When the weather is very hot there is nothing truly as good as air con blowing cool air in your car; assuming of course it works.
Well mine didn’t, so I dropped in to the garage that I have used for years, to see how bad the problem might be. A mechanic took it off to their workshop and asked me to wait in reception while he had a look.
I got some water and took a seat, hoping that I wouldn’t have to wait too long but also that the repair wasn’t going to be expensive or hard to do.
I had just had a BNI 1-2-1 with a gardener, who did most garden things, but also did a lot of lawn care and mowing, and so I was thinking about the people I knew that I could mention his services to. Things like this are often interesting as it became very clear that I didn’t know how many of my contacts had gardens, let alone lawns!
After a fair while I was getting a little bored and was wondering what I could do; I’d already explored the pages of the motor magazines.
I looked up and saw the receptionist typing away at her desk. And then it hit me, she might have a garden with a lawn! Could I just ask her?
For a few minutes I sat and thought about it and finally I decided that I could. After all I was a pretty good BNI member, she knew me as a regular customer, and there was nothing to lose. So, I slowly stood, and then crossed to the reception desk.
‘Excuse me.’ I said, and she looked up and asked if she could help me. I replied, no thank you, but added, ‘This might seem an odd question, but have you a lawn that needs cutting?’
To say she looked surprised is an understatement and she simply said, ‘No.’ I just smiled, thought that was a dumb thing to do, and being watched returned to my chair. I was so embarrassed that I just hoped that the mechanic would return soon, but he didn’t.
So, I got thinking. What should I have done for the chance of a better result; at least a longer reply? After all, I did train my fellow BNI members, and if I couldn’t get it right, what chance did they stand?
In the end I decided that I should have mentioned my chapter, how good we were, how we worked for each other, and then name some of the members. As there had still been no return of the mechanic, I decided that there was nothing to lose, and once again walked across to the receptionist.
As I approached her desk she looked up, and waited for me to speak. So I apologised for my out of the blue question to her, told her about the chapter and how we worked together, and then I gave her a list of the members.
I told her that my BNI Group had a carpet cleaner (very good), travel agent (really knew about travel), printer, architect, mortgage broker, health insurance, plumber (did everything), garden designer, massage lady, accountant, car insurance (that could be useful I added), video company, web design, electrician, IT company, decorator and builder.
Then at the end of my list (it hadn’t been the whole chapter), I asked her if she might need one of them. And she said, ‘No, but thank you.’
I smiled, added that if she ever did to contact me, turned and decided that I needed to leave the waiting room, before I went mad!
As I walked away, she said. ‘Mind you, we’ve had two doors sitting in our hallway for weeks. I don’t suppose you know a good carpenter?’
I felt like I’d just scored the winning goal in the FA Cup final. I was going to leap into the air and pump the sky, but instead, I turned and said, ‘We do in fact and he’s very good. Would you like his details? She said yes please and asked if I could get him to call her.
We swapped details and then the mechanic returned, saying that my car was fixed and ready to go. It also didn’t turn out to be too expensive. What a day. I’d got a referral for a fellow member and I was cool again.
Now I’m not suggesting that this is the best way to get referrals (although you can) but there is a great deal that I learnt that day and has helped me ever since.
First, in your 60 Seconds, Feature Presentation, 1-2-1 (everything), one of the most important things to tell people, is not what you do, but how they can talk about you (and what you do) to the people they know. How do they introduce you?
After all we all know what dentists do (well maybe not exactly) but other than telling people that you know a dentist, how else can they talk about them? What can they listen out for? What’s a great story about you to tell?
Then of course, you yourself; how well do you know your contacts? Do you know just their name and what they do? Maybe you ski together, drive a Mustang but do you know anything else?
I’ve only discovered this week that a long-term friend of mine, a BNI member, is not only now becoming a vegetarian, due to his new girlfriend, but really only likes eating dinner at 9.00pm. What else is there?
The more you know about your friends, the more you can help them. Which in turn might lead to better referrals for the members of your chapter; everyone is helped.
But again, I’m not suggesting that you quiz your contacts in full today, but there is a great deal that you could learn about them in the future. You never know where that might lead.
Enjoy.
