A good 60-second presentation is not cute or oblique. Simple and succinct beats rambling every time.

As a BNI assistant director, I visit a lot of chapters and I’ve noticed that a lot of members deliver 60-second presentations like they’re telling a joke – not necessarily funny, but with the punch line delivered at the end… by which time you’ve lost your audience.

A good formula is the proven AIDA principle – grab Attention, stimulate Interest, create Desire and call to Action.

Let me use as an example a 60 second presentation I delivered to my chapter last week. It’s not a shinning example, but I think it does the job…

Example:

“When Elias Howe invented the sewing machine, women laughed at him.

“‘What,’ they wanted to know, ‘would we do with all the extra time your machine will give us?’

“As business people we’re always striving to be innovative, to be the first to deliver a bigger, newer and better offering to the market ahead of the competition.

“Elias Howe’s sewing machine was all of these things.

“Yet Elias Howe lived his life in borrowed suits, little knowing that one-day his machine would be instrumental in making the very suits he could not afford.

“It doesn’t matter how good, or commonplace, your product or your service is, you will end up in the poor house if you don’t know how to sell.

“What matters most, is how well you market your products and services – just ask a successful insurance salesman, or mortgage broker.

“My job is to help you sell your products and services better than the competition.

“A good referral for me this week is any broker groups or companies in the insurance, mortgage and financial planning industry.

“Sovereign recently retained me to present to their brokers around the country on how they could use social media to optimise their existing referral networks. I would like to offer that seminar, with a manual, to other broker groups.

“Colin Kennedy, Iron Road Communications. A picture may be worth a thousand words, but a few well chosen words will paint a picture.”

In this example I used a story to get attention, I turned a common belief on its head and then showed people that the ‘holy grail’ is actually far more attainable than they thought, provided they just do what they do well.

And then I was very specific in my referral request. That’s what is most important. Be very specific in your referral request.

Begin by being showing your face more.

Here’s a tip:

Social scientists have shown that the more often we see somebody – even an image of them – the more we grow to like them. It’s one reason why celebrities are so popular and why there is such an outpouring of grief when one of them dies – even if their fans never got to within a thousands kilometres of them in their life!

It’s because we see so much of them, we feel like we know them.

Does this mean you can send a life-size cut-out of yourself to your BNI meetings?

Well, your leadership teams wouldn’t like it and there’s always the real risk is that your fellow members might end up liking the cut-out more than they do you…

Jokes aside, if you want to be relevant to somebody, you need to be present. We all know that ‘absence does not make the heart grow fonder’. It just makes it colder.

If you want to increase your referral business, make sure you’re getting regular face time with your network. And that’s how your face can make you money.

Colin Kennedy is a keynote speaker, writer and content marketing consultant. As BNI New Zealand’s marketing director he is responsible for the organisation’s communications strategy, and also serves as an assistant director for North Central region of BNI.

Today you can just about run your entire business from a mobile phone and this makes the mobile a very useful tool for inviting visitors to your chapter. Tell me something I didn’t know you cry!

Well, just in case you don’t know, I’m going to tell you about some of the ways that I use my mobile.

Very few of us go anywhere without our mobile, yet few people carry a notebook, not everyone carries a pen, and even fewer people carry a camera everywhere they go. The mobile has even overtaken the handbag for ladies as the thing not to leave home without. And, as for the American Express card, well that doesn’t stand a chance!

So, just how do I use my mobile to find visitors?

We should all be building a database of people to invite to our chapters, and potential visitors can crop up anywhere, and at the most inappropriate times. And, that’s where your mobile can be such a brilliant tool: it’s just great at data capture.

Whenever you see a sign-written vehicle you just snap a picture and you have all the contact details you need. Company name, location, phone number, email address, web address – everything required for an invitation. Sometimes even a contact; otherwise just a little research will give you this. Easiest is a quick phone call or else a little time spent on their web site.

I usually heard that expression from my mother after I had asked her ‘why’ once too often.

I never really lost my love of the word ‘why’, which is probably the reason I went into journalism. And now that I have three daughters ranging from 2 years to 15 years, I’ve found that telling them why I want them to do something almost always secures their co-operation.

It’s a very powerful device to use in your 60 second. Whether your 60 second presentation is offering advice or is purely promotional, answering the question ‘why’ will create a better quality, more memorable, more persuasive 60 seconds.

Why? Because us humans are naturally curious, somewhat lazy and a bit cynical, so when somebody tries to get us to do something, we usually want to know ‘why’ (?).

The whole point of a 60 second is to get people to do something, including remember you, give you a referral or speak to others about you.

The next time you do your 60 second, answer the question ‘why’. You’re much more likely to achieve ‘buy-in’.

