Episodi

  • Episode 977: The Willing Conversation (Classic)

    Episode 977: The Willing Conversation (Classic)
    Sep 9 2026
    Note: This is a rebroadcast of Episode 748, first published on March 9, 2022. Some links and offers may no longer be valid. Synopsis To receive more effective referrals from the members of your BNI group, it’s really important to help them understand your business and your target market enough to identify a good referral. To do that, you need to make sure they know these four things. The Needs AssessmentYour Unique Selling PropositionWhy Are You in Business?What’s Your Emotionally Charged Connection? Listen to Episode 451 and read “Why You Do What You Do Is Your Key to Success” for more about Emotionally Charged Connections. What have you shared with your network that has helped you gain willing conversations with prospective customers? Share your answers in the comments. Complete Transcript of Episode 748 Priscilla:Hello everybody and welcome back to The Official BNI Podcast. I’m Priscilla Rice and I’m coming to you from Live Oak Recording Studio in Berkeley, California. And I’m 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: I am at home in Austin, Texas this week. And, you know, most of our podcasts, almost all of our podcasts, land a post on Wednesday morning. And many of you may not know this, but for the last couple of years, every Wednesday, I have Sam Horn come over in the morning. Sam wrote the book, “POP!” where she mentioned BNI, and that was before I knew Sam. And she also wrote the book, “Someday is Not a Day in the Week.” I talk about Sam and quote her in a number of places. She comes over every Wednesday morning after this podcast goes live. And we do what we call “Writing Wednesday.” But honestly, Priscilla, it’s oftentimes ‘talking’ Wednesday. We talk. We talk a lot about writing, but we talk a lot. And today’s topic is The Willing Conversation. Priscilla:Uh huh. Ivan:And so it’s about talking to people. Do you remember, Priscilla, when you were a kid how fun magnets were to play with? Priscilla:Yes. Ivan:Yeah, I loved magnets. And depending on which way you turn the magnet, they were either attracted or repelled by one another. And as an adult, we may find ourselves feeling six years old again when we make a phone call to a referral, who turns out to not be a referral at all. And similar to a magnet that’s turned the wrong direction, you’re not being embraced in that conversation, you’re being resisted. So the referral you were given that should have been a warm introduction quickly turns into a cold call. We all want good referrals, people who want to talk to us. We want to give and receive referrals that are willing conversations about the products and services that we have to offer. And to receive more effective referrals from the members of your BNI group, it’s really important to help them understand your business and your target market enough to identify a good referral. So here are four tips that you can follow that will help you with those willing conversations. The first tip is The Needs Assessment. It’s really your responsibility to be very clear; it’s our responsibility – I’ll talk about it with me as well. It’s our responsibility to be very clear and specific with our referral partners about what constitutes a good referral. And this is a combination of an ideal prospect profile and the problems that we can solve for them. Because it’s not just about what you do, it’s about what solutions you have for the people that you’re working with. It’s about what Andy Bounds calls the AFTERs —what are things going to look like after you’ve worked with them. So, the needs assessment really is an example of you clearly defining your target market. So for a corporate coach, as an example, you might say that a small to medium sized company with fewer than 100 employees, closely held business – family owned business, regional with locations, you know, local in a state or two, and that they as a coach provide themselves on higher than average retention, getting companies to have higher than average retention for employees. And they may be in a competitive industry and as an executive coach, you can help them gain an advantage. So, you know, you want to communicate your target market very clearly to the people in your BNI group. Ivan:You also want to describe your Unique Selling Proposition. So do you have dozens or hundreds of competitors in your marketplace? You probably do. And that means that your unique selling proposition, or USP, is really important because it allows you to stand out among your competition. Your USP is a brief description of the purpose of your business. It’s stated in the most concise and compelling way possible in order to help others understand the unique value of what it is that you do. So your unique selling proposition tells people the type of client you like to work with and the benefits ...
