Whilst carrying out the Leadership Team training for the new Bay of Islands chapter this week – one of the areas we focused on was the importance of making your visitors feel “welcome and wanted”. I have had several visitors tell me that they did not feel comfortable in the chapter that they visited. They were not greeted, few people spoke to them and no one ever followed up.
How are visitors treated when they visit your chapter? Are they greeted at the door, given a name badge, introduced to other members of the chapter and followed up at least twice before the following weeks meeting?
The most important people who walk through the door of your chapter meeting are your visitors. Each visitor knows on average 250 people that you do not know. They may well have your dream referral in their blackberry, the last thing you want them to do is walk out of your chapter and never darken your doorway again.
How should you be treating your visitors?
1. Visitor Host should be at the meeting 15 minutes before your meeting starts.
2. Every visitor should be greeted and given a name badge
3. Ask them for 2 of their business cards so that you can follow up and have the president introduce them.
4. Introduce your visitors to your fellow members, don’t leave them alone.
5. Thank them for visiting and follow up with them after the meeting and again the day before the next weeks meeting.
Visitors pass many referral, visitors know many other people, and visitors carry the message of your BNI chapter to others. Treat your visitors like gold, it might be in their Rolodex.
3 comments
You must give a visitor some thing to make to come back to the next meeting ye have to give a carrot for the to follow
True – some chapters give them a set of business cards for every member in the chapter – most rely of the tried and tested follow up phone call. My personal belief is that the three step follow up is the best- the visitor host follows up at the end of the meeting to ask if they have any questions – the member who invited them follows up within 24 hours to ask if they have any questions and to welcome them back and the VH makes a final follow up call the day before the following weeks meeting. Hopefully that way – they will be made to feel welcome and wanted. It also gives the members the opportunity to demonstrate their professionalism in the manner in which they conduct the follow ups.
Am I right in thinking that you are a member in Ireland?
If you want to encourage members into your fold, then this action is critical.
Sean
http://www.psychotactics.com
Comments are closed.