2007

New BNI Regional Blog

2007-12-26T19:25:00.000-08:00

BNI Directors Mike Tobin, Teresa Simon, and I are combinig our efforts to bring you one blog for the entire Eastern Missouri/Southern Illinois area. Check out the link below and sign up to have updated entries sent directly to you.

http://bnimissouri-illinois.blogspot.com/

Six Dates to Referral Romance

2007-11-17T22:11:00.000-08:00

Dating and doing MOM’s both require people to gradually reveal more about themselves over time. Whereas dating is often the preamble to romance, MOM’s are the mechanism for building profitable referral relationships. The rules that apply to both are more universal than you might think.

The lifestyle section of the local paper recently ran a story called “The Second Date: More May Be On the Line Than the First.”

Which I found incredibly redundant because by definition, a second date requires an additional investment of time, energy, money, hope, curiosity, attraction, and other human dynamics. More is definitely on the line. Return on investment is far from certain.

According to the article, “While the first date is akin to kicking the tires of a sports coupe on a car lot, the second date is like taking your potential dream rig for a test drive.” In other words, the article suggests that we use a different strategy with each progressive encounter when it comes to dating. My question is this: Could we benefit from treating MOM’s the same way?

For instance, the article goes on to say that before the second date…"you should have some idea of what you have in common as well as where you differ in terms of family values, career and personal goals, and personality." BNI members can use the GAINS profile as a first date strategy, then move on to more in-depth information if a connection is made. “As more information is revealed, a better decision can be made about whether another date is the way to go.”

THE MEMBER CHALLENGE: What if you committed to going on six “dates”—doing six MOM’s with the same person. What if you agreed up front to a different strategy for each date, at the end of which you had to make a decision whether to see that person again or walk away. And…this is the best part…what if each dating strategy was planned in advance, so all you had to do was show up and execute the strategy. Think “The Dating Game” in a referral context, minus the anxiety of actually planning the date.

Choose one potential referral partner and agree to try these six MOM strategies in sequence. It might take a month or two or even three, but the chances of building a long-term relationship leading to referral romance would increase astronomically. At the very least, you will know so much more about that person and be in a much better position to both give and receive referrals. In other words...you have nothing to lose.

MOM #1: GAINS Profile. Complete the profile about yourself in advance, and ask your partner to do the same. When you meet, exchange profiles and base your discussion on the most interesting parts of each other’s background. Try to establish commonalities and build rapport.

MOM #2: Bio Sheet. Complete the Bio Sheet about yourself in advance, and ask your partner to do the same. When you meet, exchange Bio Sheets and base your discussion on the most interesting parts of each other’s background. Continue to establish commonalities and build rapport.

MOM#3: Contact Sphere Planning Sheet. Complete the Planning Sheet in advance and ask your partner to do the same. When you meet, exchange lists and talk about ways to facilitate introductions to your top three.

MOM#4: 16 Questions. Take turns asking and answering these questions about each other. Start with #1 at the bottom of the page and work your way up to Question #16. This might actually take several “dates” for both partners to get answers to al 16 questions about each other, but the effort is well worth it.

MOM#5: Your Favorite or Last 10 Customers. Have a discussion with your partner about the last 10 or favorite kind of customers. Why were they favorites? What specifically made them so enjoyable to work with? If I asked your favorite customer why they valued your product or service, what would they say? What product or service did you provide them with? Where could I find more people like that for you to do business with? What would I say to them when I found them?

MOM #6: Personal Prospect List (PPL). This takes time, but complete the PPL in advance and ask your partner to do the same. Review each person’s list and talk specifically about how to facilitate introductions to people on the list. Unless your previous dates have gone well, this strategy is not likely to be effective. People will not be open about who they know unless they are comfortable with who you are as a person and as a business man or woman.

Completing these six dates might take a month or two or even three, but the chances of building a long-term relationship that leads to referral romance would increase exponentially. Success in BNI is on the line, and well worth the effort.

