When you say the right thing!

I'm having some work done on my new home at the moment. This includes making new doorways and bricking up other doorways so that the layout of the house is just the way we want it.

Doing part of the work is a builder, a good friend of mine, and during one of his tea breaks we were deliberating on Arsenal (there's no need to comment!) and life in general, which of course included our respective families.

David Wimblett watching Arsenal at the Emirates

My children are all now grown up but my friend has a son who is making his GCSE choices this year. I asked if his son had any idea as to a career, as at his age I hadn't had any idea, and to my surprise he said, 'Yes. A sports lawyer'.

I have to say I was impressed, not just because he had an idea of what he wanted to do, but more so because he knew exactly what he was going to do. My friend added that the only problem was that he didn't know how to advise him as neither he, nor his son's school, had any experience of how you become a sports lawyer.

And that's when there was a 'click' in my head; I know a sports lawyer. In fact this person had been involved in some Arsenal transfers. I told my friend that I couldn't promise anything, but that I would see if my contact could give him some pointers.

Well, to cut a long story short, my friend's son has now met the sports lawyer on three occasions, been to a seminar that he was speaking at, and had lunch with him. All in all, pretty amazing.

So, why am I telling you this story? Well, if my friend had just said that his son wanted to be a lawyer that probably would have been it. I know lots of lawyers and solicitors but it was the 'sports' that was the trigger.

And it's exactly the same when you are asking for referrals, or giving a 60 Seconds; for the best results you must be specific. Because just by adding one word, as in this case, can make all the difference.

Being general, trying to cover everything you do, simply doesn't work; well, not if you want great results.

So how about this for an idea? A New Year's Resolution that not only can you keep but that will also help 2015 be a great year for you too. Be specific.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

The Expert

Recently I saw a 10 Minute which I thought was brilliant and which turned out to be very effective.

It was by a video company. There was no personal stuff, no qualifications or how long they had been in business, no 'what makes a great referral', no request for target clients, no selling and no questions. Not even a memory hook.

The person concerned didn't even show any of his company's own videos!

The title of the presentation was 'What makes a winning video'.

We were educated on what makes a great video: from why a business needed a video, to planning, scripting, location, shooting, lighting, sound (very important), titles and length. At each stage we were shown videos (short clips) which demonstrated the points being made.

As I say it was a great 10 Minutes: very professional, well planned, well scripted and executed. What came across was that this man knew his business; he was an expert in his field.

He did get one quick question at the end, from a visitor, 'Do you make videos?' His simple answer was 'Yes'.

During the referral part of the meeting he received three referrals: one from the visitor, who had asked the question, and two from members who wanted a video shot for their own business.

Now I'm not suggesting that you go out and do a similar 10 Minute next week, and I know you shouldn't sell to the room (he did no selling), but

I do think that if you get seen as an expert in your field you will get many more referrals. So it's worth considering how you can use this idea not only in a 10 Minute presentation but in everything you do.

Across the dance floor!

Don't know about you, but when I was in my early twenties it took a great deal of courage to cross a dance floor and ask a beautiful girl if she would like a dance.

Again, if you were anything like me the answer was a curt "No thanks", and you had to make the return trip to your starting point - knowing that everyone watching knew exactly what had just happened. I would imagine those gifted at asking a girl to dance feeling pity for me, while those more timid than I just thanked their lucky stars that it wasn't them doing the walk of shame and took another sip of their beer.

But if not that night, another night, I would try again and I kept on trying, as I expect you did, until a lovely girl said yes.

Well that was a long time ago, but the experience is still very valid today.

You see when I ask members if they have tried inviting visitors by letter, or postcard, by email, by text, or even asking people they know if they could suggest someone, I more often than not get the reply, "Oh. I tried that once and it didn't work".

Can you imagine the number of unmarried men there would be around if they had used this same principle when asking a girl for a dance, or even a date? She said 'No'. I'm not trying that again!

So, why is it that those very same people only try inviting a visitor once?

I guess it comes down to a combination of fear, ambition, priorities and even credibility.