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    12 min
  • Episode 976: The Difference Between Persistence and Stubbornness

    Episode 976: The Difference Between Persistence and Stubbornness
    Sep 2 2026
    Synopsis Persistence becomes stubbornness when you keep trying the exact thing that didn’t work before. Healthy persistence means you listen to feedback, even when it’s difficult to hear. Refine your message, improve your product, test different approaches. Learn to distinguish between criticism of the vision and criticism of the execution. Stay committed to the vision. Stay flexible about the path. Pivoting isn’t surrender; it’s a strategy. Hold the Vision. Improve the Execution. Links Listen to Episode 211: Fear of Rejection.Listen to Episode 507: Be a Dog with a Bone.Listen to Episode 975: Your Vision to Success. Complete Transcript of Episode 976 Priscilla:Hello everybody, and welcome back to the Official BNI Podcast. I’m Priscilla Rice, and I’m coming to you from Live Oak Recording Studio in Berkeley, California, and I’m 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:This is like the longest spell I’ve been home in quite a long time. I went to American Airlines’ Admirals Club on my last trip, and the person at the desk said, “Welcome back, Dr. Misner. Your office is right here.” This is the Admirals Lounge, because I’ve been there so many times. Priscilla:Oh my gosh! Yeah, in the airport, you mean? Ivan:Yeah, in the airport. That’s right. So I now have 2.6 million miles in American Airlines alone. Priscilla:What? Ivan:No joke. 2.6 million. Priscilla:What are you going to do with all those miles? Ivan:Well, I don’t have that many left. I’ve used a lot of them, but that’s how many miles I’ve traveled. Priscilla:Wow. Ivan:I probably have close to a million actually in the bank, and I use [them] mostly for my kids. Priscilla:Yeah, it’s good that y they can use them. They must love it. Ivan:It’s a first world problem, having them. Priscilla:Yeah, right, right, right, right. Ivan:All right, we’ve got a fun topic. Priscilla:Okay, good. Ivan:The difference between persistence and stubbornness. So one of the questions I get asked a lot is about persistence. Many people know that my first major book, and I’ve talked about it in this podcast, was rejected by 44 publishers. Forty-four publishers, and this is back before the Excel spreadsheet. And I literally had a hand-drawn sheet of paper with the publisher’s name and when I sent it, when it was rejected. I had 44 publishers before the 45th one finally said yes, and that was for my first major book, The World’s Best-Known Marketing Secret. And today, that book has sold hundreds of thousands of copies, and it’s in its fourth edition. It has been translated into roughly a dozen languages, and yet it was rejected by 44 publishers. Priscilla:Wow! Ivan:So the question for me is always the same: When does persistence become stubbornness? And at what point is being a dog with a bone too much? Because I tell people I’m a dog with a bone, but there is a point where you know it can be stubbornness, and you have to have discernment here. So that’s a fair question. And here’s how I look at it: persistence isn’t about refusing to quit; it’s about refusing to quit the right way. Now, when I was rejected 44 times, I wasn’t doing the same thing 44 times. That’s important. I wasn’t doing the same thing 44 times. I was learning 44 times. Every rejection taught me something. Sometimes it was about the proposal, the letter that I put on the manuscript. Sometimes it was about the positioning. Sometimes it was about the audience that I wanted to have the book focus on and describe that in a letter. Sometimes it was simply about finding a publisher who truly understood the vision of the book. Because if you think back into the early ’90s, there were no books written on networking. I wrote the first book… I did the first book ever written on business networking. So a lot of publishers were like, yeah, this is a fad. That’s what I used to get with the media, by the way: “This BNI thing is a fad,” and that’s certainly what I got. It’s now a fad with, at this moment, over 11,820 chapters at this moment. Quite a fad, and it’s a fad that’s lasted 42, almost 42 years. So, what I’m talking about is, you know, the difference between persistence and stubbornness. Stubbornness says, “I’ll keep doing exactly what I’m doing until someone finally agrees with me.” Persistence says, “I’m committed to the destination, but I’m willing to improve the journey.” Healthy persistence means you listen to feedback, even when it’s difficult to hear. And I got some difficult feedback in my submissions, and I changed the manuscript over those 44 attempts. You refine your message, you improve your product, you test different approaches. Those are important. You refine your message, you improve your product, you test different approaches. It’s not about just stubbornness; it’s about persistence, but a ...