The Substitute Thermometer

2007-11-08T12:01:00.000-08:00

While visiting chapters, I get the sense that most chapters just kind of “accept” the quality of their substitutes. BNI offers some guidance on how to prepare a sub to represent you at a meeting, and some people do that very successfully. But I hear very little discussion about how to improve the quality of substitutes, and maybe we should begin that dialog.

Some chapters have a very active “Substitute List” made up of former members and current contacts who enjoy the occasional business networking meeting. Members are expected to call someone on the list before planning an absence. This idea cuts down on absences, but does little to address the quality issue.

Try this method to improve both the quality and accessibility of substitutes for your chapter.

Just as we number our referrals on a 1-5 scale based on how “hot” they are, create a prioritized list of substitutes based on the same scale. Your list might look like this:

5) Clients
4) Family or Friends
3) Employees
2) BNI members from other chapters with no professional category conflicts
1) Anyone else

For one month, use this scale to secretly track your members’ current substitute behaviors. Then have a discussion about why clients and family/friends are better substitutes than current or former BNI members. Talking about it will raise member awareness and generate buy-in if everyone understands why it is to their advantage to treat the issue this way.

When everyone understands that message and begins playing by the same rules, you successfully raise the bar for new members. And when faced with planning an absence, members might just change their strategy from a “cover your a—“ mentality to a “givers gain” mentality.

We strive to fill our chapters with quality members and provide our members with quality (Level 5) referrals. Why not create a culture where members strive to provide Level 5 substitutes for one another as well? The scale might be different from chapter to chapter, but at least you’ll all be on the same page. Your comments would be appreciated.

By Our Attitude

2007-11-06T05:16:00.000-08:00

By our attitude, we decide to read, or not to read. By our attitude, we decide to try or give up. By our attitude, we blame ourselves for our failure, or we blame others. Our attitude determines whether we tell the truth or lie, act or procrastinate, advance or recede, and by our own attitude we and we alone actually decide whether to succeed or fail.

Jim Rohn

Halloween Meeting Stimulant

2007-10-31T08:05:00.000-07:00

A common BNI meeting stimulant involves having members do the infomercial of another member.

The Belleville chapter took that concept to another level.

Since their meeting day fell on Halloween, members were asked to actually BE another member. We’re talking dress like them, talk like them, act like them, and do their infomercial. President Andy Toennies actually ran the meeting, but seated next to him was a team of officers dressed up to impersonate the actual officers.
What followed was a gut-busting version of a BNI meeting, delivered by men in wigs, women with beards, and just enough inside jokes to keep everyone in stitches. Who said BNI can't be fun?

Oh yeah...the chapter passed more than 300 referrals and closed more than $275,000 in business in October. I'd say they were dressed for success.

For more pictures, click here.

Show Me the Money 06-07

2007-10-29T14:08:00.000-07:00

Which chapters has the highest Show Me the Money totals from Oct. 2006 to Sept. 2007?

Check out this link to see the Top 10 list.

Does your chapter have a goal for 2007-2008?

Master of Sales Hits #12

2007-10-29T10:38:00.000-07:00

Check out The Business Week Monthly Paperback Best Sellers list!!!

5 Steps for Receiving Referrals Properly

2007-10-24T10:41:00.000-07:00

Bill Cates has some great things to say about trust and giving/getting referrals. Check out his story below:

How you receive the referrals people give you makes a huge difference in whether they will give you referrals again, and again, and again. I've been writing a lot about your "client experiences" lately. The same goes for how you receive their referrals. If the experience of giving you referrals is a pleasant one - one that they can trust - then they'll do it again.

Here's an easy way to remember these 5 steps in gaining Referral Trust:

T - Treat the new prospect with incredible importance and care. This should go without saying.
The goal is to provide such a great experience for this new prospect, that it reflects well on your referral source. Even if the prospect chooses not to go with you, they should still have great things to say about how you treated them, educated them, verified their previous decisions, etc.

R - Respond immediately. Referrals can have a short shelf life. Do not sit on your referrals.
Once you have an actionable referral - act! If you do not act on your referrals quickly, you run the risk of burning your referral bridge with your client as well as missing an opportunity with the new prospect.

