refer my contacts to them?

It takes time to build relationships. The best way to speed up the process is to spend time in the process.

For more information check out the videos and podcast listed below.

Your Support Team is here to help you, i.e. Your Director Consultant, Area Director, Senior Director, and Executive Directors.  If you or your chapter needs help, support, or have questions, reach out.

Here are some additional resources:

Show Up Make Money

The Art of Being There

Open Networking

Maximizing Your Professional Image

Collecting Business Cards is not Networking

For previous articles refer to my Notably Green Blog.

And join the Facebook Group - Notably Green

In appreciation,

Annette

What is the Value of Your Chapter's Visitor Experience?

For the last few weeks or so, I have been enjoying and learning from the videos a by Hazel Walker, who is a BNI Franchise Owner and Author.  She has a YouTube Channel called 'Walker this Way,' Queen of all things BNI.  She provides a wealth of information and knowledge and delivers in a poignant and humorous way.

In one of her videos, she asks the question, 'What is the value of your Chapter's Visitor Experience?  Are you providing a $1000 Experience or a $300 Experience?'  I highly recommend every Chapter Member, especially all of the Visitor Hosts view this video.  I believe it will explain the importance of providing an outstanding Visitor Experience at every Chapter meeting.  After all, if you want more referrals, you need more members, and to get more members, you need more visitors.

So let's go over some of the Best Practices for providing an Awesome Visitor Experience.

Prior to the meeting - 

- Have members register Visitors prior to the meeting. Training members to register their visitors provides the Visitor Host Team with the information they need to prepare the pre-printed name tags.  Some chapters also have a 'Welcome Visitors' section on their printed agenda and lists all the registered visitors.

- Make Contact with Visitors prior to the meeting.  A best practice is to call all of the registered visitors. In some chapters the president does this.  In others, a member of the Visitor Host Team calls the registered visitors.  The purpose of the call is to give the visitor an idea of what to expect at the meeting.  Make sure they have the directions to the location and ask them who they would like to meet at the meeting.  By promising to introduce them to whom they would like to meet, perhaps a referral partner, it gives the visitor more incentive to show up.  Also, follow up with an email or at least send an email with the pertinent information to the registered visitors.

Day of the meeting - 

- Welcome the visitors.  The Visitor Host Team should arrive early and have the Visitor sign in table set up at least 20 - 25 minutes prior to the start of the meeting, as visitors tend to arrive early.

- Have the Visitor Sign in sheet ready for the Visitors to attach their business card.  Give them their pre-printed name badge and hand them off to one of the In Room Visitor Host.

- The In Room VH helps the Visitor find a place to sit.  Goes over the agenda, etc.  Introduces the visitor to the person they wanted to meet and/or a referral partner and gets the conversation started.  The In Room VH then goes back and gets the next Visitor.  There needs to be 2 or 3 In Room VH and all of the members need to understand this process and the importance of making the visitors feel welcome.

 

During the Meeting - 

- Ensure the Visitor is sitting next to someone who can/will assist and answer questions during the meeting. That could be the person who invited them, the referral partner they wanted to meet, or one of the In Room VH.

- At the beginning of the meeting, the President makes it a point to welcome the visitors and introduce each one, stating who invited them, if they are a visitor or a sub, and explains to them they will have an opportunity later in the meeting to tell the group more about their business.  An easy way to do this is to use the Visitor Sign In sheet with the visitors business cards stapled to it.  If there is a name that may be difficult to pronounce, the VH should write the name phonetically so that the President will have a better chance of getting it right.

- After the members and subs have done their infomercial, the President can use the Visitor sign in sheet to call on the Visitors to do their infomercial.  By calling on them, the President has more control in case there is a sub representing the same company or someone whose seat is already filled, the President can call them by name, thank them for coming and say something like, 'since you're representing the same company and have already given us information about your company, we'll go to the next person.'

- For the Contribution portion of the meeting (AKA 'I Have,' the President asks the visitors to also participate by stating one thing that they enjoyed most about the meeting.  (Ensure this portion of the meeting is being timed for members as well as visitors.  Most chapters allow 15 to 20 seconds.)

At the end of the Meeting - 

- The Sec/Treasurer reads the Call to Action and announces that Visitor Orientation will be held momentarily.

