25% of my business

13/11/11

Last week, I was at a Regional Director/Ambassador information meeting and got talking to one of the members there.

I asked how long he had been a member and as he was just coming to the end of his first year, naturally I enquired how things were going and if he was going to renew. He said very well, as he was getting 25% of his business from BNI. Now there is nothing unusual in that as many members get far more than that from their BNI membership; it was what he added next that really got me.

The other 75% of his business took him six years to build! He said 25% had been gained in one year, whereas the other 75% took six. If only he had found BNI earlier! As a locksmith he had worried if BNI would work for him so he was really pleased with the way things were going. There was no chance of him not renewing.

I wanted to know why he thought things were going so well - other than running a good business, of course. His answer was pretty straight forward – he had taken advantage of everything that was offered by his chapter and BNI and got involved.

He was attending the information meeting, not so much because he wanted to be a director, but because he wanted to find out more about BNI. Then of course he was mixing with 60 other top BNI members, Regional Directors, Area Directors and an Executive Director.

What’s my point? He was getting a great deal out of BNI and his chapter. Why? I wouldn’t mind betting because he was putting a lot in. So, if you aren’t getting as much out of your chapter as you would like, ask yourself how much are you putting in? You might just find that it’s not as much as you think.