This is a rebroadcast of Episode 70.

Synopsis

This week Dr. Misner shares his surefire technique for difficult-to-refer businesses, like psychotherapists, recording studios, and management consultants.

* Educate people on how to refer you.

* Accept speaking engagements as referrals for BNI purposes.

* Write a letter to program chairs and distribute it to your chapter members so they can help you get speaking engagements.

* Give great presentations that compel your audience to contact you.

This technique made Dr. Misner’s company one of the easiest to refer, instead of one of the hardest. Read the blog post for more details.

Brought to you by Networking Now.

Complete Transcription of BNI Podcast Episode 070 –

Priscilla Rice:

Hello everyone. Welcome back to the Official BNI Podcast brought to you by networkingnow.com, which is the leading site on the net for networking downloadables. I’m Priscilla Rice and I’m coming to you from Live Oak Recording Studio in Berkeley, California. I’m joined on the phone today by the Founder and Chairman of BNI, Dr. Ivan Misner. Hello Ivan, how are you?

Ivan Misner:

I’m doing great Priscilla, thanks.

Priscilla:

Where are you today?

Ivan:

I am at my lodge in Big Bear. I have a vacation retreat in Big Bear that I use for business and pleasure. I have BNI directors coming up for top management meetings for the organization. I am also a senior partner with a company called the Referral Institute and have Referral Institute people coming on up. We’re working while we have a great view of the lake. How cool is that?

Priscilla:

That sounds beautiful. What are you going to share with us today?

Ivan:

I want to talk about something that comes up from time to time. It’s a technique for the difficult to refer business. I blogged on it last month. We changed the name of the blog, the old URL still works, but the new one is a little easier. It is networkingnowblog.com. Go back to August and take a look at that. I have a blog in there about this topic,” A Sure Fire Technique For The Difficult To Refer Business.” That’s what I want to talk about today.

There a lot of businesses that are really difficult to refer, more so than others. For example, psychotherapists have to be one of the toughest professions to refer. I would think someone in your profession, doing studio work, is not easy to refer or myself, as a management consultant. When I started BNI, I didn’t start it to be a separate company. I was a business consultant, and it was part of my consulting business in the beginning. It was very difficult to get referrals as a business consultant. People didn’t know how to do it, how to refer me. So, if you’re struggling to get clients or referrals through networking, there are a number of things you can do. First and foremost, you have to educate people how to refer you. That is key. You have to remember that your presentations each week are not about trying to close a sale, they’re trying to train a sales force.

There is at least one technique that I found really worked well for me when I was a business consultant. I’ve had particularly psychotherapists, and a few other professions, do this a lot. They’ve had great success with it.

Synopsis

As we discussed in Episode 409, chapters go through cycles. Here’s an easy way to recognize and categorize chapter cycles.

On Fire

These chapters are energized, goal-oriented, and thriving. They’re generating a lot of referrals with a high value. They’re the biggest groups–or on their way to being it. Members of the leadership team attend all the required trainings, and more. BNI members in these chapters have completed their BNI Connect profiles and pass referrals every week. They conduct effective one-to-ones. And they have fun together.

On Hold

These chapters are still generating referrals and revenue, but they’re just going through the motions. They do the minimum and get average results. Sometimes these groups have been on fire in the past, but became complacent and started to slide. They’ve often given up on growth, and don’t follow all the suggestions of their regional directors and the BNI policies.

In a Hole

These chapters are struggling with attendance. They’re not holding members accountable. They have difficulty retaining members. These chapters focus on problems rather than solutions. They don’t follow the agenda and policies of BNI very well, and they often regard their regional director as an outsider rather than a resource.

Where does your group stand right now? If your group is on fire, congratulations. That’s how BNI is supposed to be. If your group is on hold, it’s not that hard to transition to being on fire. Even if you’re in a hole, you can break out of that, as long as the leadership team and the membership are committed to change.

