It’s almost time to close the door on 2016. With Brexit, the US election and the resignation of a Prime Minister plus some brighter moments with a record tally of medals at the Olympics for New Zealand and a bumper year for our tourism industry. Here at BNI it was a great year too with record sign-ups and business being done between members.
Take a break
For most of us the Christmas and New Year holidays are a time to take a break and reflect (possibly not if you’re in retail of course)! Hopefully everyone, no matter the industry will get a chance to take some sort of break to refresh and relax. It’s important to put your feet up from time to time and the New Year is the perfect opportunity for this.
Tidy things up
If it is a quiet time for you or your business, why not take the opportunity to do some of the tasks that you haven’t had the chance to get to during the year? This may mean looking at your website or what you’re doing with social media. Enhance things or tidy up your messaging. Think about your LinkedIn profile (give it an update) and don’t forget about BNI Connect – now is a great time to get familiar with this important part of our BNI world.
Ideas for the beginners:
- Upload a photo of yourself and your company logo too.
- Update your online business profile and also your member bio ready for your next 10 minute presentation.
- Perhaps login to BNI Connect and pass a referral or say thank you for some closed business via the online slips if you have not done so before now. The best way to learn how the function works is to give it a go.
Ideas for intermediate to advanced users:
- Why not jump online and create some testimonials for members of your chapter whose services you have used during the year, a nice way to thank them again and they may even be able to return the favor.
- You could also search for and request to add “Connections” to other interesting members throughout New Zealand and even around the globe. You never know what referrals they may have that they could pass to you.
Do some casual networking
During the holidays we usually spend some quality time with family and friends we may not see regularly during the year. It’s natural to talk about your work or business so don’t rule out doing some casual networking at this time of year. Don’t make it a priority but if you get the chance to discuss what you do with some new faces – take it.
Holiday gatherings are a great opportunity to build relationships and to make new connections. By spending even a small part of each event reaching out and talking to someone new, you’ll be building your network and making contacts to extend into next year.
Talking about next year, we look forward to seeing all of you back refreshed in January. Thanks for all your hard work at BNI in 2016 and happy holidays to everybody!
Season’s Greetings from the team at BNI New Zealand. Wishing you and your family a safe and happy holiday! BNI Support office will be closed from 22nd December 2016 Resuming normal hours from January 16th 2017.
