Ways to Build Trust and Succeed in BNI

12 Weeks of BNI Fundamentals Week 1 - Top 10 Ways to Earn Trust in BNI Here are ten ways to gain trust and speed up your success in BNI Show up early to the meetings. Don t miss a meeting (unless it s completely unavoidable). Invite guests at least one per month. When others are making their Feature Presentation (formerly called a Keynote Presentation), give them 100% of your attention. Keep your eyes focused on them. During your Weekly Presentation (formerly called Sales Manager Moment), focus on giving your chapter partners the tools they need to sell your services or products. In fact, give them the very words to say. Quickly follow up on the referrals you receive and let your referral partner know the results right away. Use your 1-to-1 meetings to really get to know and understand your referral partner and their business. Be prepared to give your Weekly Presentation by focusing on one aspect of your business and asking for a specific referral by name. Use your 10-minute Feature Presentation to build your credibility as an expert in your field. Always be positive and supportive of your fellow chapter members. Be an encourager. www.bni.com.au

12 Weeks of BNI Fundamentals Week 2 - Full Participation in BNI Last week, we made the point that success in BNI comes when the rest of the chapter members trust you enough to open up their best referrals to you. Remember, until we ve experienced your work, you have to earn that trust by showing us how professional you are and by treating us like prized clients. This week the subject is five (5) ways to play full out in BNI, for fun and profit. The first way is simply showing up each week at our meetings. That means be here every week, arrive early, and actively participate. WHY? Two reasons. First, if you aren t here you re not fresh in everyone s mind; and if you re not in our minds each week, we won t think of you when we re standing smack in the middle of a good referral for you. Second reason: if you don t show up, or you show up late, we assume that s just your style and that you ll do the same thing with people we might refer to you. Remember, your actions here are all we have to go on to judge your professionalism with our referrals. Okay, so we ll assume you re here, what s next? www.bni.com.au

12 Weeks of BNI Fundamentals Week 2 - Full Participation in BNI The second way is to participate in the networking time that starts each meeting. So which of these things should you be doing in the first 15 minutes of your meeting? Paying your monthly dues? Getting your coffee and breakfast? Catching up with other members about chapter issues? or networking? Of course, the answer is networking . NOTHING ELSE MATTERS! In fact, networking is the sole purpose of this part of the meeting. A good rule of thumb is that you DON T SIT DOWN until the President calls the second part of the meeting to order.Sure, your coffee or food may grow cold if left alone, but so will a visitor. Keep in mind that your food won t bring you any business. The third way is to participate 100% in the meeting itself. That means you treat whomever is speaking as if they were the biggest client you could possibly land. Would you walk out on a big client to take a phone call? Would you send text messages while your clients are talking about their needs? If you do it here with us, we have to assume you d do it with any client we might send to you. Another way is attending BNI trainings and embracing a culture of education. First, it means making new contacts. And secondly, all education enhances both your business and your skills as a networker. www.bni.com.au

12 Weeks of BNI Fundamentals Week 2 - Full Participation in BNI To summarize: show up early each week, network with visitors and other members, participate 100%, and attend trainings. Why DO all these things? Because it s Givers Gain again; you give and you gain visibility, credibility, and profitability in return. In closing, let me suggest that you know you re a BNI member if you go out to dinner with your family, and when you re shown to your table, you don t sit down for the first fifteen (15) minutes; instead, you wander around the restaurant shaking hands and greeting people. Thank you! www.bni.com.au

12 Weeks of BNI Fundamentals Week 3 - Tier 1/2/3 Referrals We made the point before that success in BNI comes when the rest of the chapter members trust you enough to open up their best referrals to you. Until they ve seen your work, you have to earn that trust by demonstrating your professionalism at all times. How do you know when you ve earned that trust? This week we ll go over the three tiers of BNI referrals. First the definitions. A Tier 1 referral is an inside referral. That is, a BNI member is paying for a product or service. A Tier 2 is an outside referral. That is, someone outside BNI who is paying for the product or service. A Tier 3 is when one of your Tier 2 referrals refers you to someone else. www.bni.com.au

