Week 4 March Madness Numbers Released!

Welcome to the standings BNI Buck Starts Here-Ozark and Premier Results.....Standings are starting to settle in, but will there be some shake-ups in the next several weeks?


March Madness Week 3 Top 20 poll:

1. (1) Greater Joplin Business Connection (Big Sky) 1,905

2. (2) 4 State Referral Ntwk-Joplin (Big Sky) 1,860

3. (3) Belleville, IL. (Big Ten) 1,260

4. (4) Think Big-Nixa (WAC) 950

5. (5) Business Power Ntwk-Springfield (Pac-10) 710

6. (6) Lake Business Builders (Pac-10) 695

7. (7) Professional Business Builders (Missouri Valley) 645

7. (20) Building Business Connections (Missouri Valley) 645

7. (NR) The Buck Starts Here-Ozark (Big Sky) 645
8. (9) Rainmakers-St. Charles (Mtn West) 555

9. (11) Business by Referral-Springfield (SWAC) 545

10. (10) Business Now (Big West) 510

11. (12) Springfield Business Connection (Pac-10) 480

11. (8) Bigger Net Income-Springfield (SWAC) 480

12. (18) St. charles West (C-USA) 435

12. (9) Joplin ABC (Big Sky) 435

13. (14) Business Builders Central (Big East) 385

14. (20) S.M.A.R.T.- Springfield (Pac-10) 375

15. (13) St. Charles (C-USA) 345

15. (16) Mid-Missouri Business Network-Columbia (Big XII) 345

16. (17) 417 Business Builders-Springfield (SWAC) 320

17. (18) Givers Gain-St. Charles (M-West) 315

18. (20) Show Me the Referrals-Springfield (Pac-10) 290

19. (NR) Premier Results (A-10) 270

19. (15) Clayton West (Big East) 270

20. (19) St. Louis Success Net (SEC) 260

Click HERE for the East Standings

Click HERE for the West

This Weeks Tip from “The Commish”:

In MSP training, we speak about inviting visitors or thinking about the “inviting mindset”. What that means is that you are always thinking about introducing potential new members and visitors to the members of your group as a business strategy to help them increase their business- in the spirit of “Givers Gain.”

A lot of times when we speak on the topic of visitors in front of BNI members and groups , I like to ask “How many of you would like to add another meeting to your calendar?”. It is interesting- we have very few takers out there. Could it be that we have enough meetings in our life?

I like to follow up with this question “How many people would like to meet some people who could help their business? Some valuable new contacts?- when I put it that way, almost everyone raises their hand…..so here is the question I am going to ask you this week- Why not invite visitors to introductions, not meetings? Do we think we could have more visitors show up to our BNI chapter? Here are some great scripts you could use to increase the amount of visitors you bring to your BNI chapter:

-I have a friend whose business has a lot in common with yours. You might be able to help each other out. Would you like to meet him/her?

-I do business with a lot of people who you should probably know. Do you like to network with people over lunch/breakfast?

-Let’s do lunch/breakfast. I’ll introduce you to some people who might be able to do some business with you

Even if they are not able to make your BNI meeting this week, these could turn into some really nice referrals for the people in your chapter you would like to introduce- and isn’t that why we are here in the first place? Outside referrals and closed business!

Have an incredible week!!

To Our Success,

Mike "The Commish" Tobin
miketobin@bnistl.com

Week 3 March Madness Numbers are in- Rivalries and Challenges are really heating up!

March Madness 2010 has been very interesting to this point so far.....we have seen some very interesting things in our chapters. BNI St. Charles had a video of the SNL character Father Guido Sarduchi (played by Dr. Joe DiCarlo) that got everyone pumped up and excited. Matter of fact, he got the entire chapter doing "Pants on the Ground" with a BNI twist- nice!

At BNI Rainmakers-St. Charles, they have installed a mini basketball hoop that is incorporated in the chapters' 50/50 program.....they have the chapter divided into competitive teams and will have the winning chapter "cut the hoop" at the end of the promotion.

BNI Business Partners-Springfield had their chapter coach, Gary Bennett, start March Madness 2010 with an old time radio spot, complete with some singing!

And at BNI Greater Joplin Business Connection, they have proved that you can have (70+) members, (20-30) visitors every week, and still get the entire operation done on time!

This weeks March Madness 2010 tip was submitted by Ann Aranda of BNI Professional Business Builders. Click HERE to read this weeks tip.

