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I Absolutely Refuse to Participate in a Recession
Many economic gurus are speaking the "R" word-recession.
According to them, various economic indicators seem to show that it's on its way, if not here already. It has been about ten years since our last recession in the United States. For the most part, the U.S. economy has been strong and business has been good for the last decade. However, the fact is the economy goes through cycles and even if we don't see a full-blown recession-business is slowing for many people. Unfortunately, every time it takes a downturn, the fallout is felt strongly by salespeople, business owners, and professionals alike. According to the American Entrepreneurs Association (AEA), over 50 percent of all businesses go out of business within two years of opening their doors. This number is known to increase dramatically during a recession. Successful business professionals learn from the past. In the early 90's, right in the middle of a nasty recession, I was at a business mixer in Connecticut where I was meeting many local business professionals. It seemed that everyone was feeling the crunch from the slow economy. Throughout the entire event, the favorite topic of discussion was how bad the economy was and how things were getting worse. The whole affair was depressing, because nearly everyone was obsessed with the problems of the economy and its impact on their businesses. I was introduced to one of the many real-estate agents attending. Given the decrease in property values in the state, I was leery of asking this gentleman the standard "How's business?" question. I didn't want to hear yet another variation of how bad business was. He shared with me, though, that he was having a great year. Naturally, I was surprised and asked, "You did say you were in real estate, didn't you?" "Yes." "We are in Connecticut-aren't we?" "Yes," he said with a slight grin. "And you're having a good year?" I asked. "I'm actually having my best year ever!" he said. "Your best year!" I said in amazement. After thinking for a moment I asked him, "Is this your first year in real estate?" "No," he replied with a laugh, "I've been in real estate for almost ten years." I asked him how he was doing so well, given the conditions of the economy and the stiff competition. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a blue and white badge:
"That's your secret?" I asked. "You refuse to participate in the recession, so business is booming?" "That's correct. While most of my competitors are crying the blues about how bad business is, I'm out drumming up a ton of business through word of mouth." Considering what he said, I looked around the room and listened in on people for a while as they were complaining about how bad business was. While nearly all were commiserating with one another, I concluded that very few were actually networking and working on seeking new business. As a result, very little business was actually being accomplished. If you want to do well in business, you must understand that it does absolutely no good to complain to people about tough times. When you complain about how bad business is-half the people you tell don't care and the other half are glad that you're worse off than they are. While you cannot control the economy or your competition, you CAN control your response to the economy. During the last recession, I watched thousands of business people successfully refuse to participate in the recession. They were BNI members, and they did things that you can do today, such as:
During the 90's, companies raced to implement new technologies with hopes that their organizations would communicate better, share data faster, and sell more of their products, services and ideas at increasing speeds and profits.
Sales and marketing professionals (SMPs) benefited from this new economy and new technology. We were given faster computers, running powerful new contact management programs. We were able to access information and 'surf the web' at speeds faster than ever before. We began wielding portable cell phones with national coverage areas, carrying our entire database of contacts inside them, hooked to our ears via tiny little headsets, giving us the opportunity to answer email, surf the web and type in a customer's order; all while remaining hands-free enough to enjoy a steaming hot latte'. Times were good and many new sales and marketing "superstars" were born overnight. Looking back, it's clear that almost everyone was buying almost everything. Sales and marketing professionals, companies and customers were all experiencing tremendous prosperity. It was truly a glorious and prosperous decade where everything was in plentiful abundance. Even before the life-changing attacks of September 11th 2001, one could look at almost any information source, be it print, television, radio or the Internet, and easily read and hear about the "dot.bomb" fallout that so many companies and customers were beginning to experience. Almost overnight it seems like the economy began to change. With this changing economy, orders for products began to slow and corporate inventories were on the rise. This placed many SMPs in a new environment; especially the under-30 generation. Most under-30 SMPs have never experienced anything other than prosperous times. They began asking, "Where did all of the sales go," and "where are all of the customers?" In times like these, where everyone is all of a sudden not buying everything, it makes sense to take a look at the philosophies and activities of veteran sales and marketing giants. What have they done when times like these have hit in the past? They got back to the basics. Five basics to get back to: 1) Sales is a System. James A. Ray writes, "The golf club itself can't make someone a pro. Yet a pro can take a cheap driver and make a better shot than an amateur can using the best and biggest club golf has to offer." I believe James Ray hit a hole-in-one with that statement. Sales is a system. Having all of the latest tools and technology will not replace fundamentally classic sales training. Just like a musician or professional sports player must practice the fundamentals before they can earn a living as a star, SMPs must learn, understand and master the art and strategies of sales in order to graduate to the major leagues. There are many classroom and self-study sales systems available, from Sandler to Dale Carnegie, and Zig Ziglar to Brian Tracy, to name a few. If you have never studied a sales system, start now. If you are a graduate of a sales system, go back and review, refresh and re-energize. 