31/1/10
There are many reasons for attending our BNI workshops, so it still astounds me when both new and long term members tell me that they can’t see the value to their business. Their company training is better, (I’m not even going to comment on that), they know all they need to know, they have been before, they don’t have the time... The reasons for not attending seem almost endless!
And, this reminded me of an MST (Member Success Training) workshop I was at some months ago. One of my then Chapter Directors, David McGeachie, of Tenant Finder, was there. He almost didn’t come as he was tired and just fancied a beer. But, as he was new to the role of Chapter Director, he thought that he should make the effort and see what new members were being taught - something I think all Leadership Team members should do, not just the Chapter Director.
As at all workshops, the members present were asked to introduce themselves briefly. The members in the room ranged from those who had only been a member of their chapter for a matter of weeks, to one eight year member. One member, of just three weeks, was John Bishop, an estate agent.
During the coffee break David and John met and decided that they should meet at a later date for a coffee. John had a block of flats to rent, but they weren’t in the area local to his office, they were in an area he didn’t really know: Teddington. Yes, that is where David’s business operates!
Well, to cut a very successful story short. Tenant Finder won the contract to let the flats; a deal worth a fair amount of money. And, what’s more, David and John are still working together.
So, if you only want one good reason for attending our workshops: it’s networking. Because you never know, you might just meet your biggest customer there!
Sunday, 31 January 2010
Saturday, 16 January 2010
Not on my letterhead!
16/1/10
I hear many reasons for not wanting to take part in chapter launches, big visitor days and posting out invitation letters. Asking some members to send out forty letters, is like asking them to run across burning coals naked, judging by the reaction you get. Then, after I am told that they could write a better letter, they add ‘… and don’t think I’m putting a BNI letter on my company's letterhead!’
I really find this attitude very hard to understand. Why wouldn’t any business want to have forty prospective customers see their company letterhead? - a letterhead that is well designed, tells the person what that company does, and is signed by someone looking for new business.
I guess that is why we are all in BNI - new business.
Just this week I was having a One2One with a fairly new member of my chapter, and we were talking about how important visitors are to a healthy chapter, and how to invite them. He said that his aim was to post out five letters each week and, naturally, I asked him how things were going.
Pulling a sheet of paper out of the filing tray on his desk, he said far better than he had expected. He had a visitor for the next meeting - great! - but, even better, was that he had quoted on a job. The business that he had posted his letter to, on his company letterhead, read who the invitation was from and needed his service. And, the best part, he would never have mailed the company had it not been for his BNI inviting.
Every invitation letter you send out, on your company letterhead, may not lead to a visitor for your chapter, but it may just result in business for you. It certainly can’t hurt you.
So, my message to you is this: if you don’t like sending out invitation letters, BNI is all about marketing your business, so use BNI as an excuse and send out as many invitation letters as you can. You never know, you might even earn yourself a BNI Gold Badge!
I hear many reasons for not wanting to take part in chapter launches, big visitor days and posting out invitation letters. Asking some members to send out forty letters, is like asking them to run across burning coals naked, judging by the reaction you get. Then, after I am told that they could write a better letter, they add ‘… and don’t think I’m putting a BNI letter on my company's letterhead!’
I really find this attitude very hard to understand. Why wouldn’t any business want to have forty prospective customers see their company letterhead? - a letterhead that is well designed, tells the person what that company does, and is signed by someone looking for new business.
I guess that is why we are all in BNI - new business.
Just this week I was having a One2One with a fairly new member of my chapter, and we were talking about how important visitors are to a healthy chapter, and how to invite them. He said that his aim was to post out five letters each week and, naturally, I asked him how things were going.
Pulling a sheet of paper out of the filing tray on his desk, he said far better than he had expected. He had a visitor for the next meeting - great! - but, even better, was that he had quoted on a job. The business that he had posted his letter to, on his company letterhead, read who the invitation was from and needed his service. And, the best part, he would never have mailed the company had it not been for his BNI inviting.
Every invitation letter you send out, on your company letterhead, may not lead to a visitor for your chapter, but it may just result in business for you. It certainly can’t hurt you.
So, my message to you is this: if you don’t like sending out invitation letters, BNI is all about marketing your business, so use BNI as an excuse and send out as many invitation letters as you can. You never know, you might even earn yourself a BNI Gold Badge!
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