“OK, what’s the catch?” you might ask.

There is no catch.  That’s what referral networks can do.

“Sounds too good to be true.”  That’s not surprising.  After all – a whole sales force for almost nothing?  Most business owners don’t exactly stumble across such opportunities every day, and we’re taught from an early age that anything that sounds too good to be true, probably is.

But this is for real.  You may already be on to this not-so-well-kept secret – especially if you have read any of Ivan Misner’s books.  Just in case you’re new to the world of networking. though, here are three letters you’ll want to remember: BNI.

Dr Ivan Misner founded BNI in 1985.  BNI took off like a rocket as more and more businesspeople realised that joining a referral group was like getting a free sales force.  Since then, BNI has become the world’s largest business networking and referral organisation, with thousands of chapters in dozens of countries on every populated continent.  Organisations like this provide a structured system for generating business by referrals.  BNI’s purpose is to enable professionals to develop lasting relationships that lead to future business.

The primary purpose of the organisation is to pass qualified business referrals to its members.  The philosophy of BNI may be summed up in two simple words: Givers Gain.  If you give business to people, you will get business from them.  BNI allows only one person per profession to join a chapter.  The programme is designed to help businesspeople develop long-term relationships, thereby creating a basis for trust and, inevitably, referrals.  The mission of BNI is to help members increase their business through through a structured, positive, and professional word-of-mouth programme that enables them to develop long-term, meaningful relationships with quality business professionals.

Based on an independent study by Julien Sharp¹, each year the organisation’s participants pass millions of referrals, generating billions of dollars’ worth of business for its members worldwide.  No other networking organisation can claim such success.

To visit a chapter near you, visit www.bni.com.au.

¹ Julien Sharp, “Business Referral Study: Replication of 1993 BNI Study” (Kennedy-Western University, Agora Hills, CA, 1006).

This article is based on “The 29% Solution” by Ivan Misner PhD and Michelle R. Donovan.

This weeks Podacst from BNIPodcast.com:

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

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 Berkley, 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 professions, sometimes more, and there’s a great picture of him, Priscilla, with a little bubble over his head saying, “I’m a sharp shooter,” and then another bubble that says, “I’m a rodeo rider” and trying to take more than one classification, that they block potential members from joining the chapters. They deny the chapter of the connections, and that’s what’s really important is that if you try to take two, three, four classifications in a chapter, you’re really blocking the number of connections that can be brought by individuals.

On the eighth slide, he’s got this great diagram of blocking all the referrals that could be brought to [the] chapter over the years if they allowed other people in those classifications. And the Classification Cowboy claims that it is his or her right, it’s their job to take as many classifications as possible, but the truth is, it’s, as Dan says, it’s just darn rustling. It’s taking from the BNI chapter, which is his slide number 10. And he says, “Watch out. If you see him, don’t let him get too big for his boots and don’t bring him into a BNI group.”

This is a great PowerPoint presentation. I would urge members to print this out, take it to their chapter. I would urge members, this is a great educational coordinator’s presentation. It’s only about a dozen slides long. You can do this very quickly in just a few minutes and show it to people. Of course, give Dan credit. His contact information is there on the last slide.

But it really addresses an issue that, I think, when chapters get it – and particularly membership committees, because it’s the membership committees that control the classification issue. And membership committees should have this thing in front of them when they’re looking at a classification that somebody is applying for. Because if somebody’s taking multiple classifications, it restricts the number of people that are going to be in the group. And if it restricts the number of people that are going to be in the group, I guarantee you it will restrict the amount of referrals that are passed.

But even more importantly, I have found that when people try to find ways to work together rather than to compete with each other, that a lot of business can be done. I have seen multiple chapters – I was shocked once when I went to a chapter that had five, Priscilla, five attorneys.

Priscilla:
We have four!

Ivan:
You have four attorneys in your chapter?! I think you and I have talked about this once. That was shocking to me when I first heard it.

But as I start to talk to these attorneys, they tell me they pass more business to each other than any one other person in the group. Has that been the experience in your chapter?

Priscilla:
Yeah, well, they have very distinct categories.

Ivan:
Yeah, and they’re working with each other.

Priscilla:
Right.

Ivan:
It’s amazing how that happens, and so if you can get people in there who say, “Hey, look, this is really my area of expertise”…

Mind you, I’m not suggesting that you break your profession up on those core elements. I wouldn’t even necessarily say that you have to have more than one attorney, but the truth is, if an attorney does wills and trusts and their expertise is not family law, then they’re really different.

Priscilla:
Right.

Ivan:
Family law is a lot different than wills and trusts. And if you’re focus is wills and trusts, bring in a family law attorney. That family law attorney will send wills and trusts to you, and you can send the family law to them. And you end up really becoming working together very closely.

