How to really say thank you for a referral!

Something I’ve written about before is how little thanks some members give for the referrals they receive. It’s almost as if they think it’s their right, that’s what BNI and being part of a chapter is all about, so why would they have to put any effort into thanking another member for a referral they are given.

Well, if for no other reason than it’s just polite; a smile and a warm hand-shake is the least that anyone can expect, surely? But how about an email after the meeting, or a phone call, or even a card in the post, thanking the person concerned and letting them know how much you appreciate their efforts?

After all, isn’t it about building great relationships with your referral partners and even maybe giving them the incentive to find you another referral? Certainly, if I have worked hard to find someone a referral and all I get in return is a muffled thank you, I’m not inclined to put myself out again for that person.

And that’s what made what happened at the Isis Chapter in Ealing last week. So great! During the 60 Second round, Yaro Kowalczyk of Compcontrol IT, asked another member to stand, Raj Sohal of Archer Bond Property Investment. It seems that Raj was rather surprised to be asked to stand but not as shocked as he was when Yaro presented him with a free iPad.

Yaro Kowalczyk of Compcontrol presenting iPad to Raj Sohal

The reason? Raj had given Yaro his dream referral and he wanted to let Raj know just how much he appreciated his efforts.

Now I don’t know about you, but with a thank you like that I would be looking for another similar referral for Compcontrol and not just in the hope that I might be lucky enough get another iPad, but because I knew just how much it had meant to the person.

Now I not suggesting that you rush out and add to Apple’s profits, but I am suggesting that you think about the amount of thanks you give to the members that find you referrals. Because you just never know what it might do to your relationships with the people concerned.

My mobile rings during a meeting!

There’s nothing worse than a mobile going off in a chapter meeting – well, other than someone texting during a meeting that is. And that’s why, at every meeting, the Chapter Director reminds us to turn our mobiles off.

So, why was my mobile switched on and, more importantly, why did it ring? Well you will be pleased to hear that it was all pre-arranged; part of a very clever 60 Seconds by one of the members of the chapter. Yaro Kowalczyk of, IT company, Compcontrol Ltd. This is what happened.

As Yaro stood to do his 60 Seconds my phone rang. I answered with a “Hello”. Yaro was on the other side of the room on his mobile, he also said “Hello”. I couldn’t hear anything coming from my phone, so I tried another, “Hello”. It seemed that Yaro also couldn’t hear anything his end so he to tried another “Hello”. Still no sound my end, so I tried yet another “Hello”. We both hung up.

Yaro went on to explain that what we had just experienced on our mobiles, a bad connection, was just like having a bad computer network. And that a bad network meant that computers and peripherals had difficulty ‘talking’ to one another, leading to all sorts of problems, amongst them lost tempers and lost money.

Yaro explained that his company, Compcontrol, supplied unrivalled network services, and that if anyone in the room knew someone having a problem with their computer network it would be a perfect referral for him.

I have to say that I thought it was a brilliant way of demonstrating what Compcontrol did and because of that will forgive a  mobile being used during a meeting.

Note: Please don’t all start ringing each other at your next meeting!