Episode 719: Business and BNI Phases/第719集: 業務和BNI階段

 第719集: 業務和BNI階段

來自新罕布什爾州BNI Integrity Partners的Zachary Saunders與Misner博士一起討論了BNI如何在四個業務階段中的任何一個階段使企業受益，以及如何利用這些階段來邀請訪客並鼓勵人們加入。

一個BNI分會從擁有業務處於不同階段的成員中獲益。處於後期階段的會員讓處於早期階段的會員有了追求的目標，這也使公開的交流更加有趣。以下是一些業務階段的例子和BNI的相關好處。

業務階段                      BNI的好處

創業公司                     通過協力團隊獲得引薦並發展你的業務

成長                            在更短的時間內學會更明智地談論你的業務

震盪                            成為一個更好的商人，結交朋友

維護                            成為主連接者和客戶的資源

這些好處是累積性的：處於震盪和維護階段的企業仍然得到引薦，並繼續磨練自己的技能。

如果你是BNI會員，花幾分鐘時間想一想你的業務處於哪個階段，以及BNI是如何幫助你的。當你邀請訪客時，找出他們所處的業務階段，這樣你就知道在你的邀請中應該強調什麼。無論你的業務處於什麼階段，BNI都有適合你的東西。如果你能有創意，你就能找到它。

第719集的完整文字記錄

Priscilla:

大家好，歡迎回到BNI官方播客。我是Priscilla Rice,，我從加利福尼亞州伯克利的Live Oak錄音室為您帶來。今天與我通電話的是BNI的創始人和首席願景官Dr. Ivan Misner.。你好，Ivan。你在哪裡？

Ivan:

好吧，像大多數人一樣，我幾乎是在德克薩斯州奧斯汀的家裡。但我一直在通過網絡在世界各地旅行。在過去的一週左右，我去了秘魯、香港、斯里蘭卡和其他地方。

Priscilla:

那很棒呢

Ivan:

很高興再次做BNI播客。本週我有一位客人。他的名字是Zachary Saunders。Zachary是BNI的15年會員，在過去三年中一直是董事顧問。他是一名高級抵押貸款官和住宅抵押貸款服務的團隊負責人。他和他的妻子Carrie、兒子Oliver以及他們的狗Maggie住在新罕布什爾州南部。

關於Zachary這人，沒有人知道的事情是，他在巴黎用法棍阻止了一起搶劫案。現在，我希望我們有時間聽聽這個故事，扎克，因為它聽起來很神奇。我不相信你做到了。但這聽起來是一個了不起的故事。當我們完成播客後，我希望你能把它講給我聽。

Zack:

你已經知道了。

Ivan:

所以，今天有幾件你想談的事情，都與BNI階段和商業階段有關。因此，請跟我談談你認為的人生的商業階段是什麼。

Zack:

是的，所以我認為你知道，當你在發展你的業務時，當你在經歷你的增長周期時，你知道，在你的業務發展中，有幾個關鍵點，我認為是很重要的。其中之一是啟動點。另一個是我稱之為你的成長階段。第三個我認為是你的震盪階段。然後第四個，我父親親切地稱為自動駕駛。

但我喜歡把它看作是一種維護階段。這些都是需要認識到的重要事情，當您在 BNI 中查看您的旅程時，您在您的業務中處於什麼位置。但我認為探索這些內容並與您希望邀請加入 BNI 的人討論這些內容也同樣重要。因為您選擇邀請某人的方式以及您選擇突出顯示 BNI 的哪些元素對於某人在其業務生命週期的旅程中所處的位置非常重要。

Ivan:

那麼，你認為把人們在商業生命週期中的位置混合在一起是件好事嗎？我的意思是，我不想埋頭苦幹，我認為這很好。

Zack:

是的

Ivan:

要有一個企業的組合，他們在生命週期中的位置。你對此有什麼感覺？

Zack:

我同意。我認為一個好的分會或一個功能超強的分會，我認為確實有那些不同的元素，或不同的方面，你知道的，業務階段的良好組合。我認為在那裡有初創企業是很好的，因為你想讓那些飢餓的年輕人在分會中激勵其他人真正走出去，做網絡，做工作；就像真正把斧頭磨到一個精細的邊緣。

但我認為在那裡有這些其他階段也很重要。因為它提醒，我認為，那些較新的企業，他們正在努力爭取什麼。此外，我還認為，通過擁有一個良好的堅實的組合，我認為你參與不同類型的對話。如果你有一個分會，裡面全是老化的企業，那麼這是一個不同類型的對話。

