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.

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.

Across the dance floor!

Don't know about you, but when I was in my early twenties it took a great deal of courage to cross a dance floor and ask a beautiful girl if she would like a dance.

Again, if you were anything like me the answer was a curt "No thanks", and you had to make the return trip to your starting point - knowing that everyone watching knew exactly what had just happened. I would imagine those gifted at asking a girl to dance feeling pity for me, while those more timid than I just thanked their lucky stars that it wasn't them doing the walk of shame and took another sip of their beer.

But if not that night, another night, I would try again and I kept on trying, as I expect you did, until a lovely girl said yes.

Well that was a long time ago, but the experience is still very valid today.

You see when I ask members if they have tried inviting visitors by letter, or postcard, by email, by text, or even asking people they know if they could suggest someone, I more often than not get the reply, "Oh. I tried that once and it didn't work".

Can you imagine the number of unmarried men there would be around if they had used this same principle when asking a girl for a dance, or even a date? She said 'No'. I'm not trying that again!

So, why is it that those very same people only try inviting a visitor once?

I guess it comes down to a combination of fear, ambition, priorities and even credibility.

There was a lot of fear in asking the girl of your dreams for a date. However, for most men to have a beautiful loving girlfriend was something they dreamed about. And other than football on Saturday, it was their only priority. There was of course credibility at stake, as no-one wanted to be the only person without a girlfriend.

So, if you find it hard to get visitors along to your chapter, cast your mind back to those days on the dance floor; for some of you it may have been just last week!

And instead of trying to find a visitor using one particular method just the once, keep trying until you succeed. After all, you know that if you keep trying you will succeed.

And ladies, this doesn't let you off the hook, as I'm sure you have your own example!

Good Luck.

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.