2) Strong Relationships. Sales is, has been and always will be a transaction between a buyer and a seller. With every sale comes an opportunity to develop a customer for life. In a recent Sales and Marketing Excellence (SME) article, sales and marketing giant Brian Tracy wrote, "relationship selling is the core of all modern selling strategies." In many cases, the quality of your relationship with your customer is the key factor that will enable you to edge out others who have similar products, services and pricing. The classic work, How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie, despite it's hokey title, is one of the single most effective works on how to build and maintain quality relationships. Develop and maintain your position as an expert in building relationships, and your sales results will follow. 3) Attitude is everything. Over the summer, Dr. Ivan Misner, a good friend and Entrepreneur Magazine's 'networking guru' wrote an article in SuccessNet Online titled, "I Refuse to Participate in a Recession." This can-do, over-the-top winning attitude and style is the hallmark of all great SMPs. In sales, there will be plenty of 'no' answers and as history has shown, there will even be a few recessions. Don't let a bad economy be your excuse for failure. Having a winning and confident attitude is 'key' to making it in the major leagues of sales and marketing. If you need more inspiration to get your winning attitude going strong, the audio book version of Zig Ziglar's "Over the Top" will light your fire. 4) The "Fortune is in the Follow-up." "One mark of a true sales professional is that they always deliver what they promise" writes Mark Sanborn. Whenever I work with a group of SMPs, one topic that always comes up is effective and not-so effective follow-up. It seems that in sales, a lack of follow-up runs rampant. Our integrity and character show through strong when it comes to follow-up. Either we do what we say or we don't. If you have taken the time to develop strong relationships with your customers, follow-through on the promises, commitments and deadlines you have offered them. Remember, customers buy from SMPs whom they like, know and trust. Delivering on what you promise builds trust, keeps customers and is one of the smartest selling fundamentals you can and should master. 5)Be a good student. This is my personal favorite and I've saved it for last. As the legendary speaker, motivator and business philosopher Jim Rohn teaches, 'develop the habits of becoming a good student.' Read the books, listen to tapes and attend the seminars. Subscribe to the journals, join the organizations and go to work on yourself. Do whatever it takes to become better. Every chance you get, try to learn something new to help you become a more professional salesperson and a better, more rounded human being. Our economy has changed. Some are calling this the "new, new economy." Whatever it's called, the fundamentals of selling and marketing are as important now as ever before. Go to work on yourself and "get back to the basics." ACTION: Get back to the basics Jeremy Allen is the executive director for the Youth Excellence Foundation and is a contributing author of the New York Times bestseller, Masters of Networking. http://www.youthexcellence.org HUDDLE TIME
Powerful Incentives—Starting Today! We knew it was coming; the analysts and the pundits have been giving us economic warnings for the past 17 months, telling us the bull was going to turn into a bear. However consumers/customers had the last say and they continued to spend their discretionary dollars. Then, consumer/business confidence began to wane. The economy started to slow down and with it came a slow down in sales/revenues/profits and a slow down in employee/customer motivation. In addition, the events of September 11th have not helped either. This means, as a leader it is your responsibility to keep your teams and customers motivated while they ride these waves of uncertainty.
So how will you keep your team motivated? And what about your customers? The first thing you need to do is look at your incentive programs for your sales/service people. Incentive programs for these team members will help them focus on certain areas of your business; mainly increasing revenue and profits. Then, you will need to look at your customer incentive programs for the people who purchase your products/services by creating "point" or "reward" incentives to reinforce the buying behaviors of your customers. Let's breakdown these two incentive programs: With your sales/service team, you need to first make sure that everyone is "getting back to the basics" of selling and servicing your products/services. I know you've heard this before and yet you know that we all get complacent from time to time and when we do, we lose our competitive edge. I have always found that by reiterating the basics, your teams will get re-focused on the principles that got them where they are today. So pull out your training materials and get busy. The second key to look at is how will you motivate your sales/service teams and dangle the proverbial "carrot" in front of them for the next 6-12 months while the economy begins to make a strong come back. The carrot is "sales incentives". I have been running national sales organizations for fifteen years and I can attest to the fact when new monies are waved in front of the eyes of sales/service people—they get juiced and they are ready to sell, sell, sell or service, service, service. By implementing incentives you not only motivate your top-level team members, but more importantly you motivate your mid-level team members who are larger in numbers than those at the top. A small improvement from all your mid-level performers adds up. Money is a motivator (but not the sole motivator), but as I always say "cash is king". If cash money is not freely available, try using incentive trips or prizes like a DVD player or even lottery tickets. The key is to re-energize and re-focus your sales/service teams and add a little fuel to their tanks. I promise, carefully selected incentives will help you to meet your budgeted revenue numbers. The next area you need to focus on is your customers because they also need a little incentive to invest either additional dollars or to get back to their former levels of investing with you. This means you