But the ones that are really frustrating to me are the ones that are really clearly different professions. It’s many kudos to your chapter for having four attorneys. That’s wonderful, and that’s an outstanding example of what I’m talking about.

But there are professions where the professions really clearly are two different professions; they’re not the same thing. And people are trying to take both categories, and that’s where it’s critical that that be stopped. And membership committees be active in being responsible for insuring that people don’t take multiple classifications.

Priscilla:
Yeah, it’s a difficult topic, because people will get a little bit defensive around that issue.

Ivan:
They do; they do. And if your chapter can coach them and guide them, that helps. And when push comes to shove, see, you’ve got to do this before you accept them. Once you’ve accepted them, then you’ve got a problem.

Priscilla:
Yeah.

Ivan:
Especially if you’ve accepted them under multiple classifications. Then you have to deal with it again when it comes up for renewal, and that becomes an angry situation that you want to try to avoid if you can.

So as much as possible, active membership committees who can address this issue before the person is made a member [are] much more likely to be successful. And there’s nothing wrong with the membership committee saying, “No, really, this is the classification. We’ll accept this one or this one. Which one is what you focus most on?” And it’s better for a chapter to say, “No, thank you” than to take somebody who has multiple – somebody who’s a Classification Cowboy. In the long run, that’s the better decision to make.

Priscilla:
Yep, I totally agree with you. [It] makes for a much stronger chapter.

Ivan:
Absolutely!

So everybody listening to this, print out the PowerPoint or the slides that we’ll have with this podcast. Feel free to share this in your chapter. And if you have a second, Dan Fletcher’s e-mail is on the last page. Drop Dan an e-mail, thank him for his efforts, because he contributed this all on his own. To me, this is a classic example of Givers Gain. He spent a lot of time doing this because he thought it was an important issue. I want to personally thank Dan, and if you take a look at this, drop Dan a e-mail and thank him as well.

Priscilla:
Okay, great!

Ivan:
Thanks, Priscilla.

Priscilla:
Thank you, Dr. Misner.

I think that’s it for this week. I would just like to remind the listeners that this podcast has been brought to you by AskIvanMisner.com. Thanks so much for listening. This is Priscilla Rice, and we hope you’ll join us next week for another exciting episode of The Official BNI Podcast.

In the last article we looked at Ivan Misner’s recommendation to “Learn to Play Golf or Something”. Have you considered becoming involved with a group of business people who share your recreational passions?

In this article we continue to look at how to get value for your time.

Have Purposeful Meal Meetings:
What is a purposeful meal meeting?  First, let’s clarify what it isn’t.  It’s not a way to escape work.  It’s not a romantic date. And, it’s not about critiquing new restaurants or reviewing fine wines for your local newspaper.

Oh, all those things can be great fun, no argument there.  It’s just that none of them are focused on (or maybe even conducive to) networking.  In fact, a purposeful meal meeting is nothing more than a meeting that includes a meal and a specific meaningful purpose.  And, the purpose, of course, happens to be networking.

The networking purpose for this meal meeting might be to further develop a relationship, to help a colleague solve a problem, to learn how to refer someone in your network, to introduce your colleague to someone significant, or to teach someone how to talk about your business to his or her own network members. These meetings are strategic and results oriented.  They provide high value for your invested time.  The primary focus should always be on developing the relationship.  Learning about each other, helping one another with problems, and giving of ourselves – that’s what defines a purposeful meal meeting.

Relationships move our lives and businesses forward, closer to our goals.

Take Action:

If you haven’t included meals among your networking goals, now is the time to determine how to fit this networking strategy into your schedule.  When you make that first appointment make sure the other person knows the purpose of your meeting in advance.

In the last article we looked at Ivan Misner’s recommendation to “Be ON 24/7”. Have you tried making contact with at least one new person a day?

This article looks at how to get value for your time.

Learn to Play Golf or Something:
Most people would agree that playing golf can be good for forging relationships. The main reason for this is that it is a non-threatening environment ( at least if you can play golf).  We all know people who routinely play golf as a way of developing their business.

Not everyone likes to play golf, of course.  Other activities can be used to engage with people beyond the pressures of day-to-day business, creating an environment that’s convivial and designed to forge relationships: a bowling league, a cricket team, a netball team, a bird-watching society, a football team, a billiards group, a fishing trip or a book club.

Whatever activity you prefer, you can use it as a “catalyst event”.  Catalyst events bring people together in situations that are conducive to forming symbiotic relationships. They result in great visibility, which leads to credibility and, eventually, profitability for your business – also known as the VCP Process of networking.

