Are You a Leader or a Follower?

Being An Effective Follower Can 

Make You A Better Leader

Many years ago during in my career, when I first started interviewing people for sales positions, I was given a list of suggested questions to ask applicants.  One of those questions was, 'Do you consider yourself to be a Leader or a Follower?'  Nine times out of 10, I would first get a puzzled look as they thought of how to answer.  Over the years that question has stuck with me, as it is somewhat of a trick question, and I received a lot of interesting answers.

While contemplating how I was going to explain this concept and searching for graphics to add to this piece, I came across an amazing article that sums up this question.  I invite you to read it - 'From the Balcony.'  It explains it far better than I can.

As we start the process for Leadership Team selections, that question comes to mind.  Why?  Because within a chapter there are many members with different skill sets. To make a chapter successful it takes having the right people with the right skill sets being placed in the position where they can use their skill set to the best advantage.  Moreover, if that person likes what they are doing, they'll do a better job.

I believe for chapters to be successful all members need to do their share, be involved, and contribute beyond just showing up for the meeting each week.  By each member being involved and contributing, many hands make light work and everyone shares in the success of the chapter.

We are all busy, but if we are going to be part of something and want to be part of a successful organization, we have to be more than a name on a membership roster.

I bring this up now because most chapters will be polling their members soon to ask who do they think would be good in which Leadership roles in their Chapter and asking members which roles they feel they would like to be considered for.  If you want to be more involved and see changes made in your Chapter, then step up and ask to be considered.  Where can you put your skillset to good use?

Here are some additional resources:

Leadership Transition - Dr. Misner

Host Leadership - Dr. Misner

Dog Sled Leadership - Dr. Misner

Leadership - Opportunity or Obligation - Hazel Walker

Create Impact on the Leadership Team - Hazel Walker

Overview Leadership Change Over - Hazel Walker

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,

 

Relationships Matter

What You Did and What You Do

Will get You Through

Relationships Matter

Yes, relationships matter now more than ever.  Wow! Things have changed in just a few weeks!  And thanks to BNI for their innovation, we are still able to network, we just have to do it differently.

When thinking about relationships I'm reminded of the story of the Chinese Bamboo Tree  Like the story indicates, it takes time to build strong solid relationships.  The kind of relationships that will withstand and remain during this unprecedented time.  As Dr. Misner indicated in his podcast, we don't need to stop networking, we just need to do it differently.

Even though we can't meet face to face, we still are having our weekly meeting, via bni online.  And we can still and should have one to ones, we just do them virtually.  Checking in and keeping in touch with our referral partners is vital now more than ever.  Here is a good podcast to learn more about having meaningful one to ones.

Here are some other actions you can take at this time to keep your business in the forefront....

• Complete/Update your BNIConnect profile.  Your profile is public on the internet not just to other BNI members.  Often times in helping people with their marketing, I find that their BNIConnect profile will often come up in a Google search before their website.
• Complete your GAINS profile which is part of your online profile and share and/or review member's profile prior to having your one to ones.
• Schedule one to ones with your fellow members even if you've had one with them in the past.  Find out how they are doing personally as well as business. You never know how you can help them or they might could help you.
• Arrange a meeting with your Contact Sphere and work towards turning it into a Power Team.
• Reach out to other business owners and invite them to attend your bni online virtual meeting.  Those that perhaps you have invited before might be more receptive now.
• Have one to ones with other BNI members in other chapters, states, and even in other countries.  
• 'Visit' another BNI meeting even if your seat is filled, you can 'observe' and see how other chapters are doing at this time.  Could be a chapter near-by or a chapter in another state or cross country.  And for those who have a 'unique' seat that's not filled, you have a great opportunity to share your product or service with other BNI members.
• Use this time to use BNIUniversity to hone your skills.  Search for articles and courses that will help you be a better networker.
• And still do your reporting in BNIConnect or the BNI mobile app.

Remember V+C=P - Visibility + Credibility = Profitability.  Everything we do gives us visibility and attributes to our credibility.  When this is over, those who used this time to continue to work on their relationships and studied how to be better at what they do, will be the ones who will have the jump in their given industry.

On one call this past week, someone said if a member can't show up for a Zoom call, then how can I trust they will show up and service a referral given to them even in good times.  Our actions speak volumes.

What else would you add to this list?

I share this photo because it shows how BNI relationships help your business grow the longer you're involved.

Statistics have shown that a member's business will increase by 20% their first year with BNI.

It's said that if a member renews after their first year, they typically stay with BNI 5+ years.

BNI members' business usually increases by 20 to 30% each year they are a member.

