How much would it benefit you to have several dozen salespeople working on your behalf to bring you new business? That would be something, wouldn’t it? Wait, it gets better. What if you didn’t have to pay them salary or commisssion? What if you didn’t have to provide them office space or fund their superannuation?
“OK, what’s the catch?” you might ask.
There is no catch. That’s what referral networks can do.
“Sounds too good to be true.” That’s not surprising. After all – a whole sales force for almost nothing? Most business owners don’t exactly stumble across such opportunities every day, and we’re taught from an early age that anything that sounds too good to be true, probably is.
But this is for real. You may already be on to this not-so-well-kept secret – especially if you have read any of Ivan Misner’s books. Just in case you’re new to the world of networking. though, here are three letters you’ll want to remember: BNI.
Dr Ivan Misner founded BNI in 1985. BNI took off like a rocket as more and more businesspeople realised that joining a referral group was like getting a free sales force. Since then, BNI has become the world’s largest business networking and referral organisation, with thousands of chapters in dozens of countries on every populated continent. Organisations like this provide a structured system for generating business by referrals. BNI’s purpose is to enable professionals to develop lasting relationships that lead to future business.
The primary purpose of the organisation is to pass qualified business referrals to its members. The philosophy of BNI may be summed up in two simple words: Givers Gain. If you give business to people, you will get business from them. BNI allows only one person per profession to join a chapter. The programme is designed to help businesspeople develop long-term relationships, thereby creating a basis for trust and, inevitably, referrals. The mission of BNI is to help members increase their business through through a structured, positive, and professional word-of-mouth programme that enables them to develop long-term, meaningful relationships with quality business professionals.
Based on an independent study by Julien Sharp1, each year the organisation’s participants pass millions of referrals, generating billions of dollars’ worth of business for its members worldwide. No other networking organisation can claim such success.
To visit a chapter near you, visit www.bni.com.au.
1 Julien Sharp, “Business Referral Study: Replication of 1993 BNI Study” (Kennedy-Western University, Agora Hills, CA, 1006).