We are all aware that one of the benefits to members of being in BNI is that they receive high quality training as part of their membership.
On a number of occasions over the years, many of our professional members (eg solicitors, accountants, architects etc) have asked us whether the training can be accredited to allow them to count it towards their Continuing Professional Development hours that they are required to do each year.
We are delighted to let you know that BNI has managed to get BNI training accredited by the Institute of Continuing Professional Development:
This means that now any AD or equivalent running a workshop for BNI anywhere in the UK is entitled to issue a certificate stating that a member has attended a course and the number of hours with the CPD logo.
We will be producing certificates in due course to provide to Members after workshops as and when appropriate.
We hope this will provide excellent added value for our professional Members.
As a Committee member, I had participated in several meetings where we brainstormed ideas to increase the membership. I pitched the idea for an exhibition to the Committee – all members to be present at the event and they would be given an exhibition stand sponsored by the Chapter in return for a commitment to work on the planning and to invite as many people along as possible.
Colin Hegner, the then Chapter Director and Julian Portch, the then membership Coordinator were very keen on the idea and the rest of the Committee unanimously voted in favour. Making use of our Power Teams, we allocated tasks to each member and team so the planning was shared as fairly as possible. The Finance team came up with the idea of a Dragons’ Den style panel where business owners or prospective business owners could present their vision to the panel and would receive advice. They also sourced a PR expert to help us get publicity and Julia Booton negotiated with De Vere Hartsfield to offer a
free night’s stay at the hotel and a Cream Tea in the visitor’s prize draw.
I wrote the copy for the flyers and Crispin Jones created the artwork. We also created a Flash presentation which would be displayed on a loop during the event. Flyers were allocated to each member to distribute in their area and were placed in shops and organisations with notice boards for added exposure. Holding the Social Media slot, I was in charge of spreading the word online and also created an EventBrite page so we could capture visitor data for future marketing. Julian Portch walked miles handing out flyers and Colin Hegner generously donated a huge Banner to be placed along the main road outside Bridge House Hotel – the venue for our event.
On the day the Mayor of Reigate and Banstead came along and with Crispin Jones the incoming Chapter Director delivered the opening address.
He was taken around to meet all the members and the attention seekers (meJ) took advantage of the photo opportunity. Over the course of the three hour event, 53 visitors came through the doors! The Dragons’ Den style panel consisting of Julia Booton,
Stephen Campbell and Antonio Falco was a success with John Hunter-Hashke (who
trades as Professor Twist, a Balloon Sculptor around his full time job) gave
the winning pitch and was awarded two free visits to our Chapter meetings and
four hours of mentoring from the panel.
We held the event on Thursday 22nd September 2011 – three weeks ago. Since the event we have three confirmed new members, one additional application pending and a renewal. Even better than that, the morale of our current members has been given a massive boost – there is something in telling people why you joined BNI that reminds you why you joined BNI!
Don’t forget exhibiting is another marketing skill you can use in your business away from BNI too! Remind yourself why you joined in the first place – maybe create an Education slot of each members’ reasons why BNI excited them in the first place – a great boost!
However, if you are local to Reigate and reading this Blog because you are considering joining BNI, do come along to one of our meetings!
We meet each Tuesday at Bridge House Hotel on Reigate Hill at 6.45am and I
guarantee you’ll be given a very warm welcome. If you’ve got ten minutes to spare, ask me why I joined BNI – it was one of the best decisions I made for my business and it could be for you too!
You will soon see new style ‘New Member packs’ being presented when members are being inducted in to UK and Ireland chapters.
The pack is in filofax format and contains the following items…
Welcome letter
Name badge
Pin badge
Orientation CD
Cardholder (for 48 cards)
20 Invitation postcards (for their first 4 weeks contribution)
5 Thank You for the Business cards
5 Referral slips
BNI resource card
Policy document
Note paper
Pen
Mentor pack in booklet format
Having these items given to a new member at induction will ensure that they have all the tools they need instantly rather than having to wait until MSP. The New Member pack comes in a recyclable plastic cover which has the code of ethics printed on it, and is shrink wrapped (this is not shown in the photograph).
The manual and Givers Gain® book should be given out at MSP.
Please note that you should continue to use your current stocks until they are exhausted
BNI Connect, the private Social Network for BNI members, is already bringing success to members following its rollout.
Here are just two of the many success stories:
Samantha Jones , the photographer at Faversham picked up a ladies calendar girl shoot via a BNI member in Putney. She used BNI Connect to find a female photographer in East Kent & Sam’s name came through from the system.
Lucas Douch , RBS Nat West manager from Herne Bay chapter got a deal from a source he linked up to in London via BNI Connect. He wouldn’t have heard about it unless he used BNI Connect to forge the link.
With members already benefitting from the system, now is the ideal time to make sure your own profile is up to date so that you can be found.
Jason Turcotte, a BNI member in the US, created this video to talk members through the process of updating your profile:
…and with the new public aspects of BNI Connect planned to go live in the coming months there are extra benefits available there too.