As you can see by this photo, this member shows how their business has grown over the course of their membership.

Here are some additional resources for building meaningful relationships in BNI

Relationships are Currency - Dr. Misner

Building Referral Relationships - Dr. Misner

Conducting Meaningful One to Ones - Laura del Rosa

Using the GAINS profile for One to Ones - Hazel Walker - Also, watch her other videos series on the GAINS profile - #63, #64, #65, #66, #67

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

Dreaming Big

So what is International Networking Week?  International Networking Week® is an initiative of BNI® and an opportunity for members to show appreciation for their valued customers and contacts with the gift of a larger network.

The goal of International Networking Week® is to celebrate the key role that networking plays in the development and success of businesses across the world.

Even though BNI just celebrated 35 years in existence last month, this is only the 13th celebration of International Networking Week.

The philosophy of BNI is 'Givers Gain.'  And to carry out that Core Value, as part of the celebration for this year's INW, we're Dreaming Bigger than ever by asking each BNI member to help celebrate the power of networking. By offering a simple thank you to five individuals who have helped you grow professionally, you're offering the gift of gratitude and appreciation. Recognition, essential to the strengthening of relationships, cost little to nothing and is likely to result in those individuals demonstrating their gratitude for what you do.

It's simple, just consider sending them a letter or card, or promoting them on social media.  The goodwill you demonstrate will help draw others to you like a magnet.

If promoting on social media, please use one of the following hashtags

• #bnithankyou
• #inw2020

Additionally, we would like you to take this a step further and we encourage you to invite one of these 5 individuals to a networking meeting. For BNI Members, please bring them to your chapter and offer a world of referrals to those who are deserving by introducing them to your fellow BNI members.

Here's Dr. Misner's presentation from the International Conference in Warsaw last fall talking about Dreaming Bigger

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.

Also, be sure and add your Director to your speaker rotation for presentations and training for your chapter members.

Here are some additional resources for Goal Setting:

The BNI Story

Garage to Global

7 Things I Learned from Starting a Business

Givers Gain Series 

To Your Success,

Annette

Area Director Consultant

Mentoring Makes Money

Do you see your BNI Chapter numbers decreasing more than you see your chapter's TYFCB increasing?  Are members leaving the chapter because they are not getting the value for their membership?

Having a worthwhile Mentoring Program can be just the ticket to strengthening your chapter's income and Power Team numbers.  New Members frequently find BNI systems and processes confusing.  Developing a relationship of trust with a BNI Mentor is often just the thing a new member needs to become a better chapter contributor (which makes all members more money) and makes everyone's BNI membership more worthwhile.

BNI Mentors don't just strengthen their knowledge of BNI systems and processes by being a Mentor, they also have a chance to take a leadership role in their BNI Chapter to also create trust within the group which is key to bigger, better referrals.  Plus your Mentee is sure to never forget how helpful their Mentor is/was.

Being a BNI Mentor is important to both the Mentor, the New Member, but also to the entire BNI Chapter.  When you first become a Mentor you might not fully understand your role or what you can contribute to your Mentee, but whether you still feel new to BNI, or you've been there for ages - you have a lot to contribute to your Chapter (and your business) by being a BNI Mentor.

The BNI Mentoring Program works best when Mentors and Mentees meet weekly for the first few months.

Here is a list of things a Mentor might want to cover with their Mentee:

• Improving BNI Infomercial. Teach what are five key elements to an effective Weekly presentation.  Being 'specific is terrific.'
• Explanation and Preparation for “I have…” section of the meeting
• Invitee brainstorm to build list for the New Member’s Personal Visitor’s Day / Ribbon Cutting
• Feedback from Mentor and/or Chapter Members on the New Member’s most-recent-meeting contribution.
• Clarification of any BNI systems and processes. (E.g. “How do I report my CEUs, One to Ones, etc.?” Reporting TYFCB. GivingTestimonials; etc.)
• 10-minute presentation Preparation (E.g. “What should I say in my 10-minute presentation?”; “Who do I want coming to my 10-minute presentation?”; “What technology can I use?”; “How do I keep to my time limit?”; etc.)
• Work through the BNI “Passport Success Program” and “Member to Success Program" - answer questions, provide clarification, etc.  
• Why it's important to complete the Member to Success program ASAP
• Completing their online profile and the fact it is available outside of BNI.
• Completing their GAINs profile and providing it to other members prior to having a One to One

Yes, being a Mentor is extremely important to new members as well as the chapter and it's the #1 way to live the Givers Gain philosophy.  Getting new members off to a good start learning how BNI works makes them more successful and by them being contributing members it helps the entire chapter be more successful and increases the bottom line.