Ivan:

是的，這種對話通常是："嘿，你今天要去哪裡打高爾夫？"

Zack:

沒錯，與“你昨天去哪裡建立網絡？”

Ivan:

確實如此。

Zack:

我認為，有了這種良好的組合，確實可以使對話向前推進。但我認為它也，只是從個人的角度來看，我認為它使開放的網絡更有趣一點。我認為這使每週演講的結構更加多樣化，這有助於年輕的企業看到他們要做什麼，但也提醒那些可能處於沖洗（搖擺）階段的企業，他們來自哪裡，並保持飢餓。

Ivan:

好吧，我想進入下一個話題，但讓我就這個問題再說一件事。有時分會不希望有合理的新企業加入分會，我認為這也是一個錯誤。因為有時那些新企業有那麼多的能量。就像你給他們上發條，讓他們跑起來。因此，我認為在這些階段的每個階段，擁有這種平衡是BNI的一個真正重要的好處。你對此有什麼想法？向我解釋一下。

Zack:

這是我在幾個月前給一個分會做董事演講時的談話。這是BNI結構中一些看不見的元素，使BNI對會員或訪客來說比他們最初看到的更加強大。因此，就我個人而言，如果我可以講一個關於我自己的快速軼事。我加入了我的分會，在我加入BNI的整個過程中，我一直在同一個分會，但我是作為一個全新的貸款官員加入我的分會。

我剛剛成為某人的，基本上是接待員。對我來說，一開始是 "我需要客戶，我得養活自己，我不知道我的下一頓飯從哪裡來，讓我們想辦法。" 隨著時間的推移，漸漸地，我已經從那個時候演變成了現在的樣子，那就是，我已經有了這個人的名冊，我有三、四、五年前成交的客戶，他們正在給我打電話，你知道，推荐一個水管工、一個樹藝師、一個花匠或一個水管工。這是因為我在BNI的關係，這是BNI拼圖中不為人知的部分，我認為它是如此強大，我們沒有花足夠的時間談論，即BNI不僅僅是賺錢和Givers Gain。它也是，我可以成為我的客戶的一個重要力量，成為他們在我的業務之外的事情的首選。

Ivan:

是的，你知道，我剛剛出版的那本書《連接器效應》就談到了這種現象。

Zack:

是的

Ivan:

我完全同意，Zack。當我開始做BNI時，我想成為一個連接大師，我想把人們連接在一起。我相信，如果我善於把人們聯繫在一起，我就會得到更多的引薦人。而這正是所發生的事情。我認為這是一個非常強大的元素，但人們往往會忘記。當他們考慮加入BNI時，你將成為一個連接器，隨著時間的推移，這將有助於你的業務。

Zack:

當然可以。我認為這也是一種，你知道，非常好地對接了邀請訪客方面，也就是當你邀請一個人說，"哦，我在做生意，我做得很好，諸如此類"，你知道，那是我們的王牌。這並不是說一定要為你開發更多的業務；而是要成為一個更好的商人。這是關於成為你的客戶的一個更好的資源，成為一個更實用的，正如你所說的，連接器。

Ivan:

是的。除了簡單地賺錢之外，還有什麼其他好處你想談談嗎？

Zack:

我的意思是，對我來說，說實話，你知道，有朋友的一面。我的一些更好的成年朋友是通過BNI認識的，這是它的一部分。然後，我認為對我個人來說，BNI還教會我如何在比我習慣更短的時間內更明智地談論我的業務。這是另一件事，你知道，這是一個非常有趣的事情，BNI本身，即我可以與某人進行35或40秒的談話，他們知道我是誰，我來自哪裡，我做什麼，為什麼我擅長它，以及什麼使我的團隊獨特。而在交際場合，不是說我們現在做了很多，而是像面對面的交際，在一個雞尾酒會上，或者某種，你知道，節日活動，能夠以一種超高效的方式做到這一點是非常寶貴的。我已經看到能夠有效地做到這一點的巨大回報。

Ivan:

是的，我認為很多人在第一次加入BNI時沒有認識到，他們在向其他人介紹自己時將會有多大的進步。向其他人解釋他們是做什麼的，他們的好處是什麼。我認為這絕對是一個沒有想到的好處。友誼也沒有被考慮到，直到有人已經在裡面呆了一段時間，然後它就成了一個主要問題。

Zack:

