Lost business

Sometimes I wonder if all BNI members actually want more business.

Why?

Well, this week I meet a member whom I had never met before, and asked if I could have their business card. Not that they knew, but I needed someone who did what they said they were brilliant at. But all I received in reply was ‘No.’

And, as it turned out, by the time they left that was all I got from them in total.

I couldn’t believe it, but far worse, I will never use them or refer them.

To start with I have three reasons;

1.    They could have written down their number,

2.    They could have asked for my business card instead,

3.    They could have asked me how they could help me.

And, of course, there are other things they could have asked or said. But, what did I get? Not a thing.

So, any possible business for them was gone in that moment. They had no idea who I was.

Plus, and I don’t think I need to explain why, I couldn’t refer them based on that type of action.

How you react is very important for future work and referrals, so please make sure that you always connect really well with the people you meet.

Got your business cards on you?!

Communication…

 …well lack of it!

Two members that I have contacted, for the first time over three weeks ago, so far have not sent me any type of reply. And I’m not talking about just sending an email here.

I have sent them a number of emails, text messages and a phone message.

Now it might be that they don’t think a reply is required, they have no time, or that they just aren’t interested enough.

There could be many reasons as to why I haven’t heard a thing from them. It’s even possible that you can think of a good reason yourself.

But, have you, and more importantly have they, thought about the comeback of no reply more deeply?

What does no response really mean?

Does it even matter?

Well the BIG answer is – yes it does!

When I say, yes it does, the reason is massive. But, it’s to them, not me.

As, long term, they will get fewer referrals.

But why, you may be thinking.

Know, Like and Trust.

If you are going to be referred confidently, your fellow members need to: Know you, Like you, and to Trust you.

What no communication means is that they don’t know if you will contact the person that they could refer to you.

They have no evidence that they can trust you to do so.

So, they don’t (refer you).

Which means for the best results, and the most referrals that you will receive, you need to communicate on every single occasion and without any delay.

Even if you are busy or because what you have been asked is not really for you, you must reply.

But, be careful, as to what you say.

And, here are a couple of examples: ‘I’m too busy’, could simply mean I’ve no time for any more work. The result could be fewer referrals. ‘Not my sort of job’, can mean other referrals lost; unless you explain why and do your best to help them with their referral. Recommend someone good who could do it.

Good communication is essential to build Know, Like and Trust with your fellow BNI members and have your referral rate grow and be better.

Who should you reply to today?

How to get more referrals…

 It doesn’t matter who you are, or how many referrals you receive, because getting some more would be very useful. Plus, if you are unlucky, and don’t get the number of referrals that you would like, then this would be amazing.

Now before you think, he’s going to say, ‘You've got to do lots more work’, let me stop you, because you don’t.

You have to do a little, but small changes can make a large difference to the number of referrals you get.

Just imagine improving by just 10% on the things you already do, what effect that would have combined in total. It would be massive.

Here are a few things to think about: attendance, 60 Seconds, your Feature Presentation, referrals given, visitors, workshops, One-2-Ones, testimonials, social events, your Power Team - for starters.

Just a small improvement on all of those, would have a very visible result overall. More referrals.

One of the things that you could do is to update your BNI Chapter website; certainly your part of it. What’s your presentation like on it?

I looked at some BNI Surrey chapter websites last week and many members could do a little more. In fact some members could even make a start!

More than one member, not only didn’t have a photograph of themselves, but worse still, had no copy at all. This will mean that they are losing referrals.

Trust me, it’s a fact.

This one thing will take just a few minutes. Add a photo and some text. Talk about how you help people, not about you. Try to avoid using, ‘I ….’

Doing this will improve your referral rate, as over the years I have meet many people who have ‘passed on’ when they have found a member with very little info about themselves on their BNI website.

Make a start now – it will only take a few minutes. And, you will be one step toward a better referral rate.

7 Weeks!

 The start of the New Year and the beginning of your businesses extended future plan; where you hope to be in the years to come.

As with all plans, however distant they are, there are things that must be done today, if you are going to succeed.

And, a seven-week plan, for your BNI success, is a great way to start, not only for your BNI Chapter but also for you.

Often your chapter will have a goal and all the members will be given targets to meet. New targets (plans) are essential to your success, as otherwise, if you keep doing the same things, you will just get the same results.

