Power Teams: Moving From Me to We

In BNI, we often talk about ‘Givers Gain,’ but there is a difference between being a Solo Giver and being a part of a Power Team. A Power Team is a group of professionals within the chapter who share the same target clientele. When you build one, you stop hunting for individual leads nad start building a referral ecosystem.

Instead of naming names – since our roster is in its own way an ecosystem – let’s look at the roles that create these engines and the specific challenge that often keeps them from firing on all cylinders.

1. The Anatomy of a Power Team

A Power Team works because you are all swimming in the same pond. When one person finds a client, they have effectively found a client for the entire group.

The Property and Home Team, for example, that exists in our own chapter. This starts with the Mortgage Broker and/or the Real Estate Agent, but it flows naturally to the Real Estate Lawyer, the Home Insurer, and the General Contractor. If a client is moving, they aren’t just changing their address; they are changing their entire support system. And we have a pre-existing team to support that change.

Then you have the Business Enterprise team. This often starts with the CPA and/or the Business Evaluator who sees the financial health of a company. When that company scales, they immediately need HR consulting, IT Support and Cybersecurity, Business Coaching, and Marketing Services.

By taking a more focused look on the overlap of our services, we can better serve those we call clients.

2. The Collaboration Challenge: ‘Referral Myopia’

The biggest hurdle to a successful Power Team is a Referral Myopia. This is the tendency to be so focused on solivng the one problem the client hired you for that you become blind to the other four problems that they are facing.

We think we are being professional by staying in our lane, but in reality we are actually doing the client a disservice by leaving them to find other professionals on their own. If you only solve the problem that you were paid for, you are a vendor. If you solve the problems the client hasn’t even anticipated yet, you are a trusted advisor.

3. The Shift: From the ‘Lead Toss’ to the ‘Warm Handoff’

Collaboration fails when we just toss a lead – giving a client a phone number or an unpersonalized contact-share and hoping they reach out. High-performing Power Teams use the Collaborative Handoff.

The difference?

When you say “Here is the number for a good IT guy I know,” it comes off in a manner that builds low trust, and generally has a low success rate.

But if you open with a warm handoff, something along the lines of “I’m helping you build a framework for your HR record-keeping, but I noticed that your data isn’t secure. I work closely with a cybersecurity expert who handles many other businesses I know. I’d like to introduce you via email so we can make sure your data is protected,” then you are bringing a high level of trust into the interaction, and also a higher success rate for a referral.

The Challenge: The Silo Buster

This week, I challenge you to break out of your professional silo and look at our roster with fresh eyes.

1. Identify Your ‘Natural Neigbours’: Look at a member of our chapter and find three roles that handle a client immediately before or immediately after you would.

2. Collaboration 1-2-1: Schedule a meeting with one of those neighbours. Do not talk about your own services. Instead, ask them these two questions:

– What is the hidden headache your clients complain about that you don’t actually solve?

– What is one specific trigger phrase I should listen for that indicates a client need for you?

When we stop operating a 20+ individuals and start operating as Power Teams of 4 or 5, we don’t just exchange business – we dominate our market.