Be Our Guest

 

In BNI we continuously encourage members to invite visitors.  And we encourage members to visit other BNI Chapters especially if their seat is open.  This article is about the ‘Dos and Don’ts on how to be a good guest when visiting another BNI chapter as well as tips to chapters on welcoming visitors, guests, as well as other BNI members.

-       - We encourage members to invite visitors for growth, for referral partners, to meet potential consumers, etc

-       - We encourage members to visit other chapters to meet potential referral partners, gain ideas, and to meet potential consumers, i.e. other BNI members. 

-       - We encourage Core Group members to visit other chapters to see how an existing BNI chapter functions, to get the vision for building a BNI chapter, as well as training.

Here are some Dos for BNI Members, who are Guests, visiting another BNI Chapter:

- Register ahead of time via BNIConnect, not at the last minute, and register as a Guest.  Or even better, contact the VP or S/T to ensure your seat is not filled or your industry is not currently filled in that chapter.  

- Members also need to remember that members from other chapters are not visitors, they are guests and as such, they do not get credit on the Power of One report as they are not a first-time visitor who can fill a seat.

- If you are a Core Group Member and attending a chapter and your seat is filled in the chapter you are visiting, contact the member who holds your seat in the chapter ahead of time to let them know the purpose of your visit.  Perhaps schedule a 1-2-1 to learn about their experience in BNI.

- Schedule 1-2-1s with the members of the chapter you are visiting.  Perhaps with those who would be potential referral partners.

- Meet the President of the Chapter.  Let him/her know you are a BNI Member and which chapter you are a member. This builds goodwill across chapters.

- Refer business if possible to members whose industry is not in your own chapter.

- Present a positive and supportive attitude to members, guests, and visitors.

- If given the opportunity to speak, tell your BNI story, i.e. why you became a member of BNI especially if your seat is already filled in the chapter you are visiting.

Now some Don'ts when visiting another BNI Chapter as a Guest - 

- Do not solicit or invite visitors and guests from the chapter you are visiting to attend your chapter - ever!

- Do not solicit members to come and join your chapter.

- Do not give your infomercial or ask for business especially if your industry seat is filled in the chapter you are visiting. Some chapters do not allow infomercials from those whose seat is already filled, but some will allow members to tell which chapter they are with and may allow you to tell your BNI story, i.e. why you became involved with BNI as long as you stay within their time limit for their infomercials.

- Don't attend another Chapter's Visitor Day unless asked by a Director to attend and tell your BNI story.  Visitor Days are to grow a chapter's membership so they want visitors who can fill seats at their visitor day, not BNI members from other chapters.

- Don't speak negatively against BNI, your chapter, or other members.

- Do not Sub Hunt!  There are many recommended ways to find a sub other than another BNI Chapter and its members.  Nor do you ask to be a Sub for their chapter!

- Don't wear out your welcome.  Limit your visits to no more than 2 to 3 in six months.  And each time you plan to visit, check to see if your industry seat has been filled.

When a visitor registers to visit a chapter, the recommended practice is to call and email the visitor to let them know what to expect at the meeting because BNI is not your typical networking meeting.  When visitors visit a chapter, typically the chapter members are very welcoming as this is a prospect for a new member or a potential consumer.  Chapter Members are eager to meet and get to know the visitor.  Some members make it a point to have a 1-2-1 with all the visitors as it could lead to new business.  

A BNI Chapter owes another BNI member the same courtesy as a visitor, i.e. a phone call or an email prior to the meeting as to the expectations of the meeting.  Some chapters have different guidelines for guests and BNI members from other chapters especially if the seat is already filled or there is overlap.  It is best to explain these guidelines ahead of time rather than the BNI Member showing up at the meeting and then being told their industry seat is already filled and they will not be given the opportunity to do an infomercial. 

But what if a visitor or guest attends a meeting and is with an industry that the seat is already filled.  And what if that visitor or guest gives their infomercial.  It's OK.  Yes, we are a closed networking group in that we only allow one member per industry seat.  Remember our philosophy is Givers Gain.  The other members understand and are not going to give a visitor or guest referrals when they already have that seat filled in their chapter.  Some chapters handle their guests and visitors this way and others don't.  The best practice is to speak to the visitor or guest ahead of time and set expectations.

By being welcoming to visitors and guests whose seats are already filled, you may gain some potential consumers.  Hey, they may need the products or services of some of your members.  And you can help the visitors who are interested in BNI by referring them to other chapters where their industry seat is open.  Or refer them to your Support Director.

How does your chapter handle guests and other BNI members visiting your chapter?  We welcome your comments and feedback.

In appreciation,

Annette

Area Director

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

A Great Visitor Experience

From January 2016

 

It's a New Year, A New Beginning.  Most Business Owners have made new goals and put new strategies in place to gain more business for the new year.  One of those strategies is usually visiting new networking opportunities.  So now is a good time to reach out to those businesses and industries and invite them to visit your BNI Chapter meeting. 

Visitors bring new opportunities for new business to Chapter members whether they submit an application to become a BNI member or not.  It's very important to ensure that each Visitor has a 'Great Visitor Experience' so that they feel welcome and also see the potential of what BNI has to offer and want to do business with the BNI members and perhaps apply for membership.

As a member of BNI, it is each member's responsibility to help each visitor have a 'Great Visitor Experience.'  We are all an extension of the Visitor Host Team.

Here are some 'Best Practices' to ensure a 'Great Visitor Experience' -

• Have Visitors register online
• Contact Visitor(s) prior to the meeting and set expectations and answer any questions they may have
• Visitor Host Team arrives early and has Visitor sign in table set up with sign in sheet, BNI brochures, & Chapter roster
• VH Team meets and greets Visitors and helps them get signed in and introduced to other Contact Sphere Members
• Members arrive early to meet, welcome, and network with visitors
• President welcomes and introduces visitors
• Visitors are given opportunity to do infomercial about their business
• Visitors are given Participation and Fee Structure for BNI at the end of the meeting
• Visitor Orientation is held
• Visitor Follow Up is done within 24 to 48 hours
• An on-going  'Keep in Touch' program is used by Chapter

A detailed document was recently sent to the Leadership Teams, Membership Committee, and Visitor Hosts that outlines these 'Best Practices' in more detail.  Each member can help ensure each visitor has a 'Great Visitor Experience' when they visit your Chapter.

This is a good time to focus on goals and put plans and strategies in place for the new year. Please let me know how I can be of help in helping you and your Chapter provide a 'Great Visitor Experience.'