Why are we here today?
(Say “Not to have breakfast but to get more business”)
So how many people have come today to sell something? Raise your hand if you did.
(Hands go up)
That’s great. Now how many people are here to buy something today? Raise your hands.
(Fewer hands up)
That’s very interesting – it makes it difficult for us who have come here to sell – because not many people are buying.
OK let me ask you another question – get your phones out, how many contacts do you have in your phone? Have a quick look, someone tell me how many contacts you have in your phone.
(Members call out numbers)
Interesting. So lets say you have 200 contacts in your phone times 20 members, that’s 4000 contacts in the room. That’s what we need to think about every time we meet. We should be thinking about the contacts we have and how someone’s 60 seconds applies to all the contacts we have.
Don’t think about buying/selling, think about who we can reach out to outside of the chapter to help someone make a sale. This is the purpose of Givers Gain and the key to growing your network at BNI. It’s bigger than just your own sales.
Don’t lose sight of the fact that you are here to grow your business by growing your network. If you come to BNI looking to buy every week, you’ll go broke. Focus on the networking rather than the buying and selling.
How often do you pitch your business solely to members in the room at BNI? Raise your hands.
(Hands go up)
Remember if you just pitch to members, you’ll never develop your network as fully as you need to. To truly grow your business you need to pitch to members’ contacts outside the room.
So how does this impact your 60 seconds?
Make sure when you are giving and receiving a 60 seconds that you aren’t just focused on the members in your chapter. Think about all of your contacts and whether you can refer the business to them. If you are pitching, don’t just sell to members – they may not be here to buy. Broaden your message to reach members’ contacts outside of the chapter. This is how you reach a wider network and grow your business.
Thanks goes out to Philip Walsh, Director Consultant for various Auckland chapters and members of BNI Howick, for the ideas for this article.