‘Why’ also stimulates creativity.

If you’re stuck for words, you might find that answering the question ‘why’ is a great way to get the 60 second muse going again. Perhaps you’re talking about travel insurance, or investing in stocks or about how to conduct a successful candidate interview. Begin by answering the question ‘why’, and then rest should flow from there…

When you answer the question ‘why’, you’re establishing yourself as having a reason, and as reasonable. You’re presenting motive and evidence, and that builds credibility, which in turn leads to trust and on to profit.

Colin Kennedy is a keynote speaker, copywriter and content marketing consultant. As BNI New Zealand’s marketing director he is responsible for the organisation’s communications strategy, and also serves as an assistant director for North Central region of BNI.

Here are some ideas for keeping ‘the giving of referrals’ uppermost on your mind…

* Dance regularly. In fact, make doing a dance a re-occurring appointment in your diary. For something to become a mindset, it must become a way of life. It’s not a huge leap – your business is a way of life and BNI is part of your business.

* Identify a member of your chapter to whom you would like to give a referral. Put a one of their business cards on your dashboard, another on your mirror at home and another on your desk. Leave them there until you have given that person a referral.

* Actively identify people in your BNI who may be able to become part of your referral alliance i.e. people with products, services or types of clients that complement your business.

* When you meet somebody, always be asking yourself:

a. “How can I help this person?” before you talk with them about your own business;

b. “Who from my BNI will be able to make this person’s life easier?”

* Avoid starting a conversation with the weather, sport or traffic. Your first step is to establish common ground, and for this you need to ask open ended questions…

a. Common ground allows you both to instinctively relax with each other and immediately you both begin to trust each other more. Perhaps you both enjoy boating, have young families or keep model railways in your garage.

b. Open ended questions begin with: What? When? Why?

i. What did you do this weekend? Not, how was your weekend?

ii. Are you originally from Auckland?

iii Did you know…?

iv. How did you get your start in this business?

v. What do you enjoy most about your profession?

vi. What separates you and your company from the competition?

vii. Above all, LISTEN when others are talking. Resist the urge to interrupt or join in.

* This type of questioning automatically leads to…

“I understand your frustration. I felt the same way until I met Tom…”

* Finally, always be closing (ABC)…

“It might be useful to have a chat to Tom, here’s his card – but I will get him to call you.”

TELL them, “Tom will call you”.

Being part of a BNI chapter is a unique opportunity. Where else do you get the chance to form a close bond – to work as a team in multiple areas – with a group of other independent businesses?

But so often we waste it by taking the easiest route, which is human nature after all. We lapse into a routine of attending meetings, making up our 60 second on the fly and only doing our dances when we have a gap.

For most of us, word of mouth referrals are the number one source of new business. The number and quality of referrals you receive, which directly impact your bottom line, are determined by how much effort you put into your networking.

Don’t leave it to accident. Take control of the process and drive your networking activity.

You can do this by:

• Setting objectives (what do you want to achieve from your BNI investment?);
• Recruiting new members for your own hub within your chapter (that’s how you get more referrals from your chapter);
• Increasing your visibility among the membership i.e. doing properly planned and structured dances more frequently;
• Preparing powerful, memorable 60 second presentations;
• Being specific with your referral requests;
• Helping other members with a combination of referrals, your time, your expertise, mentoring and encouragement (there is more to ‘givers gain’ than referrals).

These are the basics of BNI. They are there because they work (it’s the same reason other networks attempt to copy what BNI does).

Do these things consistently, regularly and with commitment and you will reap the reward.

Colin Kennedy is a keynote speaker, copywriter and content marketing consultant. As BNI New Zealand’s marketing director he is responsible for the organisation’s communications strategy, and also serves as an assistant director for North Central region of BNI.

Photo by Ambro

To explain, intent can be defined as: “Resolved or determined to do (something)”.

Both the words ‘resolved’ and ‘determined’ are important in the context of networking.

When we go into a networking situation – whether BNI or some other scenario – the outcomes for us and for others will be decided by our motives.

Are we there because we are resolved and determined to network and make business happen for ourselves and for others, or are we there:

1.     To socialise? Good food, good company…

2.     Out of habit? It’s part of our routine…

3.     Because we have to be there?

Very often you may go in with networking intent, but everybody else seems laid back, or reserved or more interested in discussing the Rugby World Cup, for example.

Q: How do you focus the situation without being a total social miscreant?

A: You don’t. You go with the flow.

Relax, as long as you have intent everything is going to be fine.

You’re not there to make sales right now. You are there to network, even if nobody else is. So identify people you want to meet, engage them socially and at some stage plan to exchange business cards.

For now, be social, be friendly and engage. Break the ice. The business end can follow later in the week with a ‘dance’ or some other one-on-one meeting.