U - Update the referral source on your progress. Keep them involved.
Your referral source wants to know that you followed up. They gave you one or more referrals to either help a friend, help you, or both. They need to know you're moving forward with it. When you make contact with the prospect, let the source know. After you meet with them, tell the source. If the prospect becomes a client, get permission from the new client to tell the source. If you have trouble reaching the new prospect, call the source sooner not later. They will often come to your aid.

S - Send a personal note of thanks along with a small gift.
I've seen 2 studies that demonstrate the value of sending a small thank-you gift to the referral source. Reward the behavior of giving referrals. Don't wait to see if the prospect becomes a client or not. This is not about the money you spend. It's the thoughtful gesture. Just pick something appropriate and not tacky.

T - (new clients) Thank the referral source. When the new client thanks the referral source,
you become more referable. It validates the action of giving referrals and stimulates more referrals. Simply ask the new client to thank the old client (or Center of Influence). Or, you can take both of them out to lunch to celebrate the new relationship.

Top 10 Ways to Say "I Have"

2007-10-23T13:17:00.000-07:00

We call the referral part of the meeting the "I Have" part of the meeting because it focuses on positive actions and contributions to the chapter. Of all the things you could possibly say, "I have no referrals today" is not among the top 10.

But here are 10 ideas that could work for you:

1. I have a referral today for __________________________.
2. I have converted a referral to a sale.
3. I have a testimonial for __________________________.
4. I have a written testimonial for __________________________.
5. I have brought a visitor today.
6. I have two addressed invitation postcards that I’m sending to_______________.
7. I have had a MOM with another member.
8. I have scheduled a MOM with another member.
9. I have been to a workshop.
10. I have a networking meeting scheduled for _______________________.

Tracking Your Speaker Rotation

2007-10-17T11:18:00.000-07:00

Once your chapter grows to more than 30 members, tracking the little things demands better organizational skills.

This is the form that Chris Baron from the St. Clair County chapter uses to track his speaker rotation. As you can see, their chapter usually does one 10-minute presentation and one or two 3-minute presentations.

On other days, an entire contact sphere is responsible for the speaking time. In addition, that same contact sphere drives visitors to the chapter and explains during their presentation how the visitors make up a valuable but missing link in the chain of services provided. Powerful stuff.

Any system that works is a good one. If you do not have a speaker rotation tracking system in place that is flexible and easy to follow, feel free to copy this document and make it your own.

How Many MOM's Should Our Chapter Be Doing?

2007-10-17T08:00:00.000-07:00

Our monthly production reports illustrate two things: 1) many chapters dramatically under report the number of MOM's their members actually do; and 2) many members don't make enough time for MOM's.

Both of which contribute to the myth that you can be successful in BNI without actually building depth to your relationships.

There is a word for people who are looking for the shortcut to building relationships...I call them "ex-BNI members", and if they are not, they will be. The shortcut doesn't exist. MOM's are the absolute minimum essential cost of doing business via relationships.

In terms of chapter production, nothing drives the mechanism for achieving results better than getting your members invested in each other's lives. The simple truth is...

1) If you want to generate more referrals for your members, do more MOM's.
2) If you want to get more referrals, do more MOM's.
3) If you want to get a faster return on your BNI investment, do more MOM's.
4) If you want to build trust with your members, do more MOM's.
5) If you want your networking activity to become more efficient, do more MOM's.

There is just no getting around it.

As leadership teams begin the process of setting goals for the 2007-2008 year, it would be wise to consider the chapter's past performance in terms of the number of MOM's reported each month. Use the "green activity sheet" for recording purposes, and encourage people to participate in the reporting process.

Based on our reports, chapters whose MOM's for the month approach or exceed four times the number of members are bound to be among the most productive. It makes sense, because it means that members are taking the time to learn more about how to help each other. They are taking a proactive approach to finding referrals instead of waiting for referrals to happen...which of course, rarely happens.

