Do you listen?

Something that Ivan Misner, the BNI Founder, recommends, and something that you will hear a lot in the BNI workshops, is that you should listen more than talk.  And that is why we have two ears and only one mouth.

But listening is not nearly enough, because you then need to act upon what you have heard.  Otherwise you may in fact have just talked.

Now it can be very simple.  For example, the plumber in your chapter stands up to do his 60 Seconds.  As usual he talks about central heating and boilers; you know all that.  However, if you had really listened, you would have heard that he had a special offer on for this week only.  But, even then, as I said earlier, you then have to do something with that knowledge; it’s no point just listening.  Who are you going to tell?

But, there is another type of listening.  One that is very easy to overlook because we are so wrapped up in what we are doing.  Listening to your customers.  Worse still is listening and then carrying on just as you were.  And this one really worries me.  Because sooner or later, if customers aren’t listened to, and feel as if they are being listened to, they have a nasty habit of becoming ex-customers! 

So, what’s my point?  Well simply, are you giving your customers what they want, or just what you want to give them?  There’s a big difference and a big difference in your reward if you can get it right.

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.

What’s the point of email?

I sometimes wonder why some members have an email address.  After all, what is the point of having an email address if you aren’t going to check it or, worse still, answer it.

Now as a business mentor I’m the first to say that you mustn’t be ruled by your email, but there is a big difference to being a slave to your email box and not looking at it at all.

Over the last two days I have sent three emails to three different members with the potential of work.  One is a definite job.  But I’ve not heard back from any of them.

Now it’s possible that an email hasn’t been delivered; but all three?  And of course I could pick up the phone and call them.  Often far better than an email or text in fact.  But that’s not the point.  Especially when I’ve been told by someone who knows one of the members that he never answers his emails.

So I guess that’s my point.  If you don’t want to communicate by email, don’t publish your email address.  And, if you do publish your email address, you have to appreciate that people will use it, and you will need to check your inbox and answer any emails.  Because, believe me, you will be losing business and maybe, in the long term, even customers.

Rant over.  I’m going to check my inbox!

Does it add up?

There are many reasons why people join BNI but obviously, by far, the most important is business; after all we are a referral organisation.  So it surprises me how few members keep any record of how much business they get from being a member.

And this fact has never been more sharply brought to my attention than in these past few weeks when three members, from different chapters, all asked me for 1-2-1s to discuss if it was worth them renewing their membership.  All three didn’t think that they were getting much business from their chapters.

Having met with the three members I discovered a common theme.  They had no records of how much business they received from BNI. But, more importantly, when we really looked into where each got their business from, a great deal was in fact from BNI. And in one case, almost 90% of their business came from BNI.  So the big question?  Why didn’t they know?

Well, the first reason was obviously lack of record keeping, but it went much further than that.  You see they focused on their weekly referrals.  And in all three cases, they were not getting as many referrals from their chapters as they used to. (They all need to find out why.) In fact, one of the members hadn’t received a referral from their chapter in over two months.  However, they had all missed out the business they were in actual fact getting.  So, where was this business coming from?

The answer to this was from all sorts of places: other chapters, workshops, online.  But, the two main sources, they had all overlooked were repeat business. One had a repeat monthly order that they didn’t even think about anymore, and third party recommendations.  Third party recommendations can be huge.  You know the sort of thing; someone in your chapter gives you a referral, you do a great job, and that person recommends you to one of their friends, you do a great job for them and they recommend you to one of their friends.  And so on.  Now by the third of fourth recommendation you might be thinking “what’s that got to do with BNI?” Well, the big thing is you wouldn’t have got the recommendation (any of the recommendations) without BNI.  So I would suggest  - everything.

So, even if you are extremely happy with your BNI membership, I would advise that if you don’t already, keep a record of all business, and I mean all business, you receive from BNI, that you do so from today.  You might just be surprised!

Note: All three members renewed.

That’s my seat!

Have you noticed how some members always sit in the same seat at your meetings?  In fact maybe you are one of those people.  Now I’m not talking Leadership Team here, I’m talking about the member who, no matter what, sits in the same place every single week, month after month, probably more out of habit than anything else.  And you might also be thinking: so what?

