BNI Minnesota & N. Wisconsin Blog

Is being simple a bad thing?

In normal conversation being called simple tends to be an insult. On the other hand, I have conversations with many people that I swear are trying to make their life more complicated than it needs to be.  Personally, I think that  in business being simple can be a really good thing.

Last week I was working with a group of highly motivated business people that are trying to start a new BNI chapter in my area. They were frustrated about the number of visitors they were having in relationship to the effort they were exerting.  So I taught them a two line script for inviting visitors to their meeting.

“I meet with a group of local business people and we are looking for a [Insert Profession] to give our business to. Would you like to meet my friends?”

Nothing fancy in that invitation at all. No references to the millions of dollars of closed business BNI members have done through referrals in the last year in MN. No mention of any of the features or benefits of membership in BNI. But after I told them what to say their mouths just dropped and their eyes lit up. All because it was a simple way to invite that got the job done.

How many times as business people and sales/marketing professionals do we try to tell our clients or referral partners EVERYTHING we know instead of focusing on the key information that they need to make a decision to do business with us? It’s really easy to just keep talking and talking and then completely talk yourself out of the sale.

Instead of trying to dazzle our clients with everything we know, we need to dazzle them with our ability to listen to them, express their pain and then relate what we do to their specific need.

When talking to clients, there are two things that should be shared:

1. How you can help.

All the coolest features and products in the world won’t get you a new client if those products can’t help them or more importantly, if the client doesn’t understand how they can help them.  Listen to what the client says and present your product in terms of what your customer tells you.

2. How this help will benefit them.

How you can help is great but if your client doesn’t understand what this help can mean to their success, you are still left looking for a new client.  Show them what impact this help will have on their business of quality of life.

Focusing on your clients needs and desired results instead of the features or services you provide will set you apart from the rest of your competition and set the stage for you to develop a profitable relationship with your new client.

No one wants to get a call from a salesperson that is always trying to sell, but no one minds getting a call from someone who is trying to help.

By B. Scott Binion

Do this and don’t do that!  Concentrate here and you will be successful.  If you can make sure this gets done, watch out for the referrals!  We all have our “lists” to keep track of.  But what if we looked at networking from a different perspective - would that be helpful?  Most likely will.

So here goes - Do you know 4 sure-fire ways to NOT be a successful networker?  Here’s the list:

1. Show up to your networking meetings late most of the time.
2. Expect your sales force or chapter members to think of you when you’re not there.
3. Only meet outside of the networking meetings when asked.
4. Make sure to always leave your networking book of contacts in a drawer.

I know what you’re thinking - these are just way to simple.  After all, any networking education would lead you to another way.  Obviously, if you follow these rules, your networking success will be lacking.  But everyone needs to realize we all have made one or all of these mistakes before - or at least you should admit it.  I know I have!

Now here’s the way to be even more successful at your networking efforts.  Ready for the blinding flash of light?  Do the complete opposite of the four above!  Again the four suggestions restated:

1. Show up early and stay late for your networking meetings - you might even close some business.
2. Being in front of your sales force or chapter members allows them to get to know what makes you successful.
3. Be the first to initiate member meetings over and over again throughout the year.
4. Enter your networking or chapter members in your Blackberry or Droid or at the very least in your day-timer or portfolio.

Now you have no excuses - be that great networker that everyone looks up to.  Better yet, share your knowledge and networking success with others.

 In the recent 2010 Social Media Marketing Industry Report*, the following stats were published based on a survey 1,898 people participated in over a 5-day period:

·         91% use social media for marketing their business

·         65% of marketers have either just started or have been using social media for only a few months. B2B companies have been using it slightly longer than B2C

·         76% of marketers are spending at least 4 hours each week on their social media marketing efforts.

·         85% of all marketers indicated that their social media efforts have: (1) generated exposure for their businesses, (2) improved traffic to website, and (3) built new partnerships.

·         More than half indicated a rise in search engine rankings.

·         After only a few months and with as few as 6 hours per week, half the marketers have generated qualified leads using social media marketing.

·         78.3% of marketers reported that it helped them close business.