How many MOM's should your chapter try to do each month? It depends on what level of performance you are trying to achieve. Do you want your chapter to be average, below average, or a top performer? Use this form to plan your chapter MOM production, and watch all the other performance indicators improve as well. Challenge members to improve this one part of their BNI game plan, and everything else takes care of itself.

Many chapters are setting Show Me the Money Goals for the year...I've heard some as high as $8 million. To the extent that those chapters recognize that MOM's are the gateway to better and more profitable relationships, I have no doubt they can reach those goals.

Masters of Sales Continues to Climb

2007-10-13T15:21:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, September 29th, Masters of Sales hit #6 on The New York Times Book Review!

Now, in addition to gaining status as a #1 bestseller on both the Amazon.com bestseller list and the Wall Street Journal’s bestselling book list, and making it into the USA Today list of bestsellers, Masters of Sales has hit the big time as a New York Times bestseller!

Click here to see Masters of Sales in the #6 Best Selling paperback spot on the New York Times Book Review.

Profile of a Top-Producing Chapter

2007-10-11T09:36:00.000-07:00

If you are wondering what a top producing chapter looks like, you can look at our monthly production report for September 2007 and draw some general conclusions.

But what if we looked at the 12-month period from Oct. 06 - Sept. 07, isolated the top-producing chapter in each of those months, and then averaged their results to create a real-time profile of what it takes to be a top-producing chapter.

As you set your chapter goals for 2007-2008, keep these numbers in mind:

Chapter size:
Average chapter size - 29.9
Highest -Belleville (42, Feb. 07)
Lowest - Leaders Council (22, Dec. 06)

Referrals:
Average: 185
Highest - Belleville (329, Oct. 06)
Lowest - Leaders Council (93, Dec. 06)

Referral per Member (per week)
Average: 1.6
Highest - Metro East (2.50, April 07)
Lowest - Bigger Net Income (.74, March 07)

Attendance Percentage
Average: 96%
Highest - Springfield Business Connections (100%, June 07)
Lowest - Bigger Net Income (92%, March 07)

MOMs
Average: 142
Highest - Springfield Business Connections (415, June 07)
Lowest - Leaders Council (13, Dec. 06)

Show Me the Money
Average: $466,000
Highest - Metro East ($3 million, Aug 07)
Lowest - Glen Ed ($10,435, Nov. 06)

Visitors
Average: 19.5
Highest - Springfield Business Connections (38, June 07)
Lowest - Leaders Council (3, Dec. 06)

New Members
Average: 2.4
Highest - Bigger Net Income (5, March 07)
Lowest - four chapters tied with 1

Word-of-Mouth = Most Trusted Form of Advertising

2007-10-10T19:24:00.000-07:00

A recent survey of nearly 27,000 internet users in global markets asked consumers on their attitudes toward 13 types of advertising - from conventional newspaper and television ads to branded web sites and consumer-generated content.

When asked to what extent the participants trusted different forms of advertising, 78% said that consumer recommendations were the most credible form of advertising.

Word of mouth marketing is a worldwide phenomenon!

Word of mouth, for example, generates considerable levels of trust across much of Asia Pacific. Seven of the top ten markets that rely most on "recommendations from consumers" are in this region, including Hong Kong (93%), Taiwan (91%) and Indonesia (89%). At the other end of the global spectrum, Europeans, generally, are least likely to trust what they hear from other consumers, particularly in Denmark (62%) and Italy (64%).

For more information on the study, click here.

Never Underestimate the Power of DAD

2007-10-10T12:24:00.000-07:00

I know, I know, I know...we are not a social organization. The business of BNI is business.

But small groups that are cohesive tend to be more productive than those that are not. One way to build cohesiveness is to share social activities with members of your group.

We joke around and call them DAD's, an acronym that stands for "drink-after-drink" and often carries a negative connotation. But the truth is that members in my most productive chapters find time to invest in EACH OTHER...as well as their friends, spouses, and contacts.

