Growth & Contact Spheres

How does a Chapter Grow?

Here is a  recording by a special speaker at our Leadership Round Table in June - Brent Edwards, 3 Things that Stifle Chapter Growth.
Slides used in the presentation. 

The main requirements for growth in a chapter is:

• visitors that attend are suitable for open categories and the chapters culture

• accountability provided and supported by the membership committee on the visitor policy (1 visitor a month)

• a positive and methodical visitor process is  followed

• Know your numbers - see section below.

• Members know WHY more members benefits them - see section below.

• Leadership team regularly reflect on the weekly meeting from the point of view of the visitor and make adjustments

Know Your Numbers and Track Your Progress 

Use this chapter predictor formula to identify how many visitors your chapters requires to grow taking into consideration your retention and conversion. Here is the sheet for the predictor.

Follow the Chapter Success Meeting agenda and slides to keep the meeting focused on how is the chapter currently tracking with the data in front of you and what action can be implemented to influence change. Take minutes of the actions and follow up on the actions.

Create, Update and review your chapter plan. This plan is available in your chapter folder. 

• In this plan outline your calendar of events for visitor days, chapter activities and education focus.

• Document yourleadership legacy, chapter goal, your mininum standards

How does our meeting run?

Is the leadership team organised and prepared to run the meeting every week?

Does our meeting run on time and not go over time?

Are our feature presentations professional and prepared?

Are our visitors actually having a positive experience? Do we greet them, make them feel comfortable, invite them to join without lecturing them.

Were the members attentive and prepared for their referral requests and I have. Every members has an appropriate I Have.

Our tradesheet is professional.

Every one at the meeting has name tags - visitors and members.

We follow the BNI Agenda (not to many extra slides) with very few times of displaying what could be consider back of house topics. The meeting is for the visitors not necessarially our members.  Review your communication to members if you feel the need to have this information in the meeting.

Orchestrate Open Days / Showcase /  Contact Specific Day / Visitor Days

Leadership Teams identify 3 to 5 future days to have a special day that members will use to invite into. It will be a visitor day however please don't call it that especially with visitors.   Generally these days:

• have no other BNI members as visitors

• visitors are specifically invited - businesses looking for growth via referrals with the capcity to grow and their category is available for them to join now

• chapter uses social media and many other forms to advertise their event. This is useful for members to use for inviting

• the day may focus around a contact sphere such as Property or Health, and members of this contact sphere do a joint presentation sharing how they work together to help their clients.

• Create accountability by having the chapter

  • work in smaller groups

  • track who has been invited

  • track when they were invited, the visitors confirmation they are attending, the pre meeting follow up call (hello call) to confirm attendance and information closer to the date and the pre meeting email for final information before the meeting

• Visitor orientation team is organised to manage many visitors with application forms and online application links and QR codes

• Membership Committee is prepared for conducting numerous interviews in the next 1 to 2 weeks due to visitors applying

• Prepare the chapter to have their best versions of referral requests and the I Have sections makes an impression (not the week for a member to say I dont't have anything)

• Education Section is very relevant to networking and is BNI content 

• Leadership team are organised to run an on time meeting. Consider what other content is in your usual meeting and how long it takes. Make adjustsments for the number of visitor introductions will occur. 

• You may add a timer to your visitor introduction slide and make sure the member introducing the visitors sets this section up correctly and manages how long the visitors talk for.

• Tradesheets are professional

• Prepared name tags for visitors 

Visitor Day - Mark Graber Format - from the Mark Graber Chapter Growth Program

Visitor Days - Better Together from BNI (for sharing with leaders)

Focused Visitor Days - Podcast 572

Other Resources & Information

BNI Melbourne Central Chapter Growth

Chapter Growth Program facilitated by Mark Graber. 20 week program

Chapter Size Predictor

Sponsoring New Referral Partners (Handout for members) with prospective visitor tracking sheet.

Networking After 5 Events

Stimulants for Chapter Meetings

Visitor Prospect Worksheet