The key to improvement is recognizing where you are. Why settle for mediocrity when excellence is an option?

Use the worksheet below to rate your chapter. Is your chapter is on hold or in a hole, contact your director for help.

If you’ve moved your chapter from “In a Hole” to “On Fire,” share what you did in the comments.

Brought to you by Networking Now.

Complete Transcript of Episode 480

Priscilla:

Hello everyone and welcome back to the Official BNI Podcast, brought to you by NetworkingNow.com, which is the leading site on the net for networking downloadables. 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:

This week, I am in Houston and in Boston. You didn’t know that they were real close to each other, did you?

Priscilla:

No, I did not know that.

Ivan:

I am doing BNI things for both Houston and Boston. I’ll be traveling a little bit. I love the topic today.

Priscilla:

Olay. Help us with this one.

Ivan:

If your chapter has ever gone through a cycle and if your chapter has been around for a couple years, it has probably gone through the cycle. This is all about a life chapter cycle, so I would recommend you go to BNI podcast and do a search on chapter cycles. You will find some additional information on chapter cycles here. Plus, I just came up with these three phrases recently, and I think they perfectly identify where chapters are within the cycle process and it is so easy to remember and so easy to understand.

You walk into some chapters and they are on fire. They are energized, goal-oriented. They are thriving, and most importantly, they are referring high dollar value or high revenue value in thank you for closed business values, while others are basically on hold. They are just kind of going through the motions, doing the minimum, getting average results.

Synopsis

As we discussed in Episode 409, chapters go through cycles. Here’s an easy way to recognize and categorize chapter cycles.

On Fire

These chapters are energized, goal-oriented, and thriving. They’re generating a lot of referrals with a high value. They’re the biggest groups–or on their way to being it. Members of the leadership team attend all the required trainings, and more. BNI members in these chapters have completed their BNI Connect profiles and pass referrals every week. They conduct effective one-to-ones. And they have fun together.

On Hold

These chapters are still generating referrals and revenue, but they’re just going through the motions. They do the minimum and get average results. Sometimes these groups have been on fire in the past, but became complacent and started to slide. They’ve often given up on growth, and don’t follow all the suggestions of their regional directors and the BNI policies.

In a Hole

These chapters are struggling with attendance. They’re not holding members accountable. They have difficulty retaining members. These chapters focus on problems rather than solutions. They don’t follow the agenda and policies of BNI very well, and they often regard their regional director as an outsider rather than a resource.

Where does your group stand right now? If your group is on fire, congratulations. That’s how BNI is supposed to be. If your group is on hold, it’s not that hard to transition to being on fire. Even if you’re in a hole, you can break out of that, as long as the leadership team and the membership are committed to change.

The key to improvement is recognizing where you are. Why settle for mediocrity when excellence is an option?

Use the worksheet below to rate your chapter. Is your chapter is on hold or in a hole, contact your director for help.

If you’ve moved your chapter from “In a Hole” to “On Fire,” share what you did in the comments.

Brought to you by Networking Now.

Complete Transcript of Episode 480

Priscilla:

Hello everyone and welcome back to the Official BNI Podcast, brought to you by NetworkingNow.com, which is the leading site on the net for networking downloadables. 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:

This week, I am in Houston and in Boston. You didn’t know that they were real close to each other, did you?

Priscilla:

No, I did not know that.

Ivan:

I am doing BNI things for both Houston and Boston. I’ll be traveling a little bit. I love the topic today.

Priscilla:

Olay. Help us with this one.

Ivan:

If your chapter has ever gone through a cycle and if your chapter has been around for a couple years, it has probably gone through the cycle. This is all about a life chapter cycle, so I would recommend you go to BNI podcast and do a search on chapter cycles. You will find some additional information on chapter cycles here. Plus, I just came up with these three phrases recently, and I think they perfectly identify where chapters are within the cycle process and it is so easy to remember and so easy to understand.

