Too often BNI members are asked to look for referrals they are incapable of delivering on, without first being trained and equipped.

For example, here are some referral requests I have heard recently that I know will be difficult to fulfil on:

• Accountant: ‘anybody who is on PAYE’.
• Personal trainer: ‘anybody tired of being fat’.
• Lawyer: ‘anybody who is having issues with a problem staff member’.

Unfortunately, many of these referral requests require that your fellow members pry into inherently personal, emotional and private issues.

Nobody is going to admit openly what their tax issues are, or share their weight frustrations or complain about a problem staff member. Most people keep quite about these things.

People close to us may talk about them, but this makes referral opportunities few and far between.

It is very important that you help us to find you referrals. Use your 60 seconds and your ten minutes and your dances to equip and train your members.

This may include:

1.     Teaching us about what cues to listen out for

2.     Training us in how to ask the right questions for your product or service

3.     Equipping us with a special offer to pass on

4.     Using props to give insights into your products or services we never dreamed of

Your fellow BNI members are your sales team. Don’t sell to them. Equip them to sell on your behalf.

What you say out loud to the group is in bold.

The purpose of this workshop is to highlight the importance of your 60-second infomercial.

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This week we are talking about an idea that will see how effective you have been in training your sales team.

What things do you think you should be talking about in your next 10-minute presentation to the chapter?

Ask for feedback here and repeat some of the answers.

What we want to suggest to you this morning is rather than telling them things, first start by asking them.

Stephen Covey, in his bestseller book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, said ………

Seek First To Understand

And the best way to do that is to ask questions – stop telling and ask!

So here is a suggestion for your next 10 minute presentation.

Spend the first 2 minutes doing a survey of your sales team by asking them questions.

Questions that will find out how effective you have been

Questions like…

1. describe for me my best customer?
2. list three products/services that I sell?
3. do I have premises clients visit or do I visit the client?
4. how would you identify my premises to a potential client?
5. what would a referral for me be saying/doing to alert you?

There are many other questions that you could ask. Your task this coming week is to list them and then use them next time you do a 10 minute presentation.

The Referral Master®

When you speak to another person or group do you use terminology that they can comprehend and understand?  The importance of this is heightened when you are expecting another person to repeat what has been said to a third party who may be a referral prospect.

Do your contacts know what you mean by percentage yield, EPS, “cap” rate, – and that the difference between IT and IP is not a speech impediment?!

All too often we are bombarded with acronyms and abbreviations in our everyday business – possibly made worse by the increasingly popular form of communication – texting.

If you feel that “geek speak” is overwhelming your ability to understand what people are talking about – relax – you are not alone.  There is a whole new business language out there – but outside of those with the technical knowledge of your product/service does this convey clearly what is being offered?

Imagine you are about to purchase a new car.  Now this model is a V6 with 5-speed transmission, 6 airbags, ABS, EBA, EBD, VSA, NCM, VCM etc.  Do you know/understand the alphabetic soup that this car has?  It certainly sounds impressive but what does it all mean?  ‘We presume the car will come with an engine and four wheels and will serve to transport us to wherever we wish to go safely and efficiently.

So next time you are giving a presentation (60 second or 10-minute) or talking to a new contact please talk to them in a language they can relate to.  That way not only will they understand what you have said, they will also be able to repeat it in their own words to a third party.

Alastair Christie is a Regional Director for BNI New Zealand

Do you suffer from warts?

Apparently, I was told as a kid, warts are caused when a toad or a frog pees on your skin. If that was the case, here’s a couple of cures that might work…
Try taking a dead cat to the graveyard at night, under a full moon, and swinging it by the tail three times around your head. Alternatively, I’ve heard that chopping off an eel’s head, dripping the blood on the wart and then burying the the eel’s head works wonders. Apparently, as the eel’s head rots away, so does your wart!
If you’ve tried both those methods and neither have worked, you’ll be relieved to know that frog pee doesn’t cause warts either.
Today we know that warts are benign skin tumours caused by the papilloma virus which enters the skin through cuts or scratches, causing cells to multiply rapidly.
Having your GP freeze the wart with liquid nitrogen has an 80 per cent success rate, and there are a couple of over-the-counter cures, but they can take ages.
Just imagine, the feel of your hands all silky smooth again. This summer, rub sunblock on your partner’s back and shoulders without having to listen to them complain about how the rough feel of your wart just ruins the whole experience.
All this wart free pleasure in just two minutes and for only about $40 from your GP’s nurse. Call them today!

