Communicating Your Brand

PR and Speaking Engagements

In the book, The World’s Best Known Marketing Secret, by BNI Founder Dr. Ivan Misner, there is a chapter called “Communicating Your Brand.” In it, Dr. Misner recommends giving a speech as a good way to promote your company.

Dr. Misner says:

“Speaking opportunities… represent an excellent avenue for building your business image and making contact with movers and shakers in the business community. BUT…do remember to avoid selling to your audience during your speech! Position yourself as the expert and let the confidence build into potential sales.”

I’ve always agreed with this approach wholeheartedly. To that end, I’ve been invited to speak at an event on Friday April 12, hosted by the Power of Women Canada. I’m honoured to be part of the event, but I’m most thrilled about the calibre of the women who will also be presenting.

Grace Attard, owner and founder of e-Spot in Oakville is a co-presenter, as is Heather Hiscox, National CBC Newspresenter.  Both women represent the highest level of excellence in their field, and I am very much looking forward to hearing their stories and participating in their presentations.

This is a unique event, hosted at St. Mildred’s Lightbourne School in Oakville – which is a truly unique venue. It’s also an excellent networking opportunity. So, gather together your business cards and join us…register right here.

Attract and Retain Referral Partners

A BNI member asked BNI Founder, Dr. Misner how to combine attracting and retaining new members with passing high-quality referrals. Here are the three keys:

System

BNI works best when you use the whole system as outlined in the manuals. If you remover pieces, the whole thing will fall apart.

Accountability

How many referrals is the chapter giving? How many do we want to be giving? Are they high-quality referrals? Are members attending?

Culture

Culture eats strategy for breakfast. The attitude of the group, the way it behaves, the way it feels when you walk into it. If people are laughing and enjoying their meeting and following the system, they have a healthy culture. One person can ruin a group’s culture.

System, accountability and culture are three crucial keys to attracting and keeping the right referral partners. On a scale of 1 to 10 where does you chapter fit? With a few tweaks all chapters can be an 8+.

Read the complete BNI Podcast.

“Interview” Instead of “Invite”

This is Dr. Misner’s inviting approach:

“My favorite approach for inviting visitors to BNI is what I call the “We’re interviewing” technique.

Suppose your chapter needs a printer. When you meet a printer, explain that you’re in a referral group and say, “We’re interviewing printers now to find the best printer in the area to give all of our business to. I think you might make a good candidate.” (Replace “printers” with the profession your chapter needs.) Here’s how the script could be phrased:

“I’m in a referral group. [You don’t have to go into much detail.] I have been a member for [however long]. We get together on a regular basis, and we’re all about passing business to each other. We’re interviewing [fill in the blank for whatever profession] right now to find a really good one in the area to give all of our business to. I think you might make a good candidate.”

This shows people the value of BNI membership and helps the chapter to be selective about new members. Good groups don’t take just any candidate. They want to take qualified candidates, and this approach helps set that expectation.”

We all know that it is a privilege to be part of a BNI referral network. Our achievements, in BNI, show the process is successful and the process works. By presenting BNI as an exclusive privilege to potential new members, we are establishing the value of the BNI experience right away. We should be very selective about whom we choose as referral partners, but let’s not forget, that to find the right people; we must interview a lot of people.

Invite all your contacts to meet your BNI members, (everyone benefits). But not all your contacts are potential new members. Bottom line: tell everyone you know about BNI, but only “interview” those whom you feel will be a solid addition to your referral team.

Excerpt from SuccessNet. Read the full story.