It's a start....

[Taharry]

Well, after several weeks/months of trying to think of ways to get new clients and the fact that for the past 4 weeks I have not gotten a single referral from my BNI group, I decided to finally do something.  I sent an e-mail to one of the running stores here in town that a friend/client is a member of and I basically told the owner that I am trying to segway more into sports massage and I would love to offer a discount to the running club members there of 10% off.  I mentioned how my friend is a member there and how I also helped another runner right before he ran a half-marathon here.I was very non-invasive, just said I would like to display some cards and info at the store as well as extend the discount and would like him to call/write when he had some time to speak about this more.  It's not much but you never know!  My old massage instructor e-mailed the Detroit Pistons and told them that he would like to do some clinical events there and they wrote back and said they are interested in having students come out to work on the Detroit Shock (WNBA team), Pistons/Palace staff and possibly the Pistons!  See, it all starts with a quick note...

 

[Riddle]

hey reba,i just sent you an email!i'm in a bni group as well down here in plymouth.  i have to tell you that i got involved in this group not knowing a couple of weird things that happened behind the scenes with another massage therapist.  but anyway, someone told me she didn't get any referrals from the group.  (i think she was only a sub for this group but she was there a lot)well, i came into the group and first thing i did was run a special.  i'm telling you, people's faces instantly just lit up!  "A special?"  People snatched up my offer like it was the hottest thing on the market!  I got 6 referrals my first day. (of course all tier 1's but ya gotta start somewhere) and 5 referrals the week after that.  I have only been in the group for about 2 months but it's going really well.  I just received a $500 check for gift cards from 1 guy in the group and am doing chair massage for a couple of hours tomorrow for another at an office of someone's client.  (i don't think that just made sense but....well, it's late!)I would love to get together with you and talk strategy for BNI meetings.  Maybe we could even attend eachother's meetings to help eachother out.  I'm game if you are!  I take a bit of a hit in the pocketbook running some of these specials but it's a way to get people talking about you.  Once they know you and are familiar with your work, they'll have no problem sending people your way.  We'll chat soon.....call me.

 

[dcgottaeat]

It's a start....BNI

I've been in BNI since May, my group got killed by HQ. آ I was able to transfer to another group. آ Our visitors were nearly non existant, referalls were poor and sparse....It is no wonder the group was killed. آ I too offered a discount, 20%, and applied it to GC and massage sessions. آ I sold a few GCs as the weekly prize, and did get one guy several times. آ The prez brought her sister to me as a gift/thank you to her for being in her wedding. آ So I did get some business, but I don't think there was any other referrals passed to me that got on my table.  I joined the group because I was too late to get into the phone book, and I also feel that with the number of MTs in the area, that having a bunch of people able to recccomend me would help.I do expect this new group to be better. آ I anticipate more and better referrals. آ I guess I'll keep the discount, and my guarantee. آ mk

 

[mtmt]

Hi.Regarding working on the Pistons and WNBA, I'd suggest trying to contact the team "trainer" if you are interested in working on the players.I will PM you with more specific info as relates to what direct knowledge I have with our teams.I like that idea of working with getting more runners.  Thanks for sharing!

 

[SiderealDrift]

Well, I had not heard of it until about a year ago, BNI is a networking group, the name is Business Networking International.  Interestingly enough, the url is http://www.bni.com  How's that for unique?  Anyway, the premise is that it is a group of business people that meet weekly for 90 minutes for lunch or breakfast to learn about each others business and to pass referrals.  My town has about 5 groups, some morning, some noon.  Cost?  $340 to join, I think, and $275 yearly after that, plus meal cost.  Fairly strict attendance policy.  Is it worth it?  Hard to say.  It is a good way to meet new people, to get used to talking about your business.  You may want to visit each group in the area, as well as any other networking organization.  Grapevine is a new one in this area.  I just joined the chamber of commerce and BBB as well.  BBB is $480, so I hope it is worth the money.  I hope you find this to be helpful.  mick

 

[60 Million Voted Me]

BNI has been VERY beneficial to me since I joined just this past Oct.  The group has generated about $1500-$2000 worth of business for me in just the 3 months that I've been there.  Of course it was the holiday season so that helped but it really has been great for me.  Guess it depends on the group that you join and the community that you live in.  It's worth looking into.