Julie Lohman, the current Vice President of the Belleville chapter, sums it up this way: “No one bothered to mention that it is truly the personal relationships in our chapter that make us strong. Regardless of personality differences, there is not one person in our chapter that I couldn't sit down and have dinner with and thoroughly enjoy myself. We might not have a social agenda at our meeting, but we are a social organization as well as a business referral group.”

Members of the Business Builders Central chapter might agree. These pictures show one of their most recent DAD's, with members enjoying the company of other members in a much more relaxed and informal setting. According to Vice President Tina Marie Jung, scheduling and attending DAD's has not only helped recruit new members, but it has also pushed current members to budget time for networking activities that raise everyone's comfort level for doing business with each other.

"You talk about things that don't come out in a BNI meeting," said Tina Marie. "We talk so much in BNI about how it TAKES time to build relationshhips, but it is easy to forget that we have to MAKE time for relationships to deepen. Our chapter is stronger because of activities like these."

Some chapters have gone so far as to rename the acronym to mean "Deal-after-Deal," which tells you two things: 1) Drinks are optional, and 2) Business is being done.

What does your chapter do to promote goodwill among the members?

The Powerful Difference Between "Yes" and "No"

2007-09-23T14:54:00.000-07:00

According to outgoing VP Rick Sharrard, one of the key factors surrounding the successful turnaround of the Edwardsville chapter was the membership committee's decision to: 1) define the kind of members they were looking for, and 2) say "no" to applicants who didn't fit that description. They use this formula:

The Ideal Member:

H ungry for business
A ttitude is everything
S ingle membership

P ersonality fits group
O ne business interest
W ants to give referrals freely
E xpectations are realistic
R eady to make commitment

The ideal member has the power to contribute positively to the growth and development of the chapter insofar as he or she meets those 8 criteria. Your chapter might have different criteria, but your ability to attract the right members begins with defining what that looks like.

How do you define your next member?

Metro East Leaders Recognized

2007-09-19T21:47:00.000-07:00

John Suarez recognizes Tim Phillips and Judy Henry, the outgoing President and Vice President of the Metro East chapter in Collinsville.

Tim and Judy have served in leadership for the last two terms. Their efforts were the driving force behind rebuilding the chapter and positioning Metro East as a model chapter in the region.

Metro East ranked as the #1 chapter for the month of August out of 77 chapters, with exceptional production that included more than $3 million in closed sales. Click here for the complete 12-page production report.

How Fragile is Trust?

2007-09-19T15:13:00.000-07:00

The battery on my phone went dead today after a flurry of calls from and about a member whose chapter asked him not to renew his membership. Two hours of this kind of drama is enough to drain any battery, including mine. Needless to say, this unhappy person could not understand how a Membership Committee would vote 3-1 against him. After all, he was a good and committed member.

Somewhere along the line this good and committed member did something to fall out of favor with the people on his Membership Committee. No one in the chapter ever filed a written complaint, but questionable behaviors accumulated in the minds of the voting members. And when he was excused for seemingly no reason, he was devastated.

At the very least, there was a huge disconnect between the member's perception of his performance and the membership committee's perception of his performance. Right or wrong, membership committees have complete autonomy to handle their respective chapter's business. We train membership committees to be open and honest about negative communications, but let's face it...those are tough conversations to have.

Why didn't the member see this coming? Because no one ever said anything directly to him about questionable behavior until his Contract for Profitability came due. It could happen to anyone....unless chapters find a way to have tough conversations proactively.

Page 34 of the Leadership Team Training Manual outlines a formula for having such conversations. Pages 31-33 describe the process by which complaints should be handled in the chapter. With these tools and your discretion, there should never be a situation where a member feels blindsided by a committee's decision.

Here is some more good advice, courtesy of author and speaker Ron White:

"In your office, organization, or circle of friends if you want to see a cancer
spread faster than almost anything... begin to speak negatively about others
when they are not around. Not only will a cancer spread in your group that will
fragment it into factions, but you will no longer be trustworthy."

