26/6/10
Will your networking work?
Well, the easy answer is yes.
But, here’s the rub: only if you are putting in enough effort. It doesn’t matter how good you may be, how good your business is, or how good a networker you are – if you are not spending enough time networking it won’t work!
At the London BNI Members’ Day yesterday Dr. Ivan Miser, founder of BNI, told us that in some research that he has conducted successful networkers, those that really benefit from their networking, spend over six hours a week in productive networking. However, those that said networking didn’t work for them spent less than two hours a week networking.
So, are you expecting outstanding results from your networking without putting in the necessary hours?
To find out, why not record all of your effective networking hours over the next month and see how many hours per week, on average, you are networking for?
More than six hours and the odds are that your networking is working for you, less than that, well I think you already know the answer!
As a guide you need to be networking for at least four hours a week in addition to your chapter meeting.
Saturday, 26 June 2010
Thursday, 24 June 2010
Nothing to contribute!
24/6/10
Every BNI member knows that there are three ways in which you can contribute at your meetings each week:
A visitor - my favourite, as visitors bring so much to our meetings and if they become members add even more,
A referral (or more than one),
A testimonial.
Now, as I have said before, I think visitors are undervalued by many members because they don’t see any immediate gain for themselves, unlike with a referral, but I also think the same is true of the testimonial. And, this is because some members see the testimonial as a ‘cop out’; a member has nothing else, so let’s write a testimonial.
But again, these members are missing the point. A brilliant testimonial can be great for the chapter in a number of ways: they lift the group (as they are positive), show visitors how professional the members of the chapter are, raise the credibility of the member being given the testimonial, and in turn increase the number of referrals for that member and the chapter as a whole.
And, talking of being positive...
Many great meetings are destroyed when a member stands up and says ‘Nothing this week’. And, if a second or third member follows suit, with a nothing, you can see all the energy drain from the other members.
So, please, if nothing else give a verbal testimonial. If not for a member, then how about for a workshop, Members’ Day, help from your RD/AD, or BNI in general? This may not be perfect, but so much better than – ‘nothing’!
I would just like to add two things here. I think all Chapter Directors should allow all members to be positive in their meetings and members please don’t use the verbal testimonial as a ‘cop out’.
Oh, one last thing. Membership Co-ordinators, what do you do if a member seems to be taking ‘advantage’ of the verbal testimonial?
Answer: discuss the member at your next committee meeting and take the appropriate action.
Every BNI member knows that there are three ways in which you can contribute at your meetings each week:
A visitor - my favourite, as visitors bring so much to our meetings and if they become members add even more,
A referral (or more than one),
A testimonial.
Now, as I have said before, I think visitors are undervalued by many members because they don’t see any immediate gain for themselves, unlike with a referral, but I also think the same is true of the testimonial. And, this is because some members see the testimonial as a ‘cop out’; a member has nothing else, so let’s write a testimonial.
But again, these members are missing the point. A brilliant testimonial can be great for the chapter in a number of ways: they lift the group (as they are positive), show visitors how professional the members of the chapter are, raise the credibility of the member being given the testimonial, and in turn increase the number of referrals for that member and the chapter as a whole.
And, talking of being positive...
Many great meetings are destroyed when a member stands up and says ‘Nothing this week’. And, if a second or third member follows suit, with a nothing, you can see all the energy drain from the other members.
So, please, if nothing else give a verbal testimonial. If not for a member, then how about for a workshop, Members’ Day, help from your RD/AD, or BNI in general? This may not be perfect, but so much better than – ‘nothing’!
I would just like to add two things here. I think all Chapter Directors should allow all members to be positive in their meetings and members please don’t use the verbal testimonial as a ‘cop out’.
Oh, one last thing. Membership Co-ordinators, what do you do if a member seems to be taking ‘advantage’ of the verbal testimonial?
Answer: discuss the member at your next committee meeting and take the appropriate action.
Sunday, 20 June 2010
Does your meeting have 3 visitors each week?
20/6/10
There are many ways in which you can tell if your chapter is healthy or not, but the number of visitors your chapter has each week is an easy way of telling if your chapter is growing or in decline.
Over the long term three or more visitors each week mean the chapter is growing, whereas two or fewer visitors mean that the chapter is in decline.
Now you may be wondering why this should be the case and the answer is simple. On average all chapters lose one member per month. Now before you say ‘Not my chapter!’ remember I said on average. Some chapters don’t lose that number, but then others lose more. In fact, my own chapter has lost four members in the past month - it really does happen!
So, during the term of a Leadership team, your chapter could lose up to six members (maybe more). Therefore, just to remain a group of the same size, you need six new members. Now, again on average, one out of every five eligible visitors will join your chapter. However, we all get a lot of ‘other’ visitors as well, so the joining rate is actually more like one in every eight visitors.
This is where the maths comes in!
For your chapter to remain the same size you therefore need six new members, which means that with one in eight visitors joining you need 48 visitors in the six months of your Leadership Team. If we divide 48 by 26 (6 months) the result is 1.85 visitors per week. (Let’s call it two so there’s no blood).
And, it doesn’t matter what size your chapter is, the facts are the same. Under two visitors a week and your chapter size is in decline and this means less business for all.
But, here’s the best bit. On average, if you are in a chapter of 26 members, each member only has to bring one visitor every two months! How easy is that?
Why not work out the number of visitors a member needs to bring in a Leadership Team term for your own chapter and set that as a member target?
There are many ways in which you can tell if your chapter is healthy or not, but the number of visitors your chapter has each week is an easy way of telling if your chapter is growing or in decline.
