27/3/11
Has that ever happened to you? You have a visitor and you have told them that you have a great contact that they should meet. But, when the visitor arrives the member concerned isn’t there. In fact they turn up late. I’ve even seen it happen that the member concerned is absent!
The visitor doesn’t get to meet the member before the meeting starts and the member is gone when the visitor returns from Visitor Orientation.
It’s bad in so many ways!
First, the visitor has been let down. They were promised a meeting with a great contact for their business or them personally.
Second, it has made you look bad in the eyes of your visitor. Not so bad if they are a great contact of yours, but, if the relationship is new, damage may have been done.
Third, the member has lost out. They didn’t get to meet the visitor and it’s just possible that they may never now.
Fourth, it reflects badly on the whole chapter. Are the members reliable? It may seem like just a small thing, something that really doesn’t matter, but, we all know of things that have been won by the smallest of margins: of things that happen, because we were in just the right place, at just the right time.
So, what time will you arrive at your next meeting? 6.30am at the latest (unless you are a lunchtime group)? If you do, I’d almost guarantee that you will get more business from your chapter if you are there every week at that time!
Sunday 27 March 2011
Friday 4 March 2011
All cleaned up!
4/3/11
I’ve written several times on the value of One2Ones, as there is no better way to increase the amount of business done between members. A really effective One2One will allow you to get to know the other person better, to build trust, to find out what sort of business they are looking for, what kind of business they don’t want, and how to start conversations about them. You will learn a great deal about them and they a great deal about you. You will build a deeper relationship and, hopefully, like them more!
All of this will result in more business for both parties. So, I really can’t recommend having One2Ones anything like enough. In fact, if you are not having regular and effective One2Ones you really are missing out on business.
Going to a fellow member’s place of work is one of the best ways of having a One2One, as it often tells you things that would never come up in the course of a One2One, held, say, in a coffee shop. For example what the offices are like, the other people in the business, how busy the firm is. Pictures hanging on the walls often lead to interesting stories. All build a greater understanding of the business and a deeper relationship with the person.
It also means that you need to have another One2One!
Okay, some members don’t have an office but it’s very few, and I’ve learnt a great deal about someone by going to their ‘home’ office. If a trade, why not have your One2One on site? It’s a great way to see how they work plus the quality of the work done. All very important information if you are going to refer someone with confidence.
But, my main reason for writing this blog, is a testimonial that was read at a recent meeting I attended. It was for a One2One! Very unusual, but a member had become a story worth talking about. It’s what we all need to become: someone that people will talk about. As I am doing now!
A member had gone for a One2One at another member's place of business: Dominion Auto Services. Two things stuck in my mind: the member said that they had never seen such a clean workshop, but the thing that really impressed me was that when the member returned to their car it was gleaming. It had been given a full wash and polish. Now that is really adding value to a One2One and what a brilliant way to be remembered!
So, what can you do that will really add value to your next One2One to ensure that you get talked about?
Harry Dass - Dominion Auto Services – 020 8813 8350
I’ve written several times on the value of One2Ones, as there is no better way to increase the amount of business done between members. A really effective One2One will allow you to get to know the other person better, to build trust, to find out what sort of business they are looking for, what kind of business they don’t want, and how to start conversations about them. You will learn a great deal about them and they a great deal about you. You will build a deeper relationship and, hopefully, like them more!
All of this will result in more business for both parties. So, I really can’t recommend having One2Ones anything like enough. In fact, if you are not having regular and effective One2Ones you really are missing out on business.
Going to a fellow member’s place of work is one of the best ways of having a One2One, as it often tells you things that would never come up in the course of a One2One, held, say, in a coffee shop. For example what the offices are like, the other people in the business, how busy the firm is. Pictures hanging on the walls often lead to interesting stories. All build a greater understanding of the business and a deeper relationship with the person.
It also means that you need to have another One2One!
Okay, some members don’t have an office but it’s very few, and I’ve learnt a great deal about someone by going to their ‘home’ office. If a trade, why not have your One2One on site? It’s a great way to see how they work plus the quality of the work done. All very important information if you are going to refer someone with confidence.
But, my main reason for writing this blog, is a testimonial that was read at a recent meeting I attended. It was for a One2One! Very unusual, but a member had become a story worth talking about. It’s what we all need to become: someone that people will talk about. As I am doing now!
