Mailbag v1
This blog’s format: mailbag questions that have come in over the last month. Questions in bold.
Bart our speaker no called no-showed at our meeting. What should we do with the time block? Also, we’d put a lot of effort into having guests and we had 3 that day. Our member (Name removed) made us look really bad. What should we do with that member?
It is infuriating and disappointing when a member no calls, no shows when they are the scheduled speaker. Sometimes it is an emergency which we certainly need to get over our frustration that we have with that member and see if there is anything we can do to help them.
So let’s address the first question to start. What do you do in that meeting? Usually there are two options. Either:
Option 1– Someone else goes on the spot. One of the benefits of us doing bio/marketing plans when a member joins is that the all members can pull up the BIO on their phone/iPad (from downloads tab) for whoever is filling in. If your group has a TV/projector screen you should also put it up there. The value of writing those and storing them on the site is that any member can be ready to speak in 30 seconds notice and look prepared. It isn’t ideal, but everyone group has 3-4 members who are talented enough to speak on 5 seconds notice and do a great job. If you are the Chairman you might identify those members in advance & just have them ready to go as a back-up plan.
Option 2– Round robin mini-presentations. Give everyone 2-5 minutes to talk about goals, needs, & specific targets.
Essentially do this education spot: https://referralsgroup.wpengine.com/target-market-exercise/
It happens at least once in every group every year so having a back-up plan is important. I love both of these as options, but your group can just roll right along as if nothing happened.
Now, what should you do about the speaker who no showed? I recommend someone should talk with them or have your Referrals Group rep talk to them. They need to know that it isn’t a good look and really hurts their credibility. Everyone in the group vests both time & money for the opportunity to develop relationships & referrals. No showing sends the message that you don’t care and are unprepared. It isn’t a good look. If you were the member and you value the group I’d apologize.(don’t make an excuse about how busy you are. Everyone is busy. You aren’t more important than everyone else. Just say you messed up and you are sorry).
We have a member who doesn’t follow-up on referrals in a timely manner. It is to the point that I’m worried about referring to them (and we should work on 2-3 deals a month). How do I handle this?
You need to talk to the other member. I recommend doing it face-to-face (or over the phone). Don’t text or email them. Tone & the fact that you are reaching out because you want to save the relationship doesn’t always transfer well in the written form. Do it in-person if you can. Call me if you are nervous about it and let’s talk through it in advance.
By talking to this person you are doing them a favor. It is hard to hear that you need to get better at something, but we all need feedback that is truthful that will make us better. If the member responds negatively to you talking about why this is an issue (it makes you and them both look bad with your clients) then we have a more serious issue. Most of time when I see this happen and it is addressed the problem is resolved.
If the issue isn’t fixed and the relationship is beyond repair then let’s talk about the next step. If this is serious enough (it is) to explore having the member brought up to be removed from the group.
I got a new phone and lost The Referrals Group app/icon. How do I get it back?
Here I quick video from our youtube page that walks you through how to get it back.
It is quick & easy. https://www.youtube.
What TV shows are you watching? I’ve binged watched Stranger Things 2 & Ozark on Netflix recently. I loved both. Otherwise I watch Hey Kentucky!, some Vice News, & sports (mostly college football & basketball). Mostly we watch a lot of toddler shows. Mary our 2 year daughter runs the family room with an ironfist which means Paw Patrol & Peppa Pig are on a lot.