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    13 min
  • Episode 975: Your Vision to Success

    Episode 975: Your Vision to Success
    Aug 26 2026
    Synopsis Envision yourself standing in a field. About 30 feet away is a 30-foot-high wall. That wall is your vision for your business and your life. Ten feet short of your vision is a wall of obstacles. If you can’t see the vision over the obstacles, you get discouraged and give up. Tom Fleming joins the podcast to show you how to grow your vision. Tom Fleming’s model of human motivation Come to BNI membership with a vision, and hold that vision to overcome any obstacles you encounter. That means engaging in all-out effort with respect to attendance, one-to-ones, passing referrals, and bringing visitors. Tom’s high-achieving vision as a BNI member is Three one-to-ones per weekThree referrals per weekTwo or three visitors per month. Build a vision for your relationship and your business with every conversation you have in BNI. Try it for six months and see how your results grow with your vision. Links Listen to Tom Fleming’s other BNI Podcast episodes.Listen to Episode 711: Choose the Lens You See the World Through.Listen to Episode 475: A Path to Business Leadership. Complete Transcript of Episode 975 Priscilla:Hello everybody, and welcome back to the Official BNI Podcast. I’m Priscilla Rice, and I’m coming to you from Live Oak Recording Studio in Berkeley, California, and I’m 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:Lady Priscilla, it’s wonderful to hear you. Greg Davies from one of the previous podcasts called you Lady Priscilla, I love that. So I might use that moniker every now and then. Priscilla: (chuckling)Okay. Ivan:You’re not a big fan, but I might use it. I am in this hot Austin weather. We looked at my swimming pool gauge, and my swimming pool, not heated, is over 90 degrees [F]. Priscilla:Oh. Ivan:So it’s like a sauna. It’s hot. Priscilla:You can just turn it into your bathtub. Ivan:Yeah, pretty much, yeah, absolutely. So I have a guest today, Tom Fleming. Tom has been on my podcast five previous times. Not too many people have been on the podcast five times. That should tell you something about my opinion of Tom’s contributions to the organization. He served in various leadership roles in BNI, including training owners to track more referrals, from 1996 to roughly 2024, and he continues to impact people’s businesses and lives. He’s now the founder of the Vision Institute. Tom works with business owners to craft a vision for their business and their life, which I think is really important. Within this framework, Tom also supports people with creating a financial vision for themselves with an emphasis on retirement planning. So it’s our goal to make a living and create a life, according to Tom. Tom loves supporting people with creating creating that life. Tom is in Nancy Short’s [BNI] region, and she’s lucky to have him as part of her region. Tom, welcome back to BNI Podcast. Tom:Well, thank you so much, Ivan. And yes, here in Florida, our pool is a little over 90 degrees as well. Ivan: (chuckling)All right, we’re in the same boat, and/or pool actually. Priscilla: (chuckling) Ivan:So we’re going to include a diagram in this podcast so people can see what we’re talking about. Could you explain the diagram that’s in here? Tom: Absolutely, I’d like the listeners to envision themselves just standing in an open field, and about 30 feet away from them is a 30-foot wall, and that wall represents their vision. Their vision of their business and/or their life, if you will. And about 20 feet out, 10 feet short of your vision, is a wall of obstacles, perceived obstacles, if you will. And for some of us, sometimes those perceived obstacles are higher in effect. Therefore, we can’t even see the accomplishment of our vision, and that obviously makes us feel overwhelmed and maybe even depressed and hopeless. But there is a strategy for people in that situation, and the strategy is to decrease their perceived obstacles. And where I shine is in increasing the vision that they have for their business and their life. And I know you have an opinion on this, Ivan. Ivan:And it’s congruent with yours, I believe. Tom:And yours is don’t even pay attention to the obstacles? Ivan:Well, no, no. My perspective on this is: focus on the vision, not the obstacles. The obstacles will always be there. Obstacles were there for BNI in 1985. Obstacles are part of BNI today, obstacles will be around, you know, 20 years from now. So it’s hold the vision. Tom:Mmm. Ivan:This is my philosophy: hold the vision, not the obstacles. Work through, around, over, under, whatever. Work through the obstacles and focus on the vision. Tom:I love it. I love it absolutely. And obviously, people are interested in, “Well, Tom, how does this apply to BNI?” Ivan:Yeah. Tom:And I think a lot of members come into BNI with, well, we’ll see what happens. Ivan:Yeah. Tom:And my thought is, let...
