When thinking of the 2007 theme I stopped to think also of the BNI philosophy, Givers Gain®.
With that in mind, the theme came naturally - Who Can You Refer Today?®
What better way to practice our theme than be thinking . . who in my circle of BNI members and friends can I find a referral for today?
For this to work, it needs to be "top of mind".
If we have a consciousness of referral finding. If networking is not something we do but rather something we are. If we are part of a sales team and interested in each member’s business. If we have as our own philosophy “Givers Gain®” then this theme will work really well for everyone.
The well known American speaker, Zig Ziglar said that “you can get anything in life that you want if you just help enough other people get what they want!” Sounds to me like another well known philosophy.
Do you have that mindset? Are you part of that team where everyone is looking out for everyone else? Are you an employee, boss, customer and partner to everyone else in your BNI sales team? The most successful members in BNI practice this theme everyday and are reaping the benefits. Recently I heard of one member who now gets 100% of his business through his BNI chapter and sales team. Maybe that could be you in 2007!
What a great 2007 we will all have if every member of BNI across the world – almost 100,000 people – are asking themselves every day Who Can You Refer Today?®
Merry Christmas - BNI National Office closing dates
BNI Head Office and Chapters close down for holidays from 4pm Friday 15th December, 2006 and reopen Monday 8th January, 2007. Please check with your Regional Office for their hours of operation over the Christmas period.
We would like to take the opportunity to wish members, their family and associates a safe and joyous Christmas and look forward to sharing a prosperous and successful New Year at BNI!
Truth or Delusion? has made the top-four "Quadfecta" of bestseller lists! This is no small accomplishment and you helped make it happen.
Truth or Delusion? hit number one on the bestseller list with Amazon.com during its first week of release. Following that, this remarkable new book placed number three with USA Today. Then it placed number four with the Wall Street Journal and finally number six with the very prestigious New York Times.
Achieving these bestseller lists has great benefits for BNI Directors and members alike, including improved BNI name recognition, greater media exposure, increased business community awareness, and a stronger brand identity. Thank you to everyone who participated in BNI's strategic plan to make Truth or Delusion? a bestseller by purchasing books in our advanced sales promotion.
Co-authored by Dr. Ivan Misner, Mike Macedonio and Mike Garrison, Truth or Delusion? addresses commonly believed myths about business networking.
After just 18 months as a chapter BNI River View (Australia’s largest chapter) has reached a chapter milestone passing 4000 referrals.
President Jon Compton invited Executive Director Russ Holland to visit the chapter to present the Referral Milestone certificate.
Russ (left in pic) presented the certificate to chapter members Bernie Healey (Manning Hotel) and Megan Butler (Garage World) who passed the 4000th referral. That’s an average of 60 referrals per week, week in week out!!
As part of the recognition of this referral milestone, the Executive Director presented 6 members with Blue notable Networker Badges for GIVING in excess of 100 referrals in the calendar year. Congratulations to Jon Compton, Ian Hoppe, Wendy Thompson, Bernie Healey, Steve Davies, Phil Grisold.
What a fabulous success BNI River View - Well Done!
Article submitted by Elizabeth Holland, Executive Director BNI NSW North Coast
The word is out that networking is a boon, writes Tony Kaye . . .
SUBURBAN Kensington in inner-city Melbourne is not likely to be the first place you'd think of in terms of million-dollar-plus business deals. But for the owner of a small commercial cleaning company, a referral passed on at one of the weekly meetings of his Kensington-based business networking group earlier this year led to a big contract with a major bank.
It was simply a case of being in the right place at the right time, and whether it's at Kensington or Coffs Harbour, more and more Australian business owners are recognising the huge benefits that organised networking structures can bring to them.
BNI ranks as the largest networking group in the world. Since the opening of its first chapter here in 1995, BNI has mushroomed, with thousands of business owners as members. From March 2001, BNI has gone from 41 chapters in Australia to 155 and targets another 75 in the next three years.
Visiting Australia in July, BNI founder and chairman Ivan Misner said he found Australians very much like most entrepreneurs around the world. "They're constantly looking for business and referrals, and what's amazing about BNI is that it transcends cultural differences. There are minimal differences but the results are the same. Business people want to get to know each other and connect." Misner says the next stage of expansion for BNI is to get more penetration into eastern Europe and Asia. "But our long-term goal is to be in every entrepreneurial nation in the world, and we're working quickly on that," he says. "We've just opened in our 30th country this year, and we'll probably open in two or three more this year. We've already opened in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Poland this year as well as just in Grenada. Australia is the fourth-largest country for BNI worldwide, the US, UK, Canada and Australia, so Australia definitely understands the process of networking and is embracing the program," he says.
