by Tom Schulze (Laguna Hills Morning BTN)
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Make Face-to-Face Time – Coffee breaks, and just getting to meetings early, or staying late, helps people to get to know you, and build trust.
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Regularly Attend Meetings – Show Up! Trust is built by demonstrating commitment, and attending your chapter meeting each week instills that trust.
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Attend Social Activities – Participate in mixers, volunteer for community service activities, and go to other BTN meetings to meet, and get to know, more BTN members. Doing more than the bare minimum shows commitment to your fellow members, and helps increase your sphere of influence.
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Get Plugged In – Complete your profile on BTN’s website and join us on Meetup.com. This allows other BTN members to find and refer you with the least amount of effort on their part. Meetup.com also helps grow the group, and increase your potential referrals as well (a visitor is a referral to the chapter!).
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Refer to Get Referred – Giving referrals is the best way to keep getting referrals.
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Don’t Be Shy – Just Ask! – Ask for Referrals. You will never get referred if members are not clear on how they can refer you. Be very specific on what type of referral you are looking for so you get what you need from the group.
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Create a Powerful Commercial – Your message must be clear and memorable. A good “commercial” contains the following characteristics:
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It’s no longer than 30-60 seconds.
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It’s clear and asks for something specific (i.e. “A good referral for me this week is…”
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It includes a memorable hook. Remember: people are more likely to remember a catchy rhyme or funny phrase than they are likely to remember your name or business name, especially if you’re new to the group.
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Only You Give Power to the Rings – Handing out a ring without your card on it, without you telling the story of BTN and its members, or without you following up with your client or prospect, limits its effectiveness.
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Talk the Talk, Walk the Walk – Your word and your honor are your most valuable possessions. Follow up on the referrals you receive, and the referrals you give.
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Make Face-to-Face Time (Yes, it is that important!) – Nothing can happen until trust is established with your fellow members. They will never understand your expertise unless they hear it from you, and see it on your face on a regular basis.
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