need to change their buying behaviors and habits. Please know, you are not asking your customers to spend more money with you, you are asking them to re-direct their current budgeted dollars with you and away from your competitors. Always remember, your customers do not spend their money with you, they invest in you. So it is your job to share with them ways to achieve this. I have recently coached some sales/service organizations on ideas/programs they can implement for their customer/client incentive programs. One idea is to grant "reward points" for each client who invests x-number of dollars on either a quarterly, semi, or annual basis with you. These "points" can then be redeemed for upgrades or new business promotions. A second idea is offer a business retreat to your top clients that allows you to "schmooze" and to provide free seminars on industry topics to help them better run their business. Remember your job is to find solutions for your customers' problems. Tip: There are many companies in business today who specialize in employee/customer incentive programs. Remember to include everyone in your organization in these incentive programs to create "team" based incentives so everyone can take part. For your customers, conduct a "brainstorming" meeting with your team members to decide what types of "point" or reward systems you will implement and how you will track them. There are many creative and fun programs to put into place so have fun as you re-energize your company's destiny. Andrew L. Botieri is the founder of Total Peak PerformanceTM, a business coaching and sales training company. Andrew has 46,000 hours of coaching and training sales/customer service companies around the country. Andrew is the former Vice President of Sales & Operations for SpringStreet.com, a division of Homestore.com, a publicly traded Internet company and was the former "Turnaround Specialist" and National Sales Trainer for HPC Publications, a division of Primedia. Andrew conducts sales/leadership/motivational seminars for sales/service companies and is a nationally published author. Andrew can be reached at 508-747-9883, by E-mail andrew@totalpeakperformance.com or visit his website at http://www.totalpeakperformance.com HUDDLE TIME
Getting Specific—the top "Winning Without Intimidation" Sales Tip I'm often asked how to handle a situation in which you you feel your prospect is obviously bothered by what you're saying but won't—or refuses to—admit it. In other words, "Bob, if you can sense that your prospect is just not 'buying in' to what you're saying but they're not telling you such, is there a way to overcome this and learn their true objection?" This is a common challenge for several reasons. One, your prospect might not want to offend you by telling you they don't believe you. Two, your prospect may be too embarrassed to admit not understanding what you are telling them. And, three, he or she may be the type who doesn't want to let on what they are thinking. The most effective way I've found to handle this is to interrupt yourself in mid-sentence and simply ask, "Mr./Ms. prospect, may I ask you something? I'm getting the feeling— and this might just be me (remember the "I Message")—I'm feeling as though there is something in my presentation that possibly I'm not communicating correctly, and with which you are uncomfortable? Would you mind sharing with me what that is?" You have (very kindly and tactfully) asked a very direct and specific question. You're not asking "if" there is a problem, but "what" the problem is. This is generally much more effective than asking "if" there's something wrong, or "if" there's a point with which they don't feel comfortable. To that type of question, they'll probably answer, "No, keep going." In that case, you'll lose out on helping them own your terrific product or service because of the hidden objection you never receive. Instead, politely ask for the specific, while utilizing the "I Message" and you'll find yourself WINNING WITHOUT INTIMIDATION. Bob Burg is author of several books (and contributing author to Masters of Networking), as well as one of the hottest FREE weekly eZines on the Internet. Subscribe to "Winning Without Intimidation" and learn how to take any "people challenge" and have everyone turn out a winner. For a sample visit: http://www.burg.com/newsletter.html. Bob is a friend and supporter of BNI. Worldwide
BNI HAPPENINGS - WORLDWIDE Welcome to BNI-Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Greenland National Director: Gunner Selheden
Region: Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Greenland Address: Box 122, S-42321 Torslanda, Sweden Work phone: +46 31921160 Fax number: +46 31921160 Email address: gunnar.selheden@swipnet.se Web site: www.bni-svenska.com Director: Annett Selheden Region: Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Greenland Address: Box 122, S-42321 Torslanda, Sweden Work phone: +46-31 92 40 08 Fax number: +46-31 92 11 60 Email address: annett.selheden@swipnet.se Web site: www.bni-svenska.com Welcome to BNI-South Africa
Director: Michael Levin
Region: South Africa Address: Box 10049, Caledon Square 7905, Cape Town, South Africa Work Phone: 27 21 762 1778 Fax Number: 27 21 762 1778 Email Address: mike@bni.co.za Web site: www.bni.com/world/soafrica.html Welcome to BNI-Israel
Director: Daniel Kutnick
Region: Israel Address: Kibbutz Gesher Haziv, Western Galillee, Israel 22815 Work Phone: 972-4-9958655 Fax Number: 972-4-9958652 Email Address: Israel@bni.com North America
Leslie Taylor, Las Vegas Executive Director; Dr. Ivan Misner; and a visitor, Diana, at Las Vegas Masters of Networking event held in February.
She checked out a copy of Business by Referral a couple weeks prior to the event from the local library and loved it. Since she was interested in building her business through networking, her husband told her about Masters of Networking event. She took the book to the library to extend it a couple weeks because she hadn't finished it.
She came to the event, and about half way through the presentation, Dr. Misner started talking about Business By Referral. It struck her that the title was the same as the book she had from the library. She took it out of her carrying bag and looked at the photo on the inside and realized that Dr. Misner was the author of the book she'd been carrying around!
BNI Maryland Directors and Members plunged into the icy waters of the Chesapeake Bay in support of the Special Olympics. Total donations exceeded $13,000!