Now chapter plans are sometimes difficult for some members and easy for others. For example, as a member you are asked to bring along five new members a year. If on average you invite 11 a year (and they attend) it’s very easy, but if last year you didn’t have one visitor, then it could be very hard.

And, that’s why I love the ‘7 Week Resolution’. It’s your commitment to your chapter, chosen by you. Signed and sealed! But, there is one condition; your commitment has to be better than your normal activity; based only on your actions.

The things to cover are: visitors, referrals, One2Ones and workshops.

So, if in seven weeks you would on average have three One2Ones, then in the next seven weeks you would commit to having, say five. With workshops you might not often attend, so your commitment would be to attend one. Referrals you might give 10, so you could commit to giving 12. And, with visitors, you may not have had one for months, so you would commit to bring one. But, if normally, you might bring two visitors, then you would commit to bringing three.

What’s great about the ‘7 Week Resolution’ is that is what you choose and commit to doing, and when every chapter member commits to doing this the results are often outstanding.

But, the best thing is that it’s part of your future business success. So, if you are truly serious about your future, then the BNI ‘7 Week Resolution’, is a must do.

Note: If you would like a '7 Week Resolution' form then let me know or ask your BNI Director.

Your great photo!

That’s assuming you have one and it’s good.

A fair number of BNI members don’t have their photo on their BNI Chapter Website; instead there’s just a silhouette of their head.

Then of course, some members even have a misleading photo, which, trust me, hurts their referral numbers. And, please do believe me, as I have a lot of knowledge on this, based on the experience gained from members over many, many years.

First you need a good photo; one that clearly shows who you are. It needs to be up-to-date, with a good pose, nice lighting, and, of course, in focus. Now I’m not saying it needs to be the perfect professional portrait, but it does need to be a good photo. Which means not using the first thing you find; on holiday, down the pub, blurry, from 15 years ago, just a mess.

Why? Because a good photo seen on your BNI website will save you losing referrals.

No photo of a member on your BNI website may not affect how you think about that person but, it’s how other people think that matters, not you. I know of many people that have left a BNI website because of the lack of a photo (also a bad photo) of the member they were considering.

So, if there is no photo of you on your BNI website, then I recommend you get a good one put up as soon as possible. I promise, you are more than likely to receive more business.

Five Referrals!

 A good friend of mine (he does plumbing and heating) is not only a very good BNI referral giver, but he also receives a very good number of referrals himself from members of his chapter.

He has been a member for many years and a few years ago he did some maths, which led to him getting even more referrals. Now I know that you can do the numbers, but you will require some information, and there are three things you will need on record. First, the number of referrals you give each year, second, the number of referrals that you receive each year, and third, the amount of business you receive from those referrals each year. That’s it!

Okay, so firstly, divide the amount of business you received by the number of referrals you were given. For example: you get £16,000 of work, from eight referrals, which makes each referral worth £2,000.

Then secondly, work out how many referrals you give in order to receive the number of referrals you are given.

My friend worked out that for every five referrals he gave he received one £2,000 (roughly) referral in exchange.

To drive him, he worked out that for every referral he gave it was, in effect, worth £400. But, this is the part that impressed me, he passed more and more referrals, and for every five he passed, he received about £2,000 in return!

So, if you did your maths, could you increase the number of good referrals you receive? All I can say is it’s worth a try – because it certainly worked for me!

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.

American Pickers

I have to say that I rather like this programme. Mike and Frank are amazing and Danielle is more than good in finding them leads and referrals. I’ve even got a friend (who lives in Whitton – just down the road from me) who has visited their shop in Nashville and purchased an item.

They find some incredible objects: lots of motorbikes, cars, toys, paintings, guitars, and often things from sheds that haven’t been opened for years and years.

Well I was watching it yesterday and they were taking about how stuff was found. The things came from all sorts of places, plus auctions, car boot sales and lots by word-of-mouth.

That’s why, word-of-mouth is very important for us in BNI; as it’s all about knowing what members would like and letting others know about whatever it is - recommending each other. And, often it leads to amazing things, and remarkable business, being found.

So, if you haven’t done it already, how about this week making a list of your fellow members and against each name, writing down something special they are looking for and why.

For example: not Martin – accountant. But instead – Martin loves helping film location people to make the right moves going forward.

Of course this could require a One-2-One, or at least a phone call, but I promise you, would be really worthwhile long-term. And, a great deal of fun!

