January 2011 Archives - The Official BNI Podcast

Episode 189: “Expanding Your Overall Sphere of Influence”

January 26th, 2011

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Synopsis

In order to evaluate your sphere of influence, you need to take inventory of the people you know. When was the last time you really went through your complete contact list? Check your e-mail address book, your mobile phone directory, your stacks of business cards. Who do you know? Who have you forgotten that you know? Where are these people in the VCP process? Are some of them still at the pre-visibility stage? Do you want to move the relationship along? Invite them to a BNI meeting. Invite them to a chamber of commerce meeting.

Don’t be afraid to include your friends and family in this. While you should never be pushy, think how you would feel if they bought services you provide from someone else, just because they didn’t know you offered that service.

Brought to you by Networking Now.

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Published In: Networking
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Discussion: 7 Comments

Episode 188: “What Does My Referral Network Need to Know to Pass Me Business?”

January 19th, 2011

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Synopsis

Mike Macedonio joins Dr. Misner again this week to pick up where Episode 187 left off. So, what does your network need to know?

Referral marketing strategies. Invite a new BNI member to Member Success Program Training and go through it with them.
Who to refer to you. Make it easy for them to identify good prospects.
How to refer to you. Give them qualifying questions to ask, or a testimonial to share. Let them know your preferred next step.
Why they should refer you. Your number one responsibility is to make the referrer look good.

It’s important to get all four of these elements in place in order to generate a steady flow of referrals.

Find out more about Mike’s work at the Referral Institute, which has a strategic alliance with BNI.

Brought to you by Networking Now.

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Published In: Referrals
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Discussion: 2 Comments

Episode 187: “The Three Core Competencies to Referral Success”

January 12th, 2011

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Synopsis

Mike Macedonio of the Referral Institute joins Dr. Misner to show us some genuinely effective techniques for referral marketing. (As co-author with Dr. Misner of Truth or Delusion, Mike has learned to separate the wheat from the chaff.) Here are three core competencies:

Get the right education. Learn from the experts.
Stay immersed with the information. Apply what you know.
Educate your referral network. That’s what BNI’s Leadership Team training is for. (Hint—you don’t have to be on the Leadership Team to take this training.)

If you want to know more about the Referral Institute, you can visit their website or contact Mike at mikem [at] referralinstitute [dot] com.

Brought to you by Networking Now.

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Published In: Referrals | Special Guests
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Discussion: 7 Comments

Episode 186: 50-70 Members at a BNI Meeting

January 5th, 2011

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Synopsis

Happy New Year and welcome back to Tom Fleming, who joins Dr. Misner to tell us how you can run a BNI meeting with up to 70 members.

Open Networking usually takes place 20-30 minutes before the meeting.

Chapter Educational Moment is limited to 3 minutes.

60-Second Introduction becomes a 30-second introduction.

Referrals Members are encouraged only to state the number of referrals, thank-yous, and dance-cards. We might not ask all the visitors what they liked most about the meeting. Members go first, visitors afterwards.

Announcements are pre-screened by leadership team members for length and appropriateness.

It’s important to include every part of the BNI meeting agenda.

Brought to you by Networking Now.

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