- The President announces Visitor Orientation, thanks the Visitors for attending, and lets the Visitors know that this is the portion of the meeting when the visitors will have an opportunity to learn a little more about BNI and get their questions answered and then they will have an opportunity to come back and network.

- The person sitting with the visitor ensures that the visitor gets to the Visitor Orientation.

- The Visitor Orientation Team gives a brief overview of the benefits of becoming a member and provides applications to those who are interested in membership.  This should take about 5 to 7 minutes.

After the Meeting - 'The Fortune is in the Follow Up'

- Following the meeting and within 24 to 48 hours, the Post VH calls each one of the visitors to thank them for attending and to ask if they have any questions.  Dependent on the response of the visitor, the Post VH provides the information to the appropriate person, i.e. if the member wants to move forward an apply for membership, the Post VH could email them an application or direct them to the BNIATL website and instruct them on completing the application and how to pay.  They would also notify the VP and Applications Specialist.  If the person is interested, but the time and/or location is not conducive to their schedule, the Post VH would put them in touch with the Director for the chapter who can assist in finding a more suitable location.  Also, for those who do show interest, let the visitors know that they may attend a second time.

- An email should also be sent as a follow up with all the pertinent information to reiterate the conversation and also to those the VH could not reach.

- The VH provides a report back to the President, the person who invited the visitor, the Quality Assurance Specialist (to follow up if appropriate), and to the Director Consultant (if the visitor wants to visit another chapter).

- The Visitor information should be accepted and/or entered into BNIConnect as part of the Palms report within 24 to 48 hours of the meeting.  This triggers the 'Engagement System' so that the visitor can receive information directly from BNI.  This includes a email survey as to what they thought about the BNI meeting they attended.

For Visitor Days and/or Stack Days reports can be run for past visitors and invite those in the chapter's targeted positions to these meetings.  Sometimes this will spark more interest and persuade them to submit an application.

I hope this information is helpful.  Here is a four minute video from a chapter in North Scotland that shows an exceptional visitor experience - Click Here to watch. 

Here are some additional resources:

The Value of Your Visitor Experience

Welcoming Visitors

Hidden Elements

Open Networking

Visitor Experience

I hope you found this information helpful.  If you have questions and/or need help, reach out to your Director Consultant, Area Director, or Senior Director.

In appreciation,

Annette

BNI Area Director

What to do when you get a Bad Referral

From time to time we receive referrals from other members that are not good referrals.

So what is a bad referral?  Most often, the complaint I hear is, a referral that does not have valid contact information, no phone number or email.  The member states - 'I gave them your card.'  'I referred you on Facebook, Nextdoor, etc.'  I agreed, these are not valid referrals.

While giving member's business cards to prospects is good, the member should ask, 'May I have them call you.?  If yes, then you provide the contact information and that is a good referral.  If no, then send the member an email and tell them you gave someone (give their name) your card.  If they call you, let me know if they contact you so that I can turn it in as a valid referral.  Same for recommendations made on Facebook/Nextdoor.

So what do you do when you get a bad referral?  Talk to the person who gave you the bad referral. Ask questions about the referral. Ask for the contact information.  If the member says they don't have it or perfers not to give the information to you, explain that you would appreciate next time that they wait until the person is ready and willing to talk and provide their contact information before passing the referral.  Refer to Podcasts #281 and #439.

Other steps that can be taken, schedule a One to One.  Educate and discuss in detail with the member on what are good referrals for you and what are bad referrals for you.  Ensure that you are being laser specific in your weekly and featured presentations what good referrals are for you.  So are you receiving bad referrals because you are being to general in your Ask?

When you give a bad referral you are damadging your credibility.  From podcast #303 Dr. Misner says, 'The first time I give a poor referral, it's my fault.  But the second time I give a poor referral, it's probably the receiver's fault.  Why?  Because they didn't provide me feedback the first time or they aren't educating me on how to find good referrals for them.'

If you have given feedback to the person who is giving you bad referrals and it continues to happen, go to your membership committee with examples.  Chapter Membership Committees can set rules in regards to what is a valid referral.  Chapter are also encouraged to have 'Referral Reality' checks each week.