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    12 min
  • Episode 974: Don’t Google, Greggle

    Episode 974: Don’t Google, Greggle
    Aug 19 2026
    Synopsis When he became a BNI Executive Director, Greg Davies-Polaine made it his job to be the go-to person for chapters in his region. Every time he visited a chapter, he gave them this weekly presentation: Hi, my name is Greg Davies-Polaine. I’m your Executive Director. My whole job is ensuring that you get the most value from your BNI membership as you possibly would like to receive. If you’re looking to place a product or service this week that isn’t represented in this room, don’t jump onto an online directory. Don’t jump onto an online purchasing platform. Reach out to me first. If I can place that order with another BNI member that you just haven’t met yet, that revenue will stay local. It will stay in a local community and go around five to seven times before it inevitably disappears off into a national chain. And everyone it touches, it will have a positive influence on, and a rising tide really does lift all boats. So remember, Don’t Google, Greggle. Even if you’re not an Executive Director, you can become the go-to person for your chapter and your clients, the person they go to before they Google. The podcasts listed below help show you how. Links Listen to Episode 135: “The Card File Thingy”.Listen to Episode 633: I’ve Invited Everyone I Know.Listen to Episode 697: The Connector Effect.Listen to Episode 897: What Makes a Perfect Member? (Part 1).Listen to Episode 898: What Makes a Perfect Member? (Part 2). Complete Transcript of Episode 974 Priscilla:Hello everybody, and welcome back to the Official BNI Podcast. I’m Priscilla Rice, and I’m coming to you from Live Oak Recording Studio in Berkeley, California, and I’m 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: I am still in the sweltering heat of Austin, Texas. I need to learn to leave Austin in August. I don’t know why I haven’t figured that out yet. Priscilla:Okay. And who do you have as a guest today? Ivan: I have a good friend of mine who’s been to my home, Greg Davies-Polaine. Greg’s done a couple of podcasts with me as Greg Davies, and since gotten married and has hyphenated his name, which we had a long conversation about before we actually got on the podcast, which I think is interesting. Greg is known as the Storyfella. He uses his passion for telling stories to help communities and individuals thrive. He says working hard is sometimes unavoidable and necessary. I agree with that. But if we understand why we’re doing it and surround ourselves with people who inspire us to be better, it’s worth the effort. I agree with that as well. He’s a best-selling author. He’s done two books with me, Infinite Giving and Infinite Legacy. Both were best-selling books. He’s a multi-award-winning Director of BNI and an international inspirational speaker. He still finds time to drum with the mighty Goat Patrol, I have no idea what that is. Off air, we should talk about that, Greg. And he is a not-so-secret Disney fan, and I got to tell you, I love Disney’s customer service theories a lot. So, Greg, this is your fourth visit to BNI podcast. The last two were on membership, and I think let me look here at episode 897 and 898. It was so much great content we had to break it into two. Greg:Yeah, it was an absolute privilege, and thank you for having me on. Good evening, Lady Priscilla. I believe we need to say, Lady Priscilla, now you are an absolute BNI institution, and Dr. Misner, thank you so much for having me on. Ivan: (chuckling)Lady Priscilla. I like that. I’m sure Priscilla loves that too. That’s really nice. Priscilla: (chuckling) Ivan: Nobody’s ever called me Sir Ivan, but that’s fine. I can live with that. Lady Priscilla. Yeah, thank you. So, Greg, our topic today is an interesting title: Don’t Google, instead, Greggle. So, I think that’s about really becoming the go-to person for your network. So, talk about becoming the go-to person for your network. Greg:Yeah, absolutely. It’s all about positioning. I’ve been in BNI 20 plus years now, and like a lot of people, when I joined, I joined close to where I live, close to where I grew up, and where my business was based. So I was able to refer my clients, my suppliers, my family members, my friends, my social spheres, those I met at the school gates, all those kind of things to members. And I would also go out and find really good specific referrals for people. When I decided that my path lay within BNI and I wanted to step up and help people across the region, my [local] region wasn’t available to me. So the region that I now run, London Southeast Bromley, and Croydon, which I’m immensely proud of what the members have achieved, is about an hour to an hour and a half drive. So when I walked in there, I didn’t have any established network. My business was now my members, so they were my customers, and wherever I ...