是的，一種軼事，幾個月前我和一個房地產經紀人在一個開放的房子裡，我在凱勒-威廉姆斯那種大師級的活動中認識的。我遇到了一對夫婦，他的丈夫在一家太陽能公司工作，我和他總共花了45秒的時間閒聊。他在離開的時候拿了我的名片，然後給我打電話。他明天早上將訪問我們的分會。

因為他記住了我在談論工作和其他方面的方式。他實際上給我發了電子郵件，問我："嘿，你的電梯推銷真的很好，或者你把它稱為什麼。" 我說，"哦，是的。" 他說，"你從哪裡學會的？" 我說，"嗯，說實話，BNI。" 他笑了笑。他說，"我聽說過BNI這個東西。然後我說，"你為什麼不來加入我呢？ " 因此，他實際上明天就會來拜訪我，因為我有能力真正快速、非常簡潔地告訴他我是誰，我做什麼。

Ivan:

太棒了。扎克，在我們結束之前，有什麼結束的想法嗎？

Zack:

我認為真的，如果你是一個會員，評估你在你的業務中處於什麼位置，以及BNI在這一點上能為你做什麼。如果你想邀請別人，我會說，多花一點時間，你知道，20-30秒，弄清楚他們在哪裡，什麼可能對他們有好處。而且永遠不要忘記，真的，說實話，我在這方面的最大收穫，以及15年來真的是，無論你在哪裡，這裡都有適合你的東西。如果你能有創造力，你就能找到它。

Ivan:

非常同意。Zack，你想提供你的網站嗎？

Zack:

當然，我的網站是www.ZacharySaunders.rmsmortgage.com。你可以在Facebook上找到我，你會發現有很多我兒子和我的狗的照片。但這就是你找到我的方式。如果有人想談論BNI或其他任何事情，我都可以提供。

Ivan:

Zack，非常感謝你今天參加BNI播客。我真的很感激。

Zack:

謝謝你邀請我。我很感激

Ivan:

交還給你，Priscilla.

Priscilla: 

好的，太好了。非常感謝你們兩位，提供了這麼好的信息。

本播客由 www.misneraudioprograms.com 贊助。這些音頻節目將為你提供工具和靈感，有力地提高你的BNI經驗，幫助你促進你的業務。因此，請查看www.misneraudioprograms.com，並使用促銷代碼IVAN50，所有音頻節目享受50%的折扣[該代碼在有限時間內有效]。所有的收益都將捐給BNI基金會。

非常感謝您的收聽。我是Priscilla Rice，我們期待你下週再次加入我們，收聽另一集令人興奮的BNI官方播客。

Episode 719: Business and BNI Phases

August 11, 2021 by Ivan Misner 1 Comment

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Synopsis

Zachary Saunders from BNI Integrity Partners in New Hampshire joins Dr. Misner to talk about how BNI can benefit businesses in any of the four business phases and how to use the phases to invite visitors and encourage people to join.

A BNI chapter benefits from having members whose businesses are at different stages. Members in the later phases give members in the early stages something to aspire to, and it makes the open networking more interesting. Here are some examples of business phases and associated benefits of BNI.

Business Phase	BNI Benefits
Startup	Getting referrals and growing your business through Power Teams
Growth	Learning to speak more intelligently about your business in less time
Shakeout	Becoming a better businessperson and making friends
Maintenance	Becoming a master connector and a resource for your clients

These benefits are cumulative: businesses in the shakeout and maintenance phases still get referrals and continue to hone their skills.

If you’re a BNI member, take a few minutes to think about which phase your business is in and how BNI is helping you. When you’re inviting visitors, find out which business phase they are in so you know what to emphasize in your invitation. No matter where you are in your business, there’s something for you in BNI. And if you can be creative, you can find it.

The Official BNI Podcast is sponsored by Misner Audio Programs.

Complete Transcript of Episode 719

Priscilla:
Hello everybody, and welcome back to The Official BNI Podcast. I’m Priscilla Rice, and I’m coming to you from Live Oak Recording Studio in Berkeley, California. And I’m joined on the phone today by the Founder and the Chief Visionary Officer of BNI, Dr. Ivan Misner. Hello, Ivan. How are you and where are you?

Ivan:
Well, like most people, I am pretty much at home in Austin, Texas. But I’ve been traveling via online all over the world. I’ve been to Peru to Hong Kong to Sri Lanka, and other locations in the last week or so.

Priscilla:
Wow, that’s great.