How do you capitalize on the potential of your catalyst events to generate referrals for you?  By inviting the right people to these events.  Let’s go back to the golf game as an example.  You could coordinate a golf foursome with several of your business contacts who don’t know each other, but who would be able to cross-refer to each other: your accountant, your financial advisor, and your mortgage broker.  As these golfers develop a deeper relationship with one another, they will remember that you brought them together – and they will do what they can to make sure that you are getting what you need in return.

Take Action:
This week think about your interests and what you can do to gain from becoming involved with a group of business people who share your recreational passions.

In the last article we looked at Ivan Misner’s recommendation to “follow-up today”. Have you reviewed your contact management system to ensure that it can record data about your networking partners that will be useful to your follow up activities?

In this article  we will look at how to get value for your time.

Be ‘ON’ 24/7:
Near the beginning of this series of workshops based on Ivan Misner’s book “The 29% Solution” we looked at Misner’s “Top Ten Traits” of master networkers was a commitment to networking 24/7.

According to Misner a master networkers are never off duty. (except perhaps when they are asleep).  Networking is so natural to them that they can be found networking in the super market checkout line, at the doctor’s office and while picking the kids up from school – as well as at chamber of commerce meetings.  Master networkers take advantage of every opportunity that’s presented to them on a daily basis. They operate in the “Givers Gain” mind-set and are first and foremost looking for opportunities for the people in their network.

You never know when someone standing beside you might be connected to a huge opportunity.  If you’re not “ON” you loose access to that opportunity.  Just as bad, the person standing there looses access to a great resource – you!  And most importantly, the real “opportunity cost” of not being available to that person: he or she knows a bunch of other people who – if you are asleep at the networking wheel – will likewise never connect with you.

Rather than constantly direct selling, the best way to build meaningful relationships is to help someone whenever possible.  Effective networking is all about building relationships by truly helping other people – and there’s never a “wrong” time to help people.

Take Action:
This week is the perfect time to review your contacts with people. Do you routinely look for opportunities to engage people who are not already in your network, in conversation.  If you just talk to one new person per day – that’s 365 new contacts per year.  Think of the networking potential in those numbers.

In the last article we looked at Ivan Misner’s recommendation to send a thank you card. Have you selected someone who did something special for you and sent a thank you card?

This article will look at follow up.

Follow Up Today:
As part of the preparation for writing his book Masters of Networking Ivan Misner did a survey of 2,000 business professionals on a number of continents (including Australia) and found that they ranked “follow up on referrals” as the most important trait of a master networker.

When you first make contact with another business person with the intention of building a networking relationship with them, they will judge you harshly if you don’t do what you say you will do.  They may even test you before deciding whether they want to get to know you better.  This sizing up starts with determining whether you can make commitments and follow through on them.

Your ability follow up on what you say you are going to do – when you say you’re going to do it – is critical toward building credibility and ultimately networking your business successfully.  Good follow up is not just doing what is required or what you’ve promised to do. It also involves going beyond what is expected.  If you become aware that a business contact has a problem, look for opportunities to solve that problem for them.  This gives you the chance to “go the extra mile”, and enhance your reputation as the “go-to-guy”.  The key to effective follow up is – do it now.

Good follow requires a system for keeping track of your networking partners, your meetings and appointments with them, and their professional needs and personal interests.  With this information ready at hand and easy to access, you can keep track every day of ways to enhance your value to them.  A good contact management system – whether computer based, or manual – can be the basis of good follow up.

Take Action:
Review your contact management system to ensure that it can record data about your networking partners that will be useful to your follow up activities.

The last article looked at Ivan Misner’s recommendation volunteer and become visible. Have you found a suitable volunteer organisation?  Have you taken the first step of visiting that organization?

In this article we will look at sending a thank-you card.

Send a Thank-You Card:
These workshops over recent weeks have been about “Going the Extre Mile”. Do you remember: “Be a Value Added Friend”, “Become a Catalyst”, “Find an Accountability Partner”, and “Volunteer and Become Visible”.  These were all about “going the extra mile” in your networking relationships.

But, what do you do if someone in your network “goes the extra mile” for you?  A quick telephone call or a short email might be your normal solution, but why not take a few moments to show real appreciation be sending a thank-you card?  Taking the time to write a few lines, address an envelope and add a postage stamp can make a small but significant personal impact on one special human being.  It’s the next best thing to being there, and it takes no more than two minutes from start to finish.  Most people enjoy receiving a handwritten card, but few actually do it themselves for other people.  On the other hand, people who write thank-you cards tend to receive more of them.

You might ask “when do you send a thank-you card?  It doesn’t have to be complicated.  When someone goes the extra mile for you, send them a card.  You can send thank-you cards for such things as giving a referral, making an in-person introduction, helping with an event, or solving a problem.  When you send that thank-you card, remember: never, ever include your business card. The thank-you card should be all about your gratitude, and never about pushing your business card on someone who has not asked for it.

