What Do Woody Allen and BNI Have in Common?

wallenWoody once famously said, “90% of success is just showing up.”  And so it is with success in BNI, as well, assuming that you consider “success” to be an increase in referrals and closed business… and, assuming you subscribe to the Givers Gain philosophy, an increase in the amount of referrals that you are able to pass on to other members.

So, why is it that just showing up has such an effect on your success? Or lack thereof?  VCP.  (And if you are in a BNI chapter but have no idea what VCP is, then you need to schedule some time with your Mentor, pronto!) Visibility + Credibility = Profitability. That is to say, be there for others to learn about you and how to refer to you, show that you can do what you say you can do when you start getting those referrals, and you will see your business increase.

Actually, you could almost say that Visibility = Credibility = Profitability, ’cause sometimes it really IS just about showing up, week after week, establishing that you can be relied upon to do something as simple as attending a meeting. If you can’t be trusted just to show up, how can you be trusted with a referral? If you are not there, how can your fellow members learn to refer to you?  How can you learn to refer to them in reciprocation?

Among all the many things that can affect your membership both negatively and positively, it is a proven fact that attendance is the #1 factor as to whether or not you will have success in BNI. You need to be there, period. Sure there are going to be emergencies that pop up — that’s why the BNI attendance policy has excused absences (and subs) built in.  But emergencies are just that — unforeseen or unavoidable happenings that cannot be planned for.

Know what isn’t an emergency?  Scheduling a client meeting around the time when your BNI chapter meets.  Even if it is a “big client”, because truthfully, your chapter is your BIGGEST client.  Name one other client in your portfolio that could possibly have more influence on your bottom line than the collective influence of all the potential referrals that will come from your fellow members, if they are correctly educated in how to refer to you.

Still not convinced that attendance is key? Take a few minutes and listen to this podcast from Dr. Ivan Misner, with guest speaker Cindy Mount, the Director for BNI Ontario Central East, entitled “The Art of Being There.”

If you are someone who’d prefer to read rather than listen, a transcript of the entire podcast can be found here:
http://www.bnipodcast.com/2012/06/20/art-of-being-there/