The Venue: Clontarf Castle Dublin
The date: June 18th 2010
The Topic: Networking like a Pro
The Guest Speaker: Dr Ivan Misner
The day: Breakfast meeting at 7.00 open networking at 6.30 and it was packed. 40+ people having coffee by 06.30 and a group of German people over to observe. The meeting was Chaired by Dan Cronin and he was skilfully helped by Noel Scanlon and Samantha Rathling. We even had Charlie Lawson over from England to sit in and he asked for an intro to Bono - he got 2 ! Derek Reilly was there as was Chris Bresnahan and other ADs. This meeting was a sort of impromptu one as there is no Chapter as such, still we passed 81 referrals and because some were orders we even had Thank Yous in the box that came to €14,000+ - some were to people in the room from people in the room who had connected before the meeting or who were also at the same meeting last year. Ivan was not at the table.
08.30 Time for more coffee.The hotel was not the Glenlo, but the service was good and the coffee was strong, with fresh fruit platters served as well as biscuits - a nice touch. The air conditioning could do with an overhaul as it was a very warm day with no Corrib breeze to cool us down. The BNI office team had everything organised to a tee, with perfect timing and all done with a smile and a bit of banter. Well done to Cathy, Charlotte, Sandra, Andy and the whole office team, backed up by all the Regional ADs and Directors. The day was captured on video by Tom Ryan Casey and his team through all the heat, whilst the events were committed to camera shots by Ciara Horan who again worked through the heat and the crowd cheerfully to create a library of shots that we look forward to seeing soon.
The Ask the Founder section for Members was next and Ivan had quietly appeared during coffee, mingling with everyone in a fairly relaxed way, whilst being introduced to lots of new faces. He was getting to grips with it all, but was already Networking like a Pro. He took to the stage from the right having been at a table with some members chatting in advance of the big intro. If you want to hear what he said just visit
www.bnipodcast.com or read it at
www.networkingentrepreneur.com - he has a lot to say, but none of it is new, none of it is a secret. He blogs about it, writes books about it, does podcasts and interviews about it. He even attends BNI meetings and Conferences to talk about it. There are 5600 chapters worldwide trying to practice what Ivan preaches. They generate over 6 million referrals a year and this creates over $2 Billion in revenue - yes $2 Billion US dollars worth of business. IN UK & Ireland we have over 600 chapters giving over 600,000 referrals creating about €300 million in revenue. We can do a lot more as we get better. Ivan has the answers and publishes them, we just have to make the big switch to believe in Givers Gain and use the tools available from BNI to get over our hurdles to learn how to approach issues or people. We can get the freely available tools, then practice how we do things. When we get them right then we have to practice again and again to get better and better at doing it. All Ivan does is repeat his points over and over again and again. He looks the same as we see him on video, he sounds exactly the same as we hear him on audio and he delivers every single point, message or story in exactly the same way every time. So if you missed Ivan in Clontarf, you can catch him any time on your own PC.
On the day, over two talks, one to Members in the morning and one to an Open room in the afternoon, he selected some special nuggets for the audience like the story about his Mom telling him that "
Diplomacy is the art of letting other people choose to do things your way" or always say in your 60 seconds things like '
I can't','
I need', '
I want', '
I don't know' and try to be very specific about what you want. Don't talk about what you do, talk about what you need. Ivan made the point that you have to have a culture within your own organisation and it is important to get this right."
Culture eats strategy for Breakfast". He suggested ways of getting known, to build your own Brand to put yourself out there and network, offer to do Public speaking on your topic to groups. Understand that there is a way to network for the benefit of you and your business - and your BNI membership offers you the tools to do this, so use them. Use Clear, Open, Honest, Direct Communication. Ivan mentioned many of the current tools and also the fact that
BNIConnect will launch later this year as a major tool to connect us all and offer us all useful online marketing and networking facilities. It is the single biggest investment made by BNI, so watch it now and see it develop going forward.
www.bniconnect.com Another great quote was "
Why accept Mediocrity when Excellence is an option" or "
Define yourself by your successes and not by your failures". Ivan recommended some books to read and he has 12 of his own and a film called What the Bleep see
http://www.whatthebleep.com/
Once Ivan was finished his morning delivery, we had Marian Finucane, a very relaxed polished natural speaker who used the event to Network and spread her message about the charity Friends in Ireland
http://www.friendsinireland.ie This was a heartfelt, appeal for help and to spread the word about the goals of Friends in Ireland who are working to improve the well being and health status of HIV AIDS affected children in South Africa.
Brian Moore had the unenviable task of lifting us up from the depths of emotion created by Marian and he did a great job of delivering an action packed 45 minute presentation in under 40 minutes, called 'RSVP your way to Profit'. He had us all talking to each other, doing our 60 seconds at our tables, running around the room mingling and he used his presentation to tie in IDEA with VCP, as in Identify, Develop, Encourage and Activate with Visibility, Credibility and Profitability. Usually we get a presentation on one or the other, Brian makes the connection and gives you a big presentation that covers both themes and he does it in a fast, interesting and rewarding way. He seems like a stickler for detail and he seems like a very serious guy - thats because he is ! Catch this presentation when you can, it is well worth the 45 minutes, preferably a full 45 minutes or even 60 to get it all in.
Then, after Lunch we had the inimitable Rob Brown all the way from Nottingham in the UK, who did the Big Big BNI breakfast earlier in the year, with his punchy delivery of "
From Trust to Turnover". Rob has to be seen to be heard, but you can get his books, such as "
How to Build your reputation" which sold out on the day, so I did not get it, yet. He discussed how sameness sucks, and get away from the land of the bland. He talked about meeting and beating customers expectations. What is Trust ? It is Credibility plus Reliability plus Intimacy plus Self Orientation. How are we going to make a difference. Rob broke down definitions of Trust in detail, he suggests we upskill, continue to improve, establish a good track record, get things done and make things happen. He suggests we Listen before we Speak, Show gravitas and wisdom, Discern what is important and Ask insightful questions. Use our Knowledge plus our natural born Talents and the Skills we learn in our lifetime to Develop and to help us get the most out of our chosen career. Rob writes his own books
http://www.rob-brown.com/ and also recommends The Speed of Trust
http://www.speedoftrust.com/ .
After Rob got us all excited Ivan the Man delivered his afternoon chat and it did seem like a chat, lots of stories, anecdotes and questions from the audience. His stories are not new, his delivery is not different, his style is unchanging. He repeats everything time and time again and he has perfected the way that he delivers the messages and continually works to make the timing brilliant. It is no surprise that he is also a Magician and a Black Belt in Karate. Timing is crucial to Ivans delivery and he .
The rest of the afternoon, all evening and in to the night Ivan was available to chat and laugh with the delegates. Even Beth his wife mingled and chatted, so it was a very very relaxed action filled one day conference and the big thing you take away is that Ivan really does network like a Pro. Check him out at a Blog or Podcast in your area some time soon and he will show you how. Hopefully, the Misners will have enjoyed Ireland, the reception from Members, the hospitality and the people they met, the sights they saw and the warmth we have to offer visitors. We look forward to the next visit.