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    13 min
  • Episode 973: The BNI Foundation and Ambassador Program

    Episode 973: The BNI Foundation and Ambassador Program
    Aug 12 2026
    Synopsis Shirley Towne returns to the podcast to introduce the BNI Foundation Ambassadors program. Ambassadors are BNI members who represent the BNI Foundation in their chapters and in their regions. By visiting other chapters as a Foundation Ambassador, you grow your own business by helping the BNI Foundation. Ambassadors also help bring more nonprofits into BNI through Givers Gain Grants and other initiatives that support nonprofits. To become a BNI Foundation Ambassador, register to join the next informational call at bit.ly/FoundationAmbassador. Upcoming calls are also announced on the BNI Foundation Facebook page. Links Visit the BNI Foundation website and the BNI Foundation Facebook page.Listen to Episode 395: Business Voices.Listen to Episode 571: The BNI Foundation–What’s in It for Me?Listen to Episode 730: Time and Money.Listen to Episode 781: Make a Difference in the World.Listen to Episode 784: Nonprofits in BNI? Complete Transcript of Episode 973 Priscilla:Hello everybody, and welcome back to the Official BNI Podcast. I’m Priscilla Rice, and I’m coming to you from Live Oak Recording Studio in Berkeley, California, and I’m 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:I am at home in Austin, Texas today. [It’s] the sweltering heat of August for Austin, and I’m just thankful that the deity of your choice made swimming pools and air conditioning. Priscilla: (chuckling)Oh, that’s great! And who do you have on as a guest today? Ivan:I have somebody who’s been on the podcast now five times. Five times, Shirley Towne. Shirley has done many different podcasts for the BNI Podcast, including one of my favorites, podcast number 730. And let’s put a link in the podcast for it. I love it because Shirley talked about the fact that she used to pay, as I recall — Shirley, correct me if I’m wrong, it was $5,000 a month for yellow page advertising. Shirley:That is so correct. Ivan:Yeah, and the Gen Z people are going to go, “What’s the yellow pages?” But just advertising, and the BNI membership ended up, you know, making more money than the advertising, and so the whole point of that podcast is: if BNI cost you $5,000 a month, would you treat it differently? And I just love that concept. It’s one of my favorite podcasts. Go listen to it, episode number 730, done five years ago. Welcome back, Shirley. This is your sixth visit to BNI Podcast. Shirley:Honored to be here. Ivan:Yeah, you’re such a great Director. You joined BNI in 2013. You represented ADT Home Services, and you brought a lot of passion, obviously, to building your chapter. In 2017, you stepped into the role of [BNI] Executive Director, and I’m so glad you did. You’re the Executive Director for BNI SC Midlands [South Carolina, USA], where you really quickly made a significant impact. In your first year, you grew the region from 269 members, and over the last eight years, it’s got an impressive 761+ members. So, your leadership and your results have driven an approach that have earned you recognition as the Executive Director of the Year, three consecutive years in the organization, and the honored, prestigious CEO Award by Mary Kennedy Thompson, and it’s just such a pleasure to have you as part of the organization. And you’re now… condolences or congratulations are in order… Shirley: (laughing) Ivan:You’re now the Chairperson for the BNI Foundation, and that fits because you’re known for your heart for service and commitment to growth. And so, welcome back to the BNI Podcast. Shirley:Thank you so much. I told somebody today that I always said that when I retired, I wanted to help nonprofits raise money. And to be able to do that now through BNI is just a dream come true. So to be able to have an impact through the Foundation and all of our nonprofits, I’m just honored to be able to do so. It’s like a huge congrats for me. It’s like pinch me — I can’t believe I get to do this. Ivan:Well, pinch me. I’m happy that you’re doing it because you know it’s really important to have new blood come into a nonprofit or onto a Board [of Directors]. I’m a believer of that. I just am stepping down from the TLC board, which I’ve been on for over 14 years, and it’s good to have new blood come in and with new ideas and a new set of energy. Even when the previous board, which I was certainly a member of in BNI and a member of in the Transformational Leadership Council [TLC], even when the mature board has done amazing things, it’s still good to have new people come on, and that’s what you’ve done with the BNI Foundation. Shirley:Yeah, I’m excited for it. Ivan:So, can you briefly tell us… You know, the podcasts go by so quick. Shirley:Yes. Ivan:Can you briefly tell us what the mission and the impact of the BNI Foundation is? Shirley:Yeah, so the BNI Foundation is to benefit children ...