What is a 'Referral Reality' check?  The Membership Committee pulls a couple of referrals from previous week's slips and asks the receiver if the referral was a good referral.  Typically if it was a good referral, they call on the member who received the referral and ask them to tell about it at the next meeting.  If it was not a good referral, then the Membership Committee needs to explain to the giver of the referral the parameters of what defines a good referral.  Refer to blog post - 'Definition of a Good Referral' for what is considered a good referral.

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

 

To Your Success,

 

Definition of a Good Referral

"A Referral is an opportunity to do business with someone in the market to buy your product or service."

It is not a guaranteed sale, but an opportunity to discuss the possibility of doing business.

In BNI we are all about Referrals and Lead is considered a four letter word.  What most people sign up for is to give and receive qualified referrals, not leads.

What is the difference in a Referral and Lead?  

- A Lead - The prospect is not expecting a call and it's really not much better than a cold call.
- A Referral - You've been given the prospect's contact information.  The prospect knows who you are and what you do.  The prospect has talked to your mutual acquaintance and is generally expecting your call.  They know you'll be calling and they know what the topic will be.

There are three people involved in a referral - 

-  Referer or the Qualifier - This is the member who is giving the referral.  The member who is asking the questions to qualify the referral.
- The Receiver - Is the member who will be receiving the referral and is expecting the referral to be qualified.
- The Referral - The person is wanting/needing the product or service.

There are Three Key Ingredients of a Quality Referral - 

1. You talked to the prospect about your fellow BNI Member
     - Bonus - You gave a testimonial about your fellow BNI Member.
2. You asked permission for the BNI Member to call/contact the prospect
     - You gave them the BNI Member's card/contact information
3. You gave ALL the pertinent information, i.e. Name, phone number, email, details of the referral, and level of interest to your fellow BNI Member.
     - via BNIConnect in a timely manner.

Anything short of the description above, send an email to your fellow BNI member and tell them that you passed their card or information to someone (give their name) and if they contact them, to please let you know so you can turn it in as a true referral.

Remember the philosophy of BNI is Givers Gain.  You receive what you give.  By giving quality referrals, you will receive quality referrals.

So what do you do if you get what you consider to be a bad referral?  Read the blog post - 'What to do when you get a bad referral.'

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

To Your Success,

 

Getting More Referrals - Having Effective One to Ones

From March 2019

 The purpose of having One to Ones is get to know your fellow members in order to build relationships which build credibility and lead to profitability, i.e. to give and receive more referrals.  Statistics show that members who are having 3 or more one to ones per month receive twice as many referrals.

So where are you with your fellow members?  

- Visibility - I remember you and I may know your name and what you do.

- Credibility - There are two parts of Credibility

- Early Credibility - I know more about you and I like you

- Deep Credibility - I trust you and I may pass referrals to you. 

- Profitability - I refer you consistently because I trust you and know your business so well.  When I win a client, you win a client.

 

So how do we move the relationships with fellow members from Visibility to Profitability?  By having more effective One to Ones. i.e. Getting to know your fellow chapter members at a deeper level, getting to know more about their business, what good referrals are for them, and who are good referrals partners are for them.  So how do you do that?

Most One to Ones are more 'coffee talks' and are not effective one to ones.  

An effective One to One takes planning.  Here are the steps:

1.  Schedule ahead of time allowing at least an hour especially for the first One to One.

2. Start first with the members who are in your contact sphere because 70% of your referrals will come from your contact sphere.

3.  Complete the GAINS profile sheets.  This step is extremely important.  (GAINS stands for Goals, Accomplishments, Interests, Networks, Skills)

a. The GAINS profile sheets include a list of your last 10 clients. The sheet has areas for notes about one. All of this information helps your fellow member understand the type of work you do. Rank your last ten clients on a scale of 1 to 10 (#1 being the best) according to good, better, best. Make notes as to why the top 5 are the type of clients you're looking for. Share this list as it will help your fellow members understand the type of clients you are seeking. Even letting your fellow member know what are NOT good referrals is good information.

b. Also, part of the GAINS profile sheets is Contact Spheres. Contact Spheres are businesses or professionals that provide a source of referrals for one another. They are good Referral Partners/Sources. For example: A good referral source for a chiropractor would be a Personal Injury Attorney. A good referral source for a pressure washer would be a painter. A good referral source for a home inspector would be a Realtor. Don't just think of who you can get business from, but who can refer business to you. Share this list also. (You can also use the Referral Hub for this). Many times an introduction to a Referral source will lead to a referral that just keeps on giving. And guess who gets the credit for TYFCB.