Shown are members who were voted "Masterful Members" of their chapter. Master Members are those who are successful networks in BNI through the philosophy of Givers Gain.
Front row: Jeff Schreiber, Monroeville Chapter; Susan Tusick, East Suburban Chapter; Denielle Gower, Washington Chapter; Larry Schwartz, Pittsburgh-City Chapter. Back row: John Roche, Airport Chapter; Dave Holzer, Mt. Lebanon Chapter; Cindy Olszewski, North Hills Chapter; Rod Boutillette, SSO Chapter; Eric Schwiederowski, Upper St. Clair Chapter; Tom Sertik, McMurray Chapter. Missing: Hal Wright, Cranberry Chapter; Paul Toohey, Greensburg Chapter. Monroeville Chapter of Pittsburgh Pennsylvania Receives Founders Award
Approximately six months ago, our chapter started "BNI After Hours." It is a gathering of members at each other's work place or home, from 5 to 7 p.m. There is no structured agenda, just an informal get-together, where members can interact at their leisure. This has mushroomed to include spouses and kids, and is meeting with great enthusiasm. Currently 75 percent of our members attend!
"BNI After Hours" helps new members get to know everybody, and it has strengthened our chapter. Originally it started out once a month; the last two months we've had two each month. No member is expected to host "BNI After Hours," and no pressure is applied. It's a great way to build relationships! Submitted by Steven Goulart, Cruise Specialist, Cruise Planners, Emerald Chapter, Eugene, OR
Jackson, Michigan: Over 170 guests at the joint Kick-off and Visitors Day deliver their commercials; three BNI chapters teamed up for this event!
Jackson Membership Committees: John Rockey (right, back row), BNI Director, meets with Membership Committees from the three Jackson chapters to review applications after the joint Chapter Kick-off-Visitors Day.
Leadership members of the Brentwood and West Los Angelos Chapters of BNI with Dr. Misner after a joint chapter workshop.
Traverse City, Michigan: Kathryn Lodal, Michigan BNI Director speaks to 125 guests at the Traverse City, Michigan Chapter of BNI at the kick-off meeting. The Core Team accepted more than 50 applications for membership!
Traverse City Core Team: Kristin Tews (right front), Michigan BNI Director for the Traverse City Chapter, and Kathryn Lodal, BNI Director (left front), with the Traverse City Core Team.
Europe
BNI HAPPENINGS - UNITED KINGDOM Door Prize with a Difference An imaginative chapter door prize led to Cheltenham photographer John Moore getting the fright of his life before being presented with a major business opportunity.
John, a member of Gloucester & Tewkesbury Chapter, had been briefed to bring his camera to the pre-Christmas meeting to take a photo of the door prize winner who was to receive a dramatic low-level helicopter trip over the flooded Severn Valley countryside. But when it was announced that he had won the prize, his long-term fear of heights and flying quickly subsided, as he recognized the newsworthy value of his aerial trip. Then he became enthusiastic when he was invited to develop and launch a new joint aerial photography venture with his pilot, Greg Forrest from Staverton-based Heliflight. The prize was organized by fellow chapter member, marketing consultant Dan Ransted, of Stratagema, and Philip Swinford, a colleague from the same company, who is a member of neighboring Gloucester Chapter. Although delighted with the result, John confessed to a few misgivings during the flight: "I was somewhat nervous at 8:30 a.m., but as the flight went on, I grew more confident by the minute." Australia/Asia
BNI HAPPENINGS - NEW ZEALAND Robyn Delivers the Message!
Networking is a life skill and a good networker makes a heart-to-heart connection. That was the message Networking Guru Robyn Henderson (pictured with Graham Southwell) delivered at the launch of BNI New Zealand's website www.bni.co.nz.
"Networking isn't something you switch on and off," says Robyn, "I believe you network twenty-four, seven." Robyn recommends that we carry our business cards with us at all times and to think of them as just 'name cards'-in business and social settings. "All you're really saying is this is your name and how to contact you. Ask for the other person's card and normally they will ask for yours." Networking is preparation, actual networking and follow-up. "I give away a referral each day," says Robyn, "and I ask the person to let me know how it goes." Is it really that simple? Robyn also recommends knowing a little bit about everything-not gossip, but relevant information-become a sphere of influence in your community. Here are Robyn's three keys to networking:
BNI HAPPENINGS - NEW ZEALAND
BNI is Growing! BNI is taking off in New Zealand! Apart from the 15 chapters on the BNI Website, there are three chapters in Wellington.
According to NZ BNI Director, Graham Southwell, Tauranga is up and running, and Mt Maunganui is being set up. In Auckland, Manukau, Parnell, Mt Eden and Ellerslie will soon be on the map. Christchurch will also have its own chapter shortly with an information session planned for 20th March. If you have any business friends/colleagues in any of these areas, please pass a referral on to Graham Southwell at gsouthwell@bni.co.nz. BNI HAPPENINGS - NEW ZEALAND
BNI Web Site Launch
Guests at the NZ BNI web site launch included Spencer Willis (Newmarket Chapter), Margaret Marsh (Albany Chapter).
BNI Webmaster Brian Falkner.