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    16 min
  • Episode 972: The Power of Small Talk

    Episode 972: The Power of Small Talk
    Aug 5 2026
    Synopsis Small talk isn’t about filling silence. It’s about opening doors. The goal is to express genuine interest. One thoughtful question creates a conversation. One conversation creates a relationship. And one relationship can change a business — or even a life. Some Thoughtful Questions Who is your ideal client or referral partner?What’s something exciting that you’re working on that most people don’t know about yet?What’s a challenge you’re dealing with right now?What can I do to assist you with that?Who do you know that I could help right now?Before we wrap up, what’s one thing I should remember about you? In your BNI chapter and with other people you’ve met before, pick up a previous conversation, refer to something they’ve said in a presentation, or bring up something positive another member said about them. Choose three of the questions in this podcast and try them during Open Networking or in your next One-to-One. Links Listen to Episode 937: Try Smart Talk, Not Small Talk.Listen to Episode 943: What to Say to Boring People.Listen to Episode 946: Small Talk. Complete Transcript of Episode 972 Priscilla:Hello everybody, and welcome back to the Official BNI Podcast. I’m Priscilla Rice, and I’m coming to you from Live Oak Recording Studio in Berkeley, California, and I’m 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:I am doing great, and I am in Charlotte, North Carolina this week, today at BNI Global Support Office, and I’ll be talking to the staff and taking a look at the new museum room that has been set up, so I’m excited to be in Charlotte. Priscilla:So, what do you have to share with us? Ivan:Well, you know, I’ve been having a lot of people ask me about Small Talk, and I’ve done a couple of podcasts on it, and I’ve got some new content, some new material. So I thought I would talk about The Power of Small Talk, and how little conversations can develop into big relationships. I’m sure you’ve heard, I’ve certainly heard people say, “I’m just not good at small talk.” I hear that all the time. Priscilla:Oh, right, that’s a phrase. Ivan:Yeah, I’m just not good at small talk, or I don’t like small talk. Personally, I think small talk gets a bad reputation. The problem isn’t small talk, the problem is staying there in small talk. Small talk shouldn’t be the destination, it’s the doorway. And if you never walk through the doorway, you’re never going to build the kinds of relationships that generate referrals, generate opportunities that can build lifelong friendships. Networking isn’t about collecting business cards, it’s about collecting relationships, and relationships almost always begin with small talk, opening conversation. I recommend you do a search on small talk, and you’ll see a number of the podcasts that I’ve done on this, and this has some different content than what I had on those others. Many people think that they have to say something brilliant in the small talk. Well, you don’t. You just have to make the other person feel important. That is what you need to do. So, here’s something I’ve learned over 40 years of building BNI. Many people forget, they forget exactly what you say, but they’ll remember how you made them feel when your conversation makes someone feel interesting, respected, or appreciated. You’ve already separated yourself from most of the people that they’ll meet that day. So, what do you actually say? Let’s start with meeting someone for the first time, instead of asking, “So, what do you do?” Try asking, “What’s something good that’s been keeping you busy lately?” One [question] asks for a job title; the other invites a story, and people remember stories, they don’t remember job titles. Another question is, and I love this, “What do you enjoy most about what you do?” That question shifts people away from facts and towards passion. People light up when they talk about what they enjoy. Here’s another favorite. “How did you get into that?” Almost everyone has a story, and stories build a connection faster than resumes ever will. Since this is a BNI Podcast, here’s a question that every member should become comfortable asking, “Who is your ideal client or referral partner?” With that, you’re really asking, “Who can I help you meet?” Another great question is, “What’s one challenge you’re working through right now?” You know, helping people solve problems is where referrals begin, and relationships begin. And I know I’ve told stories about this, where I’ve asked a question about what’s one of the challenges. And you don’t want to lead with this question, because it’s not a good question to open with, but when somebody has talked a little bit to you, then you say, “What’s your biggest challenge right now?” or “What’s one ...
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    12 min
  • Episode 971: What Is Essential to New Members?

