The Four Pillars of a Successful BNI Group

Tim Paulin BNI Executive Director from BNI Louisiana Mississippi joins Dr. Misner on the BNI Podcast to discuss the four pillars of a successful BNI group:

1. Many (4-7) visitors or guests at each meeting. Not all of them have to qualify to join: bring people who can do business with members.
2. A well-run professional meeting. Pay special attention to the hidden elements. (See Episode 9 and Episode 16 for more about these.)
3. Follow-up post meeting. The leadership team needs to follow up with visitors and guests, and members need to follow up about the business they’ve passed.
4. Accountability for the chapter members. One of the most important parts of accountability is attendance, and it’s up to the membership committee to maintain this.

If you can do these four things well, you’ll have a successful chapter.

Unsolicited Advice Is Rarely Appreciated

Here’s an excerpt from Dr. Misner’s podcast that I think is terrific. As BNI members we can all apply this advice.

Every contact you have with someone is a chance to either construct or de-construct a relationship. Be sparing about the way you criticize people, especially if you don’t know them well. Before you either press the “Send” button or open your mouth to criticize, ask yourself

1. Is your criticism unsolicited? Unsolicited advice, especially from people you don’t know, is rarely appreciated.
2. Do you know the person to whom you’re sending the criticism? If not, why are you really sending it?
3. Is it your intention to give constructive suggestions, or just to vent? If it’s to vent, tell a friend who loves you instead.
4. Does this communication help construct a relationship? Remember what your mother said: “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.”

More than £111,000 in Business in 4 Years

This is a story I read in BNI SuccessNet and I think that it succinctly describes the value of BNI.

Submitted by Alan Johnson (SuccessNet April 1, 2012)

I applied to join BNI at my very first meeting in November 2007 thinking, Why on earth didn’t I know about this earlier?
By Christmas, with not a single decent referral and not a penny invoiced, my mind was now racing: What have I done?
But luckily the relative peace and quiet between Christmas and New Years gave me some time to listen to the CD, read the manual and the book. In one of those eureka moments, I realized I had the whole concept wrong.

The people in the room weren't potential customers; they were my potential sales force. It seems so obvious now.

So I changed tack, rewrote my 60-seconds, and resolved to "train" these sales people in how to sell Teknicare; 1-to-1s frantically followed.

The results?

I've never looked back. January saw BNI related sales of £1,778 and February £10,208. In 2008 I made £27,832, in 2009 £23,571, in 2010 £25,250. And last year, (with all the doom and gloom, I hardly expected to do well) I made £34,949. This year is already looking good with over £3,000 invoiced.

Loving numbers as I do here are some more for you:
Total Invoices 303. Average Invoice Value £368.32. Number of weeks attended 208. Invoice value per week £518.53 (after costs).

So every Thursday morning I'm sitting in my van driving to meet a great bunch of friends and getting paid over £500 for the privilege.

Monetary benefit after four years: £111,603; personal benefit after four years: priceless.

 

25+ Equals $31,000 (a year… for you)

At BNI Leadership Team training in March, we shared the recent BNI stats indicating that a chapter with an overall average of 20 or fewer members exchanged a referral value of $9,500 per member per year.  A chapter with an overall average of 25 or more members exchanged a referral value of $31,000 per member per year.

That’s a huge difference.

Our mission is to have all chapters in the Golden Horseshoe Region exceed 25 referral partners because chapters with more than 25 members make more money for their members and have a higher retention rate which means the business model is sustainable long term.

To work toward this mission we shared the BNI Traffic Lights Agendas at Leadership Team training. We defined each chapter based upon the phase it is currently in and we distributed a customized Traffic Lights Agenda representing each phase.

The BNI Agenda has not changed, but the areas of weekly emphasis have. We have done this to better support every chapter in achieving their next phase. Over the next few weeks your Leadership Team will be presenting the agenda at your weekly meeting; because in BNI GH our goal is more referrals for you.

Would you like more details?

We Are Women - Watch Us Soar

Soar with us on Tuesday, March 6, 2012 when the Halton Region Small Business Centre is hosting an event for women entrepreneurs.

I’m delighted to be speaking at this event in celebration of International Women’s Day. The event is being hosted by Halton Region Small Business Centre in partnership with the Provincial Ministry of Economic Development and Innovation.

This event is designed for Women Entrepreneurs to learn, connect and soar!

The keynote speaker is restaurateur, Julia Hanna. Julia will share her lifelong philosophy regarding her friends, family and business practices.

Then my very good friend and marketing mastermind, Wendy Marlow of The Art of Marketing Inc. will present, “The One-thing, One-time System that will Save Your Sanity”.

After Wendy presents, I’m looking forward to sharing how to “Network Like a Pro”.

And there’s more: a panel of experts offering best advice for you and networking opportunities galore! To register for this event, click here.

This event is being offered for women entrepreneurs by women entrepreneurs. Don’t miss out.

And Here They Are…..

The Presenters for BNI Business Showcase 2012 

Not only does this event provide phenomenal networking opportunities, but a number of businesspeople are offering breakout sessions. I’ve listed the sessions below.

