It’s a trade dispute!

31/8/10

We are often told that bad workmanship and money owing are trade disputes and nothing to do with our chapter, but I don’t agree with this for two reasons. Both my reasons are to do with money owed, but equally apply to bad work.

What I must make clear, however, is that one, you are not in the wrong, and two, that everything has been done to sort the problem out. Then I really do believe that it is a chapter matter.

The first case was to do with a member who owed money to another member but was just not paying. He promised to, but never quite got around to it; there was always an apparently good reason. I then discovered the same member owed money to another member, with the same pattern of non-payment. Trade disputes: nothing to do with the chapters concerned. However, he ended up leaving a trail of unpaid accounts behind him, something that may not have happened if a chapter’s committee had got involved and were allowed to act.

The second case was in fact two cases, where money was owed and then when asked for the people who owed started to complain about bad workmanship, the supplier being un-professional. They made stuff up and put it in writing (just in case it went to court) and ended by sending abusive emails. This has clearly passed the trade dispute stage and in my opinion is now a Code of Ethics issue.

But, the members concerned didn’t want to cause a fuss or be seen to be causing trouble. Well, to my mind, that’s what these non-paying members count on: nothing being said and keeping their positions in their chapters with no one else knowing what they are really like. Well, my advice is let the Membership Co-ordinator know and allow the chapter committee to deal with the matter. If the person concerned is worried about their credibility you may get your money, or they may just leave, but at least you will have stopped anyone else getting hurt.

However, please remember what I said at the beginning, you must be honest about your side of the deal and your complaint must be in writing. Don’t expect your committee to act if you won’t put the details down on paper.

I mentioned the BNI Code of Ethics, of which, number 2 says, I will be truthful with members and their referrals, and number 6 says, I will display a positive and supportive attitude with BNI members. Is that what these non-paying members are doing?

Trust is a big part of BNI, of our chapters, and what we owe each other as members.

Note: As always this is only my view and not necessarily the view of BNI.

Could you be a great actor?

25/8/10

In our chapters we don't have competition as far as our individual categories are concerned. If there is a printer there can't be another in your chapter, likewise for a business mentor, and so on.

But, how about the competition to have our 60 Seconds remembered?

If your chapter has over thirty members, each week there are thirty plus 60 Seconds to listen to and remember. But, let's be honest, that's not going to happen! How many 60 Seconds do you remember each week? Six or seven maybe?

So, this means that as a member we need to have a really memorable 60 Seconds if our message is to be remembered, and we are to be in the forefront of our fellow members' minds. Because that is the only way to consistently get referrals from our chapter. We need to be remembered. In fact, better still, we need to be a story worth telling.

So, how about this for an idea? Act your 60 Seconds!

Choose someone famous and then do your 60 Seconds in their style. I guarantee you will be remembered!

Imagine, for example, your 60 Seconds being presented by Churchill, or David Frost, or Ann Robinson.

And, what's more, it will be great fun. Let me know how you get on.

I don’t know anybody!

31/7/10

A phrase I often hear from members when asked about inviting visitors or finding referrals is ‘I don’t know anyone’ or ‘I never see anyone; I work on my own’.

I have to say this not only worries me but that also, more importantly, I don’t believe it.

It worries me because all of us completed an application form to join our chapters and question 7 on the application form asks: What is your ability to bring qualified referrals and/or visitors to the chapter? Every one of us has entered an answer: member of golf club, chamber, Rotary, choir, PTA, or maybe a large customer base, many years in business and much more. And, if we didn’t, why were we accepted by the chapter’s membership committee?

So, really we must all know lots of people. Therefore, this brings me to the conclusion that members do in fact know a great many people (I don’t believe that they don’t), it’s just that they don’t realise it!

So, how about running a little test? It will take you no more than 15 minutes. Make a list of all the groups that you are connected with, for example: mobile phone contacts, email address book, family, friends, business contacts, suppliers, customers, chamber, church, sports clubs, choir, PTA, band, pub, LinkedIn, Facebook, university, boat club – list them all. Then list the first five people from each group that just pop into your mind; I bet it will be more like 10 names in every case!

Finally, add up how many names you have. I really would be surprised if it were less than one hundred.

Now, in front of you, is a database personal only to you: a list of people, not only to invite to your chapter but who are also a rich source of referrals.

These people are your best contacts – please never say that you don’t know anyone ever again.

But, better still, make a difference at your chapter.

Have you seen your chapter members' websites?