4. Send your completed GAINS profile sheets and your bio to the person you have a One to One scheduled with.  Send these a couple of days ahead of time to give each other time to review and make notes for questions, discussion points, etc. you would like to have.

5. Plan to meet at a location that is not loud and you won't be interrupted.  Meeting at a fellow member's office/work is always good.

6. Time for a One to One - Typically a good One to One can be done in an hour.  This gives each member 30 minutes to explain their business and answer questions.  Please be considerate and don't monopolize the time.

7.  

THE PURPOSE of a One to One is to learn about the other person's business so that You can identify and find referrals and referral sources for them.  

 

IT IS NOT to try and sell them your product or service. Your fellow referral partners will be turned off by this tactic. By asking who do they know who would be interested in your product or service, they may refer themselves. But NEVER try to SELL to your fellow BNI Members. You will receive 0 to no referrals by doing so.

8. Questions to ask: (Remember you are there to find out how to refer business, find referral sources for this person, and to strategize as to who else you need to invite to be part of your referral team, so ask questions that will help you understand who to look for.)

1. From your review of the other member's GAINS profile, you may have questions for clarification.
2. Ask what you should listen for?
3. Ask what questions you should ask a potential prospective client for them?
4. What are good conversation starters?
5. Ask who are their 'bread and butter' clients?
6. Ask what would be their dream referral?
7. Who are good referral sources?
8. Who else would they want as a member of their Power Team?

9. Agree on a plan of action. For example, that could be an introduction to a potential referral partner and/or inviting a potential referral partner to your BNI meeting for an introduction.

10.  Schedule a time to follow-up and your next One to One.  Things change in a person's life and business.  It's good to have One to One's with your fellow members on a regular basis to get to know your referral partners better and to strengthen the relationship, especially your Power Team members as well as find out what's new with their business.

Here are some additional resources:

Effective One to Ones 

Getting to Profitability

Getting More Referrals

Doubling the # of Referrals

Why Have multiple One to Ones

Effective Questions to Ask

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.

Do You Want to Grow Your Business 20%?

From April 2018

This month's newsletter is about growing your business.  Recently I attended a new forming Chapter meeting.  After the meeting Mike Barbieri was talking with a potential member about the commitment for BNI and he shared a story that a BNI member had told at one of the recent Mix and Mingles.  

   

Here is the story:  

A member in the NE Region was speaking with a guest at one of our Mixers last week.  The guest asked about the investment and how much money he made in BNI as a member.  The member responded with... "In my first year in BNI, I made 4 times my membership dues investment.  It wasn't until my second year where I saw the real difference.  This year I have already made over 20X my investment and the year is only half way through.  It took me a year to learn how to talk about my business effectively, learn how to give and get qualified referrals, and conduct enough 1-2-1's to understand the other members in the room.  See BNI takes time.  There are no quick fixes and fast results here.  It takes time and work to do anything worth while and to build strong lasting relationships.  The VCP model takes time to move from visibility to credibility and it took longer to move from credibility to profitability.  I am now in profitability with my best referral partners."

 

Mike added - There is "WORK" in Networking.  We have many 90 minute members in BNI.  Where some of our members are present for the 90 minutes during our weekly meeting and forget about the team until next week's meeting.  We are all busy.  That is not an alibi nor excuse.  I hear people say, "I do not have time to work on BNI."  What I hear is... "I do not have time to work on my business."  No matter what excuse you are telling yourself, you should not be working on BNI in the first place.  You should be working ON YOUR business.  Do you tell people that you are working on your CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system?  No, because that is a business software tool.  Why do you say I am working on BNI?  Isn't BNI a framework, a platform or a tool to help you and your business be accountable and generate more money for you and your team?  Maybe we should change how we think about BNI.  So block some time each week in your busy schedule and work on your business.  Go out and network, meet new people make new friends, develop new relationships, invite new visitors and generate more money.  They say that your net worth and network is the new currency.  It is not always what you know, but who you know and sometimes how well you know them.  Food for thought.

Here are some additional resources:

How Many Networks - #528

Networking Up - #530

Time Spent Networking - #433