What Makes a Great AmSpirit Business Connections Chapter?

With so many chapters in AmSpirit Business Connections, and the fact that each chapter has rosters large, small, and in between it can sometimes be difficult to exactly determine why some chapters flourish and others tread water.

I'd like to spark some healthy debate on this forum. This is your chance to 'tell it like it is', but be professional. I'm not going to post comments if I deem them to be inappropriate. As an Area Director, I am helping 8 chapters throughout the year as a mentor and 'coach' of sorts. I see common traits in chapters that succeed and those that do not. However, it is so much more powerful for individual members to see those traits.

I'd love to hear the perspectives of as many members as possible. The leadership of AmSpirit Business Connections meets regularly to discuss ways to improve the organization. I'd rather hear from the members what works for them and what they'd like to see improved upon. I'm afraid we rely too much on our own personal assumptions without hard evidence to back it up.

If you take a few moments to read any of my prior 'posts' to this blog, you'll read my thoughts on what it takes to be a productive member as well as a productive chapter. I look forward to reading what everyone has to say! If you'd like to leave a comment, just click on the 'comments' link next to my name at the bottom of this 'post'.

One last thought...Go Bucks! Beat Michigan!!

Do Not Accept Mediocrity...Part II

Have high expectations for everyone in your network and chapter. If you're a leader of your particular AmSpirit Business Connections Chapter, ensure everyone carries out their responsibilities the right way. If you see something being done incorrectly or not at all, don't ignore it.

Pull the person aside and ask them if they need help in carrying out their duties as an officer of the chapter. If they do not know their role in the chapter, refer them to the chapter guide which is available on the AmSpirit Business Connections web site. Small tasks make a big difference. Encourage the Secretaries of your chapter to file a report every month so that all business referrals are tracked. It is the best evidence that your chapter delivers results. If they do not know the procedure, review it with them or ask your Area Director for guidance.

If you let others cut corners or skip procedures altogether, you are settling for mediocrity which in turn will erode your chapter's ability to gain more members and generate more referrals for one another.

Too often we can focus our attention on 'getting more members' without paying attention to our collective referral giving. If a large number of referrals are generated, the membership numbers will be easier to build upon. If a guest visits your chapter and sees 70-80 referrals generated each month on your Monthly Newsletter, do you think they'd be interested in becoming a member?

Extend Yourself

In order to develop a large network of contacts, you have to be willing to extend yourself to many different networking functions. Many opportunities are available every single month for you to get involved beyond just belonging to your local chapter of AmSpirit Business Connections.

If you network well throughout the AmSpirit Business Connections organization, don't just stop there. If you do, you'll eventually have a 'closed network'. A closed network, meaning that everyone you know will know the same people thereby limiting your ability to meet new people.

There are hundreds of associations in Central Ohio. Do a search on Google to find out more information or visit your local library and have the reference desk help you. Ask others in AmSpirit what other groups they may visit or belong to as members.

Just do not limit yourself with a small network. If you find that you aren't getting enough referrals for your business, ask yourself how much time you've invested in building a quality network?

Building Rapport with Others

For those of you who have been in the AmSpirit Business Connections organization for a few years or more, think back to how long it may have taken you to 'get comfortable' with the other members of your chapter. How long did it take before you started getting referrals?

From my own experience, I remember that it took nearly a year before I received my first really good referral. Obviously, everyone will have different experiences because of their business category too. There is much more risk at stake in doing business with a financial planner as opposed to buying flowers on Valentine's day from the florist in the group.

Here is my point. Invest time as much as possible to meet one-on-one with members of your chapter when you first join. Continue going to outside events as much as you can (chapter socials and/or business showcases). You will get to know others so much faster and learn so much more about helping one another when you interact as individuals. If you only see other members of your chapter each week for the 1 hour and 15 minute meeting, then you aren't building much rapport.

Here's another thought to ponder. If it takes several months of interacting continuously with your own chapter to build a solid business rapport with others, how much time do you think it might take to get to know members from other chapters? I see members visit the area wide luncheons once or twice, then they disappear. They think if there isn't an immediate payoff, it's not worth their time.

To get to 'know, like, and trust' with those in other chapters it may take more than a year for it to happen. In some cases, I've had referrals come from people I've known for 4-5 years or more. But for whatever reason, we were not referring to each other previously. But once the floodgates are finally open the referrals flow.

In a nutshell, networking takes patience, persistence, and consistency. If you consistently seek to help others and do so on a consistent basis, you will be rewarded.

Connect The Dots...

Whether we choose to believe it or not, everything we do as business people is evaluated by others. There are a lot of little things (they're not really little, be we think they go unnoticed) that can trip us up in our pursuit to succeed in business.

