Educational Moment – BNI Meeting Feb 12, 2013 Recruiting Your Word-Of Mouth Marketing Team

• Good morning everyone. I’m Joe, this is Gavin and we are the education coordinators for BNI Alliance. Previously we discussed how to profile your preferred client. Now it is time to pursue them by building your personal word-of-mouth marketing team or WOM team.
• The WOM team’s function is to get you more business. So you need to be very selective as to whom you invite to join your WOM team!
• These are your “evangelists”, your “apostles”, your “influencers”, your “E.F. Huttons”. (Remember the famous TV ad, “When E.F. Hutton talks, people listen!”)?
• These are the folks that will create buzz for you in the community because they 1) believe in you and your product or service, 2) know you very well, 3) really like you and 4) trust you implicitly. When they talk about you, people will listen.
• Who to look for to join your WOM team? a) People who can provide unsolicited testimonials – they could be people who have experienced your product or service first hand, b) they have a lot of influence with your preferred clients, and c)they want to establish a reciprocal referral relationship with you.
• Also and most important, they are in touch with your preferred clients on a regular basis, but for a different reason than yours.
• To summarize here are the most important criteria for choosing your WOM team members:

1. They know you well, like you a lot and trust you implicitly.
2. They are influential enough that others will listen to what they say.
3. If possible they have firsthand experience with your product or service.
4. They are in contact with your preferred clients on a regular basis, but for a different reason than yours.

• Here are a couple of examples of successful WOM teams for 2 different businesses.

Career/life coach:

Preferred client profile:“Woman in transition, (divorced, widowed or empty nester), mid-40s+, Western Montreal or West Island, currently employed, unhappy with work or life situation, no kids at home, household income over $50,000, college graduate, home-owner, with a valid driver’s license.”

Potential WOM team members: Financial advisor, divorce attorney, CPA, mediator

Commercial Carpet Cleaner

Preferred client profile: Commercial business with multiple locations, located in high rise buildings of more than 3 stories, 25+ employees, 100 mile radius, $1 million in revenue, service industry

Potential WOM members: Commercial real estate agent, office equipment rental, window cleaners, corporate professional organizers

 

• The great advantage of BNI is that pretty much everyone, and not just in your own chapter but in other chapters as well, is a great candidate to be on your WOM team. Your mission for this week, should you choose to accept it, is to identify 3 influential people within your network to serve on your word-of-mouth team.

That is your educational moment for today. Thanks very much and remember to build your WOM Team!