There was a lot of fear in asking the girl of your dreams for a date. However, for most men to have a beautiful loving girlfriend was something they dreamed about. And other than football on Saturday, it was their only priority. There was of course credibility at stake, as no-one wanted to be the only person without a girlfriend.

So, if you find it hard to get visitors along to your chapter, cast your mind back to those days on the dance floor; for some of you it may have been just last week!

And instead of trying to find a visitor using one particular method just the once, keep trying until you succeed. After all, you know that if you keep trying you will succeed.

And ladies, this doesn't let you off the hook, as I'm sure you have your own example!

Good Luck.

No Questions!

The other day I was asked by a member if I could give them an outline as to how they should plan their upcoming 10 Minutes.

One of the things I suggested was to allow one minute (included within the ten) for questions. In the end, whilst going with most of my outline, the member decided to allow two minutes for any questions.

I sent him a text message shortly after his meeting to see how he had got on. His reply was that he thought it had gone well but he was a little disappointed as he hadn't got a single question. And it had left him wondering if in fact his presentation had been poor. He sounded pretty down.

Now, as with most things in life, there are two sides to every story. In this case, his 10 Minutes may have answered every question that might have been asked: everything being clearly explained, with no loose ends. On the other hand, maybe his presentation had lacked any real interest, so no one was that involved. Knowing the person concerned I doubt that the latter was the reason.

However, there is a third possibility. This member's business is very technical and the content may have been above the understanding of many of the members in the room. If this was the case, the lack of questions, could have been down to people not wanting to seem daft by asking a dumb question.

Now this is where the Leadership Team comes in. One of the team should always have a question ready for the 10 Minutes Speaker and there are, at least, two good reasons for this.

First, it means that no member, having done their 10 Minutes, leaves the meeting feeling flat and worried that they did a bad job, and second, one question usually leads to a lot more. It just takes that first hand to go up to get the ball rolling; it gives others the confidence, the permission, to ask their question.

So when the 10 Minutes Speaker is presenting, think of a great question to ask. And consider this: there are no stupid questions, other than the one you never ask. The best thing is that your question could mean the difference between a member feeling great or not. And maybe it might even lead to extra referrals for the member. How? Because your question leads to a point of confusion, to all, being made clear, or expands on a point already made that leads to other opportunities.

There really is no downside to asking a question when the Chapter Director says, "Any questions?" So, make sure your hand is the first to go up at your next chapter meeting.

Welcome to Bristol Cook

On the 20th August (I went on holiday the next day) I visited Bristol Cook, a lunchtime chapter, pretty much in the centre of Bristol.

The chapter launched in January and is already thirty strong and it's easy to see why. Led by Sarah Owen, a good friend of mine, and Area Director, the chapter has a real sense of togetherness and everyone seems to like each other. I love their 'Good Egg of the Month' award.

But what I really like is their 'Referral to look for' sheet. The front is fairly standard, other than it is colour coded into Power Groups; what a great idea. However, it's the reverse of the sheet that is really impressive. It's all there.

Leadership Team, 10 Minute Speaker, 60 Second guide and the month's Network Leaders. But it goes much further than that. It then covers the Top 5 Business Givers, the Top 5 Referral Givers and the Top 5 Visitor Inviters. Each has a total: 198 visitors this year. No wonder Bristol Cook is already a 30-strong chapter.

However, once again, there is more. Bar Charts for the Business Givers, Referral Givers and Visitor Inviters. The visuals are so much better than just plain figures.

So, why do I think this is so good? Well, it's simple. The members of Bristol Cook have been accountable from 'Day One', every week they can see their Network Leaders and how well they, as a chapter, are doing. It's just brilliant. What's even better is that the chapter has a good spread of Network Leaders; a sure sign that every member is playing their part in the success of the chapter.

If your chapter doesn't present your chapter figures, at least monthly, with the aid of great visuals you, as a member, are really missing out.

Every business must know its 'numbers' for real success and your BNI chapter is no different.