12 Weeks of BNI Fundamentals Week 3 - Tier 1/2/3 Referrals Question: How do you build enough confidence among chapter members to get Tier 2 referrals? ( And these are the referrals that we really want.) Answer: By demonstrating your professionalism and showing a Giver s Gain attitude in your chapter activities, at weekly meetings and in all dealings with other chapter members. Answer: You teach your Tier 2 customers how to refer to you. Question: How do you get Tier 3 referrals? Answer: Make sure your customers know what a good referral is for you. Question: How to you do that? You do this in the same way that you train your fellow BNI chapter members on how to recognize a good referral for you. Here s your homework this week: request a referral from at least one customer this week to see if you can gain Tier 2 or Tier 3 referrals from you own clientele. The point of this is: Don t think small. Giver s Gain is a bigger game that most of us realize. Thank you! www.bni.com.au

12 Weeks of BNI Fundamentals Week 4 - Giving Great Referrals We're continuing our series of training sessions on BNI Fundamentals. This week, our topic is: how to give great referrals, and lots of them. Remember that the motto, and foundation, of BNI is "Givers Gain.' This translates to, if you give a lot of good referrals, you're going to get a lot of good referrals. That's the law of Reciprocity: help others first. A lead is not a referral. A lead is someone who might be able to use a chapter member's services, but the contact has not been pre- qualified. (A lead is bits and pieces of information.) But first, we need to understand what we mean by a referral in BNI. By contrast, a referral (in BNI terms) is someone who is expecting a call from the person you referred. Isn't that a world apart from the previous situation? In fact, if you REALLY want to make a connection, why not invite both parties to a 3-way introductory meeting; in your office, in a coffee shop, or even over the phone. That way, you can edify your BNI partner at the most crucial moment. (A referral is the opportunity to do business with someone who is in the market for your products or services.) www.bni.com.au

12 Weeks of BNI Fundamentals Week 4 - Giving Great Referrals Okay, now for the "How To" part. What do you do if you can't think of any referrals? Try this out over the next few weeks. Simply ask EACH CLIENT you talk to this week this one question: 'What's getting in the way between you and where you want to be? Prepare to learn more in the next few minutes than you may have in the past year about this person. The answer could refer to financial or legal problems (we offer financial and legal help here), business problems we offer business assistance or promotion problems (ditto), or dozens of other areas ... where you can help. The key is to ask the question, listen openly, and keep your BNI card file handy. You can probably offer a personal referral to someone who can truly help your client move ahead in some way that's really important to them. I challenge you to try this over the next week, with every single client you talk to. You just might find yourself turning in a handful of referral slips next week. Oh, and speaking of those referral slips, be sure that you fill them out completely. That means all referral contact information, a note about the circumstances of the referral and a measure of how "hot" the referral is. If you don't care enough about the referral to complete a tiny little slip, why should anyone else care any more about the referral? May I suggest that you know you're a BNI member if you tell your friends you gave out a lot of pink slips this week, and you're smiling. www.bni.com.au

12 Weeks of BNI Fundamentals Week 5 Referring Outside of Your Contact Sphere/Circle of Influence NOTE: Before starting, ask one person to take note of the creative suggestions which are given at the end of the Education Moment. This week we re continuing our series of Education Moments which focus on BNI Fundamentals. And we re going to have a short interactive session at the end. Before I get into today s topic, however, I want to follow up on last week s topic regarding the new Leadership Team nominations. Last week I passed out copies of the Leadership Team Nomination Form. I ve placed additional copies of this form on the tables. If you did not fill out the form and turn it in to Brad Garland last week, please take a copy of the form, fill it in and give it to Brad at the end of today s meeting. I ve also I ve passed around copies of the ReferralMagic article from SuccessNet s September/October 2004 issue, which is the topic of today s Education Moment. The topic today is about giving referrals to other chapter members who are not in your Contact Sphere or your Circle of Influence. This may take a bit of creative thinking, but with the hats I see here today, I think we have a roomful of creative business people. www.bni.com.au

