Amy McHarg, Chiropractor with Nandish Chiropractic and member of BNI Howick
Amy McHarg, is a chiropractor with Nandish Chiropractic (http://www.nandishchiropractic.com/) and has recently become a member of BNI Howick.
- Amy completed her Member Success Programme training upon joining her chapter and delivered an outstanding 10-minute presentation that resulted in a huge number of new referrals.
- Dave Smith, Director Consultant for the chapter says her presentation was the best 10 minutes he had seen.
- Although she was nervous going into the presentation, she conquered these nerves and delivered a phenomenal 10 minutes. This is how she did it…
I am a chiropractor originally from South Africa. I work with other chiropractors at Nandish Chiropractic in Highland Park. My special interest is in family care and performance enhancement for athletes. I have a CrossFit Level 1 Certification and believe the key to a great life is rooted in regular chiropractic care, exercise and great nutrition.
Recently I joined BNI Howick to develop my network and introduce new people to the high quality, affordable chiropractic care we provide in a comfortable and caring environment. I was amazed by the number of new contacts and business referrals I have picked up at BNI. I put a lot of this down to the 10-minute presentation I delivered to my chapter.
Success at BNI comes with Member Success Programme Training (MSP)
The first step in attracting new business through BNI was attending the MSP training. This is a mandatory 3 hour orientation programme that members take within 60 days of joining BNI. It adds huge value to your membership by instructing you on the nuts and bolts of BNI.
The MSP training quickly brings you up to speed on some of the key elements in BNI’s unique system. The material covered in the session provides you with tools to enhance your success in BNI. You are provided with a booklet that covers various topics including:
- The BNI Code of Ethics
- General policies
- Referral education
- The GAINS profile
- One-to-Ones
It also discusses BNI’s core philosophies, including Givers Gain, which is fundamental to successful networking in BNI. Along with these topics the training helps you with BNI’s 2 key ways of pitching your business – the 60 seconds and the 10-minute presentations.
The 10-minute presentation
I learned that in BNI you get to give one or more 10-minute presentations each year. These are your big opportunities to engage with members as a group and attract new business through referrals. For this reason, the 10-minute presentation needs to be taken seriously and some preparation needs to go into it. Soon after joining BNI and completing the training I had my first opportunity to give a 10 minutes.
I was nervous about speaking to the whole chapter so soon after I had joined but I knew by preparing and following the structure as was outlined by BNI I would do fine. These were some key points I learned to follow for my 10 minutes:
- Use the flow chart presented by BNI that explains the structure of the 10 minutes. I followed this word for word and I think it really showed in my presentation.
- Cover off all pertinent aspects related to my business and end with specific people and things to listen out for when talking to your networks.
- Clearly communicate my ideal referral (anyone with spinal pain and/or headaches), my top product (manual adjustments) and my ideal referral partner (medical doctor, physiotherapist, personal trainer).
I tried to make my 10 minutes dynamic by using real life examples and materials (X-rays), and props from my work. I also used video and visuals to keep the audience engaged. I think this was key because at the end of the 10 minutes there was a flurry of questions related to the aliments of those in the Howick chapter; everyone seemed to want to refer themselves and their networks – it was amazing!
Conquering nerves
I was VERY nervous at the beginning because I don’t enjoy public speaking and I had never done anything like this before but I felt with the support of BNI and what I had learned from my training, I had things well in hand. In saying that, the next time I give my 10 minutes I will change up the formula and material. It’s important to keep things fresh and show how your business and industry is evolving.
Since joining BNI and giving my 10 minutes my business has really boomed. It’s a great way to broaden your network and build new relationships with businesspeople you otherwise wouldn’t get to know. For me and my business even at this early stage BNI has been a fantastic addition to the other marketing efforts I already undertake.
