Any one involved in BNI......
- Thread starter Bucey
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Blue Monarch
Supportive Member
Well worth the money in my case. All chapters vary a bit - you just need to make sure the one you're considering is a good fit.
Jim Pemberton
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- Name
- Jim Pemberton
You get out of BNI what you put into it.
A cleaner I know had this chain of events occur:
He met a guy at a BNI meeting that recommend he sign up with Sandler Sales group. When he met with the Sandler guy, he decided that he couldn't afford the program.
During the conversation,though, the Sandler guy asked him about what he was doing, and put him in touch with a dry cleaner who was a Sandler client and who was looking to set up a carpet cleaning division.
Result? He's developed a business relationship which has helped his business grow exponentially.
Did he get this great business relationship directly from BNI? No. He got it because he met the right people and put himself in the right place at the right time.
But he'd never be with this dry cleaner today if he hadn't joined BNI first.
A cleaner I know had this chain of events occur:
He met a guy at a BNI meeting that recommend he sign up with Sandler Sales group. When he met with the Sandler guy, he decided that he couldn't afford the program.
During the conversation,though, the Sandler guy asked him about what he was doing, and put him in touch with a dry cleaner who was a Sandler client and who was looking to set up a carpet cleaning division.
Result? He's developed a business relationship which has helped his business grow exponentially.
Did he get this great business relationship directly from BNI? No. He got it because he met the right people and put himself in the right place at the right time.
But he'd never be with this dry cleaner today if he hadn't joined BNI first.
Fred Homan
Member
- Joined
- Oct 7, 2006
- Messages
- 1,142
Thanks Jim!!!! 
I'm going to my BNI groups Christmas party tonight. There are 65 people in our group.
The current chapter president is the dry cleaner of the group. She has given me some good referrals. If it seems right I will mention the idea to her. I get along with her great!!!
Fred
PS I do not know where I would be if not for BNI.....
I'm going to my BNI groups Christmas party tonight. There are 65 people in our group.The current chapter president is the dry cleaner of the group. She has given me some good referrals. If it seems right I will mention the idea to her. I get along with her great!!!
Fred
PS I do not know where I would be if not for BNI.....
Blue Monarch
Supportive Member
65. That's one big group! We've got 41 and would like to see about 50.
Your meeting must click right along.
Your meeting must click right along.
miksar
Supportive Member
My BNI group rocks, we have 34 members, parties at least once a quarter. I think I made my money back in 2 weeks, getting at least 3-4 referrals a week from the group. It was kinda scary at first having to do the 1 minute thingy, and the 10 minute thing was really scary, but I guess I got used to it and it isn't too bad now. Their motto "givers gain" really does mean a lot to my group. One of the best moves I've made. Go for it!
Ed
Member
We just resigned from ours today. There are approximately 10 businesses in ours and only about 6-7 attend regularly. In 9 months of being in the group we had 2 referrals that amounted to far less than our dues. We worked it hard and attended every meeting. I think our leadership was not effective. It was like they were going through the motions, but not applying the principles of BNI. We made many valuable referrals to our members and got crap in return. It is A LOT of work and committment to not gain from it. I also think that it matters what stage of growth your business is in. If you are an owner operator and can pencil that time out each week and have no other employees/commitments demanding your attention it's great. Huge opportunities. If you are a mature business and can commit to that time each week it's also awesome. Where the problem lies is when your are at the growth stage we are at. The stage which demands a premium be placed on the owner's time to an extent that none of it can be wasted. Where you are still heavily involved in the day to day running of the business and can only dedicate time to things that are going to return for you. Our BNI group did not.
rhino1
Member
My BNI experience was about the same as Ed's. You have to either get enough volume of referrals or the right kind of referrals to make it worth the time. I sent alot of business out and got very few referrals back. When I attended the first meeting I got swarmed by the "right" kind of people, promising to send me tons of referrals if I joined. In 3 months I think I got 2 from my group and 2 from groups I visited.
Fred Homan
Member
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- Oct 7, 2006
- Messages
- 1,142
The best thing you can do is join the largest group in your area. It does make a difference.....
Louis
Supportive Member
I just joined for my 3rd year. It has been slow the last year and I have made more money from the past members than than the current group.
We had a jeweler join our group for a few months then he quit.I have over $900.00 in monthly accounts from this one guy. He has also sent me thousands in other work. He no longer has to pay to get his carpets cleaned.
You never know who has connections
We had a jeweler join our group for a few months then he quit.I have over $900.00 in monthly accounts from this one guy. He has also sent me thousands in other work. He no longer has to pay to get his carpets cleaned.
You never know who has connections
There are a few ways to look at this.
The main advantage is meeting new people who run a business. We have an accountant a lawyer, web site specialists, car leasing specialist, money people, real estate agents and a whole host of others. You always need these guys and they will at one time or another need you.
If you don't join you are left with a phone book ad hoping that one of these people will call you. If you join you get a chance to do business within the group.
The other advantage is you now have a group of people that may hear of work for you. If you don't join you won't even have a chance of getting recommended.
People do business with people who they know like and trust. You develop that trust faster through referrals.
You make friends at the same time and who doesn't need new friends.
The main advantage is meeting new people who run a business. We have an accountant a lawyer, web site specialists, car leasing specialist, money people, real estate agents and a whole host of others. You always need these guys and they will at one time or another need you.
If you don't join you are left with a phone book ad hoping that one of these people will call you. If you join you get a chance to do business within the group.
The other advantage is you now have a group of people that may hear of work for you. If you don't join you won't even have a chance of getting recommended.
People do business with people who they know like and trust. You develop that trust faster through referrals.
You make friends at the same time and who doesn't need new friends.
You can also be a substitute for members that can't make a meeting, you can do this without joining and paying 400 8) . I have one BNI that is great but I don't have the time to commit weekly.
So I signed on as a sub, you do the commercial for their business and you still give your commercial too. I just stood in for a business last week and got 2 jobs for us. They actually need subs and appreciate your efforts. I'm working on being a substitute for several BNI's. 8)
So I signed on as a sub, you do the commercial for their business and you still give your commercial too. I just stood in for a business last week and got 2 jobs for us. They actually need subs and appreciate your efforts. I'm working on being a substitute for several BNI's. 8)
BNI is a no brainer. Especially for new business start ups.
I have been a member for around 3.5 months and have a 7.06% ROI currently!
Our group only has 17 members currently but they are quite the "Givers" I couldn't even imagine a group with 30 or more if they were active.
I like the structure, the excitement, and the contacts that are made. We are just now getting into tier 2 referrals which I believe is where you begin the process of possibly making bigger contacts and even increasing your ROI.
My first year goal with BNI was to do 10k in new business and we are probably close to being on track @ 3.5k. With winter coming on the referrals will slow down no doubt but I think next spring all heck will break loose!
One other note, make sure you have a good referall program going on. We use the HP program with some very nice "tweeks" from "The Wizard" himself.
I have been a member for around 3.5 months and have a 7.06% ROI currently!
Our group only has 17 members currently but they are quite the "Givers" I couldn't even imagine a group with 30 or more if they were active.
I like the structure, the excitement, and the contacts that are made. We are just now getting into tier 2 referrals which I believe is where you begin the process of possibly making bigger contacts and even increasing your ROI.
My first year goal with BNI was to do 10k in new business and we are probably close to being on track @ 3.5k. With winter coming on the referrals will slow down no doubt but I think next spring all heck will break loose!
One other note, make sure you have a good referall program going on. We use the HP program with some very nice "tweeks" from "The Wizard" himself.