12 Weeks of BNI Fundamentals Week 5 Referring Outside of Your Contact Sphere/Circle of Influence The BNI story we just passed around is one in which a chapter member had repeatedly asked for an introduction to a specific business executive, but nobody in his chapter had any connection to this executive. Finally, one chapter member simply picked up the phone and made a cold call to that executive s office on behalf of the other chapter member. And you know what? That executive called the surprised chapter member the following Sunday afternoon, saying I hear that you want to speak with me . You see, when you re being a Giver, you can accomplish what may seem to be impossible. So, here s my question: Besides just picking up the phone and calling a person out of the blue, what are three other creative ways we could use to generate a good referral to someone in our chapter, where our Circle of Influence doesn t generally include prospects for that person s profession? Answers might include: Referring to a great client of yours Referring to another colleague who may have connections. And more .. Thank you. Those are all good ideas. Let s all keep them in mind as we work to bring referrals to our other chapter members. Thank you! www.bni.com.au

12 Weeks of BNI Fundamentals Week 6 - Following Up On Referrals - Handout Focus on our Givers Gain philosophy: GIVE If you give a referral, follow up to make sure it was a good referral If you get a referral, immediately make it your highest priority Make ThankYou notes and cards a habit Sales is a necessary part of your business; get good at it Read Ivan Misner s book Masters of Sales If problems arise, handle them quickly and honorably Give feedback on the effectiveness of the referral to your referral partner GAIN Higher quantity and higher quality referrals More and better referrals www.bni.com.au

12 Weeks of BNI Fundamentals Week 7 - Effective 1-to-1s - Handout What is a 1-to-1? A meeting, in person, between two BNI members (or even prospective BNI members) to deepen the understanding between them in order to foster a better business relationship. Suggestions: 1. Know who the 1-to-1 is about. a. If you ask for the 1-to-1, then it s about the other person b. If they ask for the 1-to-1, it s about you 2. Use the GAINS Profile structure to guide your discussion a. GAINS = Goals, Accomplishments, Interests, Networks, Skills b. End each 1-to-1 with a clear picture of how to bring good referrals to the other member 3. Conclude each 1-to-1 with a commitment to do something. 4. Go back and do another 1-to-1 with all chapter members to deepen your relationship. Remember: 1-to-1 s are how you train your sales team to bring you sales, and how you get trained (by them) on how to bring them referrals. www.bni.com.au

12 Weeks of BNI Fundamentals Week 8 - Successful Substitutes We re continuing our series of training sessions on BNI Fundamentals. This week, our topic is How to Invite a Substitute . To begin with, why do you need a substitute? By having a substitute you ll be remembered your name is mentioned during the meeting and therefore, you re more likely to receive referrals. We inferred this when we talked previously about participation in BNI. Think about this: in marketing, it takes about seven times for someone to actually notice an advertisement.Similarly, in network marketing, it takes about that many times to beseen , for people in your BNI chapter to start to understand what you do. Substitutes provide a way for you to participate in BNI, even when you are not physically present. So, who should you ask to be your substitute? You should send a substitute who is going to best represent you and your business. For example, a client is probably the best choice. They can share their testimonial as to why they do business with you. Who are some other examples of ideal people to consider for substitutes? Your customer, client, patient, friends, family, people in your referral network, people in your support network, people in your information network and employees. Why these particular people? Because they care about you, or they have a vested interest in your business success, and they can give you a great testimonial! www.bni.com.au

12 Weeks of BNI Fundamentals Week 8 - Successful Substitutes Who does NOT make a good substitute? That would be a person who seems to be substituting for someone in the chapter every week, or nearly every week. This is a person who seems to substitute every week, but will not join the chapter. What do you need to tell your substitutes? Substitutes must understand that their primary purpose is to represent the member.If there is a conflict between your substitute and another member of the chapter, it is up to YOU to tell your substitute how to present him or herself. A one-time substitute should be treated like a guest. Even though they claim to do the same thing as a member, the substitute should present themselves as a new referral source for others in the chapter. This way, it does no harm to the existing member. Why would you put much effort into getting and training a substitute? Well, because the motto of BNI is GiversGain . This experience should be good for you and good for your substitute and good for the chapter. So, as a part of this chapter Sales Team, what COULD you do to prepare your substitutes to make them AND you look good? www.bni.com.au

