I recently joined a networking group to help expand our presence in the local business community. I looked at several options but chose to join the Rock Solid Referrals chapter of BNI. BNI is the largest professional business networking organization in the world with over 5,000 chapters across the globe, each allowing just one person per professional specialty. The philosophy of this organization is built upon the idea of "Givers Gain®": By giving business to others, you will get business in return. This is predicated on the age-old idea of "What goes around, comes around." Entering their fifth year as a chapter, BNI / Rock Solid Referrals is the most dynamic and successful chapter in Monmouth County, NJ. I chose this chapter of BNI because of their success rate. In 2013 their members gained almost $700,000 in business from referrals they got from each other.
The members of the group are diverse, from a life coach to a web page designer and many stops in between. Particularly there are several members that are a natural ‘power team’ for me; a real estate agent, a probate attorney, a general contractor, a real estate attorney, an electrician and a couple others that mesh nicely with a real estate investor. However, the real power in the group lies not only in knowing these folks but in getting to know who they know.
Each week I get to give a one minute commercial about my business and ask for a specific referral. Once every couple of months I get to give a 10 minute presentation and offer a more comprehensive explanation of our business. I gave my first 10 min. presentation last week. I have attached a link to a video made of my talk. I ran into some technical difficulties. Thankfully, another member of the group jumped in to get the slide show unfrozen for me. This may not be my shiniest moment in the spotlight but, the message gets delivered. I have also attached a copy of the slide show since you really can’t see it in the video. https://www.dropbox.com/s/xf4usib5hte0w31/VHR%20Presentation.pptx
Being a part of the BNI group has been beneficial so far. I have gotten referrals that will prove useful. I have also been able to refer people I know to other members of the group. Our message is getting out there in ever widening circles. It’s social media the old-school way; actually socializing with other human beings. What a concept!
Right now the only downside to the whole thing is that the meetings start at 7 AM and it’s about 20 or so minutes from my house. There are closer groups to my house but this one is the best (IMHO).
Expect to hear more about my experiences with the folks in Rock Solid Referrals in future posts.
http://youtu.be/hEV33VgQ9-M
The members of the group are diverse, from a life coach to a web page designer and many stops in between. Particularly there are several members that are a natural ‘power team’ for me; a real estate agent, a probate attorney, a general contractor, a real estate attorney, an electrician and a couple others that mesh nicely with a real estate investor. However, the real power in the group lies not only in knowing these folks but in getting to know who they know.
Each week I get to give a one minute commercial about my business and ask for a specific referral. Once every couple of months I get to give a 10 minute presentation and offer a more comprehensive explanation of our business. I gave my first 10 min. presentation last week. I have attached a link to a video made of my talk. I ran into some technical difficulties. Thankfully, another member of the group jumped in to get the slide show unfrozen for me. This may not be my shiniest moment in the spotlight but, the message gets delivered. I have also attached a copy of the slide show since you really can’t see it in the video. https://www.dropbox.com/s/xf4usib5hte0w31/VHR%20Presentation.pptx
Being a part of the BNI group has been beneficial so far. I have gotten referrals that will prove useful. I have also been able to refer people I know to other members of the group. Our message is getting out there in ever widening circles. It’s social media the old-school way; actually socializing with other human beings. What a concept!
Right now the only downside to the whole thing is that the meetings start at 7 AM and it’s about 20 or so minutes from my house. There are closer groups to my house but this one is the best (IMHO).
Expect to hear more about my experiences with the folks in Rock Solid Referrals in future posts.
http://youtu.be/hEV33VgQ9-M