You walk into some chapters and they are on fire. They are energized, goal-oriented. They are thriving, and most importantly, they are referring high dollar value or high revenue value in thank you for closed business values, while others are basically on hold. They are just kind of going through the motions, doing the minimum, getting average results.

Synopsis

Over the years, Dr. Misner has recognized that there are people who are positive and supportive–people he really wants to be around. These people are engines: they help him to be his best self and motivate him to drive forward.

There are also people who complain as though it was an Olympic event. They focus on all the things that are wrong. These people are anchors who hold him back and weigh him down.

Think about the people in your life. Who are the engines? Who are the engines? Who do you want to surround yourself with? Who do you want in your BNI chapter?

No one ever admits to being an anchor. Instead, they believe they are engines, but they want to pull the chapter in another direction. Ask how you can help them to become engines–but if they don’t want to change, set them free to find a group that’s moving in their direction.

If you enjoyed this podcast, listen to Episode 358: “Who’s in Your Room?”

Brought to you by Networking Now.

Complete Transcript of Episode 479 –

Priscilla:

Hello everyone and welcome back to the Official BNI Podcast, brought to you by NetworkingNow.com, which is the leading site on the net for networking downloadables. 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’m doing great. This week, I am actually in Austin in between trips. Last week, I was in Toronto, Canada and next week, I am headed to Boston. I am in between trips this week. I actually get to see my house.

Priscilla:

Well, that’s great. Okay, so tell us a little bit about this podcast.

Ivan:

I love this topic and it is based on a blog that I did a little while ago. The blog is entitled “Are the People in Your Life and Engine or an Anchor?”

Let me explain that. Over the years, I have recognized that there are people who are positive and supportive individuals that I really want to be around. They are solutions-focused relating to most of the problems in their lives or tend to be. They are almost always willing to talk through challenges with a positive end in mind. These people are engines. They tend to motivate me to drive forward.

I have also noticed, as I am sure that you have, that there are people who complain like it is an Olympic event. And for the record, it is not. It is not an Olympic event. They are negative, argumentative and obsessed with problems. I have learned to limit the time I spend with these people because they focus on all of the things that are wrong relating to most challenges.

This is really important. If all someone does is focus on problems, they become an expert on the problem but not on the solution. They are the anchors. They hold me back and weigh me down.

So my question to everyone today is who do you surround yourself with- engines or anchors? Now, there is a great podcast that I did some time ago that I really recommend. It is episode 358, Who Is in Your Room?

I talk about the people who are in your life. They are there in one way or another for the rest of your life. It’s a metaphor. You may be able to get them out of your room but you can never get them out of your head. So they are certainly going to impact you. If you are listening to this and like this concept, go back to episode 358 about Who Is in Your Room?

I think it is important for everyone to think about the people who are in their life and whether they are an anchor or an engine, particularly if they want to build a powerful personal network with the people around you.

Synopsis

Over the years, Dr. Misner has recognized that there are people who are positive and supportive–people he really wants to be around. These people are engines: they help him to be his best self and motivate him to drive forward.

There are also people who complain as though it was an Olympic event. They focus on all the things that are wrong. These people are anchors who hold him back and weigh him down.

Think about the people in your life. Who are the engines? Who are the engines? Who do you want to surround yourself with? Who do you want in your BNI chapter?

No one ever admits to being an anchor. Instead, they believe they are engines, but they want to pull the chapter in another direction. Ask how you can help them to become engines–but if they don’t want to change, set them free to find a group that’s moving in their direction.

If you enjoyed this podcast, listen to Episode 358: “Who’s in Your Room?”

Brought to you by Networking Now.

Complete Transcript of Episode 479 –

Priscilla:

Hello everyone and welcome back to the Official BNI Podcast, brought to you by NetworkingNow.com, which is the leading site on the net for networking downloadables. 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’m doing great. This week, I am actually in Austin in between trips. Last week, I was in Toronto, Canada and next week, I am headed to Boston. I am in between trips this week. I actually get to see my house.

