J25 BNI Derby Business Networking

First of all, who are our visitors?

They can be people new to BNI and networking.  Or they can be BNI members from another chapter substituting for one of our members.

So why should we treat our visitors as guests? 

Ultimately we might want them to join our chapter.

Why do we want people to visit and hopefully join our chapter?

1. Because, visitors are the life blood of any BNI chapter.
2. Because every visitor is a potential customer for all the members in the chapter.
3. The more members we have the easier it is to pass referrals.
4. The greater the amount of referrals passed the greater the amount of business for everyone.

Networking groups are everywhere:

And chances are our visitors have been or will be visiting other networking groups.  90% of all visitors make their decision whether or not to join…in the first 10 minutes!

So first impressions really do count.

If visitors don’t feel comfortable with us and don’t feel welcomed:

A. They won’t be in a hurry to come back.

B. They’ll be less likely to give us referrals.

C. They won’t recommend us to their business contacts.

It’s not that long since I was visiting different BNI chapters looking for the right one to join.

I came to J25 first, I went off and tried the rest and then came back and joined the best!

But why did I join J25?

Because this is where I’d felt most welcomed. I felt comfortable here, there was a relaxed friendly atmosphere.  And because after the meeting I had a couple of phone calls from other people in the chapter.

So how can we continue to make visitors feel welcome?

It’s everyone’s responsibility not just the Visitor Hosts.  Put yourself in our vistors shoes…it can be daunting even for normally confident person to enter a room full of strangers.

Keep your eye out for visitors and substitutes…

And if you see anyone stood on their own, go over and introduce yourself.

So what can you talk to them about?:

You could talk to them about the Weather, about Football…or about a proper game like Rugby!  Obviously talk to them about their business.   Find out what they do and what type of business they are looking for.  Ask them who is their ideal client?  Think about which power circle they fit into - Introduce them to members in the same circle.

Tell them about J25 & BNI:

• Have they been to a BNI meeting or other similar networking events before?
• Do they understand the structure of the meeting?
• Point out to them that there’s an agenda on the back of the meeting sheet explaining their participation.
• Tell them how BNI has helped your business.

In conclusion:

Put yourself in their shoes.  Look after anyone that’s not a member and make them feel at home.  Treat them how you would like to be treated yourself if you walked into a room full of strangers.

Tracy Nettleship -  Larva Ltd