Left to right: Les Holsted (Takapuna); Paul Minett and Anson Davies (Albany); and Alan Flatt (Takapuna).
Left to right: Angela Jones (Howick); and Lindsay and Beverly Kepple (Howick).
Robyn Greer and Chris Day (Howick) seem to be enjoying the Robyn Henderson Seminar and BNI web site launch. BNI HAPPENINGS - NEW ZEALAND
Front Cover!
Simon Devitt, one of Ponsonby Chapter's newest members, made it to the front cover of Urbis magazine with his eye-catching picture of a pair of legs (not his!), humanizing an architectural photograph.
BNI HAPPENINGS - SINGAPORE
New South Wales Photographer Visits Singapore BNI Chapter I really had no choice. I was compelled to visit the local BNI group in Singapore. The only reason that I was there in Singapore, was due to the efforts of my BNI colleague, Asia Expert, Tim Green, who gave a referral to me to photograph the annual report of the Institute of Microelectronics.
I felt at home in the BNI meeting, even the referral slips are the same! I was warmly welcomed into the group by the Director, Mervin Yeo, who runs two groups in Singapore meeting for breakfast on a Wednesday and Thursday. He can be contacted at bhispore@bni.com. I made some valuable local contacts in a city that is hard to get to know. Who knows what they will lead to! I have made two further trips to Singapore and look forward to being an irregular visitor to BNI, Singapore style. Submitted by Lukas Matysek, Photographer, North Sydney Chapter, New South Wales BNI HAPPENINGS - SINGAPORE
Business Card Challenge 2001-The Great Singapore Connection Is the business card you hand out to friends and potential clients just another name card?
To encourage the optimal use of business cards as a marketing and networking tool, BNI Singapore is launching this competition to highlight and recognize factors that contribute to the effectiveness of business cards. Submit your business card today for consideration by a panel of judges. For participation details, please email to contact@bni.com.sg or fax (065) 4400 398. View our web site at www.bni.com.sg BNI HAPPENINGS - AUSTRALIA
Heat Doesn't Deter Christmas Twilight Meeting
South Australian members participated in another great Christmas Twilight Meeting at the Victoria Park Racecourse in the City Parklands the Wednesday before Christmas. Members from all nine chapters gathered in the BNI Marquee where they enjoyed the food, refreshments and company, from 3 to 8:30 p.m., despite the temperatures hovering around 40 degrees C.
It was great to see our National Director, Ian Pendlebury, join us again for the occasion, although he apparently wasn't as successful with the horses this time! Ian commented that, despite the heat, he thought the meeting was just as interesting and exciting as the previous year's. And this time, he was able to meet more of our members.
PROSPECTIVE MEMBERS
Is BNI for Me? So you've recently been invited to a BNI meeting and wonder where you fit into the mix! First of all, let me say, thank you for checking us out. We've been putting business professionals together for over 15 years in a word-of-mouth marketing environment. To date, we are the largest business-to-business networking organization in the world! 40,000 plus members feel that BNI is certainly for them. We hope you will agree!
BNI was started in 1985 with a single purpose: to develop the referral business of the members. From that point, BNI has grown to the vast networking group it has become. We allow one person per profession to join each chapter, thus guaranteeing exclusivity to the members in their business category. If you are a florist, you will be the only florist in your chapter! One member values his chair at the table each week to be worth over $30,000, because that is the amount of referral business his fellow members generated for his company in one single year. Annual membership in BNI costs less than a business suit--it's the most cost-effective way to market yourself in today's highly-competitive marketplace. If you value having 20 to 30 other business people marketing you to others, then BNI is the right place for you! We hope that you like what you see and that you will join a chapter near you and experience firsthand the difference a structured referral system can make in your business. FAQ's
Ask BNI
This is the place where you can ask any question about BNI. Have you ever wondered why the organization does something or how to make the most of your membership? Well, here's the place to do it. Send your questions to newsletter@bni.com. Read below for answers to questions we've already addressed.
