Synopsis

This week, Dr. Misner talks with Flynn Nogueira and Sara Minnis of del Fuego, Inc, producers of the BNI CDs, just came from a BNI regional event, where they launched Networking Secrets.

• Everyone thought it was important to hear directly from Dr. Misner.
• People love the interview style, which makes the CDs more like a talk show.
• The CDs provide enough time to go into detail, which the podcasts don’t.
• Members who own the CDs are encouraging everyone in their chapters to get them.
• The CDs are part of the culture of learning in BNI.
• People retain more information longer when they hear it.
• Everyone loved the story about practicing the fundamentals.
• The V.C.P. Process may be the most important thing to come out of this CD series.

Sponsored by Networking Now.

Complete Transcription of BNI Podcast Episode 047 -

Priscilla Rice:
Hello everybody and welcome back to the Official BNI Podcast brought to you by networkingnow.com, which is the leading site on the net for networking downloadables. I am Priscilla Rice. I am coming from Live Oak Recording Studio in Berkeley, California, and I am joined on the phone today by the Founder and Chairman of BNI, Dr. Ivan Misner, as well as some special guests. Who do you have with you today, Dr. Misner?

Ivan Misner:
Thanks Priscilla. I have two wonderful ladies whom I have gotten to know over the last few years, Sara Minnis and Flynn Nogueira. Sara and Flynn are with del Fuego. They have produced several CDs for BNI, and we are going to talk about some of those and the importance of education and learning and BNI. Now, del Fuego’s official tagline is “Lives that matter, lives that work, businesses that succeed.” But I like their unofficial one even more. It is “del Fuego sisters — wanted in more states for more things than you can imagine.”

Good afternoon, ladies. It is great having you on the podcast. I want to talk about the content that you put together because you have some really, really good material that you have edited on the interviews that I have done. I have to tell you, I have never had so much fun recording in a studio as I have with you guys. You are a lot of fun to record with. I will never forget the first recording. You had two days blocked. I think we punched it out in like four hours. You had two bags of groceries. I have never seen so much food for a recording room. Do you record all your stuff that way?

Flynn Nogueira:
We like to be prepared. We want to keep the artists happy.

Ivan:
Well, you did a great job of that. Listen, the two of you just came back from a regional event for BNI where a lot of the material that you helped develop ts — you have done CDs for BNI members. One is Truth or Delusion - Busting Networking’s Biggest Myths, which is a summary of the Truth or Delusion book and a CD called Networking and Word of Mouth, and also a CD with Tom Fleming that you did. What was the title of that one?

Sara Minnis:
Who Can Pass Your Business?

Ivan:
Who Can Pass Your Business? And then the latest one is BNI Networking Secrets, which is a three CD set. You have developed a lot of material for BNI and you just came from a regional event. Talk to me a little bit about that regional event and what members of BNI said about the material that was developed in the CDs.

Sara:
We actually used the event as a launch for the latest three CD package, BNI Networking Secrets. I think the most consistent responses from members were two. One is they love having all the information about being successful in one place that was easy to use and step-by-step. The other one was how much everyone really enjoyed it, being a conversation with you, kind of, from start to finish. From everybody, a big thumbs up for this three CD set.

Flynn:
I just want to emphasize what Sara said. Many of the members, Ivan, haven’t had the opportunity to one-on-one. I think what was really key for them was being able to see your how to get a referral. What do I do when I don’t get a referral? You know, what are the fundamentals that I really need to be practicing? To get that directly from you based on your 25 years of experience makes all the difference, and it is such a great complement, they said, to everything they learned in MSP and in their chapter meetings.

Ivan:
I think one of the things you guys said was that it was like having two decades of knowledge kind of condensed down into three hours of material. I think you guys are really good at, first, asking the right questions that enabled me to do that and in editing it well to put it together in a package that I think is really effective for members.

Flynn:
We do, too. I think one of the things that people love is how we interview you, right? Because it makes it more like a talk show. It’s a lot of fun and your stories are so great. Of course, we have to say that you are very entertaining.

Ivan:
Thanks. You know what I like about a CD like that is that there is enough time to really get into stories to go deep with ideas. The podcasts here like this are great but they are a little shorter, you know. Five to 10 minutes or maybe 12 minutes at the most. So you have to be you really specific and brief but we can kind of go deep in it couple of things and it kind to gives me a chance to let me run. It’s conversational like you say.