12 Weeks of BNI Fundamentals Week 8 - Successful Substitutes First of all, have your Weekly Presentation, your 60-Second Presentation, pre-written and ready for your substitute. How many of you have one or two Weekly Presentations already written which you could sent at a moment s notice to your substitute? If you haven t already, I strongly recommend you do that, so that you can make it easy on yourself when you need a substitute in a hurry. Then you can email your already-written Weekly Presentation to your substitute. The sooner you can get this to them, the better they will feel prepared to represent you at the meeting. Nothing is worse than sending someone into a strange, or new, situation with little to no preparation time. Secondly, on the very same email as your Weekly Presentation, kindly tell your substitute what to expect. Include the name of our chapter and location of the chapter meeting (including the street address), the time the meeting starts and when they should arrive. Provide a brief overview of the meeting agenda. Let them know when they ll be speaking and, in addition to your Weekly Presentation, give them a rough idea of what they should say. For example, let them know that during the Ihave portion of the meeting they should give a testimonial about you, or talk about something they liked about the meeting. Let them know if there is any cost to them. Preparing in this way is not only a wonderful courtesy to our guest, it also helps the meeting run more smoothly and gives your sales team a better idea of who this person is. Thirdly, a great strategy is to identify a substitute, or two, and bring them with you to our chapter meeting, so that when you do need a substitute they are well-prepared and know what to expect. www.bni.com.au

12 Weeks of BNI Fundamentals Week 8 - Successful Substitutes So, here s a quick review: HERE S HOW YOU GIVE Always have a substitute, if you can t attend the meeting (In other words, Always be represented at the meeting) The Best substitutes: clients, eligible guests Bad substitutes: guests with Frequent Flyer mileage (those perma-substitutes) HERE S HOW YOU GAIN Visibility (your name is mentioned by the substitute), even though you are not physically present Credibility (you show yourself as a teamplayer and your substitute sings your praises) Let s make sure each of us is represented at every meeting. Thank you! www.bni.com.au

12 Weeks of BNI Fundamentals Week 9 - Inviting Visitors and Following Up with Them - Handout Visitors ARE referrals which you are giving to the entire Chapter. Opening up your circle of contacts by inviting them to our Chapter meeting demonstrates your trust in your fellow Chapter members. Visitors increase our chapter membership, which increases the size of your BNI Sales Team. Visitors are often the best referral sources. You gain as other Chapter members increase their trust in you. Your acquaintances benefit from their new connections to Chapter members. You gain a reputation as being well-connected . Maximize the positive effect of each visitor: Determine which Chapter member(s) you want your visitor to meet. Introduce the visitor to the member(s) BEFORE the meeting, by telephone or email. Personally introduce them at the beginning of the Chapter meeting. Thank your visitor for attending the Chapter meeting Mail a hand-written ThankYou note to your visitor (Or, send a personal email ThankYou message) Invite them to attend a second Chapter meeting. Action Item: Invite two of your acquaintances to our next BNI meeting and work through these steps. www.bni.com.au

12 Weeks of BNI Fundamentals Week 10 - Effective 60-Second Presentations We re continuing our series of training sessions on BNI Fundamentals. This week, we re going to focus on your 60-Second Weekly Presentation. The purpose of a 60-Second Presentation is to educate your BNI sales team about who a great referral is for you. First, start with the basics. Your time is 60 seconds, and not a second longer. (You ll know when you ve run out of time when hear the timer ask the time keeper to demonstrate what the timer sounds like.) When you ve run out of time, sit down. If you keep going, your sales team will feel unfriendly toward you and will stop paying attention. Less is more.And please, let your guests and substitutes know about this 60-second rule. It will help them make a better impression and they ll thank you for it. Second, follow a proven formula. Do what successful people before you have done and follow a proven formula. I ve given you a handout with Dr. Ivan Misner s own BNI recommended paint-by-number formula on it for your reference. The structure of a 60-Second presentation has five parts: 1.Your Name, Company, Profession, what we do a brief overview of your business. 2.The Least Common Denominator (LCD) the specific part of your business you wish to educate us on this week. 3.The Body talk about this Lowest Common Denominator (LCD). This is the bulk of your presentation. 4.The Ask or Call-to-Action a very specific referral request. 5.The Close your name, company, profession and optional memory hook. www.bni.com.au