Social media marketing is not a spectator sport – it takes effort, energy, and specific actions on a consistent basis. If you would like to increase the results you achieve through social media marketing, please attend one of the Advanced MSP’s on Social Media. These workshops are designed to show you, step-by-step, what actions to take. I encourage people to spend 15 minutes a day EVERYDAY working on various social media platforms. You can double that time and get better results faster, but with 15 minutes a day, you should see results in a matter of weeks.

As you can see from the statistics listed above, social media isn’t just a fad, it’s here to stay. Embrace the opportunities it provides, learn what to do and say, be consistent, and you, too, can experience an increase in traffic, new partnerships, qualified leads, and closed business.

*Report compiled by “Social Media Examiner”, Michael A. Stelzner  (socialmediaexaminer.com)

This past weekend I had the honor and opportunity to attend and present 2 workshops at Get Connected 2010. The crowd was small and conversations were poignant. One-to-ones were meaningful and focused. Connections were made and relationships strengthened.

Before leaving for the conference, I pondered on what referrals and introductions I should ask for. I was going to be bold in my “ask”! I knew that if I chickened out and didn’t ask, the answer was definitely a “no”. I decided to ignore the little voice that told me to be “realistic” because my passion was stronger than my fear.

Jeff Stay provided insights into a deeper level of referrals. He asked us to participate in an exercise where we met each person in the room and asked how we could help them. In my “boldness” I asked for personal introductions to someone connected with any of the home shopping networks for my Tiara Experiment Journal. I only got to meet about 10 people (we talked too long) but here’s what happened:

I didn’t get find anyone who could give me an introduction to someone connected with a home shopping network. I got something even BETTER!

I met someone who knew a program director (or something similar) for Dr. Phil. She said she’d make sure she made the connection after the conference was over. Yesterday I received the introduction!

To be honest, I don’t know if anything is going to come from the introduction. Time will tell. But if I hadn’t been bold and specific in my ask, the answer would have automatically been “no”!

Creating and maintaining an effective social media presence doesn’t need to be a labor-intensive time trap. When you know what your goals are and why, the “how” becomes simple. Here are my top 5 tips to creating social media success in 15 minutes a day:

1. What do you want from your social media presence? Many people in my classes say that they want to educate readers, build visibility and credibility, become known as “the expert”, etc. While this is great, isn’t your real purpose to gain new clients/customers and make more money? It’s important you recognize what you want your end result to be because if you don’t, you won’t position yourself in a way that helps you achieve your goals.

2. Who is your target market? Identify the top 5 clients or customers you would clone if you could. What similarities do they share? Why do you like working with them? What problems do they have? What solutions do you provide? How do they benefit?

3. Now that you know who your target market is, how do you find them? 

• First, look for groups of people who have the same background, interests, etc., as you do. If you graduated from a college, you should have received an inquiry when filling out your profile, asking if you would like to find and connect with anyone with the same info. Do it!
• What other organizaitons do you belong to? Toastmasters? BNI? Rotary? ABWA? Search for online groups and join.
• What organizations, groups, colleges, or industries does your target market(s) belong to? Identify at least one group in each category and join. I look at the number of members and how recent and how often there are group updates when determing which group to choose. I want to be in an “active” group. If you join a group and it’s not what you thought, just click on “leave group. It’s that easy!

4. Read the group discussions and comments. Get a feel for how the conversaitons flow, what seems to be acceptable, and make appropriate comments. The more you share helpful tips, ideas, etc., the sooner others will respect what you say. How can you help? This is about building credibility - it’s NOT PITCHING your product. However, you can share short stories of your clients or customers, what their problem was, the solution you provided, and the end result for them. We relate to stories. Stories sell.

5. Connect with all the people you know. It doesn’t matter how you know them: high school, previous employment, social activities, past clients/customers, etc. You are already at the visibility, credibility, or profitability stage with some of these people, so use social media to renew these friendships and associations. Connect with them, read what they post, and make appropriate and sincere comments.

Social networking isn’t about how many people you are connected to, it’s about how deep your connections with these people are. People do business with people they like, know, and trust. You CAN build meaningful relationships in 15 minutes a day when you show sincere interest in others and offer helpful tips, ideas, suggestions, and yes, products and services.

Last week I attended the BNI International Directors Conference, which is always a great learning experience. This year the key note speaker was Stewart Emory. I must admit, I had not heard of him. Stewart Emery is the co-author of the international bestseller, Success Built to Last. He has a lifetime of experience as an entrepreneur, executive coach and leader, and is considered one of the fathers of the Human Potential Movement. Stewart is also known as the father of the Mastercard “Priceless” philosophy and ad campaign. The title of his BNI presentation was “How to Make People Love You and Your Company”.