Priscilla:

Well, that’s great. Okay, so tell us a little bit about this podcast.

Ivan:

I love this topic and it is based on a blog that I did a little while ago. The blog is entitled “Are the People in Your Life and Engine or an Anchor?”

Let me explain that. Over the years, I have recognized that there are people who are positive and supportive individuals that I really want to be around. They are solutions-focused relating to most of the problems in their lives or tend to be. They are almost always willing to talk through challenges with a positive end in mind. These people are engines. They tend to motivate me to drive forward.

I have also noticed, as I am sure that you have, that there are people who complain like it is an Olympic event. And for the record, it is not. It is not an Olympic event. They are negative, argumentative and obsessed with problems. I have learned to limit the time I spend with these people because they focus on all of the things that are wrong relating to most challenges.

This is really important. If all someone does is focus on problems, they become an expert on the problem but not on the solution. They are the anchors. They hold me back and weigh me down.

So my question to everyone today is who do you surround yourself with- engines or anchors? Now, there is a great podcast that I did some time ago that I really recommend. It is episode 358, Who Is in Your Room?

I talk about the people who are in your life. They are there in one way or another for the rest of your life. It’s a metaphor. You may be able to get them out of your room but you can never get them out of your head. So they are certainly going to impact you. If you are listening to this and like this concept, go back to episode 358 about Who Is in Your Room?

I think it is important for everyone to think about the people who are in their life and whether they are an anchor or an engine, particularly if they want to build a powerful personal network with the people around you.

Synopsis

Remembering names is a challenge for almost everyone. Remembering the names of all the people you meet at networking events (or anywhere else) is a challenge. Here is a four-step process that works for Dr. Misner.

* Repetition. Ask for the person’s business card. Read it. Read the name out loud and ask the person to repeat it. (This also helps with pronunciation.)

* Use their name in conversation. (More repetition.)

* Connect them with others and use their name when you introduce them.

* Consciously dedicate the person’s name to memory. Look at the business card again after you get home. Remind yourself what the person looked like and what you talked about.

What this whole process amounts to is being present to the situation. When you are with a person, concentrate on that person. And if you reconnect with the person later, your chances of remembering names over a long period of time increases.

Brought to you by Networking Now.

Complete Transcript of Epsode 478 –

Priscilla:

Hello everyone and welcome back to the Official BNI Podcast, brought to you by NetworkingNow.com, which is the leading site on the net for networking downloadables. 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 doing great. I am actually in Austin, but I am on my way to Toronto, Canada to do a presentation for a good friend of mine for a big event, Raymond Erin. There is a big event every year in Toronto. He invited me to be a keynote speaker there.

Priscilla:

That’s great. You will have to tell us how it goes. What are you teaching us today about remembering names?

Ivan:

Well, listen, people always have a difficult time remembering names and I have to say that I do it, too. I, like most people, have difficulty in remembering names. There are a number of things that I do that help me.

I know that there are so many ways to do it, and people talk about various concepts where you hear the person’s name, rhyme it with something else. If it’s a full moon on a Tuesday, then you do some other thing. I mean, I have a hard time with all of the stuff that I have heard, where you envision them wearing something that sounds kind of like their name and that is how you remember. It. I can’t do that. I know some people can.

Are you able to do that stuff?

Priscilla:

Well, no, not what you just described. Definitely not.

Ivan:

You know, they try to teach me how to think of someone’s name and think of something that rhymes with it, sounds like it and then remember them from that. That just doesn’t work for me for whatever reason.

So what I would say is if what you have is working for you, then you don’t need this podcast. If what you have isn’t working for you, here is what I do try to remember names more effectively.

You know, when you are networking, it is really important to remember the basics of interpersonal communication, things like making eye contact, listening more than you speak and of course, remembering people’s names. I think it show that you are paying attention if you can remember the individual’s name.

