The Official BNI Podcast

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Synopsis

Dr. Misner reaches the final chapter of Givers Gain in this episode. Over time, Dr. Misner developed a clearer and clearer vision of what BNI would be, a vision that continues to grow and expand.

The theme of this chapter is summed up in this phrase: You may not be able to make a world of difference, but you can make a difference in the world. BNI is about cooperating for mutual success.

Givers Gain concludes with the following quote: “I believe that if all the people in an organization row in the same direction, that organization can dominate in any industry, in any market, against any competition, at any time.”

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Synopsis

Dr. Misner continues his discussion of BNI traditions this week.

Testimonials

This is one of the earliest traditions of BNI. It came about when a member wasn’t getting a business, tried offering an initial consultation, and received a spontaneous testimonial from another member who took him up on it. The more you have third-party endorsements, the easier it is to give referrals to people. It mitigates the risk of referral marketing.

Caring About People

BNI is all about people, from the top down. Remember, people don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. The best way you can show you care is to be there and help. One of the reasons Dr. Misner does these podcasts is to show that he cares about BNI members.

Walking the Talk

What you do thunders so loudly above your head I cannot hear you speak. There are many ways to contribute to BNI. Bring visitors. Welcome visitors. Don’t let a week go by where there’s not a tidbit of information you offer to your fellow members.

Investment to Join

Getting business out of BNI is not a guarantee, it’s an opportunity. You can turn a $10 bar of iron into $250,000 worth of springs for watches. Turning your BNI membership into value involves understanding the traditions of the organization.

The Secret to Success

The secret to success without hard work is still a secret. The things Dr. Misner talks about in Givers Gain are simple, but not easy. You have to work to succeed in BNI.

If you’re interested in traditions within organizations, read Inside the Magic Kingdom.

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Synopsis

This week Dr. Misner is in Orlando at the BNI National Conference and calls in to praise BNI’s long-term employees, some of whom have been with BNI for all its 23 years. These are the people who’ve taken BNI from a home-based business in Dr. Misner’s tiny Claremont house to the international organization it is today.

Employee loyalty shows that a company has stability, commitment, and a good working environment. It’s important for members to know that BNI’s success is based on having good people.

The other thing Dr. Misner talks about in this chapter of Givers Gain is the communication revolution. This podcast is just one example of the things technology lets us do that we couldn’t do before. Thousands of members listen every week, thanks to the e-mail announcement list and the fact that education coordinators are sharing this information with their chapters.

One reason for writing the book was to keep BNI chapters from repeating mistakes that have already been made. BNI keeps experimenting with new possibilities, testing them out before disseminating them to the BNI chapters. The Referral Institute was born from some of these experiments.

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Synopsis

Chapter 8 of Givers Gain covers the years 1998-2000. It was during this period that Dr. Misner realized he needed to write a book about networking to educate BNI members, and wrote The World’s Best Known Marketing Secret.
The surprise discovery was the media benefits of publishing a book. Thanks to his 10 books, Dr. Misner has been interviewed well over 1000 times. His first live TV appearance was right after the Village People and his book nearly set the host on fire.

Since that time, Dr. Misner’s books have become a vital part of the BNI culture.

Four main factors determined BNI’s phenomenal growth during this period:

1. Had already built a solid foundation for BNI.
2. BNI is locally owned an operated.
3. Jumped the borders and started spreading into new countries.
4. Gained greater exposure through publishing books.

Brought to you by Networking Now.

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