Q: Can anyone join a chapter? A: We only take one person from each field. So if you are a residential real estate person and we already have one, we can refer you to another chapter, or allow you to open another chapter. Q: How do you know new members are reputable? A: The application asks for references and we have a membership committee that checks them. It's word-of-mouth, so before they even come to a meeting they have spoken to someone or been invited by someone in the group. Everyone has to have a sponsor, or one is assigned to them, and the sponsor interviews them. Q: What if a member gets a referral and does poor work? A: We have an ethics committee and it is imperative that anyone who gives a lead and finds out it was not satisfactorily handled must report that to the membership committee, who will investigate. Q: What occupations benefit most from networking? A: It is not the occupation, it is the individual. The occupation can be anything. If you're focused and you have a dream and you're willing to make a sacrifice, you are the person we want in the group. Q: Are members supposed to bring visitors? A: You're encouraged to bring visitors for those occupations that are open, after the visitor has been prescreened, and if they're a viable candidate. It's pretty much a closed meeting except for potential members. Q: Dr. Misner, I just finished Masters of Networking, and I loved it! The "givers gain" philosophy comes from the heart, and it really works. I can hardly wait to put the principles into practice. I recently moved to a new city, and I've been attending professional luncheons and other networking events, and have already worked for one client here. Today I got a call from a woman to whom I'd been referred-a successful business woman in my profession in this city. She couldn't make time for me to take her to lunch, though she offered me some "tips" (mostly stuff I already knew) and asked me to send her some samples. When she called today, she said she had a couple of referrals she wanted to pass on to me. However, she's starting this new "business" in which she would expect me to pay her 15 percent of my income from her referrals. Now, she is not functioning as an agency; they take a percentage, right off the top of what they charge the client. In this case, I would bill the client and give her the percentage of my take. She wouldn't handle any of the business aspects of the deal other than giving me the referral. She claimed that eventually she would start marketing her "referral service", but for now she wouldn't be doing anything more than passing on and getting paid for the referrals that cross her desk daily. Am I missing something, or is this contrary to the "givers gain" philosophy? Since I started my business, most of my work has come through referrals, none of whom ever asked me for a percentage! I felt like this woman was preying on people like me-people who are establishing their businesses because they're new to the area, just out of college, or switching from less lucrative types of writing. She claimed that people in other professions do this-give one another a percentage of business referred to them. Do they? I didn't see anything about that in your book. I would love to hear your thoughts on this matter. Thank you! Name and Address Withheld Upon Request A: Thanks for your kind words about Masters of Networking. I appreciate it. Regarding your dilemma: I don't think there is anything inherently wrong with having a "referral fee relationship" with someone, if it is clearly set up that way in advance. However, that's not the way I prefer to do business. When someone suggests that to me, I say that I believe in getting and giving referrals freely. I generally don't take a finder's fee, and I never request one. I tell them as gently as possible that I see nothing wrong with finder's fees-I simply like the idea of establishing a "reciprocal referral relationship" with people. I will then talk about my philosophy of "givers gain" regarding referral relationships, and I generally find them to be understanding and cooperative. Occasionally, I'm told that is not the way they'd prefer to do business and I thank them for thinking of me but pass on the opportunity. I think it is important not to burn bridge but-at the same time-to make sure to do business in a way with which you feel comfortable. Good luck. All the best, Ivan CHAPTER BRAGS
Givers Gain Within the last month I have already submitted applications to my company that would represent an additional $100,000 and am currently working on finalizing three proposals that represent considerably more.
I'm only talking about that portion of my business that is BNI referral-based. The pending proposals are approximately $50K, $120K and probably $1.25 million (web site-more difficult to project). Although these are in the proposal stage and not actual cash-revenue received, it is important to note two key factors: 1) I'm a new member, and (2) the proposals wouldn't have been possible if it wasn't for BNI. At this point I would project that BNI referrals will probably represent one-fourth of the revenue I bring to my corporation. Since my income is partially determined on a revenue based system, once could further project that my income should (eventually) reflect a 25 percent increase as well. That doesn't take into account all the other benefits I've experienced as a result of my membership. I truly believe it is the sincere and professional synergy of the Ventura Beach Chapter and its BNI Ventura County Executive Director, Linda McCarthy, that make it possible! Submitted by Karrianne Broman, Ventura Beach Chapter, Ventura Beach, California
I can't believe we paid $290 to be involved BNI. Do you realize that we have captured more than $1,100 in sales since joining?
What has it been? Three months! As far as sales return on advertising investment, if you broke it down for the first quarter of our membership, BNI has paid us roughly $3.79 for every dollar we invested. I'm not exactly great when it comes to numbers, but I believe that is a 275 percent sales return on our investment. Now you know why I have been bragging to everyone about BNI! Submitted by Mark Szewczyk, Breathtaking Baskets, Inc., SSO Chapter in the Greater Pittsburgh Region, www.BreathtakingBaskets.com
SuccessNet Online is 'Awesome'!!! Thanks for another great tool!
Submitted by Vanessa McClary, Bloomington One Chapter VP, Ambassador, Health & Wellness Concepts, vmmcclary@msn.com
I have been a member of BNI less than a year but my contacts there have already been responsible for about 45 percent of my new business generation. The 7 A.M. start time has gone from a chore to a pleasure in a very short time. I think BNI is wonderful!
Submitted by Donna Costelnock, Prudential Preferred Realty, Greensburg Chapter, Greensburg, Pennsylvania
Hello from Manchester East-"Centre of the Universe."
I'm Alistair Macdonald, Regional Director since last April. I would like to tell you some of the success stories from this region. Not only does Manchester have the best soccer team in the world (Manchester United), not only is it the finest Victorian city in the world, not only is it the place where the first computer was built-it also has what must rank as one of the most successful new BNI chapters! Stockport 1, launched in July 1999, has done around £1.4million of business already:
Submitted by Alistair MacDonald, Regional Director, Manchester, England
I invited a guest to the Masters of Networking dinner; I introduced him to members from my chapter and other chapters. My client was in my office the following Tuesday, and after conducting business with him (which, incidentally, consisted of a $1,000,000 life policy to protect him and his family from disaster on buying out his relatives' business), I had him look through my BNI card holder. I mentioned that if there was someone in my chapter who could be of service to him, I would like to give those people a qualified referral.
