Why are we all here at BNI?
The answer is simple – to grow our businesses through referrals. The founder of BNI – Dr Ivan Misner – was recently asked what the secret to the growth of BNI was.
He answered with 5 key factors that were critical to the success in this organisation and that may be relevant factors to growing your business too.
1. Do six things a thousand times, not a thousand things six times! One of the big mistakes businesses make is that they jump from one bright shiny object to another. Success often comes by being like a “dog with a bone!” Take the techniques that you see work, and then repeat them over and over and over and over. Six things, a thousand times.
So takeout from this is….evaluate what you do in your business on a regular basis – are you doing the things that are successful time after time? Streamline things and make sure you communicate what it is that you do well in your 60 seconds.
2. Everyone says “set goals,” but look at this slight variation to this concept. Set three levels of goals. By setting goals in this manner, you give yourself some flexibility in where you want to go over the next year (or years).
- High – set a goal that is a stretch. This is one that will be very difficult to reach, but it is definitely possible.
- Target – set a goal that you are confident you can reach. It won’t be easy, but it is definitely possible.
- Low – set a goal that if everything goes wrong, you are still confident you can reach this.
Think of goal setting in terms of target clients for BNI referrals – the high target will be your dream client that may require some change to your business model to gain. The low target will be the client you are sure you can get simply by doing what you are doing now.
3. Reverse engineer your goals. At each level above – where do you want to be at the end of twelve months from now? That number would be 100% of your annual goal. Now reverse that. At nine months you should be at 75% of that goal. At six months, you should be at 50% of that goal. At three months, you should be at 25% of that goal. Check your progress every month and stay on track.
4. Create a larger vision. It’s never too early or too late to create a larger vision. Create something that is a unifying concept for you, your employees, and possibly even your clients – something that resonates with people and creates a long-term vision for the company.
For BNI this began with our philosophy of “Givers Gain.” No matter how small your business is you can still work with the community and give back to the community in some way. Create your vision, find your niche and watch as the rewards are returned to you.
5. Ignorance on fire is better than knowledge on ice. You can teach people “how” to do something (including network) but you can’t teach them to have a good attitude. The only thing better than “ignorance on fire” is “knowledge on fire.” If you can take someone who is on fire and teach that person how to succeed, the business becomes unstoppable.
In terms of BNI think about how you can help new members or assist the leadership team. You are always building knowledge when you are a part of BNI.
We’d love to hear any thoughts, questions, suggestions, or observations that you might have about the BNI organisation and your tips for success. Share them on Facebook or incorporate them into your next 60 seconds. By sharing our knowledge in this way we become stronger – as do the individual businesses that form it.