For example, in your role as a business professional in AmSpirit Business Connections, do you:

• Always call your chapter Vice President to let them know if you can not attend a meeting? Or do you just not show up?
• Give more referrals than you receive? Or wait until others help you before you decide to refer business to them?
• Attend outside networking events like MORE meetings, B2B meetings, city wide socials, etc.? Or do you tell yourself you have better things to do with your time than spend 90 minutes with other AmSpirit members or visitors?
• If you do attend outside networking events, do you talk endlessly about what you do? Or do you listen intently to learn about others' businesses and do your best to connect people who do not know one another?
• Show up late to your chapter meetings week after week? Or do you show up early enough each week so that you have time to network with other members before the meeting officially starts?
• Pay your dues on time with the local chapter and the national office? Or do you usually wait until you get reminder notices from your Area Director that late fees will be assessed if you do not pay your bill?
• Attend the Annual Leadership Conference each year to learn more about becoming a leader in your chapter? Or do you ignore the opportunity each year telling yourself you'd rather spend that Saturday watching basketball games on TV?
  

All of these examples above are possible reasons why you do not reap the greatest value out of your membership in the organization. Others judge us by all of our actions whether we choose to believe it or not. So...connect the dots. You may be damaging yourself without really realizing it.

Is Your Chapter an "Enthusiasm-Free Zone"?

You may wonder sometimes about others' level of enthusiasm in networking groups. Maybe you're stuck in an 'enthusiasm-free zone'.

What's that? It's a sign hanging on a wall with a black and yellow border, like a warning sign. It states something like this:

Notice
Enthusiasm Free Zone

Absolutely no activities that promote enthusiasm
in the chapter are permitted in this area.

These activities include, but are not limited to:

• Telling success stories about referrals you’ve either given or received

• Gushing about how much you enjoyed last month’s luncheon or social

• Cheerleading about AmSpirit Business Connections

• Talking about ‘networking’ as if it is a living entity

• Discussing how much your business has been impacted through networking and referrals

It’s not that we’re negative. It’s just that we’re here because our company pays for it. Enthusiasm costs extra!

Don't Settle for Mediocrity!

I hear from members from time to time that become frustrated with networking in their chapters. Either not enough referrals are being generated, attendance is off, not enough guests are invited, the chapter isn't growing fast enough, etc.

Why do you think that is? Take a moment to analyze your chapter. Be tough, but objective about it. Spend some time reviewing the chapter member handbook to review all of the guidelines for successful chapters. You can find it on the AmSpirit web site. Find anything there that might surprise you?

Most chapters that fall short of expectations also deviate from the guidelines written in the handbook. Reasons for not following guidelines are many:

• "We don't want to be so regimented."
• "This gets boring with repetition."
• "I don't know why we need to do that anyway, it's silly."
• "We all know this already, so why do it every week?"

I've seen chapters that used to do everything 'by the book', then gradually begin changing the way their chapter functions. New Chapter officers follow the previous years' example and continue the erosion of processes.

Before you know it, membership is shrinking, referrals are down, and everyone scratches their heads and wonders, "does this networking stuff even work?" Yes! It does work! But only when the collective chapter follows the process (developed over more than 10 years, by the way) and effort is given by everyone.

Do not settle for mediocrity! Chapter boards need to be not only the best examples for the members, but also hold everyone accountable to the standards for success. Chapter members are required to:

• provide at least 2 referrals per month (average of 24 per year)
  
• not miss more than 2 meetings in a row or 3 in a rolling quarter
• stay current with any local and national membership dues

Members are also strongly encouraged to:

• attend outside networking events, either AmSpirit or otherwise. This helps to become a better referral giver and also enable you to recruit potential new members for your chapter.
• bring at least 4 guests each year to your chapter.
• meet regularly with your lunch bunch partners in your chapter. How else will you get to know everyone on a personal level?
• attend as many chapter socials as you can. This also helps you get to know, like, and trust those in your chapter much quicker.
  

Now, ask yourself whether your chapter does all of these things. How often have you witnessed members not hold up their end of the bargain and no one says anything? If your chapter is less than what it should be in terms of results, maybe it's time to get serious and follow the guidelines and ensure your chapter board holds others accountable as well as themselves.

If you're wary that members will leave the group, don't be. Those are usually the ones keeping your chapter from being successful in the first place. They will either step up their game and become a productive member, or they will self-select out of the group.

You just might be surprised that your chapter begins attracting serious-minded professionals who want to network. When the results are positive, the chapter will grow. Success breeds success!

So the next time you tell someone that you're not happy with the way things are going in your chapter, take a critical look at how the chapter functions. I guarantee there is a failure to follow guidelines at some level!