The following steps have been taken in support of our members in Christchurch – effective immediately.

Firstly as of tomorrow, all chapters in Christchurch will be put into a Fee Suspended state for the following 3 months. This means that memberships are in effect frozen as is, and will not age for the next 3 months. This will give members and chapters alike time to reassess where to from here, whilst still allowing the chapter to meet and access members details and record stats.

Secondly we have negotiated with New Zealand Finance & Loans that any member currently paying off their fees via the Finance option, will have a moratorium for 3 months before they need to make another payment..

Thirdly Sue & Graham the NZ BNI National Directors will meet $1 for $1 any donations made to the BNI Red Cross site up to $5,000.

Fourthly we have reactivated the BNI Christchurch Earthquake group on BNIOnline and are listing all offers of help on this site. We have offers of accommodation, use of offices etc. coming in as well as fellow BNI chapters wanting to support other BNI members. We are driving everyone to this site and would ask you all to make contact directly and also to pass this information on to other BNI members who may not yet have email or internet access. The Direct link is: http://www.bnionline.co.nz/group/christchurchearthquakebnisupport or Click Here

Know that we are all thinking of you and hope these steps will in some small way help as we believe that the support offered by your BNI groups in the coming months may be a very important aspect of doing business and supporting each other.

Fiona Harrop

BNI New Zealand – Operations Manager

How does the Trade Category work? 

When a member joins BNI they are given a Trade Category which best describes what they do.  Inevitably some people would like to include every aspect of what they do within their category, however not only is this not possible, it is also counter productive.

To best understand how the website works, think about where you would start if you wanted to find yourself in something like the yellow pages – this is what your ‘Profession or Trade Category’ should be. Less is generally more in that someone looking for a photographer for instance is not going to look up, say, specialist wedding & portrait photographer but is more likely to look up photographer.

The BNI Trade Directory search on the website works a little like Google – it looks for key words under three headings – List of Services, Company Name, and Profession or Trade Category.  Whilst your company name and/or profession may well be enough to find you – the best way of ensuring that you are found is to ensure that you update your ‘List of Services’. 

How do you update your List of Services?

When you are logged in on the BNI website you will see the first heading on the left hand side is “Update Details”.  If you select this heading you will activate a drop down menu – the second heading of which is “Services/Location”.

• This is where you can write a detailed description of what you do and where you do it.

• Remember to use key words?

If you were to say – We specialise in Wedding, Portrait and Event Photography, your listing would appear if someone typed in any of those key words i.e. Wedding – Portraits – Events or Photography.  This is why it is so important to fully utilise this aspect of the site.

For chapters that have activated their chapter websites this becomes even more important as the website displays all the members of the chapter – their listing, their service description AND their photo and logo.  If you have not updated your details on the BNI website you are missing out on a marketing opportunity!
 

You will need to read it through beforehand and be prepared.  What you say out loud to the group is in larger type in bold.

Ask the chapter the following question and repeat some of the responses.

When you invite people to your BNI chapter what do you say?

Make sure you get some responses!  They will probably include words like …meeting, weekly, join.  Now ask them…..

Is anyone having difficulty getting acceptances to those invitations?

Do you know why?

Let’s look at some of those invitations and see why potential members are not coming!

What does the word meeting mean to most people?

Seek responses and repeat them.  You will get words like …boring, waste of time, starts late etc.

Now how many of you simply can’t wait to join something?  In your busy lives you are actively looking for something to join?

Maybe we could all look at what we say when we invite potential members!

Why not simply invite them to …

A breakfast (no meeting or weekly) where they can talk to other business people about their product/service.

And remember, if they ask how much, simply tell them the price of the breakfast.  Because that is all you are asking them to do – come to one breakfast.  The rest is up to them once they have seen what we offer!

There is also a download available in the members section of the website under resources entitled Visitor Information Letter.

Written by Geoff Kirkwood

You will need to read it through beforehand and be prepared.  What you say out loud to the group is in larger type in bold.

Purpose – What to do with a referral

Start by saying to the members…
Someone has just given you a referral.  What do you do next?

Seek responses and repeat a few.

A is for Act on the referral within 24 hours.  This is paramount if you want to develop a reputation for being reliable and want to receive more referrals.  If you are not sure what is needed, talk to the member who gave you the referral and clarify.

C is for Communicate with the client.  Ensure that your understanding of their needs matches theirs.  Make them feel special and ensure they know exactly what you are planning to do for them.

T is for Thank you.  Thank both the Member who gave you the referral and the referral client.  Try a hand written thank you note just to be different.
N is for Never ignore a referral.  Always follow up with the referral client.  Even if you can’t do the work for any reason, find someone who can and then have a chat to the member who gave the referral – during Open Networking or even a special Dance Card – and refine with them exactly what you are looking for.

O is for Own the referral.  Take ownership by being responsible.  Let the client know how interested you are and how much you care about their business.

W is for Welcome the opportunity.  See each referral as an opportunity to talk to the client about your skills and service.  Also see it as an opportunity to ask whether your team can be of service in other areas.
 

Author Geoff Kirkwood

Purpose –To ascertain how we can “give back” to our relationships
Start by saying…

This week we will continue looking at the things we need to do to build relationships. Let me start by asking you a question!

Name for me someone who is considered to be one of the greatest statesmen of the 20th century in the western world.

Wait for responses and repeat a few.  You should get Winston Churchill as one of the responses.  Whether you do or not, then say…

The one I was thinking of was Winston Churchill.

Did you know he was a great exponent of the BNI philosophy?

Winston Churchill is reported to have said…

“We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give”

That simple philosophy is one that will give you a return on your relationships.

Many non BNI business people (and maybe even some who are members) never understand that the way to build long term, highly rewarding relationships is to give!

Zig Ziglar, one of the best professional speakers in North America last century is well known for his statement that …

“You can get anything in life that you want if you just help enough people get what they want”

So, how is your Givers Gain going?
Are you building relationships now for a return in the future?

Source: Geoff Kirkwood