BNI - Business Networking International?

Question

I'm thinking about joining. I've laready heard all the flowery sugar coated stuff about how good it is, but can anyone tell me if there is a down side to joining?

Thanks

Answer 1

I have been in BNI in the past and am not now.

It is fairly costly for membership and local dues which includes the meals.

There is a major change in membership over a 6 month period and they have substantial membership drives - which are critical to keep the group alive due to the member exits.

Many members are in financial services, real estate sales, insurance, and car sales so you can see mutual benefits with these. There are MLM representatives who are actually looking for others to be MLM reps under them and claim to be selling their wares to get around the BNI criteria prohibiting MLM recruiting. There are many "glorified vitamin" sellers who try to sell overpriced product under the guise of "all natural" or "superior absorbance into the body" or other marketing mode; in fact they offer nothing, sell little, and drop out rather quickly.

They are very structured and there is intense pressure for members to produce leads. This causes people to bring in claimed leads that end up being no lead at all - which is often a bigger problem. Others will claim to have a handful of leads which consisted of bring himself and 3 others to a BNI member restaurant claiming 3 leads, or claiming 2 leads because he fueled his 2 cars at a BNI member gas station last week, etc.

New members are supposed to forge relations with BNI members and drop relations with non BNI members. This means that you should drop affialiaiton with your bank unless your bank is represented (same for cell phone rep, car and home owner insurance, etc). Some do this; many do not. If a member of one discipline from one company (e.g. banker from a given bank) is replaced by one of the same discipline from another company (e.g. banker from a different bank) you are supposed to change banks - and this is asking a lot.

BNI is a franchise. There is a regional manager, who has a financial stake in the busienss. Usually he refuses to remove a member who does not meet the BNI criteria - as it will cut into his earnings. There is no financial accountability so you do not know where money actually goes on the national level. On the local level financial accountability is not a lot better.

If the chapter you are considering joining has a group of members who are in the types of business that will be of mutual support (e.g. car mechanic, car salesman, car insurance rep or mortgage loan rep, realtor, home owner insurance rep) it can be helpful. You will also get to know other people which may be helpful.

There are other similar organizations. BNI is often considered the dominant player. Clearly they have the rules and game plan well defined. Some love it but most are in it for a 12 month period and drop out.

Answer 2

The down side, as I see it, is that you are married to the group you join. And depending on the industry you are in, the level of business contacts available may not meet you needs. I run a technology business that services companies of 25 or more. A chiropractor and florist were not going to be able to introduce to too many of those. It depends on what you do. I find BNI is often rife with financial consultants, mortgage brokers, real estate agents and insurance brokers, who all work well off each other but not for too many others. If you were in NYC I would recommend Breakfast Network (no international). You are exposed to more people and the diversity of business types and level of business contacts is better. Plus the meetings with your group are monthly, you get to visit other groups each month as well and there is an evening cocktail event each month too. So you get maximum exposure, while still belonging to a community and there are not strict rules about referral quotas and such non-sense.

Outside of NYC, I say try the chambers of commerce in your area and don't forget linkedin.com. There is a great book called "Never Eat Alone" by Keith Ferrazzi which talks about the art of networking. I highly recommend it. And remember, it's not who you know, but who knows you that makes the difference. So make sure you are