Episode 514: How to Break Through the 20-Member Barrier (Ask Ivan) - a podcast by Dr. Ivan Misner

Synopsis

Today’s Ask Ivan question comes from Raymond in South Africa.

It seems that every time we get to just over 20 members, a few leave, and we have to rebuild, only to repeat the process later. I’m not sure if we have a programmed-in set point at 20, but I’m sure it could be a set point at 30. What can we do to break this cycle? The 100-member strong chapters in BNI India sound scary, but what can we learn from international experience?

The largest chapter today is in Hong Kong, with 123 members, but you don’t have to be a hundred-member chapter to be an awesome chapter. If you want to create a different set point, do these four things.



* Quality. Attitude is critical, but aptitude also matters. Make sure the members you accept are committed.

* Growth. The number of referrals increases exponentially as your chapter grows.

* Engagement. When you have new prospective members, tell them that attending member success training is a requirement.

* Storytelling. You have to tell people your story in BNI and how it has worked for you. Most people get more referrals the longer they are part of a chapter.



For more guidance on this topic, listen to Episode 469.

Bonus Question

Pep from Cambodia asks

On the BNI CDs and SuccessNet, how do you get CEUs? When you read articles or listen to CDs, how do you get CEUs, and how many do you get? And how do you get Ivan’s books?

It’s one CEU for reading SuccessNet or listening to the CD. You get 1 CEU for listening to for or 5 podcasts. (Earning a CEU takes 1 hour.) In most countries, you can get Ivan’s books on Amazon. If not, your local BNI director should have them, or you can get them on BNI.com.

Do you have a question for Dr. Misner? Just fill out the Ask Ivan form at the bottom of this page.

Brought to you by the Networking for Success Channel on YouTube.

Complete Transcript of Episode 514 –

Priscilla:

This is part of the Ask Ivan series. If you have a question for Ivan, we have recreated a new link on the podcast web page.

Hello everybody and welcome back to the Official BNI Podcast, brought to you by the Networking for Success Channel on YouTube, which features Dr. Ivan Miser and many other networking experts. I am Priscilla Rice, and I am coming to you from Live Oak Recording Studio in Berkeley, California. I am 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:

Hey. It is just after the Fourth of July holiday here in the United States, so I am home in Austin.

Priscilla:

That’s great. So what do you have to share with us today?

Ivan:

I have a question today from Raymond in South Africa. A lot of the questions that I am getting right now are very international. It’s great. He wants to know about breaking through the twenty-something barrier. That’s his topic as he described it. He said, “It seems that every time we get to just over 20 members, a few leave and we have to rebuild, only repeat the process later. I am not sure if we have a programmed in set point at 20 but I am sure there could be a set point at 30 or more. Is this common? What can we do to break this cycle? Although the 100-member strong chapters in BNI India sound scary, what can we learn from international experience?”

Yeah, the 100-member chapters are amazing to me. I just found out today the largest chapter is in Hong Kong with 123 members.

Priscilla:

Oh my gosh. Do they have like 10 second infomercials or something?

Ivan:

I like your very unfiltered response there, Priscilla. That was perfect.

Further episodes of The Official BNI Podcast

Further podcasts by Dr. Ivan Misner

Website of Dr. Ivan Misner