Andy Bounds

The true value of BNI isn’t the meetings

February 4, 2013

I love BNI meetings.  I love the energy and positivity.  I love seeing people’s businesses improve before my eyes, as they get referrals, public endorsement, new contacts, new ideas…  It’s just a great start to the day. But I have long believed that the true value of BNI isn’t what happens during the meetings.  It’s what happens outside them.  It’s all the: The calls you make, to trigger referrals for others The calls they make, to trigger referrals for you Referrals you all follow-up on, that lead to business 121s you have, to get to know each other better The time you [...]

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If it’s good enough for Usain Bolt, it’s good enough for me

December 2, 2012

Excluding relays, Usain Bolt has run in four finals in the previous two Olympics.  He’s won four Gold medals and has become widely accepted as the fastest man ever. And do you know how long he took to win these four finals?  57.94 seconds. That’s less than a minute. In fact, that’s less time than you’ll spend reading this blog.  Talk about practising hard so you perform brilliantly when it matters…

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To help your Chapter, don’t just focus on your Chapter

October 10, 2012

Thanks to BNI, we all know that givers gain. But what is ‘giving’? I’ve found there are four Phases, each one better than the last, but only when the time’s right for you… Phase 1: “get” only I joined BNI 12 years ago and, to be honest, did so for selfish reasons: I wanted to grow my business.  My main motivation was to get, not give. I have no problems admitting this – I was skint, recently divorced (both mean the same thing, I found) and wanted to do something that would help me. I imagine you also joined BNI [...]

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60 seconds… you’d better be speedy. But then again…

June 2, 2012

Here are five questions.  You have two seconds to answer each… What’s the opposite of “not in”? What do cows drink? What weighs more – a ton of metal or a ton of feathers? How much dirt is in a hole measuring 2 metres by 3 metres by 4 metres? Why has the word “gullible” been removed from the dictionary? How did you get on?  The answers were: in, water, the same, none, it hasn’t. Did you get them all? Or did you say: out, milk, metal, 24m2 and “Really? I never knew that”? The problem with speed We make [...]

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How to write effective 60 second slots (and avoid the dreaded Pain of the Pasty!)

April 2, 2012

If you asked George Osborne which story he wanted the media to run with following the budget, I guess he would not have said ‘pasties’. But that’s one of the problems with communication: your audience doesn’t always focus on the things you want them to. It can be the same when we prepare our 60 seconds. We think we’ve been crystal clear who we want, but some of our chapter don’t always seem to refer us to the right people.

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The more BO you have, the more – and quicker – “Yeses” you get

February 1, 2012

You have to be good at persuading people to say “Yes”. These yeses could be big (“please invest £millions in X”) or small (“please can we have a 121?”). They could relate to work (“please can you buy this?”) or home (“please can you tidy your room?) The better you are at triggering ‘yeses’, the more – and more quickly – you succeed. But it’s not easy.  People have their own agendas, priorities and motivations.  And they’re often very different to yours.  This means it’s often easier for them to say “No”.

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Referrals are (nearly) everything you need

December 2, 2011

Your ‘BNI words’ don’t always work when selling Referrals are the best way to get in front of decision makers. I mean, think of the options – advertising (expensive), waiting (slow), cold calling (horrific). But, great though referrals are, the best outcome they’ll give you is a meeting with a decision maker. There’s still plenty to do if you’re to seal the deal.

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