As a member of BNI Wellington Harbour City since 2002, I’m proud of the strong, supportive chapter we have. I have represented a small boutique grower of champagne in New Zealand for 17 years.
At Champagnedirect we import the boutique Jean-Marc Vigreux-Frere range of champagnes from near Reims in France. Jean-Marc, Nadine and Dimitri Vigreux-Frere are boutique growers producing Brut, Reserve, Rose, Demi-Sec, Grande Reserve and Blanc de Blancs. We sell the champagne by the 6-pack case and single/twin gift boxes via our website.
Most people know the big-name champagne brands but we offer a boutique wine. It’s like craft beer; something that was perhaps eccentric but now is very mainstream. We sell champagne as a gift for corporates or as presents for individuals. Also we offer a customisation service; people can buy a bottle then upload a photo or put their own text on the gift card. As a gift solution, it has proven very popular right now leading up to Christmas and the New Year.
- Learning lesion – Take a long-term view and share your products
- A regional director gave one of my bottles of champagne to a prominent real estate agent many years ago. That real estate agent loved the product and became a customer for life. Now bottles are given out when people arrive at their house for the first time and they are sent out to good customers around New Zealand. This has been going on for more than 12 years now. BNI isn’t just a flash in the pan, if the referral is managed correctly you can form long-term relationships and gain customers for life. This is the real power of Givers Gain; if you give to others, it will come back to you as reoccurring business.
- Learning lesson – Referrals can come from the most unexpected places. Interestingly the chapter member who provided the referral was in a completely different industry to me – his business had nothing to do with hospitality. It shows that anyone in your chapter can provide you with a referral and it’s important to create relationships and build credibility with every single chapter member. Also, make it crystal clear in your 60 seconds what it is that you are looking for and offering.
- It was a dream of mine to get a referral to Le Cordon Bleu cooking school in Wellington (part of an international network based in France). One day someone from my chapter was chatting to his neighbour over the fence and asked him what he did. It turned out that he was a chef at the school and so the member told him about my champagne importing business. The original seed was sown but it took about 6 months for me to get to meet the decision maker at the school and provide some samples. After some time (and patience on my part) they placed an order and have been doing the same now for almost 3 years.
- Learning Lesson – The BNI reach goes way beyond your chapter
- A member of my chapter who does house cleaning in Wellington took a bottle of champagne to a real estate agent in Takapuna on the North Shore of Auckland. They enjoyed the wine and started the process of finding the key person in that organisation for procuring corporate gifts. It took a while to find the person who was responsible for this but eventually they located this person. Now we supply the in-house gift service with champagne. This never would have happened without that original contact at BNI. It shows that BNI’s reach goes way beyond your chapter; it can go national or even international.
- Learning Lesson – Don’t forget about the value of 1-2-1sThe GAINS worksheet is a recipe for successful 1-2-1s. It’s much more productive to use this than just having a chat. Ask the person what their goals, networks, skills and interests are. Ask them these questions:
- What makes you different – why should I choose you? How can you help my clients? How can I find you a referral? The GAINS worksheet is great for first time visits and to remind yourself what the 1-2-1s are all about.
- Where practicable avoid doing 1-2-1s in a cafe. It’s beneficial to go into people’s premises to see how they do business – this will help you with understanding their operation and making referrals. You may learn something from their business or their systems. Also, use the GAINS worksheet when doing 1-2-1s. Talk to your Leadership Team if you need guidance with this.Don McLean from BNI Wellington Harbour City and owner of Champagnedirect
http://www.champagnedirect.co.nz, http://www.facebook.com/champagnedirect.co.nz, http://www.twitter.com/0800champagne, www.instagram.com/champagnedirect.co.nz