This may be of interest to BNI Members and is a great opportunity for chapter team building as well:
Project associates
What we do We provide training and development experiences that engage people, make them think, make them smile and help them learn. These can be offsite events, conference energisers, or programmes of facilitated learning on your site.
How? Odyssey associates all have a background in experiential training and development. Our approach is to provide practical experiences and engage people in situations in which they can apply new ideas and practice skills and behaviours to improve performance at work.
Why we do it We are not just in it for the money! At least not for ourselves. We operate as a social enterprise. The profit from Odyssey associates business is invested in the Odyssey project. A charity whose purpose is to help people with cancer regain their self confidence and enjoyment of life: www.odyssey.org.uk
Who we are The Odyssey associates are a group of experienced trainers, facilitators and coaches brought together by a shared commitment to the Odyssey project. Each brings a different approach and skill set to business improvement with an emphasis on team working and leadership development.
Why choose us? Our team of associates are all highly skilled and respected practitioners in their own fields. We bring a wealth of experience having worked with businesses in many different sectors both in the UK and internationally. Banking, insurance, engineering, public sector, education and retail. We want to offer training and development experiences that meet your needs, your budget and help you support a worthwhile charity and social enterprise.
Interested to find out more?
We are offering ‘taster’ days for individual decision-makers from a range of businesses at a venue in East Kent on Monday 19th and Tuesday 20th September 2011.
Come along for an interesting, challenging, exciting and fun day out. Learn how we could help your company and its personnel to benefit from our training expertise in the future. The programme for the day will include the opportunity to take part in dramatic team challenges, as well as focussed discussions on how to develop teams and individuals within your business.
You will leave feeling energised, refreshed and inspired!
The cost is £150 per delegate for the day including a light lunch and refreshments.
For more information and to book a place please either call Hugo Iffla, Odyssey Project Director on 01654 710225, or email hugo@odyssey.org.uk
This letter has just been published in the Summer edition of Successnet Magazine:
When James McBrearty (the Twittering Tax Man) and I connected on Ecademy we discovered that we were both members of BNI. As a BNI director, James also helps members in our region to make the best use of social media.
This morning, James left home at 5am to visit my M20 Ashford Chapter (where I’m the Education Coordinator and a Membership Committee member) for our weekly meeting. He delivered a director’s presentation to help us all to promote our businesses and our chapter via social media sites. Some of our members are fully up to speed with the latest social media but most are not, so while some were enlightened, others were sceptical.
However, the presentation immediately resulted in the re-launch of our Property Power Team (PPT). All 10 PPT members are now signed up to Twitter. They are getting their names and businesses ‘out there’, promoting each other, passing referrals, connecting daily and building up their SM profiles.
None of this would have happened if James and I had not met via Ecademy, so it’s yet another example of how Ecademy brings proactive people together and helps things to happen.
BNI Connect has rolled out across the globe & with over 135,000 genuine real current members it’s the place to be for serious BNI networking.
Here’s a great video explaining how easy it is to set up your profile:
BNI Connect is only available to current BNI members – it’s an extra benefit in addition to the face to face meetings, so perhaps you might want to visit a group to see what it’s like?
A BUSINESS group in Staines has joined in the debate over renaming the town by rebranding itself to include ‘Upon Thames’ in its title.
The newly named Staines Upon Thames Business Networking International (BNI) was announced at a meeting of the group at the Thames Club, in Wheatsheaf Lane on June 1.
Alex Tribbick, chairman of the membership committee at the BNI, a members only group which allows businesspeople to network and build relationships, said: “We had nearly 40 guests at the Staines Upon Thames BNI meeting, it was a great success.
“Robert French, the south east head of the BNI had the excellent idea to for it to be rebranded.
“It made excellent business sense to promote the area and highlight its geographical location.
“Hopefully, with the business community leading the way, Staines residents will embrace the name with the same spirit.”
Spelthorne Business Forum is hoping to get ‘on Thames’ or ‘upon Thames’ added to the town name of Staines to improve its image in the run up to the 2012 Olympics.
A consultation on the proposed name change is due to take place this summer.
Rantmedia have just released the ‘BNI Timer’ App available for the iPad and iPhone.
BNI (Business Networking International) is the largest business networking organisation in the world. BNI meetings include a 60 second business introduction by each member, a 10 minute speaker presentation and a 3,4 or 5 minute education slot.
‘BNI timer’ is a universal App for the iPhone and iPad that helps ensure the meeting runs smoothly. The bold design allows the speaker and other members to view the time remaining.
When the timer ends, a bell will sound. ‘BNI Timer’ is simple to use:
1: Choose how long you want the timer to run using the tab bar at the bottom of the screen.
2: Press ‘Start’. Once the timer reaches zero, you will hear a bell indicating the time has expired (ensure your device is not muted).
3: At any time you can stop, reset or resume the timer.
BNI® South East 