Summary: Synopsis A BNI member named Gary asked Dr. Misner the following question: I have passed a referral to someone on two occasions and they have not followed up on either. This happens to be someone in my own chapter. I am now wondering whether they actually want me to pass them more referrals or don't want the work. Following up on referrals is part of BNI's Code of Ethics. The first thing to do is talk to the member you gave the referral to. Clear, open, honest, communication is generally the best way to address a problem like this. It doesn't have to be a confrontation. Some of the possiblities are: It wasn't a good referral, even though you thought it was. They lost the contact information or dialed the wrong number. They're disorganized and haven't followed through. If it's not a good referral, find out why. If the person hasn't gotten around to following through, explain that when you give a referral, you give away part of your reputation. If the member still doesn't follow up, you can contact the membership committee. Don't complain about this member to anyone BUT the membership committee, and don't talk to the membership committee UNTIL you talk to the other member. Gossip will destroy the morale of a BNI chapter. Remember: clear, open, honest communication. Brought to you by Networking Now. Podcast intro recorded by Tony Wolfe. Complete Transcript of BNI Podcast Episode 298 - Priscilla: Hello everyone and welcome back to The Official BNI Podcast brought to you by NetworkingNow.com, which is the leading site on the net for networking downloadables. I am Priscilla Rice, and I am coming to you from Live Oak Recording Studio in Berkeley, CA. I am joined on the phone today by the Founder and Chairman of BNI, Dr. Ivan Misner. Hello Ivan. How are you doing? Ivan: I am doing great, Priscilla, and I am at my office this week, sort of catching my breath from all my travels. Priscilla: That is nice. Ivan: I have an interesting topic this week. I had a BNI member some time ago, by the name of Gary, ask me a question which I am going to answer today on this podcast. I think it's a question that's really important and a lot of members run into this. Priscilla: Okay. What is it? Ivan: His question was, âI have passed a referral to someone on two occasions and they have not followed up on the referral. It happens to be someone in my own chapter. I am now wondering do they actually want me to pass them more referrals or do they not want the work?â I left a comment and told him I would do a podcast because I think this is really important question for many members to hear. You remember, Priscilla. Can you imagine getting a referral- you join an organization that is about referrals. Can you imagine being part of an organization that is all about referrals and then not following up on a referral? Priscilla: It doesn't make sense, does it? You are there to get the referrals. That is the whole point. Ivan: It doesn't make sense. As a matter of fact, it is so obvious that members need to follow up on referrals- it is actually in our code of ethics. Number four of BNI's Code of Ethics states, âI will take responsibility for following up on the referrals that I receive.â It is a core piece of the BNI program to follow up on referrals. So what if a member doesn't? As Gary points out, he has a member in his group who has not responded to two referrals. Here are my suggestions, and then, Priscilla, I would love to dialogue with you if you have any thoughts or questions. The first thing you should do, Gary, and for anybody who is listening to this and you get a referral and the person doesn't follow up on it, the first thing to do is to talk to the person you gave the referral to. Clear, open, honest and direct communication is almost always the best way to address problems in a group- and this sounds like a problem when somebody doesn't reply or doesn't respond.