One-2-One in Mumbai

 Over the years I’ve been in BNI, since 2003 in fact, it has proved very worthwhile for me, not just for referrals, but for many other reasons; obviously most often from my own chapter but also around the country.

Right now, I can remember needing beautiful flowers in Oxford and a plumber in Southsea; very good reliable companies. I’ve also recently had members supporting my new children’s book and a few years ago helping me with a wonderful trip to Australia.

Well this week, I’ve had a One-2-One with a member in Mumbai. It was early morning for me, afternoon for them and the best part was seeing each other via Zoom. It’s such a great device to use today.

We had a very good and interesting meeting and I was also lucky enough to see their full 10 Minute PowerPoint Presentation – which was very distinct and beautiful.

Anjali Vhatkar is the founder and CEO of the Elaura Art Gallery and their work is amazing. If I had rooms large enough, there was art I saw that I would love to have, but sadly I don’t have walls that big!

However, what I can do is to speak to the architects and interior designers, and even hotel owners, I know, to see if they would like to know more about Elaura Art and how they could own one of these beautiful pieces.

But, what I like best is that I love the products (the art) and I find Anjali very distinctive, which means that I will talk about the Elaura Art Gallery to my friends, and in the past I’ve often found that this often leads to my friends asking me about the person I’m chatting about (how good they are?) and then to them later receiving referrals.

So, have you a great story to tell, that your fellow members will want to convey to their friends? Because, if you do, you might just find your referral number increases afterwards.

10 Minutes of Fun!

 Sounds good doesn’t it, but it does involve a little hard, physical work.

I was chatting recently with a Personal Trainer, who’s pretty much closed for business at the moment. But, she is doing lots to make sure that her business is not only better, but ready for training sessions when the lights go green and lockdown ends!

One thing she is doing is making a 10-minute training video. It’s aimed to not only keep people fit but also for them to have some fun. A real bounce! She suggests that you do it every day because it will relax you and help make the whole day better. One of my other friends actually works out, at 8.30 every morning, and it energises their day.

But, as far as her business goes, it’s even better than that, because it will be sent to every one of her customers and friends. Many of whom I’m sure will thank her for it. But, also she is going to ask them, if they enjoy the workout, if they would send it to three of their friends.

I asked her how many people she was sending it to and her answer was 43. Now not only is that fun for them but business-wise it could be a real winner. Imagine if people that are not already one of her customers, really find it stimulating; maybe they will become a new customer? But imagine if those 43 people each sent it to three of their friends; that would be another 129 people.

Now that really makes you think about the possible number of prospective customers she could have when the lights go green!

So, what could you make a 10 minute video about? Why not do it today!

Printinc

 ‘If you can think it…We can ink it’.

I’ve just been looking at the new website of Printinc: the printers in BNI Elmbridge run by Carolyn and her husband Ian.

It’s a lovely new design with a really good first page. It has everything there: telephone number, email address, what they can do for people (including their primary purpose – which is to serve their customers) and the opportunity to get a quote. You can also see recent work they have done and customer testimonials. There is everything you need as a new prospective customer and, without doubt, it will increase the number of people contacting Carolyn.

For Printinc it’s perfect, but it’s also great for Owen Carr the web designer, as he has put together a wonderful new site for Carolyn (and I’m sure other people were involved). However, it can go much further than that.

Now, for the moment, let’s just think about me. I’m looking at the first page right now, I love it, but what does that mean? Well, one I’m writing about it, but more importantly, I will be sending it on to people I know, to show them what Printinc can do for them. So, just imagine the result, if the 37 members in the BNI Elmbridge did the same. Carolyn’s referrals would increase even more.

However, it can go far further than this. I’ve looked at members' sites and discovered things I didn’t know about them; so the possibility of referrals to them increased.

So, I have a question to you (yes, you). Have you looked fully at the website of every member in your chapter? If not, then I recommend you do. The result? You will get the opportunity to give more referrals, but it goes further than that; imagine what might happen to the referrals you receive if every member in your chapter studied your website as well!

Why not start looking today?

90 Minutes!

 

I had a One-2-One with a member this week which was very interesting.

During BNI training it is suggested that we all put in our diary one hour for BNI every week with the focus solely on BNI activity. Sadly for them, many members don’t have an extra hour free, so lose out on what they could gain.