A member had gone for a One2One at another member's place of business: Dominion Auto Services. Two things stuck in my mind: the member said that they had never seen such a clean workshop, but the thing that really impressed me was that when the member returned to their car it was gleaming. It had been given a full wash and polish. Now that is really adding value to a One2One and what a brilliant way to be remembered!
So, what can you do that will really add value to your next One2One to ensure that you get talked about?
Harry Dass - Dominion Auto Services – 020 8813 8350
Wednesday 2 March 2011
How well do you perform your chapter role?
2/3/11
Every role in your chapter, be it the Chapter Director or the Events Coordinator, is uniquely responsible for the ultimate success of the chapter.
The Chapter Director needs to run a brilliant meeting, motivate the group, and ensure that the agenda is followed and meeting finished on time. The Membership Coordinator needs to run a strong committee, so that the polices are followed, for the benefit of all, and to plan the continued growth of the chapter. The Secretary/Treasurer needs to keep the group in profit and organise the speakers.
Then we have the Visitor Hosts, those members that are at the chapters bright and early, and make that vital first impression on our visitors. The committee members, who along with the Membership Coordinator, help and support the whole group. The Mentor Coordinator, and mentors, who help new members, and others, to feel welcome in the chapter and get the very best from their membership.
And, of course, the Education Coordinator who organises our education and the Events Coordination who arranges socials and gets us all to the workshops.
Every one of those people who does a great job will help the chapter grow and each of us in turn to earn more money.
But, have you, if you hold a role, ever thought about what happens if you do a bad job? Or, at least, not a very good one.
We talk a great deal about VCP in BNI. Visibility, credibility, profitability and assume that it is a good thing. As if by being visible, it will make us credible, and therefore profitable. But, I have news for you – it won’t. Visibility isn’t enough on its own. You also need to be very good.
And, I have two examples for you to prove my point. The first member had been a member of their chapter for some time and considered a pretty reasonable member, then they joined the Leadership Team. Every week they forgot something, so no-one had any idea what was going on. They were totally disorganised. Their referral rate dropped as members lost confidence in them.
The second member took over a role half way through a term because someone had left the chapter. They were a long term member and were considered to be, well to be honest, fairly average. But the way that they performed their role transformed how people thought about them. Their credibility soared and with it the other members' efforts to find them referrals.
So, my question to you is this. Is the way that you perform your chapter role making you look like a credible business person? If not, you could be getting a lot less referrals than you might if it did.
Every role in your chapter, be it the Chapter Director or the Events Coordinator, is uniquely responsible for the ultimate success of the chapter.
The Chapter Director needs to run a brilliant meeting, motivate the group, and ensure that the agenda is followed and meeting finished on time. The Membership Coordinator needs to run a strong committee, so that the polices are followed, for the benefit of all, and to plan the continued growth of the chapter. The Secretary/Treasurer needs to keep the group in profit and organise the speakers.
Then we have the Visitor Hosts, those members that are at the chapters bright and early, and make that vital first impression on our visitors. The committee members, who along with the Membership Coordinator, help and support the whole group. The Mentor Coordinator, and mentors, who help new members, and others, to feel welcome in the chapter and get the very best from their membership.
And, of course, the Education Coordinator who organises our education and the Events Coordination who arranges socials and gets us all to the workshops.
Every one of those people who does a great job will help the chapter grow and each of us in turn to earn more money.
But, have you, if you hold a role, ever thought about what happens if you do a bad job? Or, at least, not a very good one.
We talk a great deal about VCP in BNI. Visibility, credibility, profitability and assume that it is a good thing. As if by being visible, it will make us credible, and therefore profitable. But, I have news for you – it won’t. Visibility isn’t enough on its own. You also need to be very good.
And, I have two examples for you to prove my point. The first member had been a member of their chapter for some time and considered a pretty reasonable member, then they joined the Leadership Team. Every week they forgot something, so no-one had any idea what was going on. They were totally disorganised. Their referral rate dropped as members lost confidence in them.
The second member took over a role half way through a term because someone had left the chapter. They were a long term member and were considered to be, well to be honest, fairly average. But the way that they performed their role transformed how people thought about them. Their credibility soared and with it the other members' efforts to find them referrals.
So, my question to you is this. Is the way that you perform your chapter role making you look like a credible business person? If not, you could be getting a lot less referrals than you might if it did.
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