“Some BNI members have been asking for a bit of extra support in recruiting new members to their chapters, and this direct mail and telemarketing partnership between BNI and whoiswhere™ is our answer,” says Colin Kennedy, Marketing Director for BNI New Zealand.
How the WhoIsWhere™ partnership works:
- Inform your director that you would like to hold a visitors day, and set a date
- Your director will give you a form to complete, including details of the kinds of category visitors you are looking for
- Once you have completed the form your director will forward this to WhoIsWhere™
- WhoIsWhere™ will telephone 200 businesses to invite them to your visitors day
- WhoIsWhere™ will pass on the RSVPs to your local director who will send them to you to follow-up if you wish
- WhoIsWhere™ will also give your director a list of people who were interested but for various reasons couldn’t make the visitors day
- After the visitors day, send all your visitors a thank you for attending email, with a promise for the visitor host to be in touch with them shortly (include a link to the BNI video in your email so your visitors can find out a bit more about BNI)
- Have your visitor host follow-up the visitors
Why this is a good idea
You might be sceptical about using a list or a third party for your telemarketing, but here are three reasons why E-ideas Limited can help your chapter:
1. E-ideas Ltd is a member of the Capital Connection BNI Chapter in Wellington. Their telemarketers have been on BNI breakfasts and have a good understanding of BNI values.
2. Both options give you the opportunity to save time and money.
3. Direct marketing is proven to work.
The BNI 4 Shore Chapter in Auckland had the opportunity to make use of the E-ideas Ltd offer. Their telemarketing campaign resulted in 18 business owners showing an interest, four confirmed their attendance via email and a couple asked to attend at a later date. All the confirmations turned up at the meeting and conversions are looking likely.
Says Colin, “This first project with BNI 4 Shore at the end of April resulted in visitors not normally exposed to BNI — people such as driving school instructors, locksmiths, hairdressers etc.
“All the visitors who came through the whoiswhere™ programme were impressed with BNI and every single one promised to be back next week – these are visitors over and above those invited by chapter members; it is, and will be, a very powerful way to supplement your chapter’s recruitment drive.”
Your chapter can experience similar success – ask your director for more information. If you’re interested in starting a campaign, request a campaign form from your director and email it to Assia Salikhova, Managing Director of E-ideas Limited on assia@whoiswhere.co.nz
“It’s early days yet, but we’re expecting great things through this direct mail and telemarketing partnership with whoiswhere™,” Colin said.