    Episode 971: What Is Essential to New Members?
    Jul 29 2026
    Synopsis Identifying the most essential things to connect business goals to activities in BNI results in more lucrative and successful memberships. Jenni Butz, Director of US CORE Training at BNI Global, introduced the twice-monthly 1st Year Member Essentials webinar to help new BNI members find value in their memberships in the earliest days. It covers the basics of BNI and provides a chance to ask live questions.15,000 new BNI members have gone through the program since its launch a few years ago. Two questions show up again and again in participant surveys: How do I use BNI Connect?How do I give a good presentation? Have you taken the 1st Year Member Essentials webinar? Tell us about your experience in the comments. Links Register for 1st Year Member Essentials on the BNI Northwest events page.Watch a recording of 1st Year Members Essentials at BNI Academy.Read Jenni’s book, Six-Word Lessons on Effective Communication.Listen to Episode 727: Visitor Contact and Experience.Listen to Episode 936: Why New Members Struggle. Complete Transcript of Episode 971 Priscilla:Hello everybody, and welcome back to the Official BNI Podcast. I’m Priscilla Rice, and I’m coming to you from Live Oak Recording Studio in Berkeley, California, and I’m 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:I am melting here in Austin, Texas. Priscilla: (laughing) Ivan:July and August is hot. I have to put water out by my beehives because they desperately need something to cool them down. Priscilla:Oh, your beehives. Ivan:Yes, they’re fun. They’re fun. One day… I’m sure I’m going to learn some lessons about bees and business, and someday I may do a podcast on it. But today I have an amazing woman who has been with BNI for some time now, and she’s been on the BNI Podcast before. Her name is Jenni Butz, that’s B-U-T-Z. She’s a former high school French and English teacher. Jenni joined a BNI Chapter and see in the Seattle area in 2012 and was an employee of a tutoring company, and soon started her own business as a professional speaker and emcee. In that business, she’s worked with nonprofits, women’s groups, and businesses to help them grow effective communication. She’s written books, including Six-Word Lessons on Effective Communication, and it is available on Amazon. In 2018 Jenni began supporting several BNI regions in Director roles and now serves as the Director of US CORE Training. CORE is Company Owned Regions. She is the Director of CORE Training. Jenni, welcome to BNI Podcast. Jenni:Thank you so much for having me. Ivan:It is great to have you. We’re going to talk about something that’s reasonably new, and towards the end of this podcast, we’re going to give a few descriptions on where you can find what Jenni is going to be talking about. But Jenni, you started hosting the 1st Year Member Essentials webinars a few years ago, so could you talk a little bit about that? Jenni:Yeah, it’s been one of my favorite things to do in the last few years with BNI. We started to see that new members were easily overwhelmed, and we wanted to have one place that we could try to grab as many as possible, and I think in the last three or four years we’ve had more than 15,000 new members come on. And we just cover the basics of BNI, kind of like Member Success Program that we have in BNI Academy, but we want to give them one place where everybody gets the same information and they can ask live questions. And so it’s been a really great thing. We do it twice a month, and new members really seem to enjoy it. Ivan:Now, this isn’t meant to replace Member Success Program training, but to really, I would think, kind of nudge them into wanting to do it. Jenni:Yeah, exactly. They sometimes do one first, and then the other, it just depends. But we’re really trying to communicate to [BNI] Regional Teams, you know, the Support Directors, Ambassadors, as well as specifically targeting Mentor Coordinators, to help new members get onto this webinar, because it just reinforces a lot of the things they’re getting in Member Success Program, but with a different format and with a different voice, and sometimes it lands differently. Ivan:Yeah, so getting new members really assimilated into the chapter in the first 90 days helps them in many ways. I’m sure it helps them make more money. Jenni:Yes, yeah, because they don’t know what they don’t know. Ivan:Yeah. Jenni:And so what we are trying to counterbalance is sometimes they’re hearing from people outside BNI, or maybe even people in their own chapters, ‘Just to be patient, you won’t really see any value in your membership for another year or so.’ And I want to tell them that that’s not true at all. We want to help them find value in their memberships in the earliest days of their memberships. It may not be their dream referral right away, but ...
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    14 min
  • Episode 970: Sailing or Scaling?

    Episode 970: Sailing or Scaling?
