Synopsis

Memory hooks don’t work the way people think they do. They were never meant to be used with people who already know what you do. That means they’re great for visitors days or meeting new people, but not a good part of your weekly 60-second presentation for your BNI chapter.

If you’re not supposed to be using memory hooks every week, what should you do in your 60-second introduction? Develop a curriculum for each week’s meeting weeks or months in advance. Take a week-by-week approach to what you’re going to teach your fellow BNI members in your weekly presentation.

It’s more important to educate people about how to refer you than to get them to remember your memory hook. Listen to Episode 182 for an example of a 60-second presentation that’s memorable for its educational value.

Brought to you by the Networking for Success YouTube Channel.

Complete Transcript of Episode 498 –

Priscilla:

Hello everybody and welcome back to the Official BNI Podcast, brought to you by the Networking for Success Channel on YouTube, which features 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?

Ivan:

I am doing great, Priscilla. I know you have a question to ask me, but before we jump into that, I just wanted to point out to everyone that we do have a new sponsor on the podcast. That is the Networking for Success channel. I mentioned it on a pervious podcast. If you have a chance, click on the link that is here on the podcast and in a banner ad.

There are some fantastic videos up there on YouTube. This is a channel that is sponsored by Entrepreneur.com. It is a lot of my content, a lot of other people’s content. You will find a lot of content there, all for free, that will help you be better as a member in BNI.

So, Priscilla, you have a question.

Priscilla:

I do. So, Ivan, do memory hooks really work?

Ivan:

So here is the short answer: No. Not in the way that they are being used in BNI for the most part.

Yes, there are some times when a memory hook can work effectively but generally speaking, sadly they don’t work like people think they will. It has been over three decades since I founded BNI and people are still asking how to do a great weekly presentation.

One of the first things that I say to people that actually surprises them is I say that I wish people would stop focusing on memory hooks. I know that they are a staple of many, many chapters, but in my opinion, we spend way too much time making sure that members end with a memory hook every time that they give their weekly presentation.

When I first wrote about memory hooks in 1987 – so I first wrote about them 30 years ago and then in the end of my book, The World’s Best Known Marketing Secret, it was never meant to be used – now this is really important – it was never meant to be used with people who already know what business you are in or people who know you.

Memory hooks were created for people who do not know each other so that when you introduce your business to a group of people, a memory hook makes sure that those people remember who you are and what you do.

That being said, memory hooks are good for use on a visitor’s day. When you have a lot of people in a room who don’t know who you are and what you do, a memory hook can be very effective, but I really recommend – and I know people...