Our Members Tell it Best
Mike Ryan
Haussmann Financial
I’d like to take a few minutes and answer two questions:
1) Why did I join BNI? and
2) Why have I been a member for 26 years?
1) Why BNI?
First, let me give you a little background:
I came into the financial services industry with no identifiable market for potential clients.
I joined the premier financial planning company at that time CIGNA or Connecticut General which had an intense three year training program (classes on Saturdays) with two full time attorneys one of whom taught classes. So technically their field force was well trained.
However, the way they trained us to find our potential clients was the “one card system.” Namely, collect 500 cards and call the people and ask for an appointment. (See card #436) As you run out of cards add 10 more each day (routine) so that you have enough suspects to call.
I got through this process, earned honors in sales and then went into agency management for several years until they came and closed all their agencies.
Now I was back to square one. Starting all over again.
But the one thing I knew was that there was an easier way to meet potential prospects than the way I started in the business and I didn’t want to go through that again.
So when a church friend and former agent who had worked for me said that some people were going to join Ivan Misner and put together a professional referral group--was I interested-- I said of course I was and I joined BNI.
It was quite simple--- I eat breakfast every morning and here was a good way to make that time profitable.
It also provided me then and it does now with the ability to identify the ideal referral or prospect for me.
What are the attributes of a good referral or prospect for me?
-Available to me on a favorable basis (Stats)- The BNI Plus
-Sincere desire to solve problems
-Has a need and an ability to solve that need
-Character
The BNI process provides a way for me to identify these attributes in a potential client. Some of these attributes are already identified for me by a BNI member who refers a person to me.
2) Why be a BNI member for a long period of time?
It is my belief that you never stop seeking out new clients. It is crucial to maintain the clients you have and to add new clients for growth.
If you are not growing you basically are going backwards, especially in this economy. I’m a real numbers person and numbers work, they provide “peace of mind“(Story).
Just as importantly, if you aren’t disciplined in obtaining new clients you are limited in your ability to change your marketing plans or maturing your business.
What do I mean by this? Well when I began my firm we sold health and disability insurance, life insurance plus a myriad of financial products. Because of the numbers of cases I worked on I became stuck on a plateau limited by how much I could do and, hence, how much I made. Namely, I couldn’t get the growth I wanted.
We had to change (I used a business coach). We eliminated the products we sold by partnering with our BNI insurance broker member to provide the health, disability and long term care for our clients (risk management).
We re-defined to our BNI members the type of referral we wanted through using the BNI process…i.e. “One on One” etc. The result was that we increased our revenue by over 200% in five years. BNI helped this happen.
Going to a weekly BNI meeting regularly helps keep you focused on the right things: especially your frame of reference, obtaining referrals and growing your business. You are not in a vacuum; you are with motivated people.
Secret of success: Gray’s quote on the “Common Denominators of Success
Tony Kuo
Video Name Tag
My name is Tony Kuo with VideoNameTag.com.This year’s 2010 BNI International Conference was phenomenal for our company’s growth. In a single day, I met with over 25 international directors and about a dozen U.S. directors.
I was able to increase my product awareness to businesses around the world in a single session of networking and began talks of distribution with countries such as Brazil, Portugal, Africa, Hungary, France as well as South America and various regions of the U.K. The conference provided a portal for me to access markets normally too far and too foreign for me.
At the conference, I didn’t desperately run around shaking hands with important-looking figures. I was referred!
I owe an incredible debt of gratitude to Jeremy Ball of Mr. Miniblind (Rancho Cucamonga, CA). He is a networking guru. He was able to give me not 10, not 20, but a whopping 75 Tier Two referrals in a single day!
And these weren’t weak referrals. They were qualified by him. As much attention as my product can draw on its own, it was no match for the almighty referral.
Jeremy spent nearly the entire day as my appointment manager and spoke nothing of his business. He truly lives out Givers Gain.
I myself am inspired to give more without asking for anything back. At this year’s International Conference, I have truly experienced BNI’s “Local Business- Global Network!”
Robb Idels
CompuEase
My first career was 25 years in the entertainment industry. I starting in the mailroom at Universal Studios and progressed through various departments and managerial positions eventually leading me to feature and television production and post-production.
I enjoyed most of those years and the experience taught me many things beyond the creative.
I learned the value of listening and observing before opening my mouth;
I gained the skill to motivate my staff to invest themselves in the end product;
I discovered that when negotiating, a deal isn’t good if it’s not good for both parties;
And most important; after the deal is made I learned that it’s better to back out of a room so you can see the knife coming rather than being stabbed in the back.
You get used to being cautious and you invest your trust carefully.
After escaping the “Business”, as we vainly called it, I found myself working in sales where I was expected to make phone and door to door cold call for a minimum of 2 hours a day. I eventually joined the Rosebowl Chapter of BNI because I figured it was the kind of organization a salesperson should join.
At my first International Directors Conference Members Day, I had the opportunity to meet Dr. Misner who spoke eloquently about BNI’s philosophy and mission. I told him that every morning I had to decide if I was going to cold call for two hours that day or stick a fork in my eye. They were both as painful, but one of them wasted much less time.
After about a year and a half; being motivated by a better way; I started my own business. I was never trained to be an entrepreneur nor did I have any real business education. I knew how to survive and thrive in a corporate environment, but being a sole proprietor was shockingly more difficult. It is very clear to me that I would not have survived my first year in business without the resources and wisdom I gained from BNI and definitely without the strong support of my chapter.
I am starting my third year in business which I expect to be profitable.
The diametric contrast between backing out of a room and “Givers Gain” is palpable and has had an effect on every aspect of my life.