Remember, it’s all at no cost to you. The retail value for information like this? About $2,000.00. Give yourself the gift of attending.

The Presenters

2:45  & 5:45 pm          BNI – It’s for YOU! Presented by BNI Golden Horseshoe New Chapter Development Team: Marc Lachance and Fred Leblanc

BNI is the largest referral marketing organization in the world. More than 160,000 business people participate in BNI chapters in 48 countries and, last year, those members generated in excess of $3.1 billion in business for each other.

BNI’s success of is due in part to the fact that only one person per business profession can join a chapter. This approach creates a culture of collaboration, but it also means that some popular categories never have vacancies. Rather than turn away interested, motivated business people we offer to work with them to create their own BNI referral network.

If you’d like to learn about the BNI process, this session is for you.

2:45 pm     Who gives Away MONEY?  YOU DO!!! Presented by Judi Johnstone, First Vancouver Finance

If you are extending credit to your customers, you are willing to lower your profitability to attract or keep good customers.

If you are not paying attention to what credit does to your bottom line, you are missing out on important profitability.

Come out to “LEARN AND EARN."

3:45 & 4:45 pm     Business Networking AND SEX (not what you think)  Presented by Paula Hope, Referral Institute Peel-Halton

Takeaways from Dr. Ivan Misner’s new book on networking and sex. See the research! 12,000 business professionals (many of whom are BNI members) weigh in on the opposite sex.

Learn the secrets to accurately reading between the gender lines, and uncover a new edge for your business-the power to effectively talk business and successfully network with the opposite sex. You can take your new strategies to the BNI Business Showcase!

Dr. Ivan Misner’s latest (and most provocative) book is co-authored with Frank J. De Raffele Jr. and Hazel Walker, guest speaker at the Referral Institute’s 1^st Referrals for Life Day in 2008.

3:45 pm     Your Sales Materials on a Tablet. Presented by Renee Khan, RBK Artworks  

One of only a few GTA graphic designers trained in interactive tablet design, Renee specializes in print, interactive and exhibit graphic design.

Come hear Renee speak about the emerging trend of portfolios, catalogues and event publications designed to engage an audience and support business sales efforts using tablets. Click and change pictures, imbedded videos and audio clips, 360 degree product rotations and more are now available to companies looking to move their sales ahead of their competitors with this surprisingly affordable yet engaging option to print.

4:45 pm     Profit Building Boot Camp – Bulk up your profits in 30 minutes. Presented by Dan Holstein, Business Coach with ActionCOACH 

Attend this fast paced, action packed session and learn the 5 killer strategies you need to get your business off the couch and beach ready - NOW.

The 5 ways to increase your profits by 61% (that’s not a typo) that only successful entrepreneurs know, including:

ü  How to increase qualified leads coming to you

ü  How to dramatically increase your sales conversion rate

ü  Proven methods to ensure customers come back to buy from your more often – that work in ANY business

ü  Strategies to ensure your customers happily spend more with you every time they visit

ü  Methods to improve your margins that you can implement immediately.

Attend my Profit Building Boot Camp. What have you got to lose besides the flab off your bottom (line)?!

Throughout the day

Do you have a computer housing dust bunnies?  Do you store old cell phones and chargers in your drawers?  Does your home or office have an IT graveyard?  Well, it may be time to get some professional help.   

Niagara Ewaste will be hosting a unique opportunity to recycle items from your business or home.  All you have to do is bring your broken electronics February 9th 2012, and Niagara Ewaste will take care of the rest.  We are a pound member of the OES (Ontario Electronics Stewardship)  which ensures your stuff won't be shipped to countries without proper infrastructure.  So have a look around, we know it's there: printers, old satellite receivers, laptops, DVD players, pretty much anything with a plug!

For more information visit www.niagaraewaste.com..

Sixty-plus businesses from across the Golden Horseshoe Region will exhibit at Glen Abby Golf Course in Oakville on February 9th. It starts at 2:00 pm and goes ‘til 7:00 pm. If you want to go, register yourself (and your guests) at www.bnigh.com.

What Makes the BNI Business Showcase Different?

In the Fall of 2010, BNI corporate member and Assistant Director, Judi Johnstone thought there are so many interesting businesses in BNI, wouldn’t it be fascinating to put them all together under one roof to showcase themselves, their businesses and BNI. Not only that, but encourage them to invite all their contacts to attend the event.

That’s how the BNI Business Showcase was born.

The BNI corporate philosophy is Givers Gain. BNI members believe in the concept of “what goes around comes around”. By giving business to others, they’ll get business in return. Since BNI members across the Golden Horseshoe gave each other $10.2 million in closed business last year, it’s sure working.

When we share the people we know with each other – the potential for opportunity is unlimited. You never know who someone knows and we’re all just a couple of introductions away from our next extraordinary opportunity.

It’s why this Showcase a one of a kind networking event. The hosts believe in Givers Gain, so their approach will be connecting people who can help each other. Which means for guests; you could be introduced to your next extraordinary opportunity.

Don't miss it.