March Madness Week 3 Top 20 poll:

1. (1) Greater Joplin Business Connection (Big Sky) 1710

2. (2) 4 State Referral Ntwrk-Joplin (Big Sky) 1455

3. (3) Belleville, IL. (Big Ten) 1020

4. (9) Think Big-Nixa (WAC) 740

5. (8) Business Power Ntwk-Springfield (Pac-10) 650

6. (4) Lake Business Builders (Pac-10) 590

7. (6) Professional Business Builders (Mo Valley) 495

8. (7) Bigger Net Income-Springfield (SWAC) 450

9. (5) Joplin ABC (Big Sky) 405

9. (7) Rainmakers-St. Charles (M-Wst) 405

10. (6) Business Now (Big West) 390

11. (16) Business by Referral-Springfield (SWAC) 365

12. (17) Springfield Business Connection (Pac-10) 315

13. (14) St. Charles (C-USA) 270

14. (11) Business Builders Central (Big East) 260

15. (NR) Clayton West (Big East) 240

16. (19) Mid-Missouri Ntwk-Columbia (Big XII) 220

17. (NR) 417 Business Builders-Springfield (SWAC) 215

18. (17) Referral Masters (Big West) 210

18. (10) St. Charles West (C-USA) 210

18. (10) Givers Gain-STC (M-West) 210

18. (17) Washington (Big XII) 210

18. (NR) Success Link-Springfield (SWAC) 210

18. (NR) Business Partners-Springfield (SWAC) 210

19. (18) St. Louis Success Net (SEC) 200

20. (14) All Biz (Big West) 195

20. (NR) Building Business Connections (MO Valley) 195

20. (12) Show Me The Referrals-Springfield (Pac-10) 195

20. (20) S.M.A.R.T.-Springfield (Pac-10) 195

20. (15) Show Me The Business-Branson (WAC) 195

Click HERE for East Division

Click HERE for West Division

To Our Success,

Mike "The Commish" Tobin

miketobin@bnistl.com

Ideas to generate more visitors during BNI "March Madness" by Ann Aranda

Here are some great ideas for generating more visitors that will lead to more referrals during winter (BNI March Madness Contest)- Ann Aranda is a member of the BNI Professional Business Builders Chapter in St. Louis, MO.!

Ideas/weekly challenges BNI Professional Business Builders in Ellisville MO has rolled out for March Madness--

Challenge #1: Nerf Basketball in Power Teams = 1 player from each power team takes 5 shots. MVP team is the one with the most scores! This is just for fun!

PREP FOR Challenge #2: Call your best customers and vendors to let them know you can be a resource for them. Invite them to join you and your 50+ strategic alliance partners for breakfast and networking $10 on Tuesday 1/26/10… see inviting scripts in BNI Doc Library.

Challenge #2- Bring your best client or vendor to BNI today
PREP FOR Challenge #3: Identify a minimum of 3 business professionals that you can count on to substitute for you if you must be absent. Call them to invite for breakfast/networking on Tues 2/2. See inviting scripts in BNI Document Library.

Challenge #3- Bring your substitute(s) to BNI today.
PREP FOR Challenge #4: Call the members of your power team for a 15 minute telephone 121 to help you concentrate on getting a referral for that member. Log this as a 121 in the BNI system.

Challenge #4— 121’s within power team… power team with the most 121’s wins MVP for the week.
PREP FOR Challenge #5: Power Team members identify the top 2-3 Missing In Action professions from your power team. Concentrate your invitations on these 2-3 MIA professions to invite to next week’s meeting. Make sure to let them know that we are actively searching for a ***** to build a relationship with and send business referrals to.

Challenge #5— Bring a visitor identified as MIA in your power team.
PREP FOR Challenge #6: Invite someone that the speaker(s) have identified for you to bring to the meeting to hear them speak next week.

Challenge #6— bring a professional that this week’s featured speakers have asked you to bring to hear them speak.
PREP FOR Challenge #7: Call the following business professionals and connectors to invite to next week’s meeting… member of your local chamber of commerce, member of your local rotary/lions club/service organization, member of your church, member of a philanthropy that you are involved in, local government official, local retail store owner, local medical professional (doctor, dentist, optomotrist, dermatologist, etc…

To our continued success... THINK BIG, AIM HIGH, ACT BOLD in 2010!

Ann Aranda
BNI Professional Business Builders- St. Louis, MO.

To The Next Level: I love it when......by Dan P. Chiodo

Soon it will be Valentines Day. But you don’t have to wait until that day to say something positive to your spouse, significant other, family or friends. Let them know all the good things they do. Say:

“I Love It When You… (fill in the blank)”

I would like to speak about our BNI chapter’s Business & Communication Etiquette. Each of us should try to be model BNI chapter members. Here’s what our fellow members should say about us:

I love it when you…

1. …speak to me face to face whenever possible, leaving other forms of communication as second

2. …give me complete information (no more no less than I need) when you can’t communicate face to face

3. …you say you’ll get back to me as soon as you can-- and you do

4. …stay on top of every channel of communication (e-mail, voice mail, etc. no matter which one I use

5. …verify that I got your message-- because just maybe I didn’t

6. …I never have to make multiple calls to you to get action. I have plenty of choices of businesses to use, but I’d rather be doing business with you

7. …I give you a deadline for a BNI project I’m working on --and you honor it. I’ll do the same for you.