To me, part of that is really about being present in the moment and listening, showing that you are interested in that person and their business. Not just that you are interesting but that you are interested in that person.

It can be really challenging to remember names, especially if you are an avid networker. Years ago, I was told about a four step process that will help ensure that I don’t forget people’s names.

Synopsis

Remembering names is a challenge for almost everyone. Remembering the names of all the people you meet at networking events (or anywhere else) is a challenge. Here is a four-step process that works for Dr. Misner.

* Repetition. Ask for the person’s business card. Read it. Read the name out loud and ask the person to repeat it. (This also helps with pronunciation.)

* Use their name in conversation. (More repetition.)

* Connect them with others and use their name when you introduce them.

* Consciously dedicate the person’s name to memory. Look at the business card again after you get home. Remind yourself what the person looked like and what you talked about.

What this whole process amounts to is being present to the situation. When you are with a person, concentrate on that person. And if you reconnect with the person later, your chances of remembering names over a long period of time increases.

Brought to you by Networking Now.

Complete Transcript of Epsode 478 –

Priscilla:

Hello everyone and welcome back to the Official BNI Podcast, brought to you by NetworkingNow.com, which is the leading site on the net for networking downloadables. 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 doing great. I am actually in Austin, but I am on my way to Toronto, Canada to do a presentation for a good friend of mine for a big event, Raymond Erin. There is a big event every year in Toronto. He invited me to be a keynote speaker there.

Priscilla:

That’s great. You will have to tell us how it goes. What are you teaching us today about remembering names?

Ivan:

Well, listen, people always have a difficult time remembering names and I have to say that I do it, too. I, like most people, have difficulty in remembering names. There are a number of things that I do that help me.

I know that there are so many ways to do it, and people talk about various concepts where you hear the person’s name, rhyme it with something else. If it’s a full moon on a Tuesday, then you do some other thing. I mean, I have a hard time with all of the stuff that I have heard, where you envision them wearing something that sounds kind of like their name and that is how you remember. It. I can’t do that. I know some people can.

Are you able to do that stuff?

Priscilla:

Well, no, not what you just described. Definitely not.

Ivan:

You know, they try to teach me how to think of someone’s name and think of something that rhymes with it, sounds like it and then remember them from that. That just doesn’t work for me for whatever reason.

So what I would say is if what you have is working for you, then you don’t need this podcast. If what you have isn’t working for you, here is what I do try to remember names more effectively.

You know, when you are networking, it is really important to remember the basics of interpersonal communication, things like making eye contact, listening more than you speak and of course, remembering people’s names. I think it show that you are paying attention if you can remember the individual’s name.

To me, part of that is really about being present in the moment and listening, showing that you are interested in that person and their business. Not just that you are interesting but that you are interested in that person.

It can be really challenging to remember names, especially if you are an avid networker. Years ago, I was told about a four step process that will help ensure that I don’t forget people’s names.

This is a rebroadcast of Episode 164.

Synopsis

This week’s topic is the Classification Cowboy, illustrated by BNI member Dan Fletcher. View and download the slideshow in the next post.

A Classification Cowboy is someone who tries to take more than one profession within a chapter. If you try to take more than one classification in a chapter, you’re blocking the connections and referrals that can be brought to the chapter.

The best way to handle this is to address the problem before the person joins the chapter, rather than after accepting a person with multiple businesses as a member. A chapter with multiple attorneys with different specialties is much stronger than a chapter with someone who doubles as attorney and paralegal.

You can download the slides in the next post to show to your chapter.

Brought to you by Ask Ivan Misner.

Complete Transcription of BNI Podcast Episode 164 –

Priscilla:

Hello everyone, and welcome back to The Official BNI Podcast brought to you by AskIvanMisner.com, a Web site where you can ask Ivan any question you have about networking.

I’m Priscilla Rice, and I’m coming to you from Live Oak Recording Studio in Berkeley, California, and I’m joined on the phone today by the founder and the chairman of BNI, Dr. Ivan Misner.