Sara:
One other thing the people said that I thought was really great is that there were lots of new items on that latest set that they had not heard from you before. Something about going deep and having the time also allowed you to bring in different ways to explain things and bring another little twist to it.

Flynn:
You know, another comment that we got from several people was they loved having their own copy and they wanted their own copy. We’ve heard that from a lot of members, actually, and they are really encouraging every member in their chapter to get one because like they are saying, if everyone in the chapter can have this information and know this information, they really believe that the whole chapter will increase its success.

Ivan:
I think that’s really true. One of the things that I have been trying to develop over the last few years is a real culture of learning in the BNI meetings — opportunities for people to really learn and hone their networking skills. We want to go about this in two or three ways. One is a lot of free content. Like these podcasts, we have a lot of free material on the internet like BNIpodcast.com, this website, like my column at entrepreneur.com, like my blog at networkingentrepreneur.com. So there is a lot of free stuff.

But you know sometimes, it’s like if you want to get a college education, you have to go out and buy a couple of books. You have to have some material right from the professor. So we have some books but we also have the CDs which I think allow us, as I was saying, to go deeper and to tell more comprehensive stories and talk about some things at a more comprehensive level.

You guys have done a great job with the CDs. I really, really like them because it allows us to do that. It supports a true culture of learning in the BNI groups, something which I think is key for the success of any chapter.

Flynn:
And you know Sara, help me here because you understand better. One of the things that we learned not to long ago, Ivan, was that people retain information longer and greater amounts of information when they hear it as opposed to reading it. Isn’t that interesting?

Sara:
It’s like 29% more retention, even if they are not paying attention to it while they are playing it in their car or something. Isn’t that wild? It’s almost effortless learning.

Ivan:
That is amazing. Now I know you just did this big event where you were presenting the material in Minnesota. Tell me — let me put you on the spot. Tell me one, two or maybe three things that came up where BNI members said, “Wow. This specific thing was really valuable for me and helping me with my chapter.”

Sara:
You go first, Flynn.

Flynn:
Number one-

Ivan:
See, this is what the whole recording was like. You go first. You go first. But we edited it out though.

Flynn:
Number one is your story on practicing the fundamentals and how you kick off the second CD about that. Everyone loved that story. You know the story I am referring to. I don’t want to tell it to too many people because I want them to go out and get the CD set.

Ivan:
Yes I do. It’s a fun story.

Flynn:
Yes. And you know, that just put what I really need to focus on to be successful in my chapter in BNI in such a great context for everyone. Everyone comments on that story, Ivan.

Ivan:
We are almost out of time. Give me one or two more.

Flynn:
I think the other big take away for everyone is the VCP process. They were like, “Wow. I never understood it like that before.” That’s part of hearing it from you as opposed to hearing it passed through several people, definitely.

Ivan:
You know, you are really right. You let me draw out a lot more material and content on the audio than I have done anywhere else about the VCP process. I can see why they would like that. Will listen, is there something else?

Sara:
I was just going to say one more thing on the VCP process — maybe that’s the most important thing to come out from the series because the VCP process is the core and the foundation and how you can be successful at BNI.

Ivan:
Good point, good point. Well listen, our listeners and BNI members may be interested in getting copies of the CD. It’s certainly available at the BNI store, so if you go to BNI.com and then click on the store, you can go there and get copies of the CD. But there’s a website that you have a lot of information on as well. Do you want to give the name?

Flynn:
BNInetworkingsecrets.com.

Ivan:
BNInetworkingsecrets.com, which is the name of the CD. Listeners to this podcast can either go to BNI.com or go to BNInetworkingsecrets.com and get it. Ladies, any final words before we wrap up?

Sara:
We enjoyed working with you, Ivan.

Flynn:
We want to see you in April, so for podcast listeners in Austin, you will be in Austin in April.

Sara:
Yes, live.

Ivan:
I will be. Live. Well thank you ladies very much. I appreciate you taking the time today, and you did a wonderful job on this CD. I really hope that BNI members pick this up because I guarantee you do you will absolutely appreciate the quality and the content of the recording said they did with me. So thank you very much. I will turn it back over to you, Priscilla.

Priscilla:
Well thank you, Dr. Misner,, and thank you to the del Fuego sisters. That was a lot of fun. I am looking forward to hearing the CD and hopefully I will get to meet you someday. Thank you for sharing with us. I just want to say now that this podcast has been brought to you by networkingnow.com, which is the leading site on the net for networking downloadables. Thanks for listening. This is Priscilla Rice and we look forward to having you join us again next week for another episode of the Official BNI Podcast.