Before going further, allow me to put this in context for you.

I sell a copywriting service that his public relations agency needs. I tapped the shoulder of a mutual acquaintance to get the referral to the managing director, who then passed me on to the general manager. This meeting with the GM was more or less a meet and greet (by the way, he’s clearly a nice, friendly person).

However, I know the agency has some in-house people who write, and I know they also use some freelancers to handle their excess writing. I also know that he probably receives several approaches from writers every month (I was lucky to get the meeting).

Does it matter that, unlike 99% of writers, “we write quality press releases fast” (for just 55 cents a word and satisfaction guaranteed, or no charge)?

Well… it did interest him, but probably no more than that.

The thing is, he knows what he’s getting from the people he already uses, and how much it’s going to cost him. He knows them, likes them and trusts them.

This type of scenario is a lot more difficult that being given a referral to somebody who is in the market for your service or product. A warmed up referral means the potential customer’s needs are not yet being met and they will be glad to see you, whereas the needs of my prospective agency customer are already being met.

My challenge is probably no different from 60% of other small businesses out there that are trying to get a foot in the door with a large potential customer. All those ‘good customer prospects’ will have existing relationships and services with existing suppliers.

I used my network to get the introduction, but the rest as they say, is up to me.

Except, what do I do now?

Even here I can apply some of the basic principles of BNI.

One is visibility. By remaining a visible presence (now that we’ve met), I will be in a position to step into the breach when I am most needed. That’s easy.

Two is reciprocity. Far more difficult to achieve, but by passing this agency a referral or two over a period of months (or even years) I will be activating the ‘givers gain’ law.

This second point is the real one that I wanted to make.

You see, I can also use my networks to find this agency business – completely unbeknownst to them. And when I do, I help to build the partnership.

Summary: Use your network to find business for other businesses you want to do business with.

That’s how you go from stranger, to partner.

I love this saying: “Productivity is never an accident. It is always the result of commitment to excellence, intelligent planning and focussed effort.” Paul J Meyers.

1. Commitment to Excellence

We need to be fully committed to achieving excellence in BNI. To ensure productivity and excellence is maintained, we need to constantly measure and check. It’s as we measure and assess each activity we’re doing in BNI and then make those small adjustments to get us back on course, that we improve our productivity. None of us are smart enough to remember all we know, therefore constant learning and revision is a vital part of BNI. Part of excellence is that we are constantly learning better and smarter ways of doing things. That’s why attending MSP Programmes a second, third, fourth, even a fifth time is essential to remind ourselves of those things that really work in BNI.

2. Intelligent planning

If you had an appointment with a prospective client who would bring you a hundred thousand dollars’ worth of business, how much time would you spend in preparation? This should be our attitude when attending BNI and the focus we give our preparation for our Sixty Second Presentation.

With the number of members in the chapter, we need to identify that this is a huge prospect base and probably far greater than the hundred thousand dollar mark. Therefore our preparation needs to be appropriate to the business potential.

We need to spend time planning specific goals that we are looking at achieving out of our BNI chapter, on a weekly basis. Planning those goals will include all the major elements in terms of dances, referrals we are going to give, new members we are going to endeavour to bring and the focus on our open networking.

3. Focused effort.

Focussed effort always brings results. The magnifying glass example is a good one: When we focus the power of the sun, to one small point, very soon a fire is created. It’s the same within BNI, as we take the time to focus on one particular area at a time and commit to excellence in that area, we will build our productivity. Being disciplined is a habit that highly successful people build into their lives, without it we achieve very little with it we can achieve greatness. Discipline is like laser focus as our efforts are devoted to the important things that we need to achieve.

Productivity in BNI is not an accident. When we intelligently plan our activities, we are implementing the reaping and sowing principle. Our results tomorrow are in direct proportion with the activity we do today.

Check your productivity within BNI. If it’s not working for you, then it’s time to adjust the things you are doing … because the system works and it is highly successful. It’s a case of us using the system.

Life gets a lot easier when we accept responsibility for everything that happens to us.

By accepting responsibility for our life and everything that happens in it, we remove blame. Blame is a cancer of the human spirit. By blaming ‘others’ for our misfortunes, we make ourselves helpless to whatever ‘others’ do to us.

By accepting responsibility for the situation, I am empowering myself to make the next decision as to what I am going to do, because I am the only person I can control.

The other people who influence my life are just being who they are, I can either accept that and accept them – warts and all – or move on.

Don’t get me wrong, by accepting responsibility, I am not accepting blame. I am just accepting that at some stage I made a decision that put me in this situation and now I am responsible for making the decision that will move me on.

So, I ask again…

Are you responsible?
Are you a responsible person?