It's Not What You Say, But What You Do

Today I taught a training session for BNI -- for one person. The training was about how to give a 10 minute presentation which is a major benefit of membership in BNI.

Because only five people were registered for this session, the BNI staff personally talked with each of the five last Wednesday (Before Thanksgiving) to confirm that they would be attending. They received confirmations from all five.

The session was supposed to begin at 7:30 AM. I have to get to the training location about 30 minutes ahead of time to make sure I am set to begin on time. The location is 30 minutes from my home, so I drove out my driveway at 6:30 AM. At 7:35 AM the first person arrived. He was the only person to arrive. At first I was just going to cancel the training till next month, but I asked Charlie Rice of The Carpet Spectrum when he was scheduled to give his 10 minute presentation. Of course, it is next week. So Charlie got a private coaching session on the topic.

The other four -- I know who you are. Your credibility is going the wrong way with me. Now, I realize that they could have left a voice mail on the BNI answering machine over the weekend, but they did not. All four were no call, no shows.

How do you think any of those four would act if I decided that I didn't want to show up to train on an early Monday morning when they decided to be there. Somehow, I think they would be the ones to scream the loudest.

Help me to understand why people don't think they have to keep commitments. Do they think they are invisible? Don't they realize that doing what they say they're going to do is a prime building block of a referral relationship?

Hiding the Light Under the Bushel

This morning I had coffee with Cindy Morlock. She is a Realtor with Assist2Sell. She also is the president of the Silver Dollar BNI chapter, which is the chapter that I oversee as a director.

While I don't attend this chapter every week, I do go every five to six weeks.

This morning, just in passing, Cindy mentioned that she had been in the million dollar club for the last two years.

That's the first I've heard about it!

I asked Cindy if the members knew this piece of info. She smiled her very nice smile and said, "Ya' know, I was thinking that I'd put that into my introduction when I get the chance to do my next 10 minute presentation."

I said, "How about telling them this week? Put it into your sixty second commercial."

If she waits, she is handicapping her members from helping her. They don't have all the ammunition they need to help promote her.

The very same conversation took place with another person at lunch. She is a partner in a CPA firm, but she said that when she introduces herself to new contacts, she says, "I'm a CPA."

Our mothers have done way too good of a job of telling us not to brag.

When we have something to be proud of, it is time to shout from the housetop.

What piece of information have you been withholding from your friends?

I'm Comin' Clean, I Didn't RSVP

I just got a phone call.

But first let me take you back about nine months.

In January or February of this year, I was introduced to a woman by a friend in a networking group. To protect the innocent, all names will be fictitious. So, my friend, Joe, intro'd me to Sally.

Sally happens to be a successful purveyor of cosmetics for a direct sales company.

We chatted briefly at the meeting and she said that she'd like to meet with me. Sally did not have her calendar with her.

I called her several times to schedule that appointment and left voice mail messages but I never received a return call.

I stopped calling because I didn't want to stalk. I also kept my friend, Joe, in the loop and he just shook his head.

Okay, now fast forward. Last week I received an invitation in the mail to a party kicking off another type of a direct sales business. This is a new effort - by the husband of Sally. Now, I have never met Bob, the husband. I couldn't pick him out of a lineup. But I got an invitation.

Because I didn't know him, I just threw the invitation away.

That's what the phone call was that I just got. Bob was calling to see if I was coming to his event, and he also happened to mention on the call that he'd invited 100 people. (Didn't that make me feel special?) I gave him my regrets.

Now, I'm sorry, but I'm insulted.

His wife doesn't have the time of day for me, but she passes my contact information on.

Am I being super sensitive?

Tricked

A couple weeks ago, I was invited to attend an event. At that event there were several sponsors who were rightly so, given the special spotlight when they were introduced. One promised that we were to be given a present from his company at the end of the event. I know that we all wondered what it would be -- a coffee mug, pen or other specialty item? Or maybe even a real present without the company's name on it.


Well, we were wrong on all counts. It was promotional material. Yep, you got it. Advertising. I felt tricked. Even though I have more coffee mugs than I'll ever need, a nice travel mug would have been great.

Or nothing.

I didn't expect anything going in, but the expectation had been set for a surprise gift.

That company traveled the wrong way on the relationship scale, losing credibility with me.

What do you think about the above story?

Wrinkled Shirt

Seth Godin posted about a blind squirrel eventually finding the nut. The gist of the post was about people being unprepared or even thinking ahead whether they are looking for a job or marketing their business.

The story of the person looking, but not really looking for a job made me laugh. A couple years ago I was at a networking event when a young man introduced himself. He worked for a mortgage company and I'm sure his boss had told him to get out of bed and attend the morning event. He obviously had not thought about this the night before, because his blue oxford cloth shirt had been fished from the bottom of the clothes basket that morning and was being worn wrinkles and all.

Talk about marketing. There was no way I would ever consider that young man for my mortgage. But even more so, there is no way I would ever consider that company. The boss just doesn't understand that marketing entails more than the ad in this week's newspaper.

Scarcity Thinking

"I don't have enough, so I want everything."

That is scarcity thinking.

Those being this way demonstrate to the rest of the world that they are DESPERATE.

Recently I met with a young networker, who was complaining because she wasn't getting the referrals she wanted from her referral sources. This young woman is a member of a referral group that meets weekly.

Even though the group meets weekly, she has been in attendance just half the time.

Would you refer to her?

Not only does she want to gain referrals in her area of expertise, but she also wants to gather in referrals from the fringes of her business line where she has no experience.

Would you refer to her?

She has given plenty of referrals to her members, but none have turned into business.

Maybe this is not entirely her fault, but I'm guessing that she is just giving anything that remotely sounds like a referral to try to make it look like she's doing something.

Would you refer to her?

She's received referrals, but did not follow up on these referrals in a timely manner.

Would you give her more?

The important question is: Is there any wonder why she is not getting all she wants?

Group Strength

I am four days away from vacation, but who's counting? I am always amazed at what needs to be done in the week before I leave. 'Nuf said. If you want to see where paradise is and where I'm going, visit the website of Aguila de Osa Inn.

In my BNI chapter, the medical contact sphere is nicely developed. There is a chiropractor, a physical therapist, a vitamins/supplements person, a massage therapist and a personal trainer. They work together to be more successful.

Last fall they organized an event and invited all the chapter members to particpate. We raked leaves for a family where the dad is overseas in Iraq. The kids came out an played with us, while the mom got some stuff done inside. Did they get more business as a result of this event? Probably not, although they up went up in my eyes and I'm sure if the mom needed any of their services she would ask for them.

So it's finally winter here in NW Ohio. We actually have snow on the ground. The medical contact group organized a sNOw School for this past Saturday. The plan was to train middle school kids how to shovel properly, but that wasn't all. They were also going to talk briefly about being business-like and also about networking and marketing. They were able to get their message out at the local middle school and also got a brief mention in the daily paper. You're probably asking, "Will they get more business?" Probably not on Saturday morning, but they will get wonderful visibility with the kids and their parents, just because of the effort. They will get some great credibility within the community, too.

So the question is, what are you doing to link with other providers within your circle? How can you connect and use the strength of the group rather than doing everything individually?