Ivan Misner says in Podcast 533 that “I created the Substitute program because I thought it was really important for people to have an opportunity to bring someone else in when they have a problem or some meeting they absolutely have to do. I will be the first person to say it has been extraordinarily abused in BNI. I think that as important as Substitutes are to a membership, I think it is important to understand the effective use of the substitute
These are strong words by Ivan’s standards so in this education nugget we are going to look at why Ivan feels that way and how Substitutes should effectively be used
Is any Substitute a good Substitute for you?
• In BNI it’s understood that turning up each week for the meeting is the bare minimum for Visibility and Credibility.
• But sometimes life gets in the way with a holiday, illness or a meeting that we just can’t miss.
• For these occasions we have the BNI Substitute Program available to us, so that we don’t have to be recorded as absent.
How does it work?
• The substitute program allows us to send someone to represent us and give our weekly presentation on our behalf without being recorded as absent.
Who makes a good substitute?
• Absolutely the best substitute for you is a client who has experience of your business. They can give an informed, passionate and credible testimonial for your business.
• Conversely, sending someone as a substitute who is comfortable with BNI and your chapter but has little or no experience of your business might fill your place and fulfill the rules for a substitute, but they are merely a placeholder who may not be able to add to your credibility.
• We should never allow the professional substitute who gets all the benefits of membership without being a member.
How to build credibility through using the right substitute
• Try to build a range of substitutes from your client list who can represent you when needed.
• Invite them to the meeting with you before you need them so they get used to where the venue is, the meeting structure and the other members. This will also help them to understand how important it is to turn up when you need them to.
Other important points about Substitutes:
• They can only represent one member at each meeting.
• If they don’t turn up or they leave early it still counts as an absence for you.
• If they arrive late it counts as a late for you. (VP’s change S to L)
• Most chapters don’t allow substitutes to talk about their own business, this is a privilege of membership. The substitute receives free breakfast and valuable business contacts. If they are not able to present their own business this may encourage them to “visit” and apply for membership.
• Substitutes should come ready to report your referrals and activities for the past week.
• You should let the chapter know they are coming beforehand
• The ideal substitute is first someone who could join the chapter, second a representative of the members business or third another BNI member from a different chapter.
