Now is a good time to recap some key points that may improve your experience at BNI in 2017. Donald McLean from BNI Harbour City chapter in Wellington shares some invaluable lessons he’s learnt over his 13 years in BNI as a champagne importer.
- Take a long-term view and share your products. Many years ago a BNI Director Consultant gave one of Don’s bottles of champagne to a prominent real estate agent. The real estate agent loved the product and became a customer for life. Now bottles are given out when people arrive at their newly purchased home for the first time and the agent also sends bottles to customers and clients around New Zealand. This relationship has been ongoing for 12 years now.
Any BNI referral isn’t just a one return; if the referral is managed correctly you can form long-term relationships and gain customers for life. This is the real power of GiversGain®.
- Referrals often come from the most unexpected places. It was a dream for Don to get a referral to Le Cordon Bleu cooking school in Wellington (part of an international network based in France). Interestingly the chapter member who provided the referral was in a completely different industry to Don – 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. Be sure to make it crystal clear in your 60 seconds what it is that you are looking for and offering so that all members have the ability to help you with your ultimate referral.
One day someone from Don’s 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 from Don’s chapter told him about Don’s champagne importing business. It took about 6 months for Don to meet the decision maker at the school and provide some samples but it was well worth the wait. They placed an order and have been doing so for almost 3 years now.
- BNI can reach way beyond your own chapter. The cleaner in Don’s chapter gave a bottle of champagne to a friend in Takapuna, Auckland who worked for a professional organisation. The friend enjoyed the wine so much that they contacted the key person in their organisation in charge of procuring corporate gifts. It took some time and effort, but now Don supplies the in-house gift service with his champagne. This would not have been possible without that original contact via Don’s fellow BNI member.
It just goes to show that BNI can reach well beyond your own chapter. Depending on your industry you may be able to reach customers at a national or even international level.
- Don’t forget about the value of 1-2-1s. Try to avoid completing 1-2-1s in a café or meeting place. By going into a member’s premises to see how they do business, you may learn something from their systems and operations that you can adopt for your business. Now is the time to start booking in 1-2-1s for January when it can be a quiet time for businesses over the holidays. It is often difficult to get back into the swing of things but completing 1-2-1s is a great way to get back into business. Why don’t you start booking a few 1-2-1s in during January now so you can ease yourself back into work and networking in the New Year.
Prioritise your time at 1-2-1s by using the G.A.I.N.S worksheet available via the documents section in BNI Connect. Talk to your Leadership Team or BNI Support if you need guidance with this.
Now is the time to start booking in 1-2-1s for January when it can be a quiet time for businesses over the holidays. It is often difficult to get back into the swing of things but completing 1-2-1s is a great way to get back into business. Why don’t you start booking a few 1-2-1s in during January now so you can ease yourself back into work and networking in the New Year.