Hello, Ivan. How are you and where are you today?

Ivan:

Well, this week, I am at the South African BNI conference. As you know, last week I did a little safari, which was amazing; done it before; this was my second visit to South Africa. It’s such a beautiful country, and this week I am at the BNI conference for the organization in South Africa. Amazing group of people.

And again, whenever I visit your region, please come up and introduce yourself to me and let me know that you’re listening to these podcasts. I’d love to meet you.

Priscilla:

That sounds wonderful!

So what do you have to share with us?

Ivan:

I have a fun topic this week. It’s Classification Cowboy. Now, there is a PowerPoint presentation or JPEGs that will be up this presentation, so I recommend that if you’re at the Web site, open it up; if not, download the PowerPoint. And if you’re listening to this from a mobile device, print out the PowerPoint presentation so that you can see the slides that I’m talking about.

The first one is a great slide drawn of a Classification Cowboy. And I’ve got to tell you that this was all done by a gentleman by the name of Dan Fletcher, Dan Fletcher, F-L-E-T-C-H-E-R, Dan Fletcher. Dan is a BNI member, of course, in the United Kingdom, and his Web site is CartoonBox.co.uk, CartoonBox.co.uk.

Dan put this all together on his own, and so I really wanted to thank him publicly, because he had seen problems with this whole concept of the Classification Cowboy, and he wanted to draw something that would identify it and describe it.

Now, for those of you who don’t know what I’m talking about, a Classification Cowboy is somebody that tries to take more than one profession.

In the past, in the past, we’ve used the term “Classification Hog.” Don’t do that. As you might suspect, Priscilla, makes people mad when they’re called a Classification Hog. So it’s not a term that we’d recommend that you use, but we like this concept of Classification Cowboy, and the artist on this, Dan, has done a great job of drawing his description what it is. And in his second slide, he talks about while most people accept one person per profession, that’s the spirit and the rule of BNI, the Classification Cowboy doesn’t. The Classification Cowboy insists on two profes...

This is a rebroadcast of Episode 164.

Synopsis

This week’s topic is the Classification Cowboy, illustrated by BNI member Dan Fletcher. View and download the slideshow in the next post.

A Classification Cowboy is someone who tries to take more than one profession within a chapter. If you try to take more than one classification in a chapter, you’re blocking the connections and referrals that can be brought to the chapter.

The best way to handle this is to address the problem before the person joins the chapter, rather than after accepting a person with multiple businesses as a member. A chapter with multiple attorneys with different specialties is much stronger than a chapter with someone who doubles as attorney and paralegal.

You can download the slides in the next post to show to your chapter.

Brought to you by Ask Ivan Misner.

Complete Transcription of BNI Podcast Episode 164 –

Priscilla:

Hello everyone, and welcome back to The Official BNI Podcast brought to you by AskIvanMisner.com, a Web site where you can ask Ivan any question you have about networking.

I’m Priscilla Rice, and I’m coming to you from Live Oak Recording Studio in Berkeley, California, and I’m joined on the phone today by the founder and the chairman of BNI, Dr. Ivan Misner.

Hello, Ivan. How are you and where are you today?

Ivan:

Well, this week, I am at the South African BNI conference. As you know, last week I did a little safari, which was amazing; done it before; this was my second visit to South Africa. It’s such a beautiful country, and this week I am at the BNI conference for the organization in South Africa. Amazing group of people.

And again, whenever I visit your region, please come up and introduce yourself to me and let me know that you’re listening to these podcasts. I’d love to meet you.

Priscilla:

That sounds wonderful!

So what do you have to share with us?

Ivan:

I have a fun topic this week. It’s Classification Cowboy. Now, there is a PowerPoint presentation or JPEGs that will be up this presentation, so I recommend that if you’re at the Web site, open it up; if not, download the PowerPoint. And if you’re listening to this from a mobile device, print out the PowerPoint presentation so that you can see the slides that I’m talking about.

