First BNI Meeting

somehow I never liked BNI..I went to 3 times .. either they are too big or too small to afford damn website..just like you mentioned, few people in the meeting..makes me think thats why you are a very small business owner...anyway BNI can be great tool if you have right connection with members..

Hey Vernon, I got your email, but see you posted here too, so I'll respond here.

The purpose of an "elevator pitch" IS to get the other person interested enough to want to know more (i.e. "really? how do you do that!?"

With that said, YOU need to have an aswer to that to keep the flow going and eventually lead your prospect to take the desired action you want...do you have an answer for that follow-up question? Doesn't seem like it. Which might be why you are struggling.

Do you know what the end result you are looking to achieve from talking with people at BNI is? Are you looking to book a meeting, get their contact info for later follow up, or what?

You are being challenged because you are stating a big promise but not immediately backing it up with why they should believe you. Every statement/promise you make must be backed up with proof. (testimonials, case studies, research etc.)

As it stands they have no reason to believe you know what you are talking about...how can you fix this?

Regarding the fast pace of conversations, networking meetings like BNI are all about talking to as many targeted prospects as possible in the time given.

Spending 10-15 minutes talking to one person does not make sense. Talk for 1-2 minutes, then make arrangements to continue the conversation later.

If you are talking to someone who clearly won't do business with you, or won't be of use in growing your business, then you are also wasting time (and the same goes for someone who approaches you to pitch their business).

At the end of the day the secret to these types of meetings is to ask a lot of questions and LISTEN for problems / frustrations stated by the people you talk with.

When they ask you how you do what you do, find a way to spin it so you can ask them about their business and then base your answer off of their response, etc.

Hope that helps

Cheers,

~Dexx

man, that helps a lot, you really don't even know how much. in hindsight i probably shouldn't have posted the questions in 3 different places. lol.

time to schedule another one, ill let you know how it goes.

Things with the BNI don't happen overnight, and each chapter has a different feel. It's worth another visit, and if you've already paid to join, then hang on in there!

Until you're more confident and established, you might be better rephrasing "I help small business owners cut the fat and waste from their marketing budget, while at the same time increasing their sales". Rather than trying to get across what you do all at once try one or both of the following at a time:

:: "Do you know people who complain they spend money on marketing and it still doesn't work well enough? [They usually nod.] Well, I help make their marketing effective so that their sales do go up."

(Or words to that effect - this way, you're not selling directly to them from the outset, which can be offputting or deemed boring. They might go on to ask you how you do that. If they don't, let it be.)

:: After the brief intros ask them about their business and what's their biggest challenge - it's amazing how many people will tell you! Give them a tip or two and leave it at that, or ask if they would like you to send a short report that will help them.

When you are doing your 60 seconds (or when you're networking), deal with one thing at a time; don't tell them everything at once! Ask/say you want to be introduced to anyone who's moaned about their marketing/ who are using the Yellow Pages and it's not working / who want to build a prospect or client list and don't know how / who want a free business review / whatever you fancy.

Take people's cards and follow up with all of them. Entice them via your business card and/or email to sign up to your list - make sure you offer something that will help them.

"One guy especially seemed like he tried to challenge me or something about what I do as if its disgusting" - Say "I'm very interested in why you've said that?" or "That sounded very aggressive to me - did you mean that?" (He can either answer yes or no, and then get him to elucidate - you get alll sorts of interesting answers. Usually it's a problem they're having and they're projecting it onto you.)

Good luck, and have fun!

also, no, i didn't have an answer to the follow up question. do you have any go-to answers that you usually use?

if not, that's cool, i can think up something.

Hey,

You seem to have found your future wife.. so not all is lost!

It seems like you got your "oh! how do you do that" Like Dexx was saying...

I have never been to a BNI.. what exactly is it? Some sort of meeting? Sounds like fun, they have beer there?

@jacquic
SUPER MEGA THANK YOU fine sir, ill be using those strategies in future meetups for sure.


@ryanmckinney
yea, im pretty sure you and dexx are right, 90 percent of them seemed like they genuinely wanted to know more, its just that last guy was pretty shady.

and BNI is a referral group where you network for a bit, then people give little 60 second bits explaining their business and what kind of referrals they want to get. i don't think they do beer.

some people say its kinda like a cult, i say its more like middle school. but over all, ill be going back since it wasn't too bad, its just that most people seemed kinda cold.

Vernon,

A follow-up to questions you get about "how do you do that" may be as simple as saying... "I'll be happy to schedule a free 1/2 hour consultation with anyone that would like to know more." I have a friend who was involved with BNI for two years and she did not get one client out of it. She's a local chiropractor and everyone she talked to at BNI already had a chiropractor they liked!

Bonnie

I want to thank you for posting this thread as I've thought about joining similar groups but decided against it since most I feared that everyone would be selling everyone with nothing really accomplished. It is a thread I will watch to learn more to see if other people come forward with ideas.

BNI is different from networking events because it's the same few people plus a guest or two every time. If you are going to remain in the area, and want to develop a referral network, then BNI could be for you.

Here's what to keep in mind:

* you have to find business for these people!

* it's a commitment!

* don't expect them to start passing you referrals in the first meeting!

* they have to get to know you a little first, before they commit to you--there are a lot of people who come and go, and few who stick with it

* a BNI chapter of under 10 people will not be of much use to you

* a BNI chapter of over 20 people will be really rockin'! and should be humming along

* the purpose of BNI is to pass SMOKIN' HOT REFERRALS between members!


Also, there are a couple of things you have to figure out before you get in there. These are:

- What your Burning Desire is

- your 30 second commercial.

Both of these should be centered around your typical customer's problems, and what you do to solve them.


When people ask you "How do you do that?", respond with "Great question. I'll answer that, but first, let me ask you this: can you share with me what it is that makes you interested in How I do that?" After they answer your question, and continue to persist, say "Well, what you're asking me about is exactly what I do for my clients. Are you saying you'd like to become a client?"

You do NOT want to give them a free education, so they can run out and get what you do at the lowest price. With the BNI people, maybe after awhile and when you know them better you can then share a little more about how you do what you do.

BNI is something that you get what you put in, really. If you stick with it you will definitely get results from it. Maybe not the first 2 or 3 meetings, but eventually it will benefit you.

so, i decided to do some cold calling earlier today, since i figured the whole BNI thing is probably going to take a few weeks. I only did one call during my lunch break, it was a pretty good success. i just kinda winged it without a script and she was pretty excited about me stopping by for a few minutes on Friday. it was a business that i had previously done some research(stalking) on, so i think that made it WAAAY easier than saying something like "hey, my name is vernontheROAAAAR can i sell you some ****?"

so i spent the rest of the day stalking other businesses that i plan on calling tomorrow. i'll let you guys know how that goes.


i definitely will be going back to those networking groups. but for now, i think cold calling might be a better option in my early stages, instead of spending weeks at BNI before i maybe get some results. (and plus i don't really have too many people i can refer to them anyways).

p.s.
currently the job that I've been at for the last couple of months requires me to be mean to people over the phone. so i think that might have had a part in my small success as well.

lol. i hope you like that one. had to separate that sentence from the rest of the post.