The Education slot takes place near the start of every BNI meeting. It is an opportunity for the group to learn or refresh ideas for better networking. The current Education Coordinator is Fiona Vincent of Broadwater Flowers Each member is on the rota to present the Education slot. BNI Referrals; Ed Slot Scripts; General; Getting Visitors; Maximise your membership; Power Teams; Quick Tips; Subs; Subscriber Contributions; Recent Posts. Referral opportunity flowchart; Power Buddies – How to leverage their Power! Acting on referrals quickly; Make a contribution to this site; Your 60 seconds – it's a free advert! Bni Edslot Referrals 1. White Rose Harrogate Lead v Referral 2. A lead is a contact that may come from any number of sources. The contact is generally not expecting your call. For example, if someone gave an insurance agent a list of people who just bought new homes, that might be considered a good set of leads. There are different types of BNI referrals. Educate your chapter in the difference between reactive referrals and proactive referrals. Understanding the difference could lead to more business being generated for you and your chapter members. Larry: Why are we here in BNI versus some other type of networking event? Generally speaking, people go to network events, they go to trade associations or n.
Submitted by Amruth Kumar, Greatscope Consulting, Kingfishers, BNI Bangalore
The below is a suggestion for an Education Moment during a BNI meeting, but can be used to share the benefits of networking with anyone in your life.
To get the full effect, have handy a large serving spoon and a smaller spoon that you would use to eat soup with.
Hold up the small spoon, and ask your audience what they would use it for. Aside from a few jokesters, your audience will answer 'Eating.'
Now hold up the large spoon, and ask what it is for. Your answer should be 'Serving.'
Ask your audience why they joined BNI. You'll receive numerous answers, most being a variation of 'To get more business and to make money.'
Tell them the reason they joined BNI was to use the small spoon, and hold it up. All members saw opportunities to get more business, and to feed themselves.
The philosophy of BNI, Givers Gain, teaches us how to use the large spoon (hold it up), so that we have enough for not just our small spoon, but for others.
How often to members have nothing to give in the 'I Have' section of the meeting? These members come to the meeting only wanting to use the small spoon. If every member is only at a BNI meeting to eat, who will serve with the big spoon?
As BNI members, we have to think about how we can give to other members. Giving can be in the form of a referral, a visitor, or other opportunities. You could help a member with their Feature Presentation, suggest how someone can give a great Weekly Presentation, or teach a new member how to use BNI Connect – any way you can help or serve the others in your chapter, you should consider.
A chapter that has more members providing for each other and using the serving spoon will have more opportunities for everyone to use the small eating spoon.
Only if we give to others can we hope to receive.
Ask yourself, have you been using the small spoon too often? How can you use the serving spoon more?
For years, I have been a very active networker and I have been able to connect quite confidently with other business people. I go to about three or four different networking events every week and some of them are free events, some of them are paid. When I found out about BNI (Business Network International) in 2011, I was really curious. Before I attended my first BNI breakfast meeting I had done a lot of research and asked various entrepreneurs for their opinion. Oh, my! What an interesting feedback I gathered from various sources, namely:
- BNI is like a cult or sect
- Bunch of lunatics
- Commitment & structure is close to army drill
- Relentless as Jehovah's witnesses
Oh, dear! Despite that I decided to attend and make my own mind about this organization. I was invited to one of the chapters in Manchester by Maria who was an active member for years and claimed that significant percentage of her business was coming from BNI. My 2 visits to Bury chapter saw me introducing myself and being introduced to a number of professionals in varied industries. It was amazing to see all traders, engage in their own power team, exchanging referrals and business opportunities. The structure, flow of meetings was immaculate and all members share such a great sense of humour making the whole process very enjoyable. When I first sat down at the meeting there was a number of things in front of me like business card box, referral slips, list of members and many other items. There was an education slot delivered by one the members and then a round of 60-second presentations. It was pretty cool to listen to all these passionate entrepreneurs who get up each week so early to generate new business for their respective firms. The meeting followed with a 10-minute presentation by one of the members who talked about his business and the way he helps his clients. The last part of the meeting was quite spectacular which involved all members of the group passing referrals, shaking hands and exchanging updates on the business introductions made the previous week.