I look forward to visiting Bristol Cook again and I am positive that when I do it will be a massive success and a Flagship Chapter.

BNI Game a waste of time!

I visited a chapter recently in London who were taking part in the BNI Game and one of the members complained to me that it was a complete waste of time, as it encouraged members to just make things up.

The BNI Game, as I explained to the member, can be an outstanding building block for a chapter. But it does depend on the ground rules set out by the Leadership Team and a strong, but fair, game co-ordinator. In addition, strong members will not take ‘advantage’ of the game to score points.

So, what can the organiser of the game do to ensure that every member plays to the spirit of what is being done for their benefit?

Well, with regard to visitors, this is an easy one to answer, and just a few basic guidelines are needed. First, if someone has come as a visitor within the previous six months they can’t come again as a visitor during the game, unless it’s with an application form. A visitor won’t count if it’s the same person a member ‘wheels out’ every time there is a membership drive.  An eligible visitor is only anyone that could apply to join the chapter.

Then there are referrals - always a difficult one! Well, again this is easy to deal with. It’s why there is a Referral Reality Check. If there is a doubt over the validity of a referral it can ‘randomly’ be picked during the referral part of the meeting.

Testimonials, workshops and 1-2-1s are all often part of a BNI Game and if more of these are done, even if a few are not as good as they could be, it can only be good for the chapter. As are the wearing of a badge, BNI Pin and getting to the chapter early.

The only item that is difficult to ‘police’ is the Thank You for the Business, but even here an astute Membership Co-ordinator can usually spot the odd anomaly.

Now I’m not naive enough to think that a little ‘embellishment’ of the truth doesn’t take place. But given the amount of extra business the BNI Game produces for the members of a chapter, I suppose the odd duff contribution is a price worth paying.

And in any case, certainly where I was concerned, if I knew that another member was bending the rules it damaged their credibility, and long term that member lost out.

The BNI Game is a brilliant incentive for any chapter. Just make sure that it’s not you who is taking ‘advantage’ of the spirit of the game.

My mobile rings during a meeting!

There’s nothing worse than a mobile going off in a chapter meeting – well, other than someone texting during a meeting that is. And that’s why, at every meeting, the Chapter Director reminds us to turn our mobiles off.

So, why was my mobile switched on and, more importantly, why did it ring? Well you will be pleased to hear that it was all pre-arranged; part of a very clever 60 Seconds by one of the members of the chapter. Yaro Kowalczyk of, IT company, Compcontrol Ltd. This is what happened.

As Yaro stood to do his 60 Seconds my phone rang. I answered with a “Hello”. Yaro was on the other side of the room on his mobile, he also said “Hello”. I couldn’t hear anything coming from my phone, so I tried another, “Hello”. It seemed that Yaro also couldn’t hear anything his end so he to tried another “Hello”. Still no sound my end, so I tried yet another “Hello”. We both hung up.

Yaro went on to explain that what we had just experienced on our mobiles, a bad connection, was just like having a bad computer network. And that a bad network meant that computers and peripherals had difficulty ‘talking’ to one another, leading to all sorts of problems, amongst them lost tempers and lost money.

Yaro explained that his company, Compcontrol, supplied unrivalled network services, and that if anyone in the room knew someone having a problem with their computer network it would be a perfect referral for him.

I have to say that I thought it was a brilliant way of demonstrating what Compcontrol did and because of that will forgive a  mobile being used during a meeting.

Note: Please don’t all start ringing each other at your next meeting!

Thank You

On Friday I subbed for a very good friend of mine, KeithSpillett, at Isis in Ealing; Isis is a chapter of over 40 members.

It was great to go back to Isis as they were one of the chapters that I used to look after, as an Area Director, for London North West. But what made my visit even more special was what Charles Scholefield said during the contribution part of the meeting. He said that they missed my experience and support; I have to admit that it made me feel rather good. He also bought a copy of my new book, ‘The 10 Year Breakfast’, as did many of the other members of the chapter. It was a very good morning!

