It’s the start of a new leadership term and what is traditionally a good growth period for chapters. To make the most of your opportunities during the months ahead, I have asked all BNI Assistant and Regional Directors to sit down with their chapters’ leadership teams during the month of May to discuss your chapter goals for the next six months. As you will read in this newsletter, BNI is a system and it works if you follow the system. Goal setting with the basics in mind – attendance, referrals, visitors and energetic chapters – will stand you in very good stead to make the most of BNI.
On another note, is your front shop in order? By that I mean, are your company details and description on the BNI website up to date and professional? This is important because in two weeks time another 4,000 BNI members in Canada will be able to look you up. The BNI website – developed right here in New Zealand – is due to go live in Canada shortly and will give you exposure to more than 8,000 BNI members in Australia, New Zealand and Canada. Added to that, people do not have to be members to look you up in the trade directory – so the opportunities from your web presence on the BNI website are huge. If you have not utilised the BNI website – www.bni.co.nz – please do. It is easy to use and comprehensive. New leadership teams will find they have access to a goldmine of management functions, ideas and workshops. For more information on how to use the website, ask your leadership team for a copy of the BNI website brochure. I am also pleased to welcome three new chapters to the BNI family.The Wine Country chapter in Hawkes Bay was launched last month and is hoping to be at 30 members by the end of May. Both the Cambridge and Pakuranga chapters of BNI were successfully launched this month, both on the same day and both were enthusiastically received. Remember, our theme this year is Givers Gain – make the most of it and you will succeed. Wishing you a year of Givers Gain!
Regards Graham Southwell BNI National Director New Zealand
Why do some chapters grow faster and generate more referrals than others?
The secret is no secret at all – it’s doing the basics right. Remember that BNI is a franchise. It is based on a system that has been growing and developing since the mid-1980s. Like all good systems – including McDonalds – BNI doesn’t work if you try to reinvent it or decide some things are not as important as others. The chapters that enjoy the most success are the ones where all the membership participates in doing the basics right. The basics include: Attendance When members are absent without a substitute, they send negative messages to the rest of the chapter i.e. not keeping appointments and a lack of commitment are ‘OK’. Studies in BNI have shown that reducing absenteeism has two effects: membership increases and referral volume increases substantially. Inviting visitors All chapters need to have visitors if they are to grow and be effective. A meeting without visitors is a missed opportunity. Inviting visitors is not about “selling” BNI; a simple invitation to a “Business Breakfast” is generally the right approach. Referrals Referrals flow when a chapter is properly built. Double your chapter size, and your referrals will triple. Finding referral opportunities for others takes some effort. Do you really understand what to look for i.e. are you doing your dances with your fellow members? Do you prepare your 60 seconds and ten minute presentations? Basically, are you genuinely making an effort on behalf of your fellow members? Leadership Do you make excuses when a leadership opportunity arises in your chapter? Good chapters are full of committed people who understand the other members’ business needs and aspirations. They have taken the time to get to know their fellow members well and accept that this is a long-term process. Immediate results in BNI can be seen, but the business done over time by those who have embraced the “Givers Gain” philosophy is something that comes as no surprise.
Assistant Director for Central Regions, Lance Chapman, was the top selling salesperson for Ricoh New Zealand last year – and 35 per cent ($600,000) of his sales were from BNI. “When I meet with a customer, I sell other people’s products and services before I sell mine. “By putting my BNI members first and practising ‘Givers Gain’, I enjoy enormous success,” says Lance, who won an overseas trip to China for his efforts. Lance looks after BNI chapters from Hawkes Bay, Taranaki to Kapiti. He has an average of 25 members in each chapter, including 47 members in the Kapiti chapter.
An interesting observation from the most recent round of leadership training in April is that – more often than not - it is the leadership of the most successful chapters who can be counted on to attend the training, time after time. Leadership training is held because busy chapters, with good leadership, are the core of BNI’s success and for this reason BNI New Zealand is committed to creating good leaders. Since BNI was formed over 17 years ago, there have been numerous amendments to the BNI system as a result of recommendations by members and directors, and this is ongoing. A key to keeping chapters abreast of the system is training. Leadership teams attend a three hour session that is conducted by a director. The result is word-of-mouth information and tools designed to assist all involved with BNI in having a strong chapter, region and relationship. From the Meeting Agenda, to the members doing one-on-one dance cards and everything that ties to the BNI system, the outcome is like that of a championship team.
BNI New Zealand is committed to donating five per cent of its annual profits to hospices around the country – but BNI New Zealand also has a gold coin challenge for you. For every dollar your chapter donates during Hospice week (16 May – 22 May), BNI will donate two dollars to your local hospice from out of the five percent earmarked for hospice.
The amount of money you raise will determine the portion your local hospice receives of the overall donation. BNI New Zealand National Director Graham Southwell says a list of hospices will be sent to all presidents so the chapter can nominate their local hospice for a donation, as well as invite a representative to come along as a guest to the chapter meeting that week. BNI will take charge of collecting the donations and distributing them to the various hospices. Hospice is active in helping terminally ill people and their families through the most difficult time of their lives. Please support them.
The Red Cross of Sri Lanka will build two new pre-schools in the tsunami hit region and name them both for BNI after the BNI-Misner Foundation donated $US57,000 to tsunami relief. Pictured from left is Marjan A. Manzil, National Director of BNI Sri Lanka; Dr. Ivan Misner, BNI's Founder and CEO; and Elisabeth Misner, Administrator of The BNI-Misner Foundation, with a cheque for more than $US57,000, all of which will go to Relief Efforts in the areas devastated by last year's Tsunami.