8. …would not think of saying: “I don’t read my e-mail.” because that could mean lost business

9. …keep our visitors in mind during a meeting. We want to show them our very best side, since they’ll be talking about what they heard and saw

10. …would never think of saying anything negative about anyone in this room, because you always discuss these matters with them privately

11. ..listen so actively and so well — just like you’re doing right now

Dan Chiodo is the Educational Coordinator for BNI Greater Joplin Business Connection in Joplin, Missouri. He is also an Executive Coach and Trainer with Impact training, doing work in the United States, as well as other countries. One of the areas his firm specializes in is strategic communication.

Week 2 March Madness Numbers are in- the top 20 is starting to fill in!

Week 2 has started and the rankings are starting to narrow--we still have quite the way to go to see who will end up on top! Chapters that are utilizing this and having fun are seeing a large influx of visitors and new energy to their chapters!

BNI "March Madness" Top 20 Poll- Week 2

1. (1) Greater Joplin Business (Big Sky) ,035 pts

2. (3) 4 State Referral Network-Joplin (Big Sky) 870 pts

3. (2) Belleville, IL. (Big 10) 615 pts

4. (5) Lake Business Builders (Pac-10) 320 pts

5. (12) Joplin ABC (Big Sky) 285 pts

6. (5) Business Now (Big West) 270 pts

6. (5) Professional Business Builders (Missouri Valley) 270 pts

7. (6) Rainmakers- St. Charles (Mountain West) 255 pts

7. (7) Bigger Net Income-Springfield (SWAC) 255 pts

8. (11) Business Power Network-Springfield (Pac-10) 230 pts

9. (4) Think Big-Nixa (WAC) 225 pts

10. (8) St. Charles West (C-USA) 210 pts

10. Givers Gain-St. Charles 210 pts

11. (NR) Business Builders Central (Big East) 195 pts

12. (12) Show Me the Referrals-Springfield (Pac-10) 180

13. (NR) Referral Builders (A-10) 170 pts

14. (12) St. Charles (C-USA) 165 pts

14. (13) St. Clair County, IL (Big 10) 165 pts

14. (9) All Biz (Big West) 165 pts

15. (NR) Show Me the Business-Branson (WAC) 160 pts

16. (NR) Business by Referral-Springfield (SWAC) 155 pts

17. (13) Referral Masters (Big West) 150 pts

17. (10) Washington (Big XII) 150 pts

17. (13) Springfield Business Connection (Pac 10) 150 pts

18. (9) St. Louis Success Net (SEC) 140 pts

19. (13) FAST (ACC) 130 pts

19. (NR) Mid-Missouri Business Ntwk-Columbia (Big XII) 130 pts

20. (12) S.M.A.R.T.- Springfield (Pac-10) 120 pts

20. (13) West County (Big West) 120 pts

20. (13) Westport lunch (Big West) 120 pts

Click HERE for the East Division standings

Click HERE for the West Division Standings

This Weeks Tip from “The Commish”:



What is the best way to help a potential new member make a decision about our chapter? What does a visitor need to go from being a visitor to becoming a new member? This is the question, is it not? We know that a new member to our chapter can bring over (50) referrals per year (based on a chapter over 25) and our average referral is worth about $1,050 (based on actual BNI Missouri-Southern Illinois “Show Me The Money” numbers) so every time we add a new member, it could be worth at least $52,000 in business to the chapter!




So, the magic question is “How do we increase the number of people who join our chapter?”



Here are some thoughts:

1. People are making emotional decisions about your chapter:


How does the chapter make them feel? Has a visitor host called them a couple of days before the meeting? Does someone in the chapter take them around the room to meet everyone? When do members arrive? (Visitors will show 15 min. early, and that is their first impression). Does everyone open network, or is there a lot of “Net-sit” going on?



2. Visitors need to know it is one person per profession:


Does our chapter have several people from the same profession show up on the same day? Do they know they can visit twice, but to lock out their competition, they need to apply today? Does it feel like a privilege (not a right) to be a member of our chapter? Does that show in the things we say to visitors in and out of the meeting?



3.Visitors would like to be asked to join:


What does the investment to join look like in your chapter? Is it persuasive and delivered with meaning? Do visitors get an application placed in front of them during this portion? Is someone taking the time to sit down with potential new applicants to interview them?



