26/4/09
my third conference and, I have to say, the best so far. My first, in Southampton I have to admit is just a dull memory. All I can remember is a team building game and that Frank De Raffele was brilliant: I thought about BNI the same way he did.
Dublin was better, I knew the ropes now, was on one of the Steering Committees for the year, there was a great presentation by Andrew Hall and I was sitting next to one of the lovely ladies from BNI Head Office at the Awards Dinner.
I know I’ve only just arrived back, so everything is fresh in my mind, but Amsterdam was without doubt the best!
We started, even before the conference started, at 7.30am Friday morning with a London North West group One2One with Sandra and Andy Hart. I would have been happy to have gone home after breakfast with the advice they gave, but then the conference was opened by Frank De Raffele. What a great way to set the tone for the next two days! My personal highlight of the morning was choosing to attend the Breakout Session by Mike Holman which was straight talking and full of sound practical advice. In the afternoon was an hour of 10 Minute presentations: a very thought provoking one by Peter Hemmen (Netherlands), based on Roger Bannister’s 4 minute mile, about changing your mindset, a great One2One plan from Samantha Rathling (Ireland South & West) which provides a referral every time, but the best in my mind was a sensational 10 Minute by Kathleen Waller (London North West) on how to present an outstanding 10 Minute. It had everything - other than the use of props!
Saturday opened with the National Directors’ Report, this year hosted by Charlie Lawson and Tim Cook, and included a little Directors Quiz. I’m glad to report that I scored in the top 20%! This was followed by another set of Breakout Sessions and, judging by the feedback at the end of the conference, provided the outstanding moment of the whole two days! This was a truly motivating and, for some, life changing, session by Dinah Liversidge, entitled ‘Building Your Business by Building Your Credibility’. A spontaneous standing ovation and queue of people wanting to shake her hand said all that was needed to be said. But still we had the afternoon to come, and for me, overall, this provided my own personal highlight. Rob Brown - what a show! - 'Stand Up and Stand Out'. If I just took 10% of what he showed us and put it into action, it would change me and my business for the better. Again this one session would have made the conference so much more than just worthwhile; in a way it was my own ‘life changing’ moment.
Well, what was left to come? The Black Tie Awards Dinner. Would we get an award this year? Yes we did: an award for opening new chapters. And I was happy to have been able to help London North West win it by launching the Iolanthe chapter during the year. But there was still more to come! After the awards and before the serious part of the evening started, the dancing, Gillian and Martin Lawson had a very special announcement to make. They were retiring with immediate effect, official date 1st May, and Charlie Lawson and Tim Cook were taking over as Joint National Directors.
What a moment when Martin thanked Gillian for all she had done over the last thirteen years, watched by all of their children who had joined us for the occasion.
And the saddest part of the two days? Being caught by Sandra Hart at midnight, while everyone else was dancing, checking my BNI emails!
Sunday 26 April 2009
Wednesday 22 April 2009
Use your ears!
22/4/09
Want more business from your fellow members? Then use your ears: listen and remember.
It doesn’t matter if it’s during open networking, during the meeting, at a social, or even if ‘by accident’ you hear other members talking. Use your ears!
How many times have you heard a member mention in the course of a conversation a company’s name? The name comes and goes and more often than not you think nothing of it. You might nod, or even say ‘Wow!, what a great company to work for’, but five minutes later the company name is forgotten.
But, what if you remembered that company? What, if that company would be a great contact for you? You can’t interrupt, especially if you are listening to someone else’s conversation, and say ‘Hey, that would be a great contact for me!’ but what you can do is remember the name and in the future, during a One2One, ask about the company. Ask how the member got the business in the first place and how good their relationship with them was. And, if it seems right, would the member be prepared to give you a personal introduction?
Your fellow members often don’t realise which of their contacts you might be interested in, but if asked are only too willing to help you gain business.
So, use your ears and get more business. Oh, a little tip – always carry a small notebook. You never know when you might need it!
Want more business from your fellow members? Then use your ears: listen and remember.