The first one is a great slide drawn of a Classification Cowboy. And I’ve got to tell you that this was all done by a gentleman by the name of Dan Fletcher, Dan Fletcher, F-L-E-T-C-H-E-R, Dan Fletcher. Dan is a BNI member, of course, in the United Kingdom, and his Web site is CartoonBox.co.uk, CartoonBox.co.uk.

Dan put this all together on his own, and so I really wanted to thank him publicly, because he had seen problems with this whole concept of the Classification Cowboy, and he wanted to draw something that would identify it and describe it.

Now, for those of you who don’t know what I’m talking about, a Classification Cowboy is somebody that tries to take more than one profession.

In the past, in the past, we’ve used the term “Classification Hog.” Don’t do that. As you might suspect, Priscilla, makes people mad when they’re called a Classification Hog. So it’s not a term that we’d recommend that you use, but we like this concept of Classification Cowboy, and the artist on this, Dan, has done a great job of drawing his description what it is. And in his second slide, he talks about while most people accept one person per profession, that’s the spirit and the rule of BNI, the Classification Cowboy doesn’t. The Classification Cowboy insists on two profes...

Synopsis

It’s not what you know or who you know–it’s how well you know them. If you approach networking with a genuine desire to get to know others, you’re going to increase your success. This applies not only to fellow BNI members, but to people you meet in any context.

Here are four tips to help you deepen relationships.

* When you meet someone new, make a personal phone call and set up a meeting to get to know each other. Do not attempt to sell this person.

* Make personal phone calls to anyone who has helped and referred you in the past. Find out what they’re up to.

* Create a touch point list of 50 people you want to stay in touch with over the course of the year, and get in touch with them.

* Two weeks after your first touch point, follow up with a call and make an appointment for a one-to-one.

Once you find your overlapping areas of interest, the relationship will begin to grow by itself.

Brought to you by Networking Now.

Complete Transcript of Episode 476 –

Priscilla:

Hello everyone and welcome back to the Official BNI Podcast, brought to you by NetworkingNow.com, which is the leading site on the net for networking downloadables. 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. Actually, I am back in Austin, Texas again. I have spent a few weeks here this month. I am on the road so much it is great to be home for a few weeks.

Priscilla:

Great.

Ivan:

I am doing this podcast from Austin today.

Priscilla:

Perfect so-

Ivan:

Yeah, go ahead.

Priscilla:

No, I was just going to say why isn’t it about who you know?

Ivan:

You know, there is the old adage “it’s not what you know but who you know”, right? You have heard that. We have all heard that. You have probably said it. I know years ago, I said it. But I am here to tell you it’s not about what you know or who you know. It really is how well you know each other.

Priscilla:

Yeah. That’s good.

Ivan:

You know, networking can be so mercenary, especially if we treat networking like chess pieces, using them for your own best advantage. If you approach networking from a personal angle with a genuine desire to get to know others, you can have far greater success.So how can you deepen the relationship with people to get to the point where they are willing to help you or refer you in the future?

In this podcast, we are talking about not only BNI members but people you may meet in your networking efforts, people you may meet in a service club, people you may meet at a chamber function and, of course, people you may meet in BNI. So this applies to not only to your members that you know but also to others that you meet in networking opportunities.

I am going to give you four different techniques that will help you deepen your existing relationships with people to get to the point where they would be willing to help you or refer you in the future.

Priscilla:

Okay.

Ivan:

One is give them a personal call. I know, I know- calling someone on the phone is so last century, but hear me out here. Sending an email or a text won’t get the same results as someone as actually making the effort to call someone. So set up a 1-2-1 and do not, do not, do not try to sell them something. Set up this meeting to deepen the connection to start to build a professional relationship.

Now, if you don’t want to do a phone, I think Skype calls are great, especially Skype video. So you know, if you are dealing with somebody who does Skype video, Skype video them and have a conversation with them...