This is a hypothetical situation for the Education Coordinator to role play…
So, I was talking to my mate Steve Hansen the other day I was telling him about BNI and how it works, and he said it sounded very much like a game of rugby
What Steve Said….
(Hypothetically) Steve said:
“Rugby is a team game, like BNI, but imagine if it wasn’t. With the 15 players, or members, in the game as individuals, once they got the ball or referral “somehow”, all on their own, and they hung on to it, trying by themselves to get through the opposition to score a sale. It wouldn’t work or be much fun. They might gain a bit of ground on their own but because there were 15 opposition players in the game coming at them, they would frequently be tackled and lose the ball. Then once they secured the ball we lost, they would easily score against us.
So, I asked Steve…… What do you mean by this?
(Hypothetically) Steve replied:
“Well it seems to me that this is how most businesses outside of BNI transact business. They all try to hang on to that “potential customer ball” instead of playing as a team with other players who have different but complementary skills that would help to secure a positive result. Sounds to me like a lot of take and not much give.
How does that relate to BNI?
So I (hypothetically) said to Steve….
Ok, I think I get it. What you are saying is, in rugby a team has a lot of players who can play rugby but none doing exactly the same thing. They have their own positions and skills. By meeting, practising and playing they learn to trust each other and know, almost instinctively, that another player will be there to help them out and receive the ball when given to them. As a team they all have the same goal; to help the team to win and not selfishly hang on to the ball just for themselves.
In BNI, a referral or customer is like the ball in a game of rugby. One BNI member gives a referral to another team member. That BNI member looks to how they can pass the customer on to other BNI members with different roles and skills so the whole team/hub/chapter AND the customer wins. When we meet, one to one and work together we build the trust needed to know that the referral or customer ball can safely be passed to another.
Think about how you can add value to your chapter and play as a team to pass referrals and customers between them so the whole chapter team can lift the TYFCB Cup!