Ivan:
It’s good to do the BNI Podcast again. And I have a guest this week. His name is Zachary Saunders. Zachary is a 15-year member of BNI who has been a Director Consultant for the past three years. He’s a Senior Mortgage Loan Officer and Team Lead for residential mortgage services. And he lives in Southern New Hampshire with his wife, Carrie, son, Oliver, and their dog, Maggie.

Something that no one knows about Zack, personally, is that he stopped a mugging in Paris with a baguette. Now, I wish we had time to hear that story, Zack, because it sounds amazing. I can’t believe you did that. But that sounds like an amazing story. When we’re done with the podcast, I want you to tell it to me. 

Zack:
You’ve got it.

Ivan:
So, there are a few things that you wanted to talk about today, all related to BNI phases and business phases. So talk to me about what you view as the business phases in life.

Zack:
Yeah, so I think you know, as you’re kind of developing your business, and as you’re going through your growth cycles, you know, there’s a few key points in your business development that I think are important. One of them is the startup point. Another one is what I call your growth phase. The third one I think of is your shakeout phase. And then the fourth one, my father affectionately refers to as autopilot. But I like to think of it as kind of the maintenance phase. And those are all important things to kind of recognize, where you are in your business as you’re looking at your journey in BNI. But I think it’s also equally important to explore those and discuss those with people that you’re looking to invite to BNI. Because how you’re choosing to invite somebody, and what elements of BNI you’re choosing to highlight are really critical to the position that someone is in, in that journey of their business’s lifecycle.

Ivan:
So do you think that it’s good to have a mix of where people are in their lifecycle in business? I mean, I don’t want to bury the lede, I think it’s good.

Zack:
Yeah.

Ivan:
To have a combination of businesses where they are in the lifecycle. How do you feel about that?

Zack:
I agree. I think a good chapter or a hyper functional chapter, I think does have a good mix of those different elements, or different aspects or different, you know, phases of business. I think it’s good to have startups in there, because you want those hungry young people in the chapter who are motivating the others to really go out there and do the networking, do the work; like really grind that axe to a fine edge. But I think it’s also important to have those other phases in there. Because it reminds, I think, those newer businesses what they’re striving for. Additionally, I also think that by having a good solid mix, I think that you engage in different types of conversations. If you have a chapter that’s full of nothing but aging businesses, then that’s a different type of conversation.

Ivan:
Yeah, and that conversation is usually, “Hey, where you going to go play golf today?”

Zack:
Right. Versus “Where did you go networking yesterday?”

Ivan:
Exactly.

Zack:
I think having that good mix really keeps that conversation moving forward. But I think it also, just from a personal standpoint, I think it makes the open networking a little bit more interesting. And I think it makes the structure of the weekly presentations a little bit more diverse, which helps the younger businesses see what they’re going for, but also reminds those businesses that are maybe in that flushing out (shakeout) phase, where they came from, and to stay hungry.

Ivan:
Well, I want to go to the next subject, but let me just say one other thing on this. Sometimes chapters don’t want reasonably new businesses in the chapter, and I think that too, is a mistake. Because sometimes those new businesses just have so much energy. And it’s like you wind them up and let them run. And so I think having that balance is a really important BNI benefit at each of these stages. What are your thoughts about that? Explain that to me.

Zack:
So this kind of came from a conversation I had at a Director presentation that I gave to a chapter a few months ago. And it was sort of the unseen elements of the BNI structure that make BNI more powerful to members, or visitors, than they may initially see. So for me, personally, if I can tell a quick anecdote about myself: I joined my chapter, and I’ve been in the same chapter for the entire time I’ve been in BNI, but I joined my chapter as a brand-new loan officer. I was fresh off of being someone’s, essentially, receptionist. And for me in the beginning, it was “I need clients, I got to feed myself, I don’t know where my next meal is coming from, let’s figure this out.” And gradually over time, that evolved away from that into where I am now, which is, I’ve got this Rolodex of people, I have customers that I closed three, four or five years ago that are calling me for, you know, recommendations for a plumber or an arborist or a florist or a plumber. And it’s because of my connections in BNI, and that’s sort of that unseen piece of the BNI puzzle that I think is so powerful, that we don’t spend enough time talking about which is, BNI is more than just making money and Givers Gain. It’s also, I can become a serious force of nature for my clients by being their go-to-guy for things that are wildly outside of my business.

Ivan:
Yeah, you know, the book that I just came out with, The Connector Effect, talks about that very phenomenon.