At the moment most of our meetings are via Zoom, which means that there are some disadvantages but also some advantages. In fact, in the future there may be some Zoom-only Chapters formed.

Anyway, back to the lady that I was having a One-2-One with. One comment she made during our conversation, was that one thing a Zoom meeting achieved, was saving her 90 minutes getting to and returning from the meeting. There were a number of things that she really missed from a usual meeting but, there was also one large thing that she gained. And that was 90 minutes.

Now I’m not talking of time for her to rest! What she had gained, was not one hour for BNI activity, but 90 minutes instead. This led her to spending more time looking for referrals for fellow members (in a difficult time), having more useful One-2-Ones, and spending time, and learning, on the BNI U. And, all of this has led to her having more success in BNI than ever. I think you will agree that it’s not only very valuable but also rather wonderful.

And it got me thinking about things which I feel are very interesting and could make a big difference for all of us. First, use your saved travel time on BNI activity. What a great way of having more time to work for your BNI success and your fellow members' success. Second, if you think you don’t have the time for 1 hour of BNI activity a week, this has proved that you should make it, because it will lead to more success for you. More business, which I’m guessing means more profit.

So, how are you using your saved travel time? Sleeping?

A Beachball!

 In 2008, I met Andy Bounds for the first time, at the BNI Directors European Conference in Dublin. He was a main speaker and I loved what he told us. I also got a copy of his new book (at the time), The Jelly Effect.

The Jelly Effect is a brilliant book all about communication skills. Your business could improve a great deal if you get this right and Andy will help you do so.

Here’s an illustration Andy gives; it’s a great way for improving your sales. And, it’s about a beachball.

As I expect you know, a beachball has six coloured segments. They might be red, white, blue, yellow, green and orange. If you and a friend hold the ball between yourselves, the ball might look red, white and blue to you. However, from your friend’s side, they would think it was green, yellow and orange.

The same beachball looks completely different from different perspectives. The great thing to do is add the beachball view to your own business.

You look at your business – the beachball – from a certain point of view. You think of lots of selling points and you focus on these.

A possible prospective customer hears what you say, they’re looking at your company – the same beachball – but, maybe from a different point of view. What they want to hear, and see, is evidence that you can provide the ‘Afters’ that they are looking for.

Are you selling what they want? Will they receive what they want? Because at this moment that’s all that really matters. If they are not sure, then they have a reason to look elsewhere.

Here is a suggested example for you. ‘A building you are proud of, that meets your needs.’ This would lead to better and more results than, ‘I am an architect with three qualified staff.’

So, have a look at your communication. What do you open with? Is it who you are and what you do, or, is it what you give your customers and what they want?

The key, for real success, is to start with the end result first (The Afters). So, what are your customers looking for?

Four Referrals…

 I was asked by a new member recently how many referrals they should hope to receive in the coming year.

The first thing I said was ‘…have you time for a coffee?’ And, they replied, ‘Of course, but why?’

Well, this is part of what we talked about.

How many referrals would they need to get? But, as important, even more important, was how many referrals they were going to give? Givers Gain, BNI’s core value, is giving to others, before expecting anything from others. Giving first and getting second.

But, let’s get back to what they wanted to know. How many referrals would be a good return? The answer is pretty simple to work out but many members have never done the maths.

The first thing to do is to work out how much business you would like? This should be based on your money invested: BNI membership, venue costs, transport costs, etc. and, of course, time. As an example, let’s say £15,000.

Next we need the average value of your orders. If you don’t know that, just divide your turnover (no VAT) in a year by the number of invoices sent. Again, for example, let’s say £68,000 divided by 120 invoices; answer £568.00.

Okay, now divide the £15,000 by £568.00; answer 26. So, you need 26 jobs to make your £15,000. But, that’s not referrals; because now, you need your conversion rate. How many estimates do you give to receive a job? Let’s say it’s three. Therefore, 26 times three equals 78; which means you need 78 referrals per year to reach your £15,000. That’s 6.5 referrals each month.

The new member and I worked this out for him and, oddly, the number we worked out for him was the same number I have. One referral needed each week to reach our goals.

So, do you know the number of, qualified, referrals you need? If not, why not work it out? I promise you it could be very worthwhile.

£1,790 lost business!

Recently I have had lost communication from three BNI members. It has varied from coming to my home to look at a job - but nothing more, to one with no interest in finding out about the work, and the other, after getting a positive response to their quote, not coming back in any speed as to when the job could be done. When they finally responded the option was many weeks away – far past my requested date.