There might even be a group of members who sit in the same places - a clique.  Now a clique can be a good thing. After all it is a group of ‘persons who interact with each other more regularly and intensely than others in the same setting’ (dictionary definition), just like a Power Team.  However, both sitting in the same place every week, and being part of a clique, can be bad for both you and your chapter.  Let me explain why.

But first a short story. 

Part of your training as a BNI Director is to visit a chapter to get a feel for how you are going to help the chapters you will be looking after. You arrive very early, before even the Visitor Hosts, then sit at the back of the meeting, observing and taking notes.  These notes will then be discussed back in the training room.  Well on my first visit, long ago, the Leadership Team were already there setting up the room when we arrived.  They had a problem with members always sitting in the same seats and as a way of dealing with the challenge they were laying out the members' business cards where they wanted people to sit.  Then the most amazing thing happened; as the members arrived they found their business card and swapped it with the one in their usual seat.  So everything went back to normal!  As trainee Directors we couldn’t say anything; we just smiled and made our notes.

So, what’s my point?

Well, cliques can be bad for a number of reasons but I think the two main ones are; 1) some visitors are put off by the cliques and so won’t join your chapter, and 2) some new members discover the cliques after they join, find it hard to break into the groups, and end up leaving.  Both of these mean a loss of potential business to the chapter.

But, what about always sitting in the same seat and chatting with your friend.  How can that hurt?  Well I know members in chapters who have never spoken to all of the other members of their chapter.  Many of these same members complain about not getting enough referrals.  See a connection?  Unless you are at least attempting to build a relationship with your fellow members, getting to know them, like them, trust them, you may, and so may they, being missing out on potential business.

So, how about giving up your favourite seat next week and sitting next to someone new?  You just never know where it might lead!

Did you say Thank You this week?

Saying thank you can pay big dividends in life and nowhere is this more the case than in business and your BNI chapter.

We all like to be thanked for things; it makes us feel good, and certainly in my case it makes me happy.  It also annoys me when people don’t say thank you; like when I hold a door open for someone or pull in to let a car pass on a narrow road.  But that’s another story.

Saying thank you can really make you stand out from those around you and, if done well, will bring you more opportunities and more business.  A very simple example is in the giving and receiving of referrals.  I’ve seen a referral received with barely an acknowledgement from the member receiving the white copy.  What incentive is that member giving the person who is giving the referral to look for another?  Almost none!

But that, as I say, is just a very simple case.  There are many, many more.  And of course lots of ways to say thank you.  I have some specially printed ‘Thank You’ cards.  They have a lovely picture on the front and on the back my company logo and a motivational statement.  I don’t know about you but I love getting cards in the post.  And I always keep them.  Imagine if that was happening with the cards you send out.  What might the results be?

So, what can we thank members for?

Well, obviously a great referral.  But how about when that referral becomes business, a testimonial, repeat business, for being given good advice, for being given exposure online, for being given a great contact, if you win a really useful door prize (might be a business book that helped you).  What else can you think of?

Saying thank you will make a big difference to your business, and your life, why not try it and let me know how you get on?

150!

One of the most important things that we do as business owners is getting and then keeping customers.  In fact it is so important that it really should be the first thing we do every single (business) day.

And it doesn’t matter what you do or what you are: accountant, solicitor, plumber, web designer, copywriter, cake maker, garage owner, driving school, because in effect you are a marketing company for your product or service, and unless you market your business the simple truth is that you won’t have a business.  It really doesn’t matter how good you are at what it is that you do because unless people know, and a good number of people at that, you will go hungry.

Now the great thing about being a member of BNI is that you are marketing your business at the very minimum once a week and that you have your fellow members helping you.  But my question is, are you one of the 87% of chapter members missing out on a massive business opportunity?

Most successful entrepreneurs will tell you that their ‘list’ (their database) is their most priceless business asset.  Buildings, plant, stock, even staff, can be replaced, but lose your database and your business is pretty much dead.  The amazing thing is that most small businesses don’t have a database and those that do rarely use it.

Now building a useful database will take time: people that you have, and can build, a relationship with.  But, here is the crazy thing, most BNI chapters have three visitors a week, and most chapter members have no idea who they are.  150 business owners a year that every member has a relationship with, however small, that could be put on to a database and kept in contact with.

Then over time a relationship has the chance to grow and you never know where that might lead.

Don’t forget – BNI is all about farming.