Comments on: What Makes a Good BNI Member Testimonial?

By: Frankee Chapa

Frankee Chapa — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 21:08:18 +0000

If you have a testimonial for a fellow BNI member and they have a facebook business page, leave a comment on their page about their great work! It will reach so many people and be such a rewarding way of letting others know how they’ve helped.

By: Mark Sternefeld

Mark Sternefeld — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 16:29:54 +0000

Excellent article. Will use it for my educational moment tomorrow.

By: Carmen Santora

Carmen Santora — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 10:41:16 +0000

I used this article to structure my last Educational Moment. It sent a very specific message to the entire group, and the article was very well received. I think what we have to remember is that testimonials are earned as a result of our caring about the other members in our group.

Repeatedly, I have seen testimonials given that resulted in a huge increase in attention to a specific member. As long as we continually give 110% to our members and their referrals, we will continue to succeed and prosper. BNI Waterside of SW Florida has been a great motivator for me both professionally and personally.

Carmen Santora
BNI Waterside FT Myers, Florida
(Currently Number One Chapter in SW Florida)
AccuFind Internet Services, Inc.

By: Ciara Horan

Ciara Horan — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 03:06:31 +0000

Hi Ivan,

Another great article, thank you. I presented my 10 minutes to my chapter yesterday and I concluded with a video testimonial, one you very kindly gave me in June at the Irish conference.

Written testimonials are great to have and very much appreciated but the power of someones voice can change the dynamic. The actual emotion about the product or service comes across, you are genuinely telling the audience your true beliefs about that persons business. The testimonials in the room are no doubt extremely beneficial to a business but imagine being able to literally broadcast that positivity about your business across numerous platforms, to your niche market?

I saw a dramatic increase in visits to my website and social media pages when I started using your video testimonial and I now record a short testimonial about the product or service I’ve used in my chapter and send it to the member so they can use it with their own online marketing. I don’t just want the members in the room to hear my testimonial about another member, I want as many people as possible to. We google people to find out about them before we even visit their websites and YouTube gets twice as many searches as google daily. If a picture can say a thousand words, imagine the benefit of a ‘moving picture with positive words’, I believe it has a huge impact on increasing a members visibility and credibility.

Ivan, thank you again for both a wonderful and truly appreciated testimonial and another great article. You have just given me my next education slot!

Thanks,
Ciara

By: Paul Clegg

Paul Clegg — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 20:59:38 +0000

Testimonials are so powerful in that … you can tell people how good you are but having someone tell people they know inc. the chapter, how good you are … carries so much more weight.

Most people don’t know what to do with written testimonials and sadly, rarely use them.

This is one I value very much. Testimonials mean so much … we all need to make more of them.

“Smart, aware, generous, thoughtful, progressive. A powerful listener. Articulate and careful. Highly recommended on first impression.” says Thomas Power (Founder of Ecademy)

By: Kathy McBride

Kathy McBride — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 16:41:30 +0000

New members sometimes are puzzled on what to do here. When they ask me I just say “say something nice about another member” Wow the testimonials we get when this happens! They fully focus on another member & so does everyone else.

By: Marian Bencke

Marian Bencke — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 15:40:15 +0000

TEAM BNI, here in Slidell, La. is the newest and largest group, and Testimonials are a vital part of our meeting, in fact that is the part most of us look most forward to, along with the giving and receiving referrals. Our group is fun, but professional. We have an awesome team of a mortgage broker, title company and insurance agent, among others, and are thrilled when we can all join together in getting a home buyer into their home and insured in one motion! KUDOS to BNI, Miltenberger Ins is happy we joined! Our business has increase quite alot!

By: Stephen Kane

Stephen Kane — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 13:39:14 +0000

Hi Ivan,
We certainly am happy that you came up with the testimonial idea. We provide laser engraved images on slate and Kilkenny marble that are new to the market. Conventionally to promote new products with which customers are not familiar, would require an extremely large marketing budget. Fortunately for us the Testimonials we received from satisfied customers in my chapter have consistently led to further business. So thanks again for a brilliant system.

Stephen Kane
KANELASER
BNI Armada
Spanish Point
Miltown Malbal
Co. Clare
Ireland

By: DK

DK — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 02:58:52 +0000

Jerry,
In these times I understand that there is a need to “give onto others, as they would do to you” but promote their business as if it yours, act as their sales force…..? I hear what ur saying, how the time spent for your prospects….your customers?

By: Dr Jerry Williford DC

Dr Jerry Williford DC — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 17:03:51 +0000

I have been a BNI member for about a year and a half. During this time fortunately I have been on the receiving end of several testimonials. I must say that in my case nothing can be better than when you get a supportive statement from a satisfied patient or friend of a patient referred. It lends great credibility to your practice even with guests. One of the ways that I have found to help generate these positive comments is to do the same for others. Act as their sales force. Put yourself in their business and promote them just as if it was for your own business. Givers gain is certainly true in my case.