12 Weeks of BNI Fundamentals Week 10 - Effective 60-Second Presentations Let s walk through it quickly. This is how it might sound 1. Name, company profession and what we do: a. Hi, my name is Tom Galloway, and I represent The Health Store, where we educate people how they might address their health issues using simple food choices instead of relying on drugs. 2. The Lowest Common Denominator (LCD) a. This week I d like to talk to you about allergy relief 3. The Body Who do you know who suffers from seasonal allergies? Do you know a business person who always seems to get sick around the same time every year, which really gets in the way of them attending to business, someone who would really love to make it a non- issue 4. The Ask/Call-to-Action a. I would like a personal introduction to your co-worker who battles seasonal allergies 5. The Close a. I m Tom Galloway, with The Health Store. Helping extend expiration dates, one person at a time. That s all there is to it. So, to review: the purpose of a 60-Second Presentation is to create consistent communication about how your sales team can help you make money. Keep to the time limit. Follow the formula for what to say and how to say it, so people will remember you and you ll get business. The clearer you are in asking for what you want and painting a mental picture, the easier it is for your sales team to bring you good referrals and invitations for a One-to-One to learn more about your business. Be specific! www.bni.com.au

12 Weeks of BNI Fundamentals Week 10 - Effective 60-Second Presentations So, here s a quick overview from the perspective of GIVERS GAIN. HERE S HOW YOU GIVE You give by keeping to the time limit. You give by being clear and specific ( A good referral for me is ). HERE S HOW YOU GAIN You gain by leaving a favorable and lasting impression. You gain by getting good referrals and invitations for 1-to-1 s. Action Item: Over the next week I ask that you write out four (4) 60-Second Presentations which focus on four (4) different Lowest Common Denominators (LCD s) of your business. Practice them out loud and refine them so that they only take 60-Seconds, or less, to read. Then use them over the next four (4) BNI meetings. Thank you! www.bni.com.au

12 Weeks of BNI Fundamentals Week 11 - Education Moment Effective 10-Minute Presentations - Handout What is a 10-Minute Feature Presentation? a) Something BNI Forces you to do periodically? b) A chance to give your usual 60-Second Presentation, only with time enough to get it right? c) An opportunity to talk about enough of your products or services that most of us will buy something from you that day? d) An opportunity to teach us everything there is to know about your business in ten minutes or less, to make sure we all realize that your job isn t easy? Correct answer: ______________________________________________________________________________________ It s an opportunity to educate and train your BNI sales force. Prepare and practice your Presentation prior to the meeting. Rehearse it so you make the most efficient use of the time you re allocated. Invite YOUR clients, contacts and network. Use phone and email to remind chapter members who they need to invite. Make sure your BNI Connect Biography page is up-to-date. Give a clear explanation of who you wish to be introduced to. Start building momentum weeks before you re scheduled to give your Presentation. Call to Action: Over the next week, start planning your next 10-Minute Presentation, so that you can begin promoting it weeks in advance and you ll be well prepared when your day in the spotlight comes. www.bni.com.au

12 Weeks of BNI Fundamentals Week 12 - Education Moment Learning About BNI Training Opportunities Member Success Program BNI Leadership Training Online Resources www.BNI.com www.BNIPodcast.com www.BNISuccessNet.com www.NetworkingNow.com www.Entrepreneur.com www.MastersBooks.com Books by Dr. Ivan Misner (and co-authors) Truth or Delusion? Busting Networking s Biggest Myths World s Best-Known Marketing Secret Masters of Success Masters of Sales Masters of Networking: Building Relationships for Your Pocketbook Business by Referral: A Sure-Fire Way to Generate New Business Seven-Second Marketing: How to Use Memory Hooks to Make You Instantly Stand Out in a Crowd It s in the Cards The BNI Handy Guide to Networking The 29% Solution: 52 Weekly Networking Success Strategies Givers Gain: The BNI Story BNI Network Secrets CD (Audio book) The Misner Plan eBook Room Full of Referrals Business Networking and Sex: Not What You Think Networking Like A Pro Strategic Alliance Partners ActionCOACH Alliance Franchise Brands Assessments 24x7 BNI Online Academy Buffini & Company Business Growth Strategies Business Review USA Coffee News USA del Fuego Companies Duct Tape Marketing Execdigital FranNet Small business Advocate Radio Show High Achievers Network Morris Audio Consulting Nerium International Press-A-Print Referral Institute Remember the Ice SendOutCards White Digital Media Call to Action: Over the next week, look through this list of BNI resources and pick one which you ve not used before; a book, a podcast, a web site and utilize it to improve your networking effectiveness. www.bni.com.au