Misner is the author of eight books, including the best-seller Masters of Networking and Masters of Success, and has signed a contract for another eight books in the next six years, as well as with Entrepreneur magazine of the US for another two books. "One of the things we try to teach members is that you really have to do what we call a VCP process -- visibility, credibility and profitability. You first establish visibility with people, they need to know who you are. Then you establish credibility, and only when you've established visibility and credibility are you going to establish a profitability relationship in terms of repeat referrals.
"Sometimes people confuse networking with direct selling. Networking is building a relationship where you're referring each other back and forth. We may do business with each other, but the networking business is more than just us doing business." Misner says that when you give referrals away, you give a little of your own reputation. If you give a good referral it enhances your reputation. If you give a bad referral, it hurts your reputation. So people are cautious about handing out referrals until they feel comfortable with the person they're working with, and that takes time.
"One of the most important things I've learned in the last 21 years is it's not what you know or who you know, but how well you know them. It's all about building relationships with people and connecting with people."
(Extract from The Australian - Entrepreneur Article, July 28, 2006, BNI SuccessNet December 06 issue)
'Movember Success!" - Givers Gain® within the Community
Russ Holland, Executive Director for BNI NSW North Coast, took up his own charitabhle cause fondly known as 'Movember'. Russ courageously grew a moustache for 30 days and raised $1,250.00 in the name of men the world over. The money he raised went to the Prostate Cancer Council and Beyond Blue, an organisation that supports men with depression. His efforst have made us proud to call him 'BNI MO Man of the Year'.
Well done Russ - a Great Success Story
Article submitted by Elizabeth Holland, BNI Executive Director NSW North Coast
On Wednesday 30th August 2006, BNI Tasmania's southern chapters were treated to a Big Breakfast with Robyn Henderson. We told you all about it in our September/October 2006 newsletter.
What we didn't tell you, was that Tasmania's first 5 year Diamond Pin Member Award presentation was made to Bob Lord, a member of BNI Derwent chapter.
Congratulations Bob Lord for this monumental occasion . . . and may the success of BNI continue to flourish at BNI Derwent.
Article submitted by Dan Garlick, Executive Director, BNI Tasmania
The BNI International Directors Conference was held on November 9 - 11th at the Hyatt Regency Long Beach in California. 535 BNI Directors from 33 of our 34 countries were present, plus two Directors from countries in the pre-core stage of development. Also, our largest-ever class of new Directors completed training in the three days prior to the conference.
Attendees heard reports from CEO Norm Dominguez, and received an introduction to the new Member Success Program materials. BNI Chairman Ivan Misner laid out his plans for enhancing the BNI brand through an aggressive book and article publishing strategy and the introduction of International Networking Week (February 5-9, 2007), an initiative of BNI Australia. Breakout training sessions, individual and group dance cards, open networking, and the BNI Awards Program completed the conference events.
"You want us to have 100 people at the kickoff?" The look on the faces of the core group was a mixture of disbelief and terror. Some of them looked at the door, as if preparing to bolt.
But, going on faith in the BNI program, they swallowed hard and rallied: The BNI Power Hour Chapter kicked off on September 13th with more than 100 people in the room! According to Claudia MacDermott, Area Director, it was not only her largest kickoff, but also certainly the most elegant, held in the ballroom of the Short Hills Hilton, a Five Diamond facility. There amid crystal chandeliers and a beautiful buffet, the seventeen members of the core group sat, two assigned to each table, hosting their many guests.
As exciting as the kickoff was in that special space, the best part happened after the kickoff. Within one month the chapter had doubled their initial membership as they inducted their 34th member on October 18th. That is the fastest start of any chapter in the Northern New Jersey region!
Submitted by Claudia MacDermott, Area Director, Northern New Jersey - BNI SuccessNet Nov-Dec 2006 issue.
Friday, October 13th was a lucky day for the 150 attendees who participated in the Northern Illinois Conference. We were treated to "Woody" Woodcock's Mind Mapping presentation, Don Morgan's Goal-Setting training, Derek Podorieszach's presentation on Performance Cycles, Steve Kaplan's instruction on how to win and keep big clients, and a live video link with Dr. Ivan Misner. Of course, breakfast, lunch, and open networking were also included in the day!
Northern Illinois BNI members are looking forward to their next regional event, the "Fly Me to the Moon" Masters of Success Recognition Gala, to be held on Saturday, December 2nd.
"You want us to have 100 people at the kickoff?" The look on the faces of the core group was a mixture of disbelief and terror. Some of them looked at the door, as if preparing to bolt.
Friday, October 13th was a lucky day for the 150 attendees who participated in the Northern Illinois Conference. We were treated to "Woody" Woodcock's Mind Mapping presentation, Don Morgan's Goal-Setting training, Derek Podorieszach's presentation on Performance Cycles, Steve Kaplan's instruction on how to win and keep big clients, and a live video link with Dr. Ivan Misner. Of course, breakfast, lunch, and open networking were also included in the day!