Immediately he started to pull cards out of my file on people he would like to do business with. He picked four people to contact him now and six more people he would like to contact within the next three to six months. I won the door prize at the following meeting after writing up these referrals, which was just by accident as there were a number of members who gave out multiple referrals. All in all it was a great meeting and a great feeling to know that I was able to generate new business for my fellow members. THE GRASS IS GREENER IF YOU WATER IT! Submitted by H. David Holzer, LUTCF, Compensation Consultants Inc., Mt. Lebanon Chapter, Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania
I am a member of BNI in Seattle, WA. We have the most extraordinary Area Director, Pauline Martin. I am so amazed by her integrity and passion for helping others and me in BNI. She is an incredible combination of solidity, humor, wisdom, tact, leadership, and resourcefulness. Every single time, without fail, that I needed her advice and opinions, she was there. In addition, the scope and depth of her experience with BNI itself is outstanding. She is so unusual that she deserves an award of some kind! Thanks so very much!!
Submitted by Jenny Capella, president, The Capella Group Chapter, Seattle, Washington, jennifercapella@hotmail.com
Since its kickoff in September, the Crossroads chapter, located in Johnson Creek, WI, has passed $490,000 worth of business. Now, granted, they only started with 7 and have grown since, but with 18 members currently (and potentially 2-3 more after today), the math comes to $27,200 worth of business generated per member in 4 months. Extrapolating through a year would bring the total annual value per member to $81,600.
Submitted by Jim Knoflicek, South Central Wisconsin Area Director
BNI has had a very positive impact on my business. I have gotten to meet and come to know many business professionals through BNI, more than any other organization. BNI is a great place for anyone who wants to expand his or her business through the most powerful marketing tool-word-of-mouth marketing.
Submitted by Sean W. O'Neill, Attorney, Ablan Law Firm, La Crosse-River City, WI, chapter president, www.Alban.com
This story is for any BNI member who has ever told a client that their job is too small for them:
John Whitaker gave a ten-minute presentation to his St. Kilda Rd. II Chapter in Australia on his promotional products business. He was asked a question about minimum order levels-he answered by relating this story: A lady rang up about 12 promotional product companies to see if she could have one coffee mug printed. Each said no. She then contacted John's Impress Promotions and they agreed to do one for her at a price of $60 At $60 there was still no profit in the job. He maintains a policy of never saying no unless everything else fails. The client had the mug printed, decided that it was what she was looking for and placed an order for thousands of mugs. It was only when she placed the order for the mugs that Impress found out her job title and company. This lady simply wanted to see what a mug would look like first before she committed herself. She also wanted to find out who was willing to provide her with a certain level of service and commitment, somebody willing to go outside the square. This is an example of Impress "walking the talk." Its actions resulted in a relationship with a client rather than focusing on the short-term gain of a single contract. Givers gain! Submitted by Ian Pendlebury, BNI Australia Executive Director, www.bni.com.au MEMORY HOOKS
7 Second Marketing
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
Writer's Guidelines for SuccessNet We want to hear from you! SuccessNet Online needs your input. SuccessNet is truly YOUR newsletter. We ask you to consider the following tips when preparing your submission for SuccessNet:
Thank you! Editors Sprout an Idea Seed
A seed is such an interesting thing. It emerges as a soft, fleshy issue from the parent, then morphs into a dry, hardened kernel in order to withstand time and travel until the day when its purpose in life, germination, begins.
Think of it: A tiny kernel of wheat can become the staff of life. An acorn, no bigger than your thumbnail, holds the genetic code and capacity to grow into the towering organism that has become our metaphor for strength, the mighty oak tree. When you imagine something, you sprout an idea seed. When you dream of an accomplishment, you become the parent of an idea seed. An idea seed begins as a soft and fleshy musing, then with time and travel, hardens into the kernel of a concept that is ready to germinate into what might nourish your next great idea. Or it may hold all of the inspirational code necessary to become the mighty oak-of-an-idea upon which you will build your life, your business, your future. In his book, The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success, Deepak Chopra said, "Within every desire is the seed and mechanics for its fulfillment." You not only have the ability to sprout an idea seed, but with desire and focus, you have the mechanism to germinate it into something useful. Thinking of ideas as seeds helps me collect them, categorize them, and use them at the right time and for the right purpose. Like seeds, ideas aren't always ready to open up at first. And some ideas, like seeds, shouldn't be used for a while. As you begin collecting idea seeds, create the kind of mental, fertile soil that will allow them to germinate at the right time and for the right purpose, each in its own time. From Jim Blasingame's upcoming book, Small Business Is Like a Bunch of Bananas-You have to remove the peels to get to the good stuff! Make the Most of Your First Impression
Everything associated with your business leaves a lasting impression. The feeling your advertising handouts leave with your clients is a very important part of your first impression. What do your promotional materials say about you? What is your client expecting to see? If your materials don't fit the image or style they are expecting, it can paint an unforgettable and sometimes damaging picture. Poor materials can sometimes hurt your business more than having no handouts at all.
