Ever since FWL has been a full-time commitment for me, I have been a networker. Regular readers will know that I am a member of BNI and 4N and so, I attend regular breakfast meetings to market what we do at FWL. Over the last two years, I have met some fascinating individuals with really interesting businesses, life experiences and more. The 4N concept of 50% social and 50% business works well for us at FWL because what we do requires a more ‘personal’ connection than some other businesses ‘in the room’ at networking meetings.
This time last year, I moved from BNI Junction 17 (Chippenham) to BNI Bath Parade and I had a whole new room of businesses to learn about and also educate about our business. My recent renewal for ‘Year 2 at Parade’ has (I believe) been approved…. well, the money has departed from the bank balance and I haven’t been kicked out of a meeting yet!!! We knew when we joined BNI that our business would be tougher to refer to and everyone said, “In Year 2, you’ll receive more referrals because people will know, like and trust you“. Guess what? Those people were right.
This week, we have received FIVE referrals through BNI alone. That’s more than the BNI referral level for the whole of July! I think that finally people understand what we do. Maybe it takes time to open up and talk to us about their families…. skeletons in their closets etc.? The referrals have been diverse and we are really looking forward to working on each case to ‘crack the mystery’ for people. Some parts, we have already done! Though some will take longer…. Not every family quest is quick and easy.
But, how long does it take for the penny to drop? What makes it suddenly drop? At what point do people feel comfortable enough to trust us with their family matters? It’s an interesting statistical analysis…. but let’s not return to my previous existence!
