Synopsis

Attendance is one area where the easy path is harder and the hard path is easier. The more you show up, the more money you make. There’s hard data to back this up.

Back in 1985, there were some groups that met twice a month instead of every week. Those groups passed 52% fewer referrals than groups that met weekly. By 1986, all BNI groups met weekly.

The members who have fewest absences close the most business. Fewer absences = more referrals. Three absences in six months (the maximum) lead to 73% less business.

Has your chapter taken steps to improve attendance? What kind of results have you seen? Share your experience in the comments.

Brought to you by the Networking for Success Channel on YouTube.

Complete Transcript of Episode 490 –

Priscilla:

Hello everyone and welcome back to the Official BNI Podcast, brought to you by the Networking for Success Channel on YouTube, featuring Dr. Ivan Miser and many other networking experts. I am Priscilla Rice, and I am coming to you from Live Oak Recording Studio in Berkeley, California. I am joined on the phone today by the Founder and the Chief Visionary Officer of BNI, Dr. Ivan Misner. Hello, Ivan. How are you and where are you?

Ivan:

Hi Priscilla. I am in Mexico this week at a TLC conference that is going on in Mexico. I always learn a lot of things from the Transformational Leadership Council.

Hey, a couple of weeks ago we talked about and I did a podcast about hard-easy, easy-hard. The hard path in life is often easier. You asked for an example in BNI and I mentioned attendance is one of those examples. It is hard to make sure and maintain the attendance policy in your chapter. Yet, the chapter ends up being much more responsible as a result of it.

That’s the topic for today’s podcast. I mentioned in the previous podcast that I would be covering that. I think it’s a powerful topic and one of the things that we have seen over time and we have some hard data to back this up is that if you show up, you are going to make more money. Period. End of story.

I mean, you could probably stop listening to the podcast right now if you just did what I said. But no, it helps if I give you some of the facts, so that’s what I am going to do.

Here’s a question: Have you ever gotten a hair cut over the phone? Probably not. It is just one of those things that you have to actually be present for. It turns out that is the same with BNI. People joint BNI to exchange referrals and increase business. Intellectually, we understand that it is important to build relationships, but it may not be obvious just how critical it is. It’s a referral process.

We have discovered- I have discovered over the years the impact attendance has on the organization. Years ago, we had BNI groups that met twice a month. Yes, it’s true. Some groups actually met twice a month back in 1985. Why don’t we do that now, you might be wondering.

Well, easy answer. We discovered that chapters that met twice a month passed 52% less referrals than groups that met weekly. Now, I want that to sink in. Groups that met twice a month back in 1985 passed 52% less referrals than the groups that met weekly. That’s a shocking statistic.

When groups were shown this hard data back in 1985, every single group except one switched to meeting weekly. And the one group that refused to make the transition shut down from lack of success.

So by 1986, all BNI groups worldwide – back then, just in California – had met weekly. All groups now meet weekly. We tried meeting twice a month and those were the results.