Over the past week alone we have been asked to recommend a plasterer, mechanic, insurance broker and tiler. It was an easy job as we have 3 out of 4 of these professions in our BNI. As well as that, this week we have been approached about the BNI and how it works, on two occasions. Again this is easy to explain, and easy to be enthusiastic about!
Does virtual networking do the same job?
Being in the trade industry networking often happens organically on site, or bigger private projects. We are often asked by customers for a recommendation of another trade. Our customers trust our recommendations, and they should! Being a finishing trade we want the best in front of us to ensure we can give the best finish possible.
BNI
9 years ago David was approached and asked to go as a visitor to a Business Networking International meeting to find out if it would be of worth to our business. Quickly it was decided the investment of time and membership into the BNI looked like a lucrative one. The idea of a room of people from many professions championing your business whilst touching many more people than you could ever, makes perfect sense! Every member gives 100% to their service because it’s not only your name on the line, but also the name of the person who recommended you.
Virtual networking.
LinkedIn is an amazing tool for networking professionally and career development. You can see what your competition is doing as well as the future projects of prospective customers. Amazing for a small and growing company. I use linked in every day, to see what’s happening in the professional world, who is active and who is growing. The funny thing is, when it comes to our business, the people we want to contact often have a BNI connection, and we always go down that route, we introduce ourselves as a fellow BNI member, or see that we have the same connections through the BNI so go straight to those people and ask for an introduction. That way seems more professional than cold connecting.
Virtual vs. Reality.
The virtual world is an amazing one, vast, vibrant but more often than not it comes with a filter.
Online shopping is a great past time of mine, but all of a sudden I purchase nothing online without checking the reviews, and what better review than a recommendation. We are proud members of BNI Nexus for many reasons, it was a brilliant business choice as we can whole heartedly say our business has more than doubled in size due to the connections and recommendations from our group. As well as this, being able to confidently recommend a wealth of professions to our customers, friends and family is a good place to be. A long standing customer of ours once said that Ardent Decorating is a walking directory as well as amazing business, she said that david in particular is her go to man for all trades and many other professions. The BNI has made our business stand out, not just for our own business, but as a fail safe for good service across the board. It’s a good place to be!
If you want a highly recommended service that can help you with more than painting and decorating alone, contact us, we’ve a wealth of professions to recommend.
The painters wife xxx
https://uk.linkedin.com › …david smith – Proprietor – Ardent Decorating | LinkedIn
01236 424 804