    Jul 22 2026
    Synopsis Are you sailing a lifestyle business or scaling a legacy business? Kip Kint believes anyone who runs a successful lifestyle business can scale it into a legacy business that doesn’t depend on its founder. A lifestyle business depends on you, your relationships, and your expertise.The ceiling for sailing is your personal capacity. The business has no resale value and dies when you retire.Scaling doesn’t have to be global. You can scale in your own city, region, or country.You cannot scale without scaling intentionally.You can leverage the paradigms, commitment, and follow-through that got you where you are to scale your lifestyle business.The potential for scaling is limited only by your generosity and your investment in others. Have you scaled your original business? Share your experiences in the comments. Links Visit BNI Utah South and BNI North TexasListen to Episode 563: The Referral Part of the Meeting.Read Who’s in Your Room? The Question That Will Change Your Life by Stewart Emery, Ivan Misner, and Doug HardyRead The Science of Scaling: Grow Your Business Bigger and Faster Than You Think Possible by Benjamin Hardy Complete Transcript of Episode 970 Priscilla:Hello everybody, and welcome back to the Official BNI Podcast. I’m Priscilla Rice, and I’m coming to you from Live Oak Recording Studio in Berkeley, California, and I’m 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:I am doing great, Priscilla, and I am at a Transformational Leadership Council meeting. I’ve talked about TLC a lot in many of the podcasts. It’s an organization started by Jack Canfield and I believe that everyone needs to be part of various networks, and TLC is my knowledge network that I’ve been a member of now for almost 20 years. Priscilla:Wow. Ivan:Almost 20 years in that organization. So I’m stepping down from the [TLC] board of directors this year. So I’ve been on the board for 14 years, and I’m just going to be a regular member after 14 years of being on the board. Priscilla:Oh, that’ll be a relief, maybe. Ivan:Yeah, it will be a little bit of a relaxing time for my visits there. I’ve got a guest on today, he’s been on once before. Kip Kent was on [BNI] Podcast number 563. Kip is the Executive Director and owner of BNI Utah South and BNI North Texas. He was a BNI member since 2005 He has scaled his Utah South region to be the highest penetrated BNI region in the US. Kip is a three-time US Franchise Region of the Year recipient, two-time Executive Director of the Year. He’s a recipient of the Founders Award, the CEO Award, the National Director’s Award, and he has served two terms as the chair of the [BNI] Franchise Advisory Board. And he was a keynote speaker at the recent [BNI] US and Canadian National Conference in Orlando, which is the reason he is on this, because I heard him do a presentation called Sailing or Scaling: Building a Lifestyle Business or a Legacy Business. Love the concept, Kip. And welcome to the BNI Podcast again. Kip:Thank you, Ivan. I appreciate it, and I’m happy to be here. Ivan:So, talk about a sailing lifestyle business versus a scaling legacy business. Kip:Okay, yeah, happy to. And let’s just start with sailing, right? A lifestyle business, that’s my metaphor for a lifestyle business. It’s typically designed around the owner’s desired lifestyle, as the name kind of implies. Freedom is the objective, so we are still talking about a quality business, a business that grows, it grows intentionally, but the founder remains at the helm to continue with the sailing metaphor. The business revolves around the owners, their relationships, their expertise, their decision making, their personal effort, and their capacity. But growth could be limited a little by that personal capacity – their own time, their energy, the complexity that they themselves can handle. And let me just clarify, it could be them and a small team of people. It’s not necessarily only the solopreneur. It could also be a little limited by their reluctance to take the risk to trust and invest in others. Business slows if they step away, and it should be a conscious choice, and it still can be a great business for the right entrepreneur. So, the bottom line is sailing is about a lifestyle business that ultimately creates freedom for the owner. Ivan:But they… as long as they are active in it, and once they walk away, that’s kind of it. Kip:Yes. Ivan:And it’s not very saleable, or it’s not nearly as saleable as the scaling, which is what you’re going to talk about next. Kip:Exactly. Ivan:So, what is scaling in a business? Kip:So, scaling or legacy business, first of all, it’s a very intentional process. Like you can potentially sail, or at least reasonably sail by default, even a little bit by accident. But you cannot scale without scaling intentionally. It’s a very ...
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    14 min