Stewart Emory challenged us to ask ourselves these questions:

* Does your company matter?
* Would your customers shed any tears if you were gone?
* Who are you? (What matters to you? What do you stand for?)
* What do you provide?
* And finally, why does it matter?

Stewart Emory said that great products are not just objects, they are about ideas. He also said that products and services can be the gateway to an experience that people truly value. Think about the experience that people have when they come to your business, call to order a product, and even more importantly, when they call your business for help or support.

Stewart suggested that we think about our business in its totality and design a great experience for our clients. They will love you and your company if you can do this!

Two parting thoughts from Stewart Emory are definitely worth remembering:

1. “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” I love this! Personally, I have been in too many organizations where achieving the strategy, no matter how carefully constructed, was impossible due to the prevailing culture. They had not heard of Givers Gain!!!

2. Whatever you are, be a good one!

Thank you, Stewart!

If you hate to write and it’s keeping you from blogging, then I have good news for you!  Have a “video blog”.

A web video isn’t a mulitmillion Hollywood project. It’s not going to be “perfect”, and if you wait for perfection, the world will pass you by!

Basically, a blog video is like a blog post your write.  It’s you sharing some information with your readers and connecting with  them in a sincere, honest way. Here’s my top 5 tips for your blog video:

1. Have a script and practice it a couple of times before recording. You want to sound energized and competent while still showing your humanness of “ahhs”, etc.

2. Check the background where you’ll be recording. Remove any stacks of papers, clutter, etc. I would recommend having a couple items in the background that are “personal” and help people learn a little more about you as a person. For instance, if you have a pet you love, have a photo of them on the desk or table behind you.

3. Have the camera capture your face straight on.  Have you ever seen the videos or photos of people where the camera has been angled from below the head and is aimed upward?  No one looks good with a double chin!

4. Engage your audience with a story they can relate to.  If you are using visuals (like a white board to share something), have yourself in the video, too. “Condition” them to hear your voice, see your face, and provide valuable, helpful information. This increases credibility and name/information retention. You want them to remember YOU when they think of the product or service you provide.

5. Be enthusiastic. Smile. And have fun! 

Blogging can be an essential tool in attracting and finding the people who want, need, and are willing to buy what you offer. Someone is going to go online and find and connect with a person who offers what you do… Help them find you!

by LuAnn Buechler, CMP

It’s easier to hold on to current customers than it is to find new ones. We have probably all heard this before. However, most people spend more of their time on marketing strategies to attract new customers rather than following up with current customers and/or building strong relationships with them. Relationship marketing is answer. Think of the time you spend building relationships as marketing to shift your paradigm to a customer service focus, rather than a customer “search” focus.

A friend of mine told me a story recently of how he was on hold with his web hosting company with a question. The system told him that he was number 12 in the queue to speak with someone, which he appreciated knowing. He was happy to wait, as long as he knew how long he might expect that wait to be. So, he kept working on the problem while on hold. Turns out he was able to resolve the problem on his own before the company representative came on the line, so he just hung up.

The Supervisor of the web hosting company called the next day to check with him on what happened. Why had he hung up? Did he get the service he needed? Was the wait time too long? In my friends experience the company has always provided good service but this was “wow” service. His comment “I will stay with them forever, because they care.”

The web hosting company took the time to follow-up and make sure their current customer was happy with the service that they are providing. They wanted to ensure that his service needs had been met. Rather than run the risk of loosing a customer based on an overloaded call center or something that could have been easily handled. So they followed up to see what happened. Any company with phone banks/service centers typically receives a “Dropped Call” report. This company is using that report to maintain strong relationships with current clients.

In a recent column by New York Times Best Selling Author Harvey Mackay, he told a story that he typically shares when delivering presentations on customer service. “A man walked into a bank in Spokane, Wash., to cash a $100 check. The bank teller refused to validate his parking ticket, saying he had to make a deposit. The customer asked to see a manager, who also refused to stamp the parking ticket. At that point the customer proceeded to withdraw $1 million from his account and walked across the street to a competitor and opened a new account. The next day, he went back to the same bank teller and withdrew another $1 million.

