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

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

Teamwork

Happy New Year!  Yes, October 1st starts a new year for BNI Chapters.  The new Leadership Teams are set to start their new term as of October 1st.  For BNI Chapters to be successful as a whole and for chapter members to be successful, it takes everyone in the chapter working together and doing their part.  It takes Teamwork.  

So what is Teamwork?  I like this definition - 'A cooperative or coordinated effort on the part of a group of persons acting together as a team in the interests of a common cause.'

 

Here are the ingredients that I believe make a good recipe for a successful Team and for a successful BNI Chapter.

Goals - Every BNI member becomes a part of a BNI Chapter to receive referrals in order to make money.  But in order for the individuals to reach their goals, the chapter has to have a set of goals and a plan to be successful, which in turn will help each individual member reach their goals and see the value in their membership. What are your chapter's goals?

Everyone doing their fair share - I believe that every member in a chapter needs to have a role/responsibility.  As the description says, 'everyone working together as a team.'  Like a football team, the water boy's role is essential to the quarterback staying hydrated in order to make a touchdown.  Every role and responsibility contributes to the success of the team.  What role/responsibility do you have in your chapter? What skills do you have that would benefit your chapter?

Communication/Feedback - BNI chapters are made up of a diverse group of people with different backgrounds and different styles of communication.  When issues are raised, it's not necessarily a complaint, but an awareness that needs attention.  Perhaps it is a lack of understanding of the process or the procedure.  How does your chapter handle feedback?  The Chapter Success Meeting provides a great place for sharing information, providing feedback and working out issues.  Does your chapter have a monthly Chapter Success Meeting that is open to all members?  Do your members know the process for handling issues?

Growth - Just like every business wants to grow to make more money, BNI chapters need to grow in order for their members to have more opportunities for referrals.  What is your chapter's plan to have more visitors and to grow the membership?

Accountability - This is a hard one for some chapters.  In BNI, members get to be friends and it is sometimes hard to tell your friend they are not doing their fair share.  But in high functioning teams, it is a necessity to provide feedback and hold members accountable.  Think about if you were part of a rowing team and one member was not doing their fair share of rowing or not rowing in the right direction, what would happen?  You would be going in circles, staying in one place, or going backwards.  In order to be part of a high functioning team and reap the rewards, you have to be willing to work at the level expected of a high functioning team and give and accept feedback on ways to improve.  What are the expectations for the members of your chapter?  

Continuous Improvement - I like Maya Angelou's quote, 'Do better until you know better and then do better.'  In order for teams to be successful, they have to have goals and a plan and they need to review their progress continuously to see how they are doing.  By reviewing, analyzing, making adjustments, etc. they can keep the chapter on course to reach and exceed their goals.  What goals and mechanisms does your chapter have in place for making improvements?

Fun and Recognition - Lastly and one of the most important parts of a successful recipe of successful teams is to have fun and celebrate success.  Celebrating individual as well as group achievements gives a team a since of accomplishment.  With every accomplishment it gives encouragement to work for more.  How does your chapter have fun, celebrate, and recognize success?

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 or have questions, reach out.

Here are some additional resources:

Creating a Great Culture

Culture Eats Strategy for Breakfast

Good to Great

5 Dysfunctions of a Team

Behaviors and Credibility

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

404-376-9180

Annette@BNIatl.com

  

Please let me know of other topics you would like to know about that I can add to future newsletters.