BNI's culture is built upon the philosophy of 'Givers Gain'
I could easily notice that BNI's mission is quite simple, to help businesses both large and small, grow their business and make more business!
This is a culture of caring about giving quality referrals, providing professional development and building consistent, proactive and reciprocal business relationships.
I just got it and decided to join the team.
The general format is that you pay a membership fee and then attend local meetings which last for 90 minutes, normally early morning and once a week.
Members need to arrive on time and stay for the entire meeting. The group I joined at the time, like many other groups meet early doors – 6.30am, so attendees will always be finished by 8.30am, allowing all to carry on about their business. It seems early, but once you get in the habit of going then it's really not so much of a hassle. Please find below a typical BNI agenda, however some groups may meet at a lunchtime or other times:
BNI agenda:
06:30 Arrival and Registration
06:40 Open Networking with tea & coffee
07:00 Introduction from Chapter Director
07:20 60 second presentation
07:50 10 minute speaker
08:00 Exchange of referrals
08:25 Closing reports and announcements
08:30 Meeting Closes
It is all about referrals!
![Alliance Alliance](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/l-G2k36x7gw/hqdefault.jpg)
BNI is a business referral organization rather than networking group which I found personally appealing as all members genuinely wants to grow their business. A referral or recommendation is a chance to do business, not a guarantee of revenue. I also learned that it is important that the referral should be 'warmed up' – that is, the client whose contact details you are given is expecting your call. The word of mouth marketing is so much better and effective than cold-calling. The group is also measuring our efforts, therefore it can be more effective and tweak a strategy. Make no mistake they are all there to generate more business!
Relationships mean business
I was with BNI for couple of years and in a very short time I was able to build some strong relationships with other members. Sometimes, it seemed like we are one big family or a support group.
You may laugh now, but it is a fact that the successful career and business development is based on building strong and trusted relationships.
Bni Ed Slot Referrals List
Benefits of BNI meetings according to Life Networker:
- Massive exposure to many other business professionals and industries
- Will surely increase your word of mouth business [ provided that you do it all right ]
- You will have an opportunity to practice your 60 seconds presentation on weekly basis
- Train your presentation and public speaking skills
- You can visit other BNI groups in the region or in other cities
- You have access to BNI connect web tool that will help you to expand your network
- Access to trainings and workshops
Thinking about visiting a BNI chapter?
Remember about:
- Bringing money to pay for your breakfast ( it is usually about £10 )
- Taking your business cards
- Bringing your promotional materials
- Preparing your 60-second presentation
- Arriving early to give you extra time for connecting with all entrepreneurs
Bni Referral Exchange Chicago Il
Thinking about joining a BNI chapter?
Consider these points:
- Shop around by visiting a few groups if you prefer to get a feel for different members but remember you may miss your chance to apply to the perfect group if you do this. BNI allows only one person per profession so if the first group feels right, explore the application process there.
- Be prepared to commit to regular weekly meetings.
- Evaluate your industry—B2C and B2B businesses alike can grow their operations if they engage with the structure, adopt good networking skills and are patient
- Find a group of unfamiliar faces to ensure you get the most out of the new relationship-building opportunities.
- Be open to bring a contribution and help others and engage in the lifelong learning to ensure your success. This can be a referral, a visitor or a testimonial. – it's essential to BNI.
- Brush up your elevator speech/ 60 seconds presentation as you will be introducing your business in front of other people
- Be aware of the dress code depending on your profession as traders tend to be ready for work.
- Be willing to hold 1-2-1 meetings with other members in order to establish more business opportunities.
- Be prepared to invest considerable amount of time and effort to engage with other members
- The last point is that you need to be ready to embrace your BNI membership to its fullest, otherwise you are wasting your time!
Happy Networking!
Bni Referral Network
Check out other articles at www.lifenetworker.com if you want to learn more.