Membership Solicitation Policy

Over the last several weeks, many of you have asked what is the policy regarding the use of e-mails to members for sales. I know we are walking a fine line here in regards to using a tool than some regard as an avenue for additional sales. Unfortunately, it has been an increasing issue and I am posting the official policy in regards to membership solicitation.

MEMBERSHIP SOLICITATION POLICY

Over the last couple of years in BNI there has become an increasing problem with members soliciting members from other chapters, nationally and here in the Southern Arizona Region. This solicitation has taken the form of mass emails, faxes, phone calls, letters, etc. BNI Headquarters is finalizing a new policy concerning this. As of July 15th, 2006 our new policy will be as follows:

“No BNI Member is to use the contact information of other BNI Members for solicitation of any kind."

If a Member feels they have a service, product or event that would benefit other members of BNI they are to contact the Leadership Team via email or phone and speak with the the President or Vice President. Director. The Leadership Team will then decide if this announcement or solicitation qualifies to be sent to all members.
If it is decided that the information is qualified it will be sent via email or regular mail with a cover letter from the leadership team endorsing it.
The BNI Leadership Team will send out regular communications to all members concerning:

BNI Mixers

BNI Events

Business Events in the area that could be of benefit to all members.

Meeting reminders.

BNI/ProActive Workshops, Seminars, etc.

Other information that is deemed of benefit to members.
If a member breaks this policy their membership may be closed with no refund of their membership dues.

Thank you for your understanding.

Larry

Top 10 things NOT to say

Here are the top 10 things NOT to say during your commercial at your BNI meeting (all of these have been heard at a meeting…yes, they have!). You will nod at some, be outraged at others, and that’s okay.

1. “Sorry I haven’t been here…” – no need to draw attention to your absences. They KNOW you’ve missed a meeting. Commit to yourself to have a sub next time so you never feel you have to say this!

2. Religion and Politics – just say No to proselytizing or recruiting. Both subjects are far too heated for most people, and are best left outside the meeting.

3. “I’m too busy to take any referrals this week”… If you say this at a meeting, trust me, you won’t be busy for long! Consider hiring someone or raising your prices!

4. “Set up a Dance Cards with me because I give the best referrals” This doesn’t help me find a referral for you. It does, however, tell me something about your ego.

5. “Um…well…I don’t know what to say…” We all feel that way sometimes, but it doesn’t do much for you. Prepare 5 commercials in advance and keep them with you so you can always be prepared. People refer people who they have confidence will do a good job. If you need help with your commercial, ask for it! From your Leadership Team, another member, your chapter’s Ambassador or Assistant Director are all available to assist you.

6. “Today I want to skip my commercial and tell you about….my kid’s new cat, our vacation, my walk for charity” Whatever it is, just don’t do it. Again, stay focused on the job at hand. As much as we like you, this is inappropriate.

7. “I think we, as a chapter, need to discuss….” There is NEVER a time in a BNI meeting where you open the floor up for group discussions of anything. Talk to the Membership Committee and they will work it through the process.

8. “I’m New to my profession” – If you feel you must talk about how long you’ve been in the business - use the bigger number. In other words, “My office has been here since 2001” or “I’ve been in the computer business for 20 years”. You don’t build trust and confidence by giving the impression you don’t know your job. You do, or you wouldn’t have started out on your own. You bring some experience to whatever you do.

9. “I have to leave early” – Best case is that you never leave before the meeting ends.

10. “I have nothing to say” – Whether you are unprepared or just can’t think of a commercial today, don’t say it. This comes back to being prepared. Spend 15 minutes this week coming up with several commercials you can use when needed.

Referral Time: This is for REFERRALS and TESTIMONIALS. We all know what a referral is, but Testimonials are a bit tricky. A testimonial is saying something about someone else and what a good job they did for you or your referral. It is NOT “I would like to thank Bob for the biggest referral I’ve ever received” because that is saying how good you are. And DO NOT SAY “I don’t have any referrals this week”. This is your last opportunity to shine in front of your sales force, and pointing out that you have no referrals does not do that. It’s okay that you don’t this week, commit to yourself to have them next week. Say something good about how BNI has helped you and your business, say something nice about what a good job someone did for you or your referral, or give a referral. Those are the only acceptable choices. And while it’s tempting to say something nice about the speaker, it gets old and insincere for everyone to say it.

And that ever pesky Time for Announcements: That time of the meeting is for announcing networking events outside of your meeting (Chambers, Trade Shows, etc.) and for other events of that type. It is also NOT the time to ask anyone to pray for anyone else or to tell something you forgot in your commercial (you had your chance for that). You can mention here that you are looking to hire a new receptionist, or that you have a car for sale.

Systems and Referrals

Are you working the system or waiting for the system to work for you?

There are all kinds of systems operating in our world. Day in and day out we are interacting with systems. Some as simple as a Coffee Maker for brewing our morning cup of Joe, others as difficult to understand as the tiny little MP3 players everyone is plugged in to. The beauty of a system.......it is predictable.

You can count on your Coffee Maker day in and day out to make you that first cup of hot coffee, as long as you do your part to make the system work. The same holds true with BNI, a system that can be counted to produce results as long as you do you part to make the system work.

Your Coffee Pot cannot work unless you do some of work:

1. Plug it in
2. Put coffee filters in
3. Add your coffee
4. Add you water
5. Turn it on
6. Pour your first hot cup

If you only buy the pot, put it on the counter and wait for your coffee....you are going to be so disappointed, it takes your interaction for it to work.

Now let's compare that to your BNI Chapter:

1. Get plugged in....attend MSP, get your tools, be on time
2. Use the referral funnel to narrow your referral request or sales manager minute
3. Do one to one's with your fellow members to build relationships and trust
4. Prepare your 10 minute presentation, tell your members how to refer you
5. Give referrals to your fellow members, this will turn the pot on
6. Follow up on your referrals, enjoy the results

If you believe that simply joining a BNI chapter will build your business you will be very disappointed. BNI is a system and it takes your participation to make it work.

Unfortunately many of our membership never really plug in, as a result they often leave disappointed believing that the system failed them, when the reality is, they failed the system.

BNI is an interactive systems, for it to work you must interact with it and your chapter, make 2008 the year that you become a proactive member in your chapter.

Is anybody listening?

Statistically it is shown that most people only listen to something for about 30 seconds before their minds begin to wonder. They begin to think about things like; what's on their to do list; when is lunch served; what issues they are having back at the office and so forth and so on.

Companies spend millions of dollars to fashion commercial sound bites that will be heard by the public in 30 seconds or less with the hope that they well be remembered tomorrow.

Every week BNI members do exactly the same thing. They stand in front of a room full of business professionals and give a 30-60 second sound bite, teaching their members how to find business for them, how to recognize a good referral or who they are looking for a connection with. But, is anyone listening to those request? Here are three reasons that many people don't listen to the person asking for the referral.

1. Lack of preparation. Members don't bother to plan what they are going to ask for or what they are going to say. They WING IT!

2. Lack of clarity. Members do not know what what it is that they really want. So they stand and say things like, anybody who needs my services, somebody who wants to do business with me, everybody is a good referral for me.

3. Asking for the same thing every week, until members begin to tune them out.

If you see yourself in any of these 3, you may want to talk to your leadership team about helping you. Tools such as the networking funnel are a great way to get focused.