Zack:
Yep.

Ivan:
I agree completely, Zack. When I started BNI I wanted to be a master connector, I wanted to connect people together. And I believed that if I was good at connecting people together, that I would get more referrals. And that’s exactly what happened. I think it’s a very powerful element that, oftentimes, people forget about. As they were thinking about joining BNI is, you are going to be a connector, and that will help your business over time.

Zack:
Absolutely. And I think that also kind of, you know, dovetails very nicely into, the inviting visitor aspect, which is when you invite someone who says, “Oh, I’m in business, I’m doing pretty well and whatnot”, you know, that’s our aces in the hole. It’s not about necessarily developing more business for you; it’s about being a better businessperson. It’s about being a better resource to your clients and being a more functional, as you put it, connector.

Ivan:
Yeah. Any other benefits beyond simply making money that you want to chat about?

Zack:
I mean, for me, honestly, you know, there’s the friend aspect. Some of my better adult friends I’ve met through BNI, there’s that piece of it. And then, I think also, for me personally, BNI taught me how to speak more intelligently about my business in far less time than I was used to. And that’s another thing that, you know, again, it’s a really interesting thing that BNI lends itself to, which is, I can have a 35 or 40 second conversation with someone and they know who I am, where I’m from, what I do, why I’m good at it, and what makes my team unique. And in a networking situation, not that we’re doing a whole lot of it now, but like face-to-face networking, at a cocktail party, or some sort of, you know, holiday event, being able to do that in a hyper efficient way is invaluable. And I have seen huge returns on being able to just do that effectively.

Ivan:
Yeah, I think a lot of people don’t recognize when they first join BNI, as to how much better they’re going to be at introducing themselves to other people. To explaining to other people what it is that they do and what their benefits are. And I think it’s absolutely a benefit that isn’t thought of. And the friendships aren’t thought of either, until someone has been in for a while, and then it becomes a major issue.

Zack:
Yeah, kind of anecdotally, I was at an open house a few months ago with a realtor that I’ve met at a Keller Williams kind of mastermind thing. And I met a couple, and the husband worked for a solar company, and he and I spent the grand total of maybe 45 seconds together chit chatting. He grabbed my card on the way out and he actually called me. He’s visiting our chapter tomorrow morning. Because he remembered me in the way that I spoke about work and whatnot. And he actually emailed me and asked me, “Hey, your elevator pitch is really good, or what you referred to it as.” And I said, “Oh, yeah.” He goes, “Where’d you learn how to do that?” I said, “Well, honestly, BNI.” And he kind of chuckled. He goes, “I’ve heard about this BNI thing. And I go, “Why don’t you come and join me?” And so he’s actually visiting tomorrow based on the quality of my ability to real quickly and very succinctly tell him who I was and what I do.

Ivan:
Fantastic. Any closing thoughts, Zack, before we wrap up?

Zack:
I think really, if you’re a member, evaluate where you are in your business and what BNI can do for you at that point. If you’re looking to invite people, I would say, spend a little extra, you know, 20-30 seconds kind of figuring out where they are and what might be a benefit to them. And never forget that really, honestly, my big takeaway from this, and really for 15 years has been, no matter where you are, there’s something for you here. And if you can be creative, you can find it.

Ivan:
Couldn’t agree more. Zack, you want to give your website?

Zack:
Sure. My website is www.ZacharySaunders.rmsmortgage.com. You can find me on Facebook, you’ll find a lot of pictures of my son and my dog. But that’s how you find me. And I’m available if anybody wants to chat about BNI or anything else.

Ivan:
Zack, thanks so much for being on BNI Podcast today. I really appreciate it.

Zack:
Thank you for having me. I appreciate it

Ivan:
Yeah, back to you, Priscilla.

Priscilla: Okay, that’s great. Thank you so much, both of you, for that great bit of information.

This podcast is sponsored by www.misneraudioprograms.com. These audio programs will provide you with the tools and the inspiration to powerfully enhance your BNI experience and help you boost your business. So check out the great material available to you at www.misneraudioprograms.com and use the promo code IVAN50 for 50% off all the audio programs [this code is good for a limited time]. All of the proceeds will go to the BNI Foundation.

Thank you so much for listening. This is Priscilla Rice and we look forward to having you join us again next week for another exciting episode of The Official BNI Podcast.

https://www.bnipodcast.com/2021/08/11/episode-719-business-and-bni-phases/