Regardless of whether you had your handouts copied or printed, ask yourself, Are the copies clean and is the text easy to read? Does the piece get your attention in a positive way? We've all seen bad copy and poor printing jobs. What kind of impression did that leave you? Especially if the service you were considering was expensive. If you have two vendors equal in all qualities except promotional materials, whom would you choose? Both had photocopied handouts one was clean, well laid out, with nice black toner; the second was sloppy, copied crooked on the page and had big patches of black on the front. Most likely, you'd pick the one with the nice materials. Quality is important. Also, think about the impression you get from the type of paper used. How does the item feel when you pick it up? Can you see through the paper? A few cents more per sheet may be all it takes to give you a higher quality look. Just as important as dressing for success, it's the little things you do, say and give away that make a lasting impression on your potential client. Your collateral pieces speak for you even when you can't. When planning your advertising materials, consider the image your client is expecting to see. Try to produce that look or go above it in quality. Make your first impression the best it can be. Regardless of your budget, make sure all your materials are reproduced in a clean, readable manner, are concise and to the point, represent the image or style your client is expecting to see and are reproduced on quality paper. You always want to give away something you are proud to have associated with your business. All things equal, that first impression may get you the job! Barbara is a new member of the Scottsdale, AZ, chapter after being a member in the Monrovia, CA, chapter for 5 years. She may be reached at Barbara@gc-promotions.net. "Small Business Advocate" is an Advocate for BNI!
Jim Blasingame, a business man and radio personality known as "The Small Business Advocate," has been very supportive of BNI and its founder Dr. Ivan Misner, conducting monthly interviews with Dr. Misner on the subject of BNI and word-of-mouth marketing. His website is www.SmallBusinessAdvocate.com. Some of the live interviews with Dr. Misner and articles he has written can be found in the archives listed.
Below is an excerpt from his website: It's A Jungle Out There Every morning when small business owners get out of bed and contemplate the day ahead they are like an animal in the middle of the food chain waking up in the jungle; they don't know if they are going to eat today, or be eaten. More and more, small business owners are getting squeezed in the marketplace by:
Information Is the Key To Small Business Success The best way to have more good days and fewer scary ones, is to have the information you need. That's our primary goal at "The Small Business Advocate": to help you get the small business information you need-essential survival skills-so you won't enter the jungle feeling scared, uninformed, and vulnerable. On "The Small Business Advocate Show" and at www.SmallBusinessAdvocate.com, you can listen in on conversations between small business experts who are talking about the exact subjects you have on your mind. Listen to the Live show, a Replay of the most recent show, or from one of the hundreds of searchable audio archives. You can also read what these experts have said in articles, plus link to other important small business sites. Real world information and perspectives, in real-time. Ask Lots of Questions Remember what you learned in school: The only stupid question is the one that isn't asked. This is just as true in small business. But, sometimes these are little questions-lots of little things-too small and too many to even bother anyone else with, even if you knew whom to ask. Right? And anyway, aren't you already supposed to know all this stuff yourself? Here's a flash: NO! Not necessarily. But that doesn't keep you from being self-conscious about asking, does it? At "The Small Business Advocate" we have another goal: To make it cool for small business owners and dreamers to ask questions-lots of questions. We've done our part by providing you with the experts, now you have to do your part. Ask. By the way, did I mention that we have fun, too? It's required. Thank you for visiting our website and listening to the show. I look forward to helping you follow your dream and accomplish your goals. I'll see you on the radio, or on the Internet. Jim Blasingame, "The Small Business Advocate" www.SmallBusinessAdvocate.com How Masters of Networking Network
Chris Cousins, one of our Michigan Directors, developed the following presentation, which he uses at his chapters to support Masters of Networking:
Ivan Misner Seminar, Master's of Networking Learn from the past to improve the performance of the future.
Seasonal Sales Manager Minutes
Twas the night before Christmas
When all thru the house The cabinets were so drab They scared off the mouse! The stockings were hung By the chimney with care But a new mantle was needed- Would Santa be there? The parents were snuggled All safe in their bed With visions of remodeling Still in their heads. When up on the rooftop There rose such a clatter Why it must be Santa Claus On one of David's Ladders* He went right to work No time did he waste The kitchen would be efficient Designed with great taste. So the family was ecstatic And thanked Santa dear And knew that Schroll Cabinets Would make them happy this year! *Another BNI member in this chapter Submitted by Julia Lindahl, Schroll Cabinets, Inc., Rocky Mountain Business Builders Chapter, CO Twas the night before Christmas And all thru the house Not a creature was stirring Not even a mouse. So I sat on the couch With my beautiful wife And turned on the TV to "It's a Wonderful Life" In high definition It was a beauty So I snuggled a little closer To my cutie I turned on the stereo And cranked it up I thank the good Lord For a bountiful cup And if you want Your stocking filled with joy See Audio Visionaries For your electronic toy! Submitted by Chuck Barger, Audio Visionaries, Rocky Mountain Business Builders Chapter, CO |
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