BNI- The Art of Connecting Others and Creating Business Referrals

Last Thursday I woke up bleary-eyed at 6am. I don’t usually rise at the crack of dawn but I was on my way to the BNI breakfast meeting, a business networking and referral group. I'd heard great things about BNI and was curious to see exactly how this referral service worked. Since the new hiphongkong has recently launched, I figured I’d go see how I could expand my network.

I had been reading Malcolm Gladwell’s book “The Tipping Point (Incidentally he’s coming to HKG for his first ever seminar). In the book, he talks about the ‘connector’ – a special type of person who takes great interest in a wide variety of people, seems to know everyone and is great at connecting people with other people that might enhance their lives or business in some way.

I know several people who have this unique social gift and they are always introducing me to valuable connections-usually via e-mail. A few of these friends are members of BNI and when I saw exactly how the meeting worked, I realized that their power of ‘connecting’ was skill that was acquired and perfected at BNI.

The meeting kicks off with coffee and networking, then everyone is seated. One of the members gives a run-down of the agenda. Following that, members and guests get 60 seconds to introduce their business and to ask the other members for referrals. At 50 seconds, someone is designated to ring a bell to make sure you don’t go overtime.

For example- one dentist introduced his practice and spoke about old amalgam fillings and how the mercury fumes can seep into your brain and cause damage. He asked the other members to refer him to people who have old fillings that might want to have them replaced. Another man, who was in the printing business, had just finished printing a children’s book that came with a tail and bunny ears. He asked if there was anyone who knew anyone that needed someone to print children’s books. After all the members were done, I introduced hiphongkong as a portal for learning about events and happenings around Hong Kong and asked if anyone knew any people who might want their events publicized or if anyone knew anyone who could contribute to website content.

There was an accountant, a lawyer, a translator, a personal trainer, a fashion designer, a PR person, an IT person specializing in data recovery, an interior designer, an events organizer, a printer, a caterer, a life coach etc... The group was very diverse and each person had their own network of connections which enriched and complemented other people’s networks.

Personally, I needed an accountant to help me with back tax forms, a lawyer to help me draw up a contract for hiphongkong, and an interior designer to help me renovate the flat that I own on Staunton Street. Plus, who knows when one might need a dentist!? In addition, Lara Jeffries, who runs a blog called ‘The Weekly Plug’ on hiphongkong was introduced to me by a BNI member!

Each week, one of the members gets to have a 10 minute presentation. In this meeting, life coach Ana Scherer spoke about life coaching, what it is, what her niche market is and why she’s qualified to be a coach. After the presentation, several people had agreed to do a group coaching session with her. (Click here to read an article she wrote on 'trailing spouses'- her niche market)

In the end, people gave each other testimonials and people thanked each other for referrals that they had given. It was amazing how much business had actually been done through the referrals in this group! The concept is- the more you refer other people, the more they will refer you. The belief is that word-of-mouth is the best way to generate business and BNI is a group which facilitates that in an organized environment.

Since you only have 60 seconds in which to present yourself, BNI teaches you a lot about public speaking and getting to the point. If anyone has ever participated in a ‘Toastmasters’ meeting (an institution that helps you improve your public speaking skills) something about BNI is similar to toastmasters. BNI also demonstrates to you how to network and connect people if you’re not already good at it. Special trainings are periodically offered to members.

I was thoroughly impressed with the way the meeting was conducted and I would highly recommend it to anyone who would like to improve their networking skills, stimulate their business and gain valuable connections at the same time.
 
http://www.bni.hk/aboutbni.html

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