Visitor Host Responsibilities

Visitor Host Responsibilities

Your chapter's Visitor Hosts are an extremely important part of your team! Visitor Hosts are the first people a potential new member encounters, therefore, choose at least three of your most sociable members for these duties. Accountable and committed Visitor Hosts will keep your chapter running smoothly and add professional polish to your meetings. Visitor Hostsare vital for the growth of your chapter.

Visitor Host Duties:

1. Three Visitor Hosts (or more in large chapters) serve for six months (coincides with Leadership Team term).

1. Every month, report to the Membership Committee on the status of the previous month’s visitors, i.e. number of visitors and what proportion were converted into members.

1. Arrive at least 15 minutes early to set up a sign-in table with sign-in sheets for members and visitors, pens, visitor labels, a welcome sign and relevant BNI promotional materials.

1. Greet Visitors:

• Get two copies of every visitor's business card:

-On the back of one card, write the name of the member who invited the visitor and give one card to the Chapter Director BEFORE the meeting is called to order

-Visitor Host keeps the other card and calls all qualified visitors no later than two days after their visit to thank them for coming (and invite them back if they didn't apply for membership).

• Provide stick-on name badges for visitors.

• Have visitors fill in the Visitor's Sign-In Sheet.

• Briefly explain the agenda and 60 second presentation so visitors can be prepared.

• Explain when it is appropriate to pass out their business cards.

• Let them know your chapter is actively looking for someone in their profession to pass referrals to.

• Tell them: "If you like what you see and you want to join, it's possible to lock out a competitor from getting all of our business by submitting your application today and being approved by the Membership Committee"

1. Introduce visitors to other members and have another member get them coffee or tea and show them how to order and pay for their breakfast (where applicable).

1. After the meeting,conductVisitor Orientation. (If you have a BNI Director visiting you that morning, ask them to conduct the Visitor Orientation with the Visitor Hosts listening). This is a vital part of the Visitor Host role and should be done in a designated corner of the room, at a table with chairs:

• Thank the visitors for coming

• Explain the commitments of membership

• Hand out Visitor Packs (or application forms & visitor information sheets)

• Explain the application procedure and help them fill out the application form

• Answer any questions they may have

• Collect the visitors' applications and payments

• Ask them to fill out the Confidential Meeting Evaluation form

7.Ensure that the Secretary/Treasurer has the visitor sign in sheet and business cards for visitors so that they can input data into BNINet.

If a visitor who is attending conflicts/overlaps with another member please explain our policy on allowing one person per profession. Ask the visitor to briefly introduce him/herself as an observer of the meeting. Be sure to refer the individual to the local BNI Director for placement in another chapter that has that classification open.