Shakespeare alive and well in Business Class

I’m sure that you have heard that ‘facts tell: stories sell’, but why is that?  Well, from the beginning of time man has loved a good story and we all know stories that have been passed on and on for thousands of years.  We can relate to a story; we can imagine ourselves being part of the story, and, this is the clever bit, if we allow our customers to be part of our story we will have more success.

Something that I also suggest to my members is that they become the story.  So what exactly do I mean by that?  Well you want people to talk about you; that you are a ‘story’ worth passing on.  Think of you going viral!

So, what is it about you and your company that is worth talking about?  What could you do to become a story?

Now to be honest I’m not really into Shakespeare, although ‘Shakespeare in Love’ is one of my favourite films, so poems don’t usually 'do it' for me. However, I was at the Business Class chapter in Richmond this week when Rick Joseph of Aztec Removals got up to do his 60 Seconds.  Maybe I think it’s great because it has my name in it, or it might be because of the clever way he hands back to the Leadership Team (Garry is the CD and Yvonne the MC), but what I do know is that I’m talking about Rick.

Rick’s 60 Seconds

Hello friends, my name is Rick

I live in a house near Hampton Wick

Aztec Removals is the name of my firm.

I hope this rhyme doesn't make you squirm.

My last sixty seconds was all about storage,

But today I'm gonna start with the City of Norwich:

A lovely town up the a-eleven;

But the a-three-o-three goes down to Devon.

I've moved people's homes to all those places.

They go where the work is, meet new faces,

Get out of the Smoke, kick over the traces.

They call me up: Do you do long-distance?

'Cos if you do I'll need your assistance.

Pack my stuff into cardboard boxes,

Load 'em on the truck, shoo away the foxes,

Dismantle my bed and re-assemble it.

I'd even do a job for David Wimblett.

That's all folks. That's my speech.

I hope you liked it one and each.

Do I have a cheerful note to leave on?

Nah. I'll pass you back to Garry and Yvonne.

So, what do you think?  Don’t know about you, but I know Aztec Removals does storage and moves homes up and down the country.  And, that he’s probably fun to work with.

If you get people telling stories about you, mind they are good ones, you will do more business.

Please do not come to a workshop to learn!

I guess what I really mean is please do not come to a workshop JUST to learn.  Now I’m not suggesting that learning isn’t a good thing.  Of course it is.  But learning is only part of the job, and I guess that is my point.  You have to implement what you learn, otherwise, to some degree at least, what you learn is just a waste.

Members often say to me, “Oh, I’ve done that workshop”, as a reason not to attend, while some that do attend say afterwards “I’ve heard it all before”.  The thing that gets me is that these members aren’t doing the stuff that they learn.  Learning on its own will not bring results; you have to put into practice what you have learnt.

So, please don’t come to a workshop just to tick a box or fulfil an obligation.  It’s a waste of both your time and the trainer's.  Instead, attend because you see the benefit and have a plan.  And your plan doesn’t have to be anything too complicated.  So how about this for a very simple plan?

Next time you attend a workshop look for just two things that you will implement.  The first might be something that you already know but aren’t doing and the second something new, or at least a new way of doing something.  Write both of these things on a new sheet of paper (or new page on your ipad!).  These are now the two things that you will implement beginning the next day.  I promise that if you do this you will see an improvement in whatever it is that you are doing.

Then, once these two things are working well (are second nature) find another thing that you can implement by going back to your notes and doing that.

No matter how many times you attend a workshop there will always be something to find that, if implemented and not just learnt, will make a difference to your business.  You just need to find that one thing and use it.

So, please make your plan not to attend a workshop and learn but rather to implement what you have learnt, as only then will you see the true value of the workshops that BNI make available to you.

And, as a bonus, you might even meet your next best contact!