“Don’t count every minute in the day, make every BNI 60 seconds count”

When you question the effectiveness of business networking it basically comes down to how effective you are in your 60 second Sales Manager Presentation.

In sixty seconds or less, you tell your peers a lot about yourself.

Are you creative?
Do you make the effort or do you make excuses?

How do you feel when you hear a member say, "Oh my business is very straightforward, I don't know what else to say?"

The most common complaint is that people in the business of tangible products have it easier than someone who provides a service.

"Of course his 60 seconds is interesting, he has got interesting props to show!"

Well, in my opinion that's an excuse not to make the effort. Product or service, we all have to educate our members on what we do and why we are different. When you make the effort to plan a good 60 second presentation, even if you stumble or stutter, it is clear to all that you made the effort.

When the meeting is over and we are out there conducting our own business, meeting our clients, vendors and suppliers, who are the people that are utmost in our minds for referrals? I can say for myself, the members I remember are the ones who:

1. Came prepared
2. Were pleasant
3. Didn't make excuses

We can't go wrong if we follow this 6 step process. 10 seconds for each step.

1. Your name, where you're from and the company you're representing

2. What you do (think in terms of benefits you offer, not features)

3. The type of people you're looking for (who do you know who...) - be specific

4. How you can help them, with testimonial(s) if possible

5. Repeat your name and company

6. Finish with a memory hook

Not all of us are blessed with the ability to create witty catch-phrases or possess the gift of the gab. All we need to do is make the effort each week to make Step 2 & 3 as simple and interesting as possible.

In time we will improve but we can't improve until we start making the effort to make our 60 seconds count.

"Don't live down to expectations. Go out there and do something remarkable."

The stage is set. All systems go. Like excited children, we are on our bicycles and we think we are prepared to go out in the world.

We have spent the last month learning about our new wheels called BNI. This amazing invention which promises exhilarating journeys in the business world if we know how to ride it well. VK and Evelyn, like a proud Momma & Poppa, are doing their best to prepare us for the best ride of our lives.

It's time now, that we start the journey on our own. But it's comforting to know that they are our training wheels. They have got our back, stabilizing us and gently supporting us in the right direction.

We are going to be the best ever launched chapter. We will embody the spirit of BNI in everything that we do. This is our chapter, our wheels that will take us to new levels. In all our excitement and new-found confidence, I hope we will never lose sight of humbleness and respect.

We are not greater than the system. It is there for a reason; to make us be great.

“Accountability breeds response-ability.”

Whether you are a seasoned business person or a fledgling in the business arena, once you are a member of the BNI family, whether you like it or not, you will find yourself raising the bar for your self on personal accountability.

If TRUST is the chain that holds our network together, ACCOUNTABILITY are the links of that chain.

As a corporate slave it is easy to brush off less than excellent service or products on management decision or policies. It's so easy to play the blame game. "Hey, if it were up to me, I would have been able to do a better job for you but I am afraid the big guns at the company have tied my arms so this is the best I can offer you."

"I am so sorry our customer service rep hasn't got back to you. Leave me your number and I will get someone to call you back in the near future."

Sound familiar?

Everyone blames someone else or tries to pass responsibility off to this really popular person; SOMEBODY.

In BNI, you are that somebody and you have a name. Like Cheers, the pub (or at our chapter, Mark's Place) everyone knows your name and what you do. If you don't hold yourself accountable for your actions and promises pretty soon you will find yourself as the weakest link.

This past month as the core team got ready for the launch, one of the things VK said really kept ringing in my ear. "BNI is not something you do once a week." As I battled with family and work commitments, I realised my mindset had to change.

BNI isn't a weekly meeting to see what leads I can get & to socialize. I have to work at it for the whole week prior to the meeting. Work at raising my level of accountability, to be more responsible and in turn gain trust.

On the surface it looks like just any other organization but if you really LIVE the BNI philosophy, you will find that it transforms you as a person because you soon conduct yourself based on values that never go out of style.

Stephen R. Covey said it best. Accountability breeds response-ability.

“To be trusted is a greater compliment than being loved.”

If the foundation of referral marketing is in GIVING, then its' pillars are built on TRUST.

I look upon the members of my chapter in a different light now. Each one of them has put their dreams in my hands. They are trusting me to care for their business as I do my own. It is now upon me to assure them that I am worthy of that trust.

I am no longer swimming with sharks. Within the BNI family there is no room for a dog eat dog mentality. Instead the analogy used by our Regional Director, VK at the recent launch of BNI Leaders epitomizes what TRUST means in a network like this.

We are like a flock of migratory geese looking for land rich with food. We each have our part to play in the V flight formation. No one can just do nothing and try to get a free ride. You will just crash yourself. We each have to flap our wings and fly the right way so our flock gets to our destination. No one has a bigger or lesser role, just the one role; To be trustworthy and committed to our flock.

We literally are the wind beneath each others' wings.

No One Has Ever Become Poor By Giving

Wise words from the brave and optimistic Anne Frank.

It describes succinctly the essence of the Giver's Gain philosophy coined by Dr. Ivan Misner who founded the biggest and most successful business referral organization in the world; Business Network International (BNI).

It is this culture of "giving business first and you will get business in return" that attracted me to join BNI Malaysia. The chartered marketer in me was intrigued by how "Word of Mouth" marketing was so neatly organized and structured for optimum effectiveness. WOM has always been given the what I call the ohbytheway treatment by marketing gurus. You know, "oh by the way, word of mouth referrals would do you some good too".

But no one had a clue on exactly how to do it and to measure its ROI effectively till Dr. Misner came along. I am truly pumped and excited to be part of the core team of a newly launched chapter in the BNI family, aptly named as the BNI Leaders.

We are going to raise the bar!