It doesn’t matter if it’s during open networking, during the meeting, at a social, or even if ‘by accident’ you hear other members talking. Use your ears!
How many times have you heard a member mention in the course of a conversation a company’s name? The name comes and goes and more often than not you think nothing of it. You might nod, or even say ‘Wow!, what a great company to work for’, but five minutes later the company name is forgotten.
But, what if you remembered that company? What, if that company would be a great contact for you? You can’t interrupt, especially if you are listening to someone else’s conversation, and say ‘Hey, that would be a great contact for me!’ but what you can do is remember the name and in the future, during a One2One, ask about the company. Ask how the member got the business in the first place and how good their relationship with them was. And, if it seems right, would the member be prepared to give you a personal introduction?
Your fellow members often don’t realise which of their contacts you might be interested in, but if asked are only too willing to help you gain business.
So, use your ears and get more business. Oh, a little tip – always carry a small notebook. You never know when you might need it!
Saturday 18 April 2009
Do you know what your fellow members' partners do?
18/4/09
I was chatting to a very successful 12 year member recently at a workshop and in the course of our conversation I asked him if he had any tips on increasing the amount of business I received from my chapter. And he asked me if I knew what all my fellow members' partners did.
A little embarrassed, I had to admit that I didn’t; worse still, that there were some members in my chapter whom I didn’t even know if they had a partner.
He explained that during his 12 years as a member that he had discovered that the One2One was the most important thing that he did. He had regular One2Ones with all of the members of his chapter and that he took an interest in everything that they and their family did.
This had not only gained him a number of really good friends but over the years a great deal of business. Why? Because a great many members' partners work, and, on more than one occasion, have turned out to be just the contact he needed.
So, I have the same question for you. Do you know what your fellow members' partners do? If not, you could be missing out on some really valuable business.
I was chatting to a very successful 12 year member recently at a workshop and in the course of our conversation I asked him if he had any tips on increasing the amount of business I received from my chapter. And he asked me if I knew what all my fellow members' partners did.
A little embarrassed, I had to admit that I didn’t; worse still, that there were some members in my chapter whom I didn’t even know if they had a partner.
He explained that during his 12 years as a member that he had discovered that the One2One was the most important thing that he did. He had regular One2Ones with all of the members of his chapter and that he took an interest in everything that they and their family did.
This had not only gained him a number of really good friends but over the years a great deal of business. Why? Because a great many members' partners work, and, on more than one occasion, have turned out to be just the contact he needed.
So, I have the same question for you. Do you know what your fellow members' partners do? If not, you could be missing out on some really valuable business.
Friday 10 April 2009
Have you hit Tesco?
10/4/09
One thing I often hear in chapters is that members have no time to look for visitors.
I’m not going to go into how business people don’t have time to find new business, but what I will say is that finding visitors need take no time at all. Well, very little!
Most of us shop these days, and whether it’s Tesco, or any other supermarket, or in fact just about any DIY store, people to invite are just sitting there right in front of us at the checkout.
If you haven’t done so before, have a look at the wall behind the tills: you will find a large business card holder full of cards of companies looking for business. The companies that advertise there are spending a great deal of money to have their cards on display. They are looking for business.
And, that’s the key: they are looking for more business. That’s all a visitor is, someone who is looking for more work, nothing more.
So, next time you are out shopping, look for those business cards and make your visitor inviting easy.
One thing I often hear in chapters is that members have no time to look for visitors.
I’m not going to go into how business people don’t have time to find new business, but what I will say is that finding visitors need take no time at all. Well, very little!
Most of us shop these days, and whether it’s Tesco, or any other supermarket, or in fact just about any DIY store, people to invite are just sitting there right in front of us at the checkout.
If you haven’t done so before, have a look at the wall behind the tills: you will find a large business card holder full of cards of companies looking for business. The companies that advertise there are spending a great deal of money to have their cards on display. They are looking for business.
And, that’s the key: they are looking for more business. That’s all a visitor is, someone who is looking for more work, nothing more.