As it so happens, none of this turned out as a problem for me, as I received great work from other businesses, one of which was even at a better price.

But, that’s not my apprehension here; it’s not even that the people concerned may have been too busy, didn’t really want the work, or had no anxiety about losing money.

My worry for them is long-term because how can I refer them if that is the level of service I received? I wouldn’t risk it on the people I have a trusted relationship with. They could in fact be going to lose thousands of pounds of possible business. But, it might be worse than that. Because, is it just how they react in BNI (to me) or is it the way they run their business day-to-day? Since if it’s how they generally run their businesses then, again long-term, they could lose tens of thousands of pounds of work and many customers. Even worse, maybe they could lose their business; I know people that this has actually happened to.

So, to help you and your business really succeed, then please follow up on all the referrals and enquires that you receive. As long-term it will help you get ahead, prosper and enjoy what you do.

What if your dream client were in the room?

Sometimes I meet people and I wonder would they dress as they do, say what they do, act as they do, if their dream client were in the room.

Now I’m not saying that we shouldn’t ever relax, or spend our whole lives pretending, but when we are working we are – well working!  And, if we are working, shouldn’t we doing our best all of the time and not just when in sight of our best client, or prospective best client?

It’s pretty much the same in all sorts of things. Just think of all the effort we all put into a first date!  We shower, brush our hair, wear our best clothes, arrive early, and, of course, are on our best behaviour.  But, can we say the same a few months down the line?  What’s more, it’s just the same when we go to an important meeting: our heart beats just as fast as on that first date.

When we get a new car, we lovingly wash and wax it, take care where we park it, don’t let our children eat in it.  But, a few months down the road …

It’s just human nature.  But, if we want to meet your dream client, and more importantly to do business with them, we need to be thinking about them all of the time.

Now often when networking, some of the people I meet haven’t considered that they might just meet their dream client.  Worse, that if they did, they might just miss the opportunity because they weren’t prepared; they hadn’t made the effort to be at their best.

So, next time you go to a networking event, to a business breakfast, to a business meeting, in fact just to work, prepare as if you are going to meet your dream client.  If you do, you never know, you might just meet them!

Have you let anyone down recently?

Trust is a major factor when it comes to people recommending you. Let’s face it, however good you think a company’s service is, would you easily recommend them if you couldn’t completely trust them?

I’m guessing that the answer is probably no – certainly I know that I would think twice.

It’s really important that we don’t raise people’s hopes by making a promise only to dash them by breaking that promise.  It wrecks our credibility and therefore any trust that person has in us and our company.

Now I not talking big events here, it’s the build up of those small broken promises that do the real damage.

For example, have you ever said to someone, ‘I’ll call you in the morning’ and not done so?  Or, ‘I’ll pop it in the post’ and forgotten?  Maybe, ‘How about coffee on Thursday?’ and totally forgotten about it.  Even, set a date for a meeting, ‘No fail’ you said, and then changed it.

The list may seem unimportant, but each is a broken promise.  Sooner or later people will stop believing you and with that goes your credibility.  And, after that goes the trust a person had in you.

The result of all these broken promises is fewer recommendations.

A client asked me recently how they could improve their image and by doing so get more recommendations and my answer was easy.  I replied, keep your promises. Only that very week I knew they had forgotten to call someone and the person concerned had stayed in all morning waiting for their call.

Okay, life happens, we all know that.  So, how can we avoid these little ‘killer’ things happening?  Here are my five top tips:

1)      Immediately make a note of anything agreed.  Put dates in your diary.  2) If it is possible, do whatever it is there and then.  3) Once a date is set, don’t break it.  What makes one meeting more important than the one you have already?  What does it say about the way you feel about the person that you are happy to break an appointment with?  4)  If you know that you are going to be pushed, don’t set a definite time.  Rather than saying 11.00am tomorrow, just say sometime tomorrow (but make sure it is tomorrow.  5)  If you do need to let someone down, because it will happen, let them know as soon as possible, don’t leave them guessing.

Follow these simple tips and you will find your credibility increases, the trust grows, and recommendations follow.

