By Candy Marcum, Stonewall Behavior Health; Guest Blogger

If you thought this blog was going to have anything to do with Michael Jackson you’re wrong. This BEN is no rat!

People often ask me ‘why are you a member of the North Texas GLBT Chamber?’ Like most business people, time is money, so in the interest of time I won’t go into all of the wonderful reasons that I’m a Chamber Member, instead I’ll focus on just one the, Business Exchange Network (BEN). The Chamber supports the GLBT community. Its mission is to achieve equality through economic development and advocacy. The Business Exchange Network is a prime example of the Chamber at work.

If you think you know all about BEN you can skip down a paragraph or two. If you don’t I’ll do my best to sum it up for you. The BEN groups are relationship building, referral exchange groups. They are ‘closed category’ meaning you can only have one person for each business category or specialty. Although we already have two BEN groups, the Chamber is committed to having as many BEN groups as our membership will support. We want every person to have the opportunities for business and personal growth that BEN provides. We meet for lunch twice a month from January to May and July to November.

So, why am I so positive about BEN? You sort-of have to be there. Yes, we do a lot of business. Our two groups have generated nearly $500,000 in new business since BEN began in 2007. So, yes, there is plenty of business going on. But to me, BEN is much more than referrals and closed business. BEN is a community.

If you’ve ever taken a marketing class, you’ve been told about the importance of relationships. At BEN we not only get to know each other in our bi-monthly meetings, but we also have One-On-One meetings. During these One-On-Ones, we learn more about each others’ business. What would be a good referral for my new BEN friend? What does my new BEN friend do that solves problems for the folks I know? How can I best introduce my BEN friend to potential business? We become business ambassadors for one another. Remember, people do business with people that they know; people that they trust; people with whom they have a relationship.

You can see how BEN builds business through building relationships; but it does more than that. BEN teaches the skills needed to promote and build your business. We’ve all been told, “You never get a second chance to make a first impression”. BEN helps you hone your “first impression” skills. You learn not only the importance of a “30-second commercial”, but you also practice it at every meeting. BEN teaches you to introduce yourself in ways that motivate people to want to know more about your services/products and you. When you can introduce yourself in a way that says, ‘I can help you with your problem’, you’ve presented your self in a way that is bound to bring you new business.

One last thing about BEN; during the BEN semester each member does a 10 Minute Presentation to the group. This is a great opportunity to create and test-run a top-notch presentation that you can pull out at a moment’s notice. BEN is a safe environment with honest feedback. I can tell you that the feedback I’ve received has really helped me think more like a businessperson and less like a therapist. I’ve always given presentations, but have never really asked for business. I know that sounds like an obvious thing to do, but it wasn’t obvious to me until I heard that feedback.

I wish every Chamber Member could experience the BEN program. New groups begin in January. Go to the Chamber website to find out more about B EN and to register. New BEN groups as well as our existing BEN I & BEN II will begin in January, 2010.

BEN I meets on the first and third Tuesdays of the month; BEN II meets on the first and third Wednesdays of the month. Both meet from 11:30am-1:00pm

The Chamber is currently exploring a new morning BEN group that will meet from 8:00am-9:30am as well as our first Fort Worth BEN group!

We can all use more friends and relationships in our lives…..oh yes, and business!

____________________________________________________________

Candy Marcum is the founder of Stonewall Behavioral Health. SBH opened its doors in 1983. During this time, SBH has met and continues to meet the needs of its stakeholders by providing: professional counseling, supervision for professional licensure in counseling, trainings and workshops in communication for organizations/individuals and being a source of speakers and writers. Our expertise is historically bound to the gay/lesbian/bi/transgender movement and beyond. As an organization, we continue to grow, learn and teach.http://www.stonewall-inc.com/

Popularity: 18% [?]