Do you want to be a top notch sales professional? Attempt that without being
trusted and try to be trusted while being known as a gossip.
Do you desire to be an effective leader? Again, attempt that without being trusted. A simple way to lose trust is gossip.
Develop a reputation as someone who can be trusted not because of your loyalty to your friends, but because of your character and watch as your business skyrocket!"
Trust is a very fragile thing. If you lose it, people are not comfortable walking up to you to let you know. But the Membership Committee meets behind closed doors, where the "truth" reveals all the dark places we try to hide. Sooner or later there is a price to pay. The BNI Code of Ethics says "I will display a positive and supportive attitude with members of my chapter."
It is not a suggestion.

Commercials vs. Infomercials

2007-09-17T17:22:00.000-07:00

In MSP training, we talk about the difference between Tier 1 referrals (self to member; member to self) and Tier 2 referrals (outside contacts). Tier 1 referrals are finite and limited to the number of people in the chapter, yet doing business with other members of the chapter is one of the most important ways of building trust.

Tier 2 referrals are infinite. Your ability to access the rolodex of your members and visitors depends partly on the trust they have in you. As members demonstrate during MSP, gaining access can be accelerated with a specific infomercial that actually targets key contacts and challenges members to think about who they know. This is the primary difference between an infomercial and a commercial, which simply advertises a product or service.

Think about how we are conditioned to tune commercials out. When we are watching TV, do we give commercials our full attention, or do we flip to one of 1,000 other channels available? Or perhaps we switch to a movie channel that has no commercials? Getting people’s attention is hard enough. When we sound like a commercial, we are fighting an uphill battle.

A strong infomercial is the member’s primary opportunity to target and cultivate more Tier 2 referrals. Why, then, do so many members settle for delivering a commercial instead of an infomercial?

Five reasons come to mind:

1) Commercials are right-handed activities (I say this because I am right-handed). They come easily, thoughtlessly, like our signature on a piece of paper. An infomercial is a left-handed activity. We have to stop, think about it, even struggle a little….just enough to keep people from working at it. When something natural is available, we gravitate toward that. Ironically, results do not even come into play.

2) Commercials produce results…sometimes. But the results are based on luck, and luck runs out. If you sell commercial insurance, and you stand up every week to tell people you sell commercial insurance, sooner or later a member will be in a position to refer business to you. But if you take a more proactive approach and request to meet the owner of XYZ restaurant, you take responsibility for targeting the kind of prospects you want to do business with. Even if you miss, you have used your time more wisely.

3) Members don’t know the difference. Intellectually members understand the concept of infomercials versus commercials, but not experientially. In other words, until they do it and get results, they will never experience the power of a different strategy. After MSP training, members are rarely challenged to embrace or practice these principles. Many revert to their natural right-handed activities.

4) Members don’t have time to prepare an infomercial. As busy as we are, we tend to have time for things that are most important. When we take a proactive approach to building our network and targeting customers, we get better results. Making time to get better results is true in just about any discipline, and it is certainly true in BNI. Referrals don’t just happen. We either learn to make them happen, or we don’t.

5) Members would rather do what everyone else is doing. In small groups, we have a natural tendency to conform. In one chapter, every member ends their infomercial by giving their business phone number. My guess is that one person did it, and soon everyone else followed along. Which would you rather have: a referral and no phone number (which you can easily find) or a phone number and no referral? Rather than rock the boat, new members eager to "fit in" judge the rules of proper conduct more by what they “see” than by what they have been told at MSP. And the cycle of ineffectiveness continues.

When members leave BNI, a common parting thought they share with me is “I’m not making any money.” A strong infomercial is where Tier 2 referrals and the money-making begin. It takes time and effort, but so does everything else we value.

The Key to Inviting Visitors

2007-09-15T08:11:00.000-07:00

Our friends at the Sandler Sales Institute describe PAIN as “the emotional attachment to intellectual need.” In other words, it is what drives us to make buying decisions, including whether or not to consider visiting a chapter or buying a BNI membership. PAIN can be categorized in one of three areas:

· Immediate problem
· Fear of future
· Gain or how can I make the buyer a hero

Immediate problem has a greater impact on the reason to buy than the other two.