Over the long term three or more visitors each week mean the chapter is growing, whereas two or fewer visitors mean that the chapter is in decline.
Now you may be wondering why this should be the case and the answer is simple. On average all chapters lose one member per month. Now before you say ‘Not my chapter!’ remember I said on average. Some chapters don’t lose that number, but then others lose more. In fact, my own chapter has lost four members in the past month - it really does happen!
So, during the term of a Leadership team, your chapter could lose up to six members (maybe more). Therefore, just to remain a group of the same size, you need six new members. Now, again on average, one out of every five eligible visitors will join your chapter. However, we all get a lot of ‘other’ visitors as well, so the joining rate is actually more like one in every eight visitors.
This is where the maths comes in!
For your chapter to remain the same size you therefore need six new members, which means that with one in eight visitors joining you need 48 visitors in the six months of your Leadership Team. If we divide 48 by 26 (6 months) the result is 1.85 visitors per week. (Let’s call it two so there’s no blood).
And, it doesn’t matter what size your chapter is, the facts are the same. Under two visitors a week and your chapter size is in decline and this means less business for all.
But, here’s the best bit. On average, if you are in a chapter of 26 members, each member only has to bring one visitor every two months! How easy is that?
Why not work out the number of visitors a member needs to bring in a Leadership Team term for your own chapter and set that as a member target?
Sunday, 6 June 2010
High Speed 21st Century IFA
6/6/10
Some members find it very difficult to prepare for their 10 Minutes. In fact, I know some members that avoid their 10 Minutes as if it were the plague. But it does not have to be like this.
The most obvious answer to the problem is to attend the Presentation Skills workshop. However, that will only solve part of the problem. Even armed with tips on how to stand, speak, where to look, layout of your presentation and much more, there is still the problem of the exact content and, more importantly, will your fellow members actually be interested enough in what you are saying not to fall asleep!
Then of course there is still the problem of confidence. For some members 60 Seconds is just about all they can manage and 10 Minutes? Well, that is a whole different world.
So, what can we do about this? Two things. Firstly, make your presentation about something you enjoy and secondly, combine that with business. The confidence will come as you are relaxed chatting about something you really understand and love.
Now, I’m not suggesting that you don’t enjoy or understand your job; it’s just that some jobs are more difficult to talk about than others! Carpet cleaning for example. But how about if you actually clean a carpet during your 10 Minutes?
A brilliant example of this type of thing happened in my chapter (Business Class) just recently. Now, Richard Bailey doesn’t lack confidence, but he is an IFA and wears a grey suit, and there are those around that think financial advice and those that give it are well, shall we just say, a little boring!
Not so Richard. After all, he races motorbikes all around Europe, and has the worn out knee pads to prove just how fast he goes and how close to the ground he gets. His 10 Minutes was a mix of personal pictures and graphs showing the performance of his clients' portfolios. Each photograph having a bearing on the next was very clever, interesting, and got his message across in a fun way that we all could grasp.
Something that he told us was that in order to get the perfect lap on his motorbike, i.e. the fastest time, it was all about hitting the exact spot on each corner, every lap. Total concentration and consistency were required - and that it was just the same when managing a client's portfolio.
So, if you have a 10 Minutes coming up, please take advantage of it. It’s one of the best ways of helping your fellow members find you referrals. Just make if fun: include something that you find it easy to talk about or to demonstrate, and you will find that not only will you get your message across, but that it will be easy, and you wished you had more time.
Some members find it very difficult to prepare for their 10 Minutes. In fact, I know some members that avoid their 10 Minutes as if it were the plague. But it does not have to be like this.
The most obvious answer to the problem is to attend the Presentation Skills workshop. However, that will only solve part of the problem. Even armed with tips on how to stand, speak, where to look, layout of your presentation and much more, there is still the problem of the exact content and, more importantly, will your fellow members actually be interested enough in what you are saying not to fall asleep!
Then of course there is still the problem of confidence. For some members 60 Seconds is just about all they can manage and 10 Minutes? Well, that is a whole different world.
So, what can we do about this? Two things. Firstly, make your presentation about something you enjoy and secondly, combine that with business. The confidence will come as you are relaxed chatting about something you really understand and love.
Now, I’m not suggesting that you don’t enjoy or understand your job; it’s just that some jobs are more difficult to talk about than others! Carpet cleaning for example. But how about if you actually clean a carpet during your 10 Minutes?
A brilliant example of this type of thing happened in my chapter (Business Class) just recently. Now, Richard Bailey doesn’t lack confidence, but he is an IFA and wears a grey suit, and there are those around that think financial advice and those that give it are well, shall we just say, a little boring!
Not so Richard. After all, he races motorbikes all around Europe, and has the worn out knee pads to prove just how fast he goes and how close to the ground he gets. His 10 Minutes was a mix of personal pictures and graphs showing the performance of his clients' portfolios. Each photograph having a bearing on the next was very clever, interesting, and got his message across in a fun way that we all could grasp.
Something that he told us was that in order to get the perfect lap on his motorbike, i.e. the fastest time, it was all about hitting the exact spot on each corner, every lap. Total concentration and consistency were required - and that it was just the same when managing a client's portfolio.
So, if you have a 10 Minutes coming up, please take advantage of it. It’s one of the best ways of helping your fellow members find you referrals. Just make if fun: include something that you find it easy to talk about or to demonstrate, and you will find that not only will you get your message across, but that it will be easy, and you wished you had more time.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)