25/7/10

I was having a One2One recently with Hannah Liversidge of Reliable Roofer; she was showing me the basics of Wordpress, so that I could make a start on a new blog that I am writing.

We discussed the best ways in which we could help each other and the kind of business that we were both looking for. However, most of the time was spent on producing my first blog. ‘David’s Better Business Blog’ is my blog's title and ‘Have a Networking Goal’ my first blog.

Obviously this lead to us talking about social media as a whole: Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Ecademy, different blogging software, HootSuite, and of course Google. By this time we had moved on to our own websites and the importance of keeping them fresh and updated. Hannah asked if I had seen their website recently, as it had been updated, and I had to admit that I hadn’t.

This got me to thinking about the websites of the members in my own chapter and how many I had looked at recently. It then made me realise that there were some of their websites that I had never even seen.

Something of a shock!

So, I guess, is that just me? Or, are all we all guilty of not taking the time to look at each others' sites?

We could learn so much, especially about new members. And, how about checking out the website of someone we are going to have a One2One with before we go?

It’s certainly something that I am going to do and I can’t help but think that it will not only improve my One2Ones, but will also increase the number of referrals that I give.

What do you think?

You don’t have to be terrific but it helps to be specific!

14/7/10

I heard this memory hook recently at a BNI directors meeting and I have to say that, not only is it clever, but it is also true. In fact, just this last week the point was really hammered home to me.

The web designer in my group, who himself has a great memory hook, ‘This is my business card, it may not build you a website, but it will start a conversation’, always presents a clear and concise 60 Seconds. He more often than not asks for a company that he would like to be introduced to. I have had a One2One with him, and seen his 10 Minute. So, I pretty much know what he does. I like him and he is very credible; his company has built some fantastic web sites.

And yet I still missed a referral opportunity for him! Last week he asked for a company by name. I knew them, they are a contact of mine, so I phoned my friend and asked if they would take his call. They said they would have loved to but unfortunately they had their website redesigned just six months ago. I was gutted!

Now being specific didn’t work out this time, the luck of timing, but by being specific I was given something I could follow up on easily and so did. I had never before given this contact any thought and I hate to think of the number of referral opportunities that pass us by because we aren’t given something positive to look for.

So, be as specific as you can when asking for referrals. It will, (timing aside), make a big difference to the number and quality of the referrals you receive.

Memory Hook?

7/7/10

Most successful companies have a memory hook, although we may think of them more as their slogans: Nike – Just Do It; KFC – Finger Lickin’ Good; Tesco – Every Little Helps.

Then, of course, there are our fellow BNI members and here we have some great examples of memory hooks (strap lines): Simply Spreadsheets – We take the Hell out of Excel!; Imperial Printers – We will print you any colour you like, but it will always be green; and IFA Richard Bailey – Don’t be a Thicky, refer them to Dicky.

At a recent BNI workshop, Tom Fleming, BNI Executive Director of West Central Florida, suggested that BNI Chapters should also have a memory hook, one that the Chapter Director (President) could use each week, during the meeting and as an email signature, etc. And, I have to say, I think it is a brilliant idea.

Every week the members and visitors alike would hear the goal of the group, its belief, the chapters’ message. What a great way to let everyone know the future vision of the chapter. I’ve even come up with a few ideas: Green and Going for Forty; Turning contact into contracts (Niri Patel); BNI Business Class – we make our members more money (just an idea team!).

So, what do you think? Would a memory hook for your chapter help your vision? Maybe, it would even give your chapter a vision, a goal. And, who would choose your chapters’ memory hook?

It would be great to hear your views and, in time, any result should you decide to use one.

Will your networking work?

26/6/10

Will your networking work?

Well, the easy answer is yes.

But, here’s the rub: only if you are putting in enough effort. It doesn’t matter how good you may be, how good your business is, or how good a networker you are – if you are not spending enough time networking it won’t work!

At the London BNI Members’ Day yesterday Dr. Ivan Miser, founder of BNI, told us that in some research that he has conducted successful networkers, those that really benefit from their networking, spend over six hours a week in productive networking. However, those that said networking didn’t work for them spent less than two hours a week networking.

So, are you expecting outstanding results from your networking without putting in the necessary hours?

To find out, why not record all of your effective networking hours over the next month and see how many hours per week, on average, you are networking for?

More than six hours and the odds are that your networking is working for you, less than that, well I think you already know the answer!

As a guide you need to be networking for at least four hours a week in addition to your chapter meeting.