What a mess!

Now before you start thinking that this is about something bad, let me explain.

I visited, by Zoom, the Hawke Chapter in Bristol recently, and the Featured Presentation was one of the best that I’ve seen in a long time. I’ve told lots of people about it and, via me, the company has already received more business.

The presentation started as normal and the person put on a white lab coat but was then handed a small pot of baked beans. Interesting, I thought! Then the lady talked about the various types of dirt and mess they came across. At exactly the same time (now with goggles added) pots of the stuff, including the baked beans, were poured over her head. I’d never seen such a mess of gunge.

Well, this was the type of mess (although rather extreme) that Claudia and her company - A Cleaning Service – cleaned for people and extremely well.

I loved the presentation and, as I have already said, I’ve told lots of people about it, and she has already received a referral via me.

So, what’s your next Featured Presentation going to be like?

I also liked the meeting overall. There were a few small unusual things: the Leadership Team waved as they were introduced, a great countdown clock on screen during the 60 Seconds (although only 30 seconds this day), and two Awards. The Pink Croc Award was an extra.

This meeting was rather special for two reasons; a visitors day (29 visitors, I think), plus the last meeting of the current Leadership Team, which included Matt Richardson, who had been the President for the past three years. Now he was brilliant (he also plays the Bass guitar).

The meeting was fun, well run and the Chapter is passing a very good amount of business. If I lived in Bristol, I would love to attend the meeting in future.

The Hawke Chapter really made me feel that I would love to be a part of it.

Special note: I was invited to attend by Cathy Provenzano, a rather good Lettings Agent in Bristol.

Gone fishing

David Moore (Novaglass) our double-glazing expert stands up for his 60 Seconds; he has a fishing rod in his hands. It seems that David likes to cast a line for a little relaxation in his spare time. I also discover that Matt Phils (A-Plan), our insurance broker, likes nothing better than to coax a monster carp into his landing net from a beautiful lake as often as he can. Although with two small children it’s not happened for a while.

Back row: Simon Harris, Mike Daly, Steve Cole, David Moore, David Wimblett
Front row: Nevill Godwin, Chris Denny

So why is this all going on at BNI Elmbridge? Well our 60 Seconds are all about our hobbies (with props of course). Now some of you might be thinking ‘but what’s that got to do with business?’ and the answer is, it’s about relationship building. Getting to know one another better. Finding something we have in common, a connection, because it really can make a big difference in how well people work together.

A great example of this happened to me a few years ago now. There was a member in my chapter that I seldom talked to and he didn’t go out of his way to talk to me either. Don’t know why, we just didn’t gel. Then he did his 10 Minutes and everything changed.

For his 10 Minutes he changed into his motorcycle racing leathers and he told us all about the racing he did around Europe. Now I was a big Barry Sheene fan and this got us talking. Cutting a long story short, the result was me referring him to one of my best friends, something that other than finding out about his hobby would never have happened.

So, I highly recommend that you have a Hobbies 60 Second at your chapter very soon if you haven't had one already.

And, obviously it’s not just about building business relationships, as I have now been clay pigeon shooting with Steve Cole (S. J. Cole & Co), our master builder, and I’m going pike fishing with David in the autumn. Just brilliant!

NOTE: Photograph by Andrew Boschier

Feature Presentation is a bit of a Lottery!

Sometimes it can be hard to think of a topic for your Feature Presentation; sometimes the thought of doing one can be just plain scary. So how about this for an idea?

I saw this presentation some time ago but was reminded of it while attending a recent Member Success workshop. It’s clever, easy to put together and requires no special presentation skills. But what I like best about this presentation is that you are totally in control.

It’s a variation on the ‘Any Questions?’ presentation where you just spend 10 minutes answering questions and of course giving the answers. The problem is, and I’ve seen it, with this type of presentation is that often members can’t think of any (or enough) questions to ask. And there are worrying silences. Then, of course, you have the pressure of having to ‘think on your feet’ to give good answers, added to which the questions asked might not be the ones you really wanted to answer.

So how was this presentation different?

Firstly, it got every member involved and so was very interactive. As I’ve already said it was fun, there were more than enough questions, but the best part was that the only questions asked were the ones that demonstrated exactly what the presenter did and how he could help them.

He gave one member a bingo machine to operate (with 49 balls in) and every other member a folded piece of paper with a number on (1 to 49). Some members were given two numbers.

The bingo machine was spun, a number popped out, and the ‘caller’ gave the number. Then the member with that number, unfolded their paper, read out the question and the practiced answer given.

It was the perfect answer, to the perfect question. Just brilliant!

Just one thing to note; you do need to prepare 49 questions in advance.

So, if you are ever stuck for an idea, or nervous about giving a Feature Presentation, then why not give this a go?

Simply Brilliant!

My last blog, Super Trouper, got me thinking. Were there many 10 Minutes over the past 12 years that I remembered? Sadly, I have to say that the answer is no.

I can call to mind some that went badly wrong and a few that were pretty good, but I can’t remember who did them; so not particularly useful for any of the people concerned.