4. 48% of the chapters do not follow up with visitors:


Visitors would love to be invited back. Everyone knows “what” needs to be done, but the real question is “who” is going to do it. Does your chapter have a 4-6 “touch” follow up plan in place for your chapter.

These are just a few thought for this week….we will be visiting these more in depth as the weeks of March Madness 2010 continue

If you come up with something that really works well for you and your chapter, please share it with us! We would love to promote you and your chapter in our online newsletter, http://www.bnitoday.com/ If you do so, please include a couple of photos we can use as well.

To Our Success,

Mike (The Commish) Tobin

miketobin@bnistl.com

Justin Patterson, Hlavacek Morris McIntyre Yates & Danielson , BNI Pay It Forward-Springfield

Here is a great testimonial to the power of BNI! Justin is a member of the BNI Pay It Forward-Springfield Chapter. You can view his BNI profile HERE

Way to go Justin and BNI Pay It Forward-Springfield

BNI Gold: Top 10 Way to Waste Your Time in a Networking Group by Dr. Ivan Misner

Networking groups pay off handsomely in terms of referral business, so make the most of every single meeting and avoid wasting time—especially in the following ten ways:

Word-of-mouth marketing is a sure-fire way to generate new business. A single referral can bring in a chain reaction of business, as one satisfied customer tells others, who in turn tell still others. It’s no wonder that networking groups pay off handsomely in terms of referral business and a membership in a good networking group can be worth a considerable amount of money, especially if you calculate the time you spend each month and the business value of your time.

Make your time and efforts worthwhile. Don’t squander your opportunity by doing the wrong things in those meetings!

Success in a networking group comes when the rest of the group members trust you enough to open up their best referrals to you. Until they’ve seen your work, you have to earn that trust by demonstrating your professionalism to them. Since I founded BNI almost 25 years ago, I’ve seen how people have truly succeeded in networks and I’ve seen how people have totally wasted their time in them.

Here are the top ten ways to waste your time in a networking group (avoid all of them):

# 10. Go ahead, air your grievances among your fellow networkers and guests—after all, they really want to hear about your complaints.

#9. Wing it in your regular presentations to fellow members—you’ve got plenty more chances anyway.

#8. Use 1 to 1 meetings to talk about your networking groups’ issues—instead of learning a lot more about each other.

#7. Focus your efforts on selling your services primarily to the members of the group.

#6. Don’t rush to follow up on a referral when someone gives you one—Hey, they know where to find you if they really need you, right?

#5. While other people are doing their introductions, that’s the perfect time to think about what referrals you can give that week.

#4. Why invite your own guests? Just focus on those who show up.

#3. Don’t worry—if you get to the meeting late, no one will notice.

#2. Be absent, it’s no big deal—you can just call in your referrals, right?

And the #1 way to waste your time in networking groups—–

#1. It’s OK, take that phone call or text message during a meeting—it won’t bother anyone, and it’s a real sign of professionalism that everyone admires.

So there it is - The Top 10 Ways to Waste Your Time in a Networking Group! Imagine how you might respond to someone in your networking group who continually exhibited the behaviors above. Would you be anxious to pass them referrals? Of course not! You would be hesitant to pass them any referrals at all because you would be pretty well convinced that they would be just as unprofessional and irresponsible with your valued connections.

We all need to beware of these ten pitfalls and take great care to avoid them. They are great reminders that doing business through word-of-mouth marketing requires a special ingredient that only you can supply: your commitment. You have to commit to the process from the beginning. You have to be an active, responsible, professional, accountable participant and show your fellow networkers the respect, attention, and support that you want them to give you.

You see, the key concept in referral marketing is relationships—and referral relationships don’t just spring up full grown: they must be nurtured. Avoid the ten mistakes on this list because they are detrimental to growing your referral relationships, and they will cause the time you spend in your networking meetings to be nothing more than a waste of time.

Focus on growing your referral relationships by acting in ways that are exactly opposite of what’s described above and concentrate on building relationships based on mutual trust and shared benefits. You’ll get a lot more out of your group and so will your fellow members. So, print out this list, memorize it, and share it with your fellow networking members.

Remember, your network is not something you can start putting together when the need arises. When you need it, you need it now. You need to begin developing relationships now with the people whose help you will need in the future, and your networking group meetings offer the perfect opportunity and the perfect place to do this. Make the most of this opportunity because there’s no room for wasted time in the life of a true networking professional.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Called “The Father of Modern Networking” by CNN, Dr. Ivan Misner is a New York Times bestselling author. He is the Founder and Chairman of BNI (www.bni.com), the world’s largest business networking organization. His latest #1 bestseller, The 29% Solution can be viewed at www.29PercentSolution.com. Dr. Misner is also the Sr. Partner for the Referral Institute, an international referral training company (www.referralinstitute.com).