However, it was one of the testimonials given that really caught my attention. It was from Mathieu Rossano to Olivera Babic of BabicInteriors (interior designer). Olivera had designed the layout and colours for Mathieu’s new clinic and his testimonial not only explained how great Olivera was at her job but also how good the layout and colours made his patients feel. A good testimonial. But then he presented her with a bottle of Champagne. What a great way to say ‘Thank You’, and what a wonderful testimonial.

Being successful has a great deal about being different, about standing out from those around you. And I think that both Mathieu and Olivera have achieved that here.

So, next time you have something to do, what can you do to make it that extra bit special?

90 Day Challenge

It seems that wherever you turn there’s a new 90 Day Challenge being made. It’s all over Facebook and the leader of the pack seems to be ‘The Body by Vi Challenge’. The idea is that you set a goal, video it, and then ‘Go Public’ with it; on Facebook, Twitter, just about everywhere.

There’s nothing new in this idea, I have written blogs about making goals public and there’s even a chapter in my new book ‘The 10 YearBreakfast’ on the subject. But, being challenged by a friend, and making the goal public, really seems to have caught on.

So, how about this for an idea?

Challenge your best mate in your chapter to a goal: to bring a certain number of visitors to your chapter in the next 90 days, or a certain number of referrals. The bigger the challenge the better! Then make a video (including your chapter name of course) and go public with it.

I think this would be a great deal of fun and I’m sure you could think of a prize or two. Maybe if enough members in your chapter took part, all of the winners' names, could be put into a hat for a special prize from the chapter?

Maybe even a BNI Director would like to challenge a member or two!

Do you know, I’m pretty excited about this idea! What do you think?

Now who shall I pick…

The 10 Year Breakfast…

Is the title of my second book due for publication in April. My first, in case you missed it, was ‘BNI: One Bite at aTime’.

The 10 Year Breakfast is the result of me eating nine hundred and eighty seven breakfasts (mainly Full English) over the past ten years. My book is about business; it is about what I have learnt about business whilst networking, in the main as a long-time member, and director, of BNI.

This is what Executive Director Colin Read says about my book: "David has the ability to observe everyday networking situations with an extremely dry sense of humour that is rarely found before lunchtime, let alone breakfast. 

In a nutshell, 'He adds the brown sauce to your full English!'  A must read..."

And this is part of the foreword by Nigel Botterill of the Entrepreneur’s Circle, “What’s more, by his own admission, he wasn’t very good at this ‘networking thing’ when he first started and that makes him even more interesting and fascinating to me, because he’s come from a position of incompetence and poor results, to master what he does.

Critically, his success as a networker isn’t innate which has helped him to teach and share his lessons along the way in a very accessible style.”

I’ve learnt a great deal from BNI over the last ten years and so I would like to give you, the readers of my blog, a special Pre-Publication Offer as a Thank You.

My book has a cover price of £11.95, but buy it before publication, before the 11th April, and you can get your copy (maybe even copies) for just £5.00 (plus £1 toward P&P).

All you need to do is click here to order.

Thank you.

Is your new team pulling together?

March is always an exciting month, as it’s when all of the new Leadership Teams are trained. And more often than not you can tell whether a chapter will be successful during their term of office, or not, just by how many of the new team attend the training.

The full attendance by a team (of a chapter) at the training pretty much always guarantees a successful future for that chapter. And knowing this it always amazes me the number of reasons that members give for not taking part.  From the just can’t be bothered, to ‘I’m too busy’, and of course the ‘I did it last time’.

I’m not going to comment on the ‘can’t be bothered’ attitude as I don’t think I need to. But what about ‘I’m too busy’? Well my question here is very simple. If the person is too busy – will they have the time needed to devote to the chapter? If not, in truth, they won’t really be able to help the chapter fully. Something else, more important, will often come up.

Then we have the ‘done it before’ argument. The reasoning is that they have been trained before so know what to do. Not only is this very arrogant but also completely misses the point.

