Referral groups

I got roped in to joining BNI a month ago. We stay pretty busy and I'm the type of business owner who puts his personal touch on most things so it was hard for me to commit to 2 hours every wednesday. Since we had a superstorm in '09, business is doing the ol' rollercoaster so I'm trying some new things.

As some of you know, I'm trying to hone in on the market who would buy stone coated steel shingles, I'm hoping that meeting with other business folks once a week will help. It's already looking up and we haven't officially started our group yet, still in the "training"

Anybody tried this type of thing? Success or fall short?

That's what I'm thinking OS. They've all heard of our business, but now I'm putting the face/trust to the name. These are people that talk to a lot of other people. I've heard of many of them before, but really like a few of the folks more than I expected.

As do I. that is a "private" BNI. The thing about BNI if worked properly is that you get a lot of other people not tradesmen referring you. Like I said, it does not work for everyone.

No time invested, but I learn what other tradesmen offer and their quality, as they do mine, we refer each other.

It takes time and more than a single 1-2-1 to get to know them and their attitude and business philosophy. What sets them apart? what sets you apart? Why is your product worth what you are selling it for? All the details are important for you and them to know.

I think it's going well but I'm only a few weeks in. Most people are older than me, so I think that I have to gain their trust more than they need to gain mine....at least in their eyes.

I don't trust old folks anymore than I trust younger ones, they have been foolin people longer :)

To be honest, I have a level of trust for almost everybody there already.

Lefty, that is exactly true, but it is up to you to go to that person and tell them that that is not the kind of referral you need; then you tell them how to fix it. It is a lot of training for sure, but I just could not get the numbers I needed for my half round gutter work. I didn't want to install, but chop and drop. Like I said, it was a tough sell.

You learn who gives good leads and who's leads are marginal or worthless.

I guess that was a lot of my problem with the BNI groups. It takes way more than 2 hours a week. I used to spend about 5 hours on it and I was consistently the highest producer in the group; by far. When you know what other people do and can do and have done, then it is easy to "see" the opportunities to recommend them on an everyday basis. You write them down, give out some cards, and ask if it is ok to have the business person call them. At that point, it is a "referral"

What you will find is that a lot of the "referrals" you get go like this, "you should talk to so and so, here is their number". Now that may be good, but mostly it is a cold call. I would make the recommendation and then I would go with them and make the introduction, whereas the trust my friends had in me transferred to my referral partner. Like I said, I could have had all of the roofing work I wanted, but I got that already. I wanted the half round gutter work and it was a tough sell. I know the concept works, but it is a person by person job. Kind of like training your salesman; which is exactly what you are doing. Would you "hire" a salesman and then spend two hours a week training him? If he/she came back to the office and said to you, "there is a house with a real bad roof on this street, you should go talk to those people" you would tell them to go pack sand. You need to spend more time with it than 2 hours a week. IMHO

We are a member of Letip for over 10 years. We use Letip for a lot of the support services I need. Printing, office phone systems, IT services, employees IRA's, Cell Phones, office machines, gas cards, carpeting... We put the roof on the carpet guys warehouse. We have also done a lot of work for others thru the years. They always give a glowing review at the meetings about our work.

OS, wow. Didn't expect you NOT to be a roofer in one! It was very hard for me to commit to the two hours. This week REPAIR day landed on the same day as BNI....that was stressful but turned out fine. We don't have a single repair guy like some of you, I send them out in groups of two usually.

I think I have a lot to gain being a roofer in this group. We are pretty busy, but not booked for 3 months every year like we were before that big storm. This winter I've talked myself in trying to be a better salesman.

It is more than 2 hours a week. Done correctly, you have to get to know the referral partners, get to know their business, get to know their integrity, get to know what sets them apart as you teach them the same thing about you. If and when you trust them the same way that they trust you, naturally you will be looking for opportunities to recommend them, and they you. the concept is "givers gain" It obviously works better for some businesses than others. I have given hundreds of thousands of dollars of referrals , it hasn't come back enough to warrant the time commitment. I have had a lot of fun with it, but when it doesn't pay, it becomes a hobby and I am going to commit my extra time to my barber shop singing hobby. It is a LOT of fun.

I have been in a BNI group for three years and I am going to leave. I was in to sell my half round gutters specifically and that is like trying to sell "left handed hammers" Those who want them will get them and really not too many in the BNI group had much of an inkling of what was necessary. tough sell. I know that I could have sold a lot of roofs if that is what I wanted to do, but I brought in another roofer to do that stuff. depending on how you approach it, it can work well for you.

Success?

Depending on how you work it and train the members, it can work well. Ideally, they can recognize the opportunity and they can set the ball on the "tee" You still have to "swing" the bat. good luck.