That’s an expensive lesson to learn. So is losing any customer.”

Mackay’s Moral: Disappoint customers and they’ll disappear. (www.HarveyMackay.com)

LuAnn Buechler’s Moral: Relationships, relationships, relationships; build them, care for them, and provide them with exceptional customer service. The rest will show up.

Worried about spending marketing dollars in today’s economy. Shift your paradigm to spending time with current clients, serving them with exceptional care and the new customers will come!

LuAnn is working on a new Customer Service book, if you’d like to share a customer service experience with her for the book, send them to her at LuAnn@BNI-MN.com.

by LuAnn Buechler, CMP, PMC Events & Travel

I just love it, when I am attending a professional development event or training seminar and they speak the language of referrals. The world is beginning to resonant with the same messages we deliver in BNI. I attended a training just this last weekend for my travel business. Everything they were teaching us reminded me of BNI. I was so proud to already understand the concepts. Sometimes affirmation of our knowledge is just as empowering as learning knew things. It’s also a good reminder to keep doing what your doing.

To remind you just how much you already know here are a few of the concepts that they taught. See if you are already doing these things:

1. When is the best time to ask for a Referral? As soon as you close the sale, ask your client for a referral to the person in their circle of contacts that could also benefit from your product or services.
2. Go for the Low Hanging Fruit. Work your relationships. Work your networks. Rather than mass marketing pieces or direct mail trying to find new clients. Work with the ones you already have. Get referrals from the people you know. Who know, like and trust you. Ask them for referrals to the people they know who could benefit from your products or services.
3. Who do you know that already sells to businesses? Or who shares the same client? Build relationships with those individuals who share the same client. One of you will see them first and can pass business to the other. Talk with them openly about how you will share those referrals.

Hopefully, you are already doing all of these things. Otherwise, consider it a reminder. Keep it simple. Go back to the BNI play book and stick to the basics. It’s economical and effective. The rest of the world is starting to speak exactly the same language. The language of referrals, it will make sense to your clients & colleagues. Build on that, rather than looking for new ones.

If you continue building on the relationships you have, the referrals will follow. Remember to reciprocate when you receive those referrals! (That’s a subject for another day.)

 Occasionally I hear people talk about hiring someone to be responsible for their social media and it makes me want to shout, “No! That’s not something you can outsource!”

This blog post by Leesa Barnes offers a great explanation about why WE need to do our own social media tasks.  It’s truly worth reading and thinking about.

Why You Should Never Outsource Your Social Media Tasks & What You Should Delegate Instead   By Leesa Barnes

     I often see notices from outsourcing companies promising that they can make your social media burden light by doing the tasks you don’t want to. These virtual teams promise to:

• Ghostwrite and post articles on your blog.
• Find and approve friends for you on Facebook/LinkedIn.
• Find and approve followers for you on Twitter. 
• And will do this anywhere from 4-10 times per month for a few hundred dollars.

     Huh? When did outsourcing your relationships become okay?

Social Media Wears Prada (Didn’t You Know?)
     In the movie The Devil Wears Prada, Anne Hathaway plays a naive entry level secretary by the name of Andy Sachs. Andy heads to New York after she’s hired to assist Miranda Priestly, the editor of a New York fashion magazine, who’s all bitch and little personality (played by Meryl Streep). 
     In one scene, Miranda drags Andy to a charity event. The reason Miranda needs Anne is because Miranda can’t remember anyone’s name. So Andy has to walk 5 paces behind Miranda with a book that includes the names and faces of New York’s socialites. 
     Every time Miranda shakes someone’s hand, there’s a 3 second pause as Andy quickly flips through her book and then whispers the person’s name in Miranda’s ear. 
When you outsource your selection and maintenance of your social media relationships, I liken this to the book that Andy carries around. If you aren’t cultivating these relationships through Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn on your own, how then will you know who to call on when you need them? 
     For example, if your assistant is the one approving and finding friends and posting things on Twitter on your behalf, you’re missing out on the friendly banter that happens between friends. 
     My pal, Scott Stratten, is always spinning tunes and sharing his playlist on Twitter. If he plays your favorite song and you’re not there to tell him so, how can you expect to build rapport with him? 
     Click here to read the rest of this article and to provide your comments…

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