Several years ago I had a member who was adamant that they didn’t need to be trained (again!). So in the end I made him an offer (he was to be a Visitor Host). My offer was that if he ran a perfect session at his next meeting he didn’t have to attend the training. On the spot he elected to attend the training. But the bigger thing is that these people forget that they are part of a team.

Can you imagine Sir Steve Redgrave saying to the other three members of the boat that he would just turn up at the Olympics because he had been before? Of course not. And I know that he worked just as hard, if not harder, than the other crew members. Another thing, he used his experience of having done it before, to the benefit of the newer crew members. So, if you have been trained before, that is exactly what you should be doing.

Thinking about rowing is in fact the perfect example of team work. Just think about an ‘Eight’ – Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race. Just imagine what a disaster it would be if all the rowers pulled at a different rate, didn’t train, or in fact if one of the crew didn’t turn up. They certainly wouldn’t win much.

There is a great book ‘Will It Make The Boat Go Faster’ by Ben Hunt-Davis. He was part of the eight that won gold at the 2000 Olympic Games, and I really recommend you get a copy. The premise of everything they did was ‘will it make the boat go faster?’ If the answer was ‘yes’ they did it, if the answer was ‘no’ they didn’t.

So a question for you if you might be thinking of missing Leadership Team Training. ‘Will It Make The Boat (your chapter) Go Faster?’ I hope that you will agree that the answer is a big ‘No’ and go!

What’s in it for me?

Very few members bring a reasonable (in my mind ‘reasonable’ equals between six and twelve visitors each year) number of visitors to their chapter. I have covered the possible reasons as to why this might be the case before, but I now have, what I think, is the true reason.

Because, let’s face it, there cannot be a single member who doesn’t know that we need to grow our chapters and why - more business for all. The trouble is that ‘more business for all’ is too generic. What members really want to know is ‘What’s in it for me?’ Now obviously the easy answer is – more business. But as I say, that’s too abstract.

The real reason, I believe, is that most members don’t really know what they want. Therefore, they have no need to try and get it. So, it’s about having a target; or in this case not having a target. Because if you don’t have one. How can you aim for it?

You see most members, I know, are just happy to get whatever value of business that comes their way each year. But how different would it be if they had a (real) target?

Say it was something pretty low like £12,000 a year (£1,000 per month). What would they need to do in order to get that level of business? Simple answer – get a certain number of referrals. Now what’s the best way of getting lots of referrals? Answer: having lots of members. And how do you get lots of members? By having lots of visitors.

So, if every member had a target for the amount of business they wanted from their chapter each year, and had a plan for getting it (number of referrals needed), visitors would become important to them, and they would invite more.

The “What’s in it for me?” question would be answered, as visitors are the best way of reaching your business target – if you have one!

So, if your chapter is looking for more members, why not have a session (maybe the 10 Minutes) on setting a business target for every member of the chapter?

Please let me know what you think and how you get on.

Have you any idea?

Well it’s back to work with a bang this week and I guess most members will be attending their first meeting of the New Year.

Now with a new year come resolutions and new targets.  Chapter Leadership Teams may ask their fellow members what their plans for the year are.  They might have set goals for the chapter themselves and just let the members know these plans.  As a member you might have set your own targets.

Targets might include; the number of referrals you will give, the number of visitors you will bring to the meetings (not merely invite), the number of workshops you will attend, the number of 1-2-1s you will have, and the number of testimonials you will give.  One of my targets was to never be absent (always have a substitute).  And, of course, your Leadership Team might have a target for the amount of business passed in the chapter.

There are of course other targets you could set yourself, like taking the Education Slot three or four times a year.  Always being the first member to arrive (or at least not being the last).  Never giving anything less than a great 60 Seconds.

I promise you that if you take the time to think about what you will do for your chapter and fellow members (and you) over the coming year, it will make a big difference to your success.
But how about a starting point?  Have you any idea how many referrals you passed last year?  Or visitors you brought to your chapter?  Or workshops you attended?

If you don’t know, please find out, because it might surprise you.  And, in any case, it will give you a good starting point for this year.

I would love to know some of your targets.  So please let know.