The long time saying in sales goes: "Facts tell, stories sell." This is also true when it comes to your BNI interactions.

I recently heard an incredibly effective presentation given by Patty Dyer-Powers from Citizens Bank and a member of the Arrigoni BNI Chapter in Middletown. Patty took this concept of storytelling to heart and used it to give her 10-minute presentation recently.

Rather than blandly describing her various services offered at the bank and some facts about herself, she used her 10 minutes to tell 3 very compelling stories of how she helped 3 completely different commercial customers who used her services. Each of the stories not only gave great examples of the bank's capabilities; it also demonstrated her passion for what she does and why Citizens Bank was an excellent bank to do business with.

Everyone came away from hearing those stories feeling that they wanted to do business with Patty because she cared about her customers. Everyone also had the feeling that they wanted to do business with Citizens Bank because they cared enough about their customers to have someone like Patty working for them!

So the next time you have your 10-minute Showcase Presentation, come up with at least one actual story that demonstrates why someone should do business with you. You can also use a story or two during your 1-2-1 meetings as well! Remember...Facts Tell, Stories Sell!

Bruce Fairclough

BNI CT Director Consultant

In April, 20 members from 5 chapters in lower Fairfield County got together for a night of camaraderie, networking and a great Sound Tigers hockey game. Merritt Madness member Dan Tamburro, Group Sales for the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, made sure the group got VIP treatment, from the pre-game feast to access to the lounge during the game.

Members considered the cross-chapter event a success, "I enjoyed learning about other chapters in the area, " commented Jeremy Saladyga from 9 Alive in Stamford. "It was great sharing "war stories" about challenges that other chapters are facing, and knowing that you're not the only group that struggles at times," said Marilyn Miller also from 9 Alive in Stamford.

Cara Mocarski from The Westport BNI said, "It's great to interact with members in my chapter and neighboring groups to get to know different people and find new opportunities."

Congratulations to 3rd Street (Stamford) and Stamford Friday for having the largest percentage of their members attend MSP training in Stamford. They'll soon begin to reap the rewards of better referrals and inviting quality visitors. Members from each chapter who attended the training won a free dessert courtesy of Darien Dynamos member Matt Polidoro from The Goose restaurant in Darien, and the chapters will enjoy a performance by member Melanie Szlucha's improv comedy team.

Melanie Szlucha

How members can open doors of business for you.

By Sam Schwartz, Director of Training - BNI Europe; Executive Director - BNI Northern Virginia; National Director - BNI Israel, BNI Hungary, BNI Romania, BNI Bulgaria

You've probably read an article on the "Key to Networking"-maybe even on SuccessNet. But have your considered there are multiple keys to networking, specifically generating referrals? Let me explain.

When I am asked to explain what BNI is all about. I use the following exercise. I start by saying, "Conceptually, everyone understands the idea of referrals; however, it's not that simple, so I will demonstrate." I proceed to ask everyone to take out their keys and hold them in their hands. I then instruct them to look around the room and find the one person with the most keys on their ring, and ask if I can have it, take it and hold it.

Once I have the keys in hand I address the members: "There are 20-30 people in this room (or you name the number in your particular room); would you agree with me that there are more keys than people represented in this group?"

I then pick up one key from a key ring and ask, "Can anybody tell me what door this key can open? The only person who can give me the right answer is hopefully the person I borrowed the keys from."

Similarly, BNI referrals are about opening doors for one another! Your job as a member is to tell fellow chapter members which doors you would like opened for you, and for the team to look at their keys and see if they have the right key to open that door.

Finally, I turn to the person I borrowed the key ring from and ask, "Can I take the keys with me?" In most cases, the person will not allow you to take the keys. This is when you instruct the group: "This is the second stage of the referral: building trust between each other, so we will enthusiastically give our home keys to one another; in fact, some of us do need the home key in order to do our job."

BNI is very simple: As a member you need to tell your fellow members which doors you want opened for you. And the rest of us? We need to find you the right key and not hesitate to give you the key.

Successful membership is about building trusting relationships so you can help each other open the right doors.