Recently I took a trip to the UK to visit my mum and catch up with family. While I was there I had a free day, and decided to visit a BNI chapter to see how they do business on the other side of the globe. It’s always great to get ideas to inspire the team and see how we can grow our own chapters.
Patsy McCook, BNI Achievers President and Business Development Manager for AccountabilityNet Ltd
I reached out to a local chapter in the area I was visiting and they were happy to host me. BNI Kingston in Surrey is a similar size to the chapter I belong to, with 29 members. Everyone was very friendly at the meeting and Director Geoffrey Mathews was a fantastic host. Although meetings ran in a similar manner to how we do things in New Zealand, I did notice three interesting differences.
- Meeting length
I was told that the meeting started at 6:30am but I should arrive 15 minutes earlier for some casual networking. Suffering from jet lag, getting up early wasn’t an issue for me. I arrived at about 6am and there were already quite a few members there. There was such an energy in the room for this time of day and I was impressed by how much business was being done before the meeting began.Similarly, at the end of the meeting, there was time for members to talk and do more networking business. The meeting was very professionally run and because it was completed on time, there was that window of opportunity at the end of the meeting to talk.I know a lot of meetings in New Zealand have this casual meeting time at the beginning and end of proceedings but seeing how much business was being done in the UK reminded me how important this time is.
- Name cards
One of the things they did in England that I thought could be incorporated into our meetings here involved the use of name cards. Everyone at the meeting had their own individual name card with their business name and logo where appropriate. Visitors had a special ‘visitor’ card that separated them from subs or regular members. The name cards were then mixed around the table so people sat at different locations every week.It was a great way to mix members up and ensure visitors were located near appropriate people (for example in a business hub). It’s easy for people to get comfortable at BNI meetings – sitting next to the same people every week. The name cards were a good way to eliminate this behaviour while identifying people clearly.
- Slide show
A final thing I appreciated about the BNI Kingston meeting related to the slide show they put on while members were talking. As each member spoke, there was a basic visual presentation (similar to a PowerPoint presentation) that a member of the Leadership Team coordinated. This presentation varied from member to member but was very simple and involved either their special offering for that week or the key points they were covering or just some details about their business and including their logo.
This visual element brought a professionalism to the meeting and gave members something else to focus on while the speaker was talking. It would have been uncomplicated to set up and took very little preparation.
I noticed that the fees charged in the UK were slightly higher than New Zealand and wondered if that increased people’s investment into BNI. In life, people tend to put more effort into something when the investment is higher (in the hopes of getting something more out of it). Return on investment is an important consideration for any business and that’s always something to take into consideration with any networking organisation.
After observing the meeting in England, I came away even more inspired to help grow our chapter. I intend to bring up these three new ideas with our members and we may incorporate them into our weekly meetings this year. Hopefully this can reinforce our chapter’s efficiency and bring us even more success.
Article written by Patsy McCook, BNI Achievers President and Business Development Manager for AccountabilityNet Ltd