So, next time you are out shopping, look for those business cards and make your visitor inviting easy.
Saturday 4 April 2009
Practise what you preach!
4/4/09
Credibility and personal branding are so important in your chapter and I believe that a great many members just don't understand how important these two things are.
I have a great book called the Perfect Portfolio and in it, amongst other things, the author suggests that you need to open with a 'Bang' and close with a 'Bang', but more important than that, you will only sell what is in your portfolio. In my case as a printer, these is no point going out selling colour leaflets if my portfolio is full of 2-colour letterheads. Things just don't stack up.
And, it is exactly the same in your BNI chapter. Only in your chapter you and your company are your portfolio. I will give you some examples to explain.
We once had a web designer join our chapter, only to discover a short time later that they didn't have a web site themselves. Guess what that did to their credibility? How hard do you think it was to refer a web designer who didn't have a web site? Can I add here that if you are a web designer and you look after your chapter's web site, make sure that the chapter site is always up to date, as if it's not, it will hurt your credibility.
If you are a copywriter your 60 Seconds need to be perfect, every word in exactly the right place and every 60 Seconds exactly that - 60 seconds.
On the other hand if you are a Business Coach who says that you can help companies find more business and increase sales, then you must have business yourself. A great way of also showing how good you are at gaining people new business is to be the top visitor bringer to your chapter.
Then of course you have the Personal Coach - they listen, consider, and help. What do you think it says about that coach if throughout the meeting they are constantly interrupting and not understanding what is being said?
I think that by now you are probably getting the picture - that you have to be what you are selling. You have to look the part. If you are expecting to sell an expensive service you really can't hand out a cheap looking business card you got off the web - you want someone to give you thousands of pounds but can only afford £20 for business cards. Again it doesn't add up.
So, credibility, it's built on everything you do in your chapter, everything you say, everything you show.
If you are not getting the number of referrals that you think you should, may I suggest that you find a member that you can trust to tell you the truth and ask if your credibiltiy and branding match up to what you are selling. And, if not, how you could improve things.
If you can increase your credibility your referrals will follow suit.
Credibility and personal branding are so important in your chapter and I believe that a great many members just don't understand how important these two things are.
I have a great book called the Perfect Portfolio and in it, amongst other things, the author suggests that you need to open with a 'Bang' and close with a 'Bang', but more important than that, you will only sell what is in your portfolio. In my case as a printer, these is no point going out selling colour leaflets if my portfolio is full of 2-colour letterheads. Things just don't stack up.
And, it is exactly the same in your BNI chapter. Only in your chapter you and your company are your portfolio. I will give you some examples to explain.
We once had a web designer join our chapter, only to discover a short time later that they didn't have a web site themselves. Guess what that did to their credibility? How hard do you think it was to refer a web designer who didn't have a web site? Can I add here that if you are a web designer and you look after your chapter's web site, make sure that the chapter site is always up to date, as if it's not, it will hurt your credibility.
If you are a copywriter your 60 Seconds need to be perfect, every word in exactly the right place and every 60 Seconds exactly that - 60 seconds.
On the other hand if you are a Business Coach who says that you can help companies find more business and increase sales, then you must have business yourself. A great way of also showing how good you are at gaining people new business is to be the top visitor bringer to your chapter.
Then of course you have the Personal Coach - they listen, consider, and help. What do you think it says about that coach if throughout the meeting they are constantly interrupting and not understanding what is being said?
I think that by now you are probably getting the picture - that you have to be what you are selling. You have to look the part. If you are expecting to sell an expensive service you really can't hand out a cheap looking business card you got off the web - you want someone to give you thousands of pounds but can only afford £20 for business cards. Again it doesn't add up.
So, credibility, it's built on everything you do in your chapter, everything you say, everything you show.
If you are not getting the number of referrals that you think you should, may I suggest that you find a member that you can trust to tell you the truth and ask if your credibiltiy and branding match up to what you are selling. And, if not, how you could improve things.
If you can increase your credibility your referrals will follow suit.
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