One of our Central North Island Director Consultants recently shared some great advice that he was given when he was a teenager and that he’s carried through to his business life today.
Ray Siesicki, originally from the UK, was given advice by cricketing great Geoff Boycott when Ray played for the Yorkshire under-16 cricket team. At the time Geoff was in the Yorkshire team and would stay back in the nets to give tips and advice to upcoming cricketers.
Advice from a cricketing great
Geoff Boycott’s advice, that is valuable for us in BNI today, was that no matter what the score in a match is, you need to add two wickets to it because things can very quickly change. So for example, if you are at 200 for 3, add two wickets to the score because suddenly you could be at 201 for 5. This advice is perfect for us in BNI in terms of getting our membership numbers up.
The plateau effect
If you’ve been in BNI for some time, you may have experienced the plateau effect. This is a situation where a chapter is adding members, but the total number of members does not actually increase.
Why?
Because there is a natural attrition that occurs in BNI where members leave for very legitimate reasons. Members may sell their businesses, move, or face personal issues that mean they need to leave their chapters.
This leads to the plateau effect. That’s why it’s important to keep Boycott’s advice in mind. If you’re at 25 members don’t be complacent about this number because it could very quickly drop to 23 or 20. Be proactive about increasing your membership.
So how do you do this? Ray has some advice:
•As a chapter, set goals for growth. Now is the perfect time to do this as we’re into the 2nd quarter of the year.
•The Leadership Team should head your plans for growth but everyone in the chapter should be involved.
•Don’t wait for organic growth, be proactive about inviting visitors.
•Have an action plan for the next 6 months; don’t wait for the last two months to achieve your goals.
•Plan Visitors’ Days, events, one-to-ones and mentoring opportunities.
BNI’s new motto for 2016 is: “30 is the new 20”
We’re all looking for growth, so take Ray’s advice and avoid the plateau effect this year. Aim high and increase your run rate – now is the time to set your plan.