Take Action:
Go out and select thank-you cards that reflect your business, pick someone who has done something special for you, write a few lines, stuff the envelope, attach a stamp and post it.

If you are so much into the electronic age that you just can’t “write” anything without using a keyboard then go online and google Send Out Cards Australia – they’ll do it all for you – real cards – real stamps – real Post Office delivery.

In the last article we looked at Ivan Misner’s recommendation about finding an accountability partner in your network.  Have you arranged a suitable accountability partner?

This time we look at how to volunteer and become visible.

Volunteer and Become Visible:
One of the first steps toward networking your business is to become more visible in the community.  Remember that people need to know you, like you, and trust you in order to refer you.  This strategy will focus on the “know you” part.  As people get to know you, they will learn to like and trust you – at least I hope so, because people don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.

Volunteering can position you to meet key people in your community.  It connects you with people who share your passion.  It gives you opportunities to demonstrate your talents, skills, and integrity, as well as your ability to follow up and do what you say you are going to do.  It instantly expands the depth and breadth of your network.

And, it does all this outside the business arena, so people who are getting to know you will not be experiencing you in the “customer” mind-set.  You will not be selling to them.  Rather, you will be giving to them.

Volunteering is not a recreational activity; it’s a serious commitment to help fulfill a need.  To find an organization or cause that aligns with your interests, you need to approach volunteerism with a healthy level of thought and strategy.

Take Action:
To find a suitable volunteer organization, consider:
what do you enjoy doing in your spare time?
what hobbies do you enjoy?
what sports do you know well enough to teach?.
what brings you joy and satisfaction?
what social, political, or health issue are you passionate about?
Once you have found it, visit the organization to “try it on” before making a commitment.

The last article looked at Ivan Misner’s recommendation about becoming a catalyst in your network.  Did you reach out for help from someone?

This time we will look at how to find an accountability partner.

Find an Accountability Partner:
Why do people hire a personal trainer?  Why do they hire a business coach?  The answer, for the most part, is accountability. We tend to perform better if we are being held accountable to someone else, particularly if it is someone we respect, like a mentor or a study partner.  Being held accountable for our actions, performance and commitments tends to heighten our awareness of what we have promised to do.

So it is with networking.  As we have focused on Ivan Misner’s recommendations week-by-week, you have no doubt promised yourself to get out of the cave and to attend networking functions.  You may even have taken the step of outing these weekly tasks into your PDA, but then life gets in the way.  How many times have you promised yourself that today will be the day the start working out/ losing weight/ doing what-ever, only to find that life send you twists and surprises that get in the way.

How much easier would it be to start working out today, for example, if you had made a commitment to meet a personal trainer in the park at 6:00am precisely.  You’re accountable; you don’t want to disappoint them (quite apart from the cost).

So why not find an accountability partner for your networking goals.  That way every time you commit to a strategy, your accountability partner can keep you to the task.  This is particularly the case in formal networking situations like BNI. If your whole team had accountability partners helping to keep them on track, focused on their goals, how much more productive would the team be?

Take Action:
If you don’t already have an accountability partner, find one this week.  Don’t choose a close friend – friends often have trouble holding friends accountable.  Approach someone you respect as a business colleague; someone who would not be afraid to push you to meet targets; someone who also respects to power of effective networking.

In the last article we looked at Ivan Misner’s recommendation about becoming a Value Added Friend

This time we will look at how to become a catalyst in your network.

Become a Catalyst:

By definition, a catalyst is an agent that initiates a reaction.  In networking, there are three kinds of people: those who wait and watch for things to happen, those who make things happen, and those who wonder what the heck happened.

A catalyst is one who makes things happen.  Without a catalyst, there is no spark, and not much gets done.  Think of all the catalysts you know.  Who is the catalyst in your home?  Who is the catalyst among your social contacts, and importantly, who is the catalyst in your network?  What would change if there were no catalysts?  What would it take for you to become a catalyst for your business and your network?  Let’s look at the characteristics shared by catalytic people?

Initiative: Catalytic people don’t sit still – they make things happen in all aspects of their lives.

Intention: Catalytic people operate with intent and are goal driven.  They eliminate chance by creating their own luck.

Confidence: Catalytic people have confidence in themselves and in the players on their team.  They also have confidence in their skills and abilities.

Motivation: Catalytic people are not only motivated themselves, but they can also motivate others to perform at their highest potential.

As a catalytic person, your job is to be the team captain of your network, to motivate your players by giving of yourself.

Take Action: This week’s task is to reach out to a value-added friend in your network.  Reach out to that person, and ask them for help in becoming a catalytic peson to your network.