Tuesday, May 26, 2015

How’s Business?

Every great, profitable company has a system to bring in new clients/customers. Your BNI network can as well. One way to grow our BNI network (and our future referrals) is to increase our referral partners. That means inviting.

Try the following:
  1. Ask everyone you talk to, “How’s business?”
  2. Ask, “Are referrals important to your business?” When they answer, “Why, yes they are”, then ask “how do you generate referrals for your business?” When they ask how you get referrals, “I’m building a referral network with BNI.”
  3. “What’s BNI?” “BNI stands for Business Network International and we are a referral network of diverse businesses that generate ongoing referrals for each other”.
  4. Then INVITE. “Would you like to attend our meeting and see how we do it?”
What makes the above approach successful is activity. BNI members are the best referral generators in the world, but to produce referrals we need a network and to build a network, we need to be in contact with a lot of people, just as we need to be in touch with a lot of prospects to create new clients for our businesses.
Asking one person to attend won’t show results, asking five people to attend will. Try it and see how it works. Not only will you attract new referral partners, you may even be celebrating them on a trip to Hilton Head Beach. There’s only 2 weeks left to qualify.

Thursday, May 21, 2015

The BNI Hour of Power

By  James Sanderson, BNI Executive Director for London South-Central, United Kingdom

“My chapter leadership teams encourage members to set aside one hour a week in which they focus solely on BNI activity. Think about it: if you stopped everything in your day and decided to focus on BNI for one hour, what would you do? Would you be at a loss to fill the time? Or would you have a number of activities that you could immediately pursue to give you tremendous impetus in developing business for chapter colleagues, whilst also giving your own business a major boost at the same time?
In your “Hour of Power” you could:

Focus on inviting visitors:

  • Follow up previously invited visitors to see if they are ready to join;
  • Review the list of trade/professional categories that your chapter most wants to fill, and update your own customers and contact lists to see if you can identify suitable visitors;
  • Make invitation calls;
  • Send invitation cards or emails confirming venue details for visitors;
  • Make reminder calls to visitors the day before the meeting.
We have found the Hour of Power can transform any member’s experience within BNI, almost instantaneously increasing the value of the business generated and received by over ten-fold.
Adopt it and see the benefits flow.”
Let those benefits help you flow right down to Hilton Head Beach in South Carolina.

Wednesday, May 13, 2015

The Ultimate in Inviting

Recently at the When asked, “How do you invite to a BNI meeting?” Here’s BNI Founder Dr. Ivan Misner’s answer:

 “The most important thing to remember is that the person you’re inviting isn’t doing you a favour by showing up, you’re doing him (or her) a favour by inviting him. Here’s what you say – We’re interviewing for a ___________ (insert your category of choice here). I think you’d be a good fit in our chapter. We’re meeting next _________ at 7:00 am. Our members are looking for a ____________ (repeat category) to give their referrals to, would you like to come and let them meet you? We can see if there’s a good fit.”

If the person says no (for whatever reason) Dr. Misner suggests saying, “No problem. But we are looking for a good _________ (same category) to give our referrals to. Do you know a good _____________ (same category) in the area?”

Dr. Misner says that when you ask in that way, you will almost always get 1 of 2 reactions. The first, “Yes I would like to meet them.” Or, the second, “No, I can’t come, but I know someone in my office who might be a good fit, can they come and meet you?” Your answer, of course, is yes.

This inviting technique has worked for the Founder and CEO for 30 years. Perhaps it will work for you to. And it just might help you win a trip for 2 to The Westin Hilton Head Island Resort and Spa.

Tuesday, May 5, 2015

Giving’s Greatest Reward


, Excerpt from an article in BNI SuccessNet

Recently, someone at a Leadership Team Training Meeting asked me, "Gordie, how come you know so many people?"
"Because every day, I make it my point to introduce two people to each other," I said.
Absolutely nothing is more energizing than bringing two strangers together for their mutual benefit. At first it was challenging, but once I got the hang of it, it became easier. Before long, it was second nature. Weekly soon became daily.
Bringing two strangers together for their mutual benefit is really about "paying it forward"—or Givers Gain. It's my daily good deed. Accomplishing this simple assignment is exhilarating and energizing.
People never forget who brought them together, especially when some good comes from the introduction. The result: they most often voluntarily reciprocate.
As you "pay it forward," introducing your friends to each other, remember to never ask for anything in return; do it because it's the right thing to do, and do it daily. Paying it forward will then pay off big.
 
Every new member sponsorship is a ballot to win a trip to Hilton Head.