Additional resources:
Tim Roberts podcast - Benefits of being a Mentor 

In appreciation,

Annette

What is your Vision for the new Decade?

As we turn the page and look to the new year, what is your Vision for 2020?  It's not just a New Year, it's the beginning of a New Decade.  Time to not just set goals for the New Year, but to set BHAG Goals for the Decade!

In Podcast #445, Dr. Misner talks with John Assaraf with OneCoach.  He's also one of the teachers from the movie, The Secret, and he's the author of Having It All and The Answer.

The title of the podcast is 'How to Grow Any Business in Any Market.'  The original podcast was done in 2009 during the recession, but it covers some very good key points on our beliefs and conditioning when it comes to Goal Setting and Visioning of what we want to achieve regardless of the state of the economy.

John gives these three key points in setting a vision:

1. Number one is to set an absolute, clear new vision of what it is you want to achieve. And so let's say you want to earn $100,000 or $250,000 or $1 million, what you want to do is set an absolute, clear vision for the brain to be able to pick up, number one, on that vision, i.e. what would it look like, what would it feel like?.
2. Number two, you want to impress that part into the subconscious or implicit part of the brain.  A visualization technique would be seeing yourself playing at that level over and over and over again so that we create the new neural networks in the implicit part of the brain, which is the automatic side of the brain. Also, create affirmations or declarations that create emotion.  This will actually accelerate the neuron connections of the brain as well.  This is putting our reticular activator in motion.
3. Number three, put ourselves into meditative states through self-hypnosis and use auditory technologies, or brain-and-train technologies, that will embed these new affirmations, or declarations, into the nervous system, basically, of the brain.

Those are three simple things that anybody could do inexpensively to make sure that our brains are being rewired at the part that actually is responsible for 96 to 98 percent of our perceptions and behaviors. And over the course of 30 days, 60 days, 90 days, we're actually reprogramming our brains at the level that's going to cause all of our perceptions and behaviors to change over time thus leading us to meet our goals.

I want to share a story with you.  Many years ago, when I had my first sales position with a direct sales company and before I knew anything about these techniques and the principles of Laws of Attraction this actually worked for me.

After working for this company for about 9 months, I attended their yearly sales seminar.  First time I had flown, so I was very excited.  I was one of the winners of their Fall Sales promotion which added to my excitement.  But the frosting on the cake was when they announced what the next big sales promotion was to be for the company.  They had never offered a promotion this big.  It was a trip for two to Hawaii.  I made up my mind right then and there...I was going.  I took one of the posters from the promotion, packed it in my suitcase, brought it home and hung it on the wall of my workroom.  That was my vision.

Over the next several months, I was focused on what I needed to do to achieve my vision.  I had determined exactly what each week and months sales had to be to meet my goal.  The company had given us 18 months to meet all the criteria to win.  I achieved by goal in 10 months and was the first sales rep to win!  Was it easy, NO!  There were many obstacles to overcome and work through, but I believe that the emotion I put behind the determination and the explicit declaration of, 'I am going,' was my key to achieving my dream in even less time than given.

Later in my career when I worked in a corporate setting, I had the privileged of being exposed to this concept even more through becoming a Master Facilitator in a program called 'Investment in Excellence' which was from Pacific Institute.  It was through this program I learned about the 'Reticular Activator.'  That part of the brain that doesn't know the difference in what is real and what is imagined.  Do if we can imagine with enough emotion we can set the brain in motion to achieve the end result - our vision.  Remember #2 - 'Play at the level in our mind and seeing ourself playing at that level over and over and over again so that we create the new vision.'  The other piece is writing affirmations in the first person as if you have already achieved your goal and put the feeling and emotion into the affirmation, i.e. 'I AM sitting on the beach in Oahu listening to the beautiful Hawaiian music as I watch a gorgeous sunset.'  Can you feel that?

So what is it you want to achieve in 2020?  If it's a monetary level, what would you do with the money?  Buy a new car, buy a new house, take an exotic vacation?  How would the end result make you feel?  Write your affirmations with how the end result would make you feel.

I would love to hear what your BHAG goals are for 2020.  

FYI - On my GAINS profile under the 'What few people know about me....I have won 2 trips to Hawaii with 2 different direct sales companies.  This stuff does work.  

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 for Goal Setting:

Grow Any Business in any Market

Stay in Your Flame

Amplifying Results Using a Lens

How Building it Can Make You Fearless*

Limits Are Illusions* 

(*FYI - I am an affiliate for SOC, but I felt these last two were pertinent to the subject)

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

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