I’ve used this analogy of the wart to highlight a couple of important points when it comes to putting any elevator speech or presentation together. A good presentation can focus on the problem that your product or service helps resolve. People are vaguely motivated by pleasure, but they are truly motivated by finding a solution to any pain or problem they may be experiencing.

Here are five tips to better 60 second and 10 minute presentation:

1. Identifying your customer’s common complaints upfront and use them to grab attention when you begin your presentation. A couple examples are: “Driving give you backache?” or “Ever paid a load of money for your car to be repaired only to drive away and find the problem was still there?”
2. Help your audience to identify why they still have this problem – “swinging dead cats don’t work”.
Ask the question and see what answers you get, or, list some answers if you already know what the common ones are.
3. Help your audience imagine how much better life will be when you have solved their problem. Paint a picture, use a testimonial, tell a story.
4. Then, offer the solution, mentioning the problem in the solution pitch.
5. Tell the audience what to do now. i.e. ask for a SPECIFIC referrals. If you’re a chiropractor, don’t say: anybody with a spine. It’s not specific enough.
Applying this formula will make your presentations as alluring as silky smooth, wart free skin.

The presentation was delivered in three sections and it was the middle part that really got my attention. The member talked about his customers and what type of business sector they were in. He then told us that he had been through his current client base and had 305 active accounts. At this point he turned over to a new flip chart sheet and on it was a list of his customers by sector. He then asked everyone to study the names and if they wanted introductions into any of them he would do his best for them.

What an offer!

I have to say that I was more than a little impressed. At a time when he could have been doing his utmost to educate the chapter on how to find him referrals he was using his time to help his fellow members.

A real ten out of ten 10 Minutes!

Source My BNI Day 

1. It is everybody’s personal responsibility to welcome visitors.

The single worst thing that can happen to any person who visits a BNI, or any networking event, club or group, is to be ignored or, after the official welcome at the door, to be left to their own devices in a corner somewhere.

The reason this happens is ‘abdication of responsibility’. If you’re not a visitor host or member of the leadership team, well then, it’s not your responsibility to care for strangers, is it? Besides, they don’t look friendly, and what would I say? I mean, perhaps they’re waiting for the person who invited them and he or she will be along soon… This kind of attitude is completely unproductive. To you, your business, your BNI and the visitor.

When a visitor arrives at any event with lots of people, and they don’t know anybody, they’re desperate for friends. They would probably welcome you with open arms. I would venture that it’s a rare occasion when a total stranger is that eager to connect with us. What an opportunity to make a real connection with someone!

The first step to converting more visitors into members of your BNI is for everybody in the chapter to take personal responsibility for welcoming strangers and making them feel at home. If you don’t know what to say, ask them lots of questions about themselves.

2. Does your treasurer read the verbatim statement welcoming visitors to consider joining, and explaining the fees? Change the wording if you must, but keep the essential information because nobody is going to consider making a commitment without an invitation and some basic information. It’s sales 101 – ask for the business!

3. Invite more than one visitor from the same category to the same meeting. The competition does wonders for conversion rates because people fear losing out to the competition.

4.  Do you give all visitors an application form and explain what’s required? Give it to them before the meeting gets going. Offer to help them complete it.

5. Like attracts like. If an electrician visits the chapter, who should make sure that they definitely step up to welcome that person? I suggest it should be the plumber, the builder or another tradesman because they all share a similar business model, challenges and dare I say, world view? The same holds true for other industries and professions.

6. Don’t rush the referrals. How often are your referrals, raps and recaps crammed into the last 10 minutes? This is the most important part of your meeting. Let visitors see it working; give them time to soak it in. Enjoy the process more yourself.

7. How much benefit is demonstrated to visitors? Use raps at the end of the meeting to present success stories so they can see BNI working for themselves.

8. Ask the visitors to tell the meeting (at the end) what impressed them most. By verbalising and articulating the benefits themselves, visitors will be more inclined to commit.

9. Enthusiasm sells. Your energy and enthusiasm during the meeting will be the single biggest decider for a visitor. Before they think about the benefits for their business, they have to decide whether or not they’re going to deal with you – and that comes down to: “Do I like you, or not?”

Joining a BNI is a big commitment. Make it easy for your visitors. Do all the things suggested above and you’ll be more likeable so that they will want to spend a morning every week with you.

But what about the ending? The ending (aka, the close) is actually the important part.

What do you want the audience to be thinking about at the end? What message are you trying to convey? Do you ASK for the referral?

Next time you prepare a presentation, whether it’s 1 minute or an hour, start at the end. What do you want your audience to do when you’re done? And then write the beginning to get to the end.