But I do remember one 10 Minute from a few years ago; pretty much in every detail.

I was at the Hogarth chapter in Chiswick. The 10 Minute Speaker was introduced and given the room and with that asked us all to stand and to please follow him as fast as we could. And with that promptly left the restaurant.

We all rushed after him. Left out of the door and left into a side road, where he had stopped and stood in front of three cars. This was a 10 Minute by Ashley Winston of Palmdale Motors – Car Finders.

Ashley said a few words of introduction and then presented the owner of each car in turn. They then told us how Palmdale had found them their dream car and at a price that they couldn’t have got it for themselves. And with a lot less hassle.

Ashley ended by adding a few words before asking us to follow him back to Carluccio’s. By the time I sat down again we had been exactly 10 minutes.

It had been the perfect 10 Minutes. Memorable, it had visuals, stories, client testimonials (in person), told us what Palmdale did and how they helped people, and exactly what sort of business they were looking for. And it took 10 minutes.

Of course I now had to email Ashley and ask him about it. In no time at all I received a reply telling me that people still talked about the morning and he also included his notes about his presentation. I think the notes are even more impressive than his 10 Minutes!

Everything is detailed, with photos, maps, and exact timings. His clients needed to get their parking slots by 6.00am (doesn’t that say something about their relationship with Ashley?), and each was asked to stand ‘…on the street-side of the car leaning against the front wing.’ What amazing attention to detail.

But I guess I should have expected nothing less knowing how Ashley runs his business.

I have to say that this is a great example of how a brilliant 10 Minute presentation can work for you for years. Just out of interest Ashley did his 10 Minute on the 27th May 2010. My favourite car? The Mustang of course!

Not the actual Mustang but one I would love

So, as I said in my last blog, what can you do in your next 10 Minutes that will get you remembered (for the right reasons) for years to come?

Super Trouper

This blog is a little self-indulgent as it’s mainly about me, but I think it’s okay as it serves to make a great point.

I did a 10 Minute; one that was very different for me and way out of my comfort zone. It had music, dancing (not planned) and it got me a lot of referrals.

It was an amazing morning - with the whole chapter joining in.

The music I played, rather loud, was all by ABBA. The songs were ‘Does your Mother Know?’, ‘Take a chance on me’, The Name of the Game’, ‘SOS’, ‘Chiquitita’, ‘Knowing me, knowing you’, ‘Money, Money, Money’, ‘I have a dream’, ‘Super Trouper’ and ‘Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!’

‘Super Trouper’ led by Rosena Johnston and Dinah Liversidge really was something to see. Wish I had a video.

David Wimblett with Rosena Johnston - ABBA

Other than thinking “You like ABBA?!” you might also be thinking what do ABBA have to do with my business. And, more importantly, why am I telling you this story?

Well to answer the first question, I wanted to do something different, stand out, and in fact every song was connected to a point I was making about my business. Even if I say so myself, it worked rather well.

Why am I telling you? Well someone contacted me just last week because of my 10 Minute. Nothing unusual about that you might be thinking; that’s the point of a 10 Minute.

What’s unusual is that I did this 10 Minute in March 2009. Six years ago!

My ABBA 10 Minute is still bringing me contacts today and from people who, not only weren’t in the room that day, but aren’t even BNI members.

So, what could you do in your next 10 Minutes that will make you remembered for many years to come? Do that and the referrals will follow.

NOTE: My 10 Minute also resulted in a group of us going to Richmond Theatre for an ABBA sing-a-long!

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.

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.

No need to bring a Door prize!

I heard recently that a Chapter Director had told their chapter that there was no need to bring a Door Prize in future. Well firstly there is no option on bringing a Door Prize; it’s something that as the 10 Minute Speaker you have to do.  See BNI Policy No. 8.  But, that’s not the point!

The members, and certainly this Chapter Director, are missing the point of the Door Prize.

At the very minimum the Door Prize is a Thank You from the 10 Minute Speaker to the chapter. But it goes much further than that.  The Door Prize is proof.  Proof that the member can plan, is organised, and does what they say they do.  And, if nothing else, cares about their fellow members.

But, let’s look at this a little closer.  What do I mean by 'it means the member can plan and is organised'?  And why does that matter.  Well, as a 10 Minute Speaker you get six weeks’ notice of your slot.  That’s six weeks to plan and organise what you are going to bring.  Why does this matter?  Well, if I’m going to give you a nice referral from one of my best contacts I want to know that you can plan and that you can organise.  I also want to know that you care.

But, how about the Door Prize itself, and the way it is wrapped?

Again, it proves a great deal.  In a 10 Minutes just about anything can be said; after all words are cheap.  The only time there is any real proof that you can deliver what you are talking about is the Door Prize.  How much time did you take sourcing it?  How well is it wrapped?  No time, and badly!  What does that say about you, your business, and the product/service you provide?  To be honest, not a great deal.

Whereas a beautiful Door Prize which was wrapped with care?  I think you get the picture!

So, please never be tempted to forget your Door Prize as it will affect your referral rate.