Looking with Referral Intent - Do YOU have referral eyes?
February 9th, 2010Anyone that knows me understands that networking is a large part of my life. Since joining BNI (Business Networking International) I have learned many concepts and remember many more. I want to share some experiences from January and the teachings of Dan Rawls.
Dan sees the world differently than most of the people I know. He see opportunity to network in every advertisement, business card fish bowl, promotion, feature, billboard, bus stop bench, vehicle with a company’s name and contact information on it, in every conversation (ski lift, waitress, bus boy, neighbor, etc.), in fact, I consider him a networking blood hound.
After teaching some of his networking vision to a group of Salt Lake City business people we had lunch with him a few days later. As we were leaving the restaurant, one of the members of the group noticed a drawing to win a free makeover (Mary Kay) and a flyer for a local storage facility. Immediately the new sense of networking kicked in and the hunt was on.
A hands free call was made with a group of about 5 individuals on the phone calling the storage facility. They learned the flyers were left there by the former managers, and an invitation was extended to meet up with a realtor and a contractor who might be able to refer business to the storage facility (neither the realtor nor the contractor were present).
As Paul Harvey used to say, “Now the rest of the story”. The person who answered the phone immediately sent her husband to the restaurant to replace the flyers with updated flyers. The husband also showed up at the meeting (BNI chapter) the very next Thursday, explaining that his wife had sent him to check it out. He showed up the next week also, “Just want to check it out, one more time.” At the end of the meeting he submitted an application, not because he received a referral, but because he saw the value based on the referrals being passed and the value of thank you notes turned in.
This was just one of many similar incidents during the 10 day period that he was in town. The process was repeated and repeated successfully. Why? Dan Rawls looks to find referrals for the people he knows, connecting them at a time when he knows they will be present (a BNI meeting), never telling the prospective referral about BNI.
The motto of BNI is “Giver’s Gain”; Dan Rawls is a living example of the concept.
Now you have a choice, pretend you did not read this and continue life as normal or begin to open you referral eyes and look at your surroundings with “referral intent.” Do you have the courage and tenacity to change?