St George's BNI

Every BNI needs at least one twitter fan

BNI is all about building a network that you can use to find business for both yourself and your fellow members. Twitter is all about building a network and sharing information. So the two work perfectly together.

Tweet locally

A lot of people struggle to ‘get’ twitter. They join, follow a few celebrities, get followed by a few spammers. The celebrities are too busy to follow back and listen to them. The spammers aren’t interested in listening at all.

That sums up my first week on twitter and explains why I then ignored it for 9 months, telling everyone it was a waste of time.

Then, out of the blue, I decided to search for my home town in the search box on twitter. Suddenly, I found a whole community of local twitter users who could actually be saying something relevant to me. So I followed some, they followed me. I have made some new friends and become completely hooked, because we have a huge amount in common, we all live in the same area.

BNI is about farming, not hunting

Great! So what do I do next? Well, time to start shouting about my business.

No.

Ramming your business down people’s throats is a great way to lose followers and become one of those spammers. It is enough that these people now know who I am and what I do. If I discover a new service or have something special to offer I will tell them. If they are interested they will listen, so I don’t keep shouting about it.

But they don’t know my fellow BNI members. So being in conversation with them is no different to any other social or business interaction. Someone mentions car trouble, I can recommend a garage. Someone planning an extension? I can suggest a great builder.

Yes, I am using my network, but I am also helping my friends.  In the last few months I have helped a follower find flowers for their wedding, another find a unique Valentine’s gift for their wife. I have referred people to blind installers, carpenters, electricians and, this week, a plumber.

Twitter to the rescue

On Tuesday one of the people I follow asked…

Does anyone know any good plumbers in Whitstable as have a leaking pipe that needs fixing?

So I tweeted back with a number for Gary of Padgett Plumbing and Drainage.  A few minutes later this appeared…

Have left him a message. Thanks for all your help.

How not to fix a leaky pipe

I have a warm feeling inside from helping someone, and a smug pleasure in knowing I have another referral for Wednesday morning.

Imagine my surprise Wednesday morning when Gary stands up for his 60 seconds, bearing in mind I haven’t passed him the referral slip yet.

Gary shows everyone a bodged repair and explains that this was a pipe he replaced on Tuesday. From my twitter referral.

Everyone benefits

From a simple exchange of tweets we have all come out benefiting:

• The customer found a recommendation online quickly and easily
• My reputation as a helpful twitter user increases
• Gary receives new business, has a great 60 seconds and boosts his reputation as a fast and reliable plumber

And not one bit of spam.

Feel free to follow me