Gain has the least amount of influence.

If your approach to inviting visitors involves selling "Gain", change your approach by asking more PAIN-related questions. Here are two examples:

EXAMPLE: "Would you like to have a larger network of trusted referral contacts for your clients to choose from?" (that’s Gain)

BETTER: "What happens when your clients must choose from a limited network of service providers and they can't rely on a referral from you?" (that's Pain)

EXAMPLE: “Would you like to meet some people who could get you more business?” (that’s Gain)

BETTER: “Some of my friends refer business to your competitors because they don’t know who you are. How come they know your competitors and not you?” (that’s Pain)

Understanding the types of PAIN will lead you to ask more effective questions. When you learn to uncover PAIN, you discover the emotional reasons for intellectual need…and that is what drives the decision-making process.

New Contact Information

2007-08-21T10:34:00.000-07:00

As of, oh, right about now, my contact information is changing.

Use the following:
email: johnsuarez@bnistl.com
phone: (618) 593-0489 or (866) 830-6518

Cancel these numbers:
(618) 233-5326 and (888) 202-8864

Contact info transition is a tricky little game that I try not to play very often, but every once in awhile you gotta get your digits in order. I apologize in advance for any confusion.

Words to Live By

2007-08-20T21:05:00.000-07:00

You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you.

Dale Carnegie 1888-1955, Author and Trainer

July Production Report

2007-08-20T11:55:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to the following chapters for their excellent production in the month of July. For a complete report, click here.

1. Metro East (#3)
2. Leaders Council (#6)
3. St. Clair County (#9)
4. Belleville (#10)
5. Business Builders Central (#11)
6. Business to Business (#13)
7. St. Louis Hills (#14)

The Key Ingredient

2007-08-10T08:24:00.000-07:00

All referrals are not created equally.

For some people, a name and phone number is perfectly acceptable.

Others insist that a personal introduction is when a referral begins.

One key ingredient, perhaps THE key ingredient, is the element of ANTICIPATION. In other words, when you pass a referral, is the contact EXPECTING to hear from someone regarding a specific service or product?

Too many times Member Bob will deliver a specific infomercial, asking for introductions to, let's say, high school teachers at ABC School. Member Steve knows a teacher at ABC School and quickly reaches for a referral slip to record the information. He hands Member Bob the referral slip and says "I know a lady who you might want to talk to."

Member Steve wants to help, knows someone, and gets credit for passing a referral. But is the teacher at ABC School EXPECTING a call from Member Bob? Not at this point.

To create stronger referrals, try introducing the element of anticipation. In this case, Member Steve and Member Bob would probably benefit from a MOM to discover how well Member Steve knows the teacher, how often he sees her, how frequently they talk, and perhaps when they expect to talk again. Member Bob could give member Steve specific instructions about what to say when they do talk, what questions to ask and perhaps what not to ask. And when that happens, Member Steve could be taught to say "I know a guy you definitely need to talk to about that. His name is Bob. Shall I have him call you?" or, "Would you like to go to lunch with us?" or, "Would you like me to try to get him on the phone right now?"

If the teacher declines, at least you tried. If she accepts, the seed of anticipation is planted and the likelihood of an introductory meeting (and closed businesss) is greatly enhanced.

Who you know is a great start. Making a real connection takes a little more work, but you'll find that most BNI members will gladly take your instructions on how to make a prospect more qualified. When you begin to build a reputation as someone whose referrals are always ready, willing, and able to purchase, you are building the kind of "trust" fund that makes people want to reciprocate.

How can you introduce the element of anticipation in the next referral you give?

June Production Report

2007-07-16T14:53:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to the following chapters whose production numbers in the month of June ranked the highest in our region:

1) Madison Central
2) Glen Ed
3) Alton Downtown Networking
4) Leaders Council
5) Belleville

For a complete copy of the all-chapter report click here.