Code of Ethics 6

I wonder do you know the 6th BNI Code of Ethics without looking it up? For those of you who aren’t too sure, this is it: Number 6 - I will display a positive and supportive attitude with BNI members. It’s pretty simple but I’m always amazed at how many members fall short of this, especially when you consider that just about everything in BNI is about helping its members give and receive more referrals. And I have a couple of recent examples that illustrate what I mean.

During a 1-2-1 with a member it became clear that they were a little upset because a fellow chapter member had unsubscribed from their eNewsletter. Now I’m not suggesting that you subscribe to every eNewsletter going, although as a marketer I do because you never know where you might pick up the next great idea, but in this case it is very different.

So, what does this member unsubscribing actually mean and say? Well for openers that you are not interested in the member concerned. But it goes much deeper than that, because by reading the newsletter this member would have learnt things that would help them refer in the future. It would also have been supportive of the member concerned and certainly not upset them. In turn this may have led to getting more referrals, whereas now the likelihood is that it will lead to fewer referrals. After all, would you give referrals to someone who didn’t care about you?

My second example is of a member who wanted to be involved in what their chapter was doing but was clearly told that it was nothing to do with them. They were attempting to be supportive to the chapter but it certainly wasn’t received with any positivity. Again what does this say? Is there a clique in place? Was it just a jobsworth devoid of any common sense? That the chapter isn’t inclusive? That the chapter has so much help they don’t need anymore? (somehow I doubt this option). But again, going deeper, what is the likely outcome of this event? Again, fewer referrals being passed between the members concerned.

As if you needed any more proof, only last week I didn’t pass a referral I could have done. Why? Because the member concerned has absolutely no interest in me and little for their chapter as a whole.
So, if you would like to give and receive more referrals spend a few moments and consider how positive and supportive you are to your fellow members.

That’s my fence!

For some reason something that happened a few years ago now popped into my head today and it’s as relevant today as it was then.

It was after our normal weekly meeting and an aggrieved member caught me in the car park (I was the Membership Coordinator at the time – Vice President today).

His opening words were “You’re got to do something about (I’ll call him Mike – not his real name) Mike!”

“Why?” I asked innocently although I already had an idea of what was coming; a category clash.

“Mike was talking about fencing and that sort of work is mine. You have to do something," he insisted. “Right now!”

I explained that it wasn’t clear cut and the best thing to do in the situation was to meet the Mike and agree on a dividing line between ‘crossover’ jobs.

But he wasn’t interested. He insisted that I had to do something. That was my job. I knew that talking to Mike was the best way to solve the problem and asked the member to do me a favour and have a coffee with Mike. Eventually, if I really thought it best and as it was me, he agreed to having a coffee, but if it didn’t work I had to do something.

The next afternoon my phone rang, the member’s number on the screen, and with a certain amount of trepidation I answered it. “I did what you said. Bloody good advice”, he said.

“Great!" I replied.

Cutting a long story short, they had met and were going to do a large project together. The outcome was even better than I had hoped for, but as BT used to say, 'It’s good to talk’.

So, my advice to you, if you ever think that a fellow member is encroaching on your territory, have a coffee with them as you never know where it might lead.

Are you in the Frame?

I made my first visit to BNI Surbiton recently and was made to feel very welcome. I saw a great meeting with a lot of business being passed but what really impressed me, because it stood out as being special, was the way members presented their testimonials.

A verbal testimonial is always better than a ‘nothing today’ during the Contribution Round. However, a nicely printed letter is by far the best way to give a testimonial. Always remember to give two copies: one for the member and one for the chapter's Testimonial Binder. Often the testimonial will also be added to the chapter’s website and, of course, the member’s website. It might also be used in advertising and - even better - framed and displayed at the member’s place of business.

All of these things are extremely useful, not just for the member receiving the testimonial, but also for the person giving it.

But at BNI Surbiton they take the giving of a testimonial a stage further. They present one copy of the printed testimonial already framed. Not only does this look great when it is presented but the person receiving it is able to display the testimonial immediately; no having to go and buy a frame (or not getting round to it).

Dave Goodman - Utility warehouse

Often as these things happen, a few days later I visited Amanda Lord, of Ad Alta Sports Therapy, for some physio, and on display was a framed testimonial given to her by Dave Goodman of the Utility Warehouse. The testimonial reassured me that I was in good hands and, of course, I noted Mr Goodman’s name and business.

Although this might seem like a small thing and certainly a little effort is required but, if you are looking for ways to improve your business, then I think it’s well worth the investment in time and money.