By Brandon Souba
This is the third and final part of my VCP Blog. You don't need to read the other two parts to understand this, but please check them out.
I have talked about Visability and Credibility and I feel
the ideas and stories can be related to all of us, but Profitability can be
very different for everyone. In the most basic form it is yielding financial profit or gain, which is one meaning of the word, but in BNI it can mean so much more. I want to highlight some of the different versions of Profitability that I have heard from members in this blog, and will start with the one I've probably heard the most.
“I am a better public speaker.”
It is estimated that as much as 75% of the population
struggles with the fear of public speaking to a certain degree. Some sources say
it ranks above the fear of death. But how do you conquer that fear, or at least get better at it? In BNI you speak in front of people every week and from time
to time you are the feature presenter, putting you front and center with your chapter. In BNI we build relationships and support each other, so by
being in front of peers that you know, like, and trust helps to start the
process of getting more comfortable with speaking in front of others. On top of
that, you receive unique referrals from the chapter and that puts you in front
of some audiences where you may not have had the opportunity otherwise. This takes you a little bit out of
your comfort zone and forces you to be more prepared and adaptive when talking
about your product or service. For me the only way to overcome a fear is to
face it, and BNI gives you that opportunity on a constant basis.
“I can talk about my business in a short time.”
Ivan Misner says to "be more interested than interesting." I love this saying and
even did a podcast on it (
https://bit.ly/2Jv2Q09). What I have learned is if you are always
interested you may not get a lot of time to talk about your business. So being able to explain your business every week with a minute or less it prepares you to be
effective with little time. This way, no matter how much time you have when
talking to someone you can explain enough for them to understand what you do
and add just enough to make them want to know more. This technique should help strike enough interest they want to know more and set up a
meeting after the initial introduction. We live in a world of instant gratification
and the quicker you can get to the point of your business, the better results
you will have when networking.
“I have a support team.”
The support I see in BNI chapters goes well beyond
referrals. When you run a business or are a solopreneur or even on a small
sales team, you don’t always feel supported. When I was in the home improvement
industry there were only two other sales people in the office. For the first few
years it was cutthroat and there was no feeling of being part of a team or working together. I
worked hard to shift this culture and make it more about the customer and not
the commission check. I cannot imagine it is much different in other industries or sales environments, but in BNI we don’t deal with that. All chapters have
different styles and personalities, but in all of them there is
a strong culture of support for one another. Sometimes, it just so happens we make some business
happen along the way while we support each other through our challenges.
“I was able to keep my doors open thanks to BNI,”
This one is based a little bit on making more money, but I have heard
from more than one member that BNI was why they still have a business today. A BNI chapter can’t necessarily save every struggling business, but if the right person discovers BNI and follows the system, it could be the one
thing that works better than any other thing they were
trying. This is one reason why you should always be inviting! You never know what will
happen to someone once they see the benefits that BNI can do for their
business. The greatest part of hearing this story from members is that I hear it from so many different professions, so it proves that BNI works for many businesses in many different ways.
Reaching Profitability will mean more money in
your pocket, but there are added benefits along the way to help you get there. As a sales
professional, you work on your skills in BNI that can reflect on an appointment
with a customer. As a business owner, BNI may be your structured commitment to
work on your business each week. Yes, putting effort in BNI will help grow your business with
Profitability, but you also gain life and social skills that can help every day
in your business and life that will lead to better profits and returning
customers.
During the first week of April, your BNI Heartland Director Team
travelled to Dallas, TX for the BNI U.S. National Conference. We joined in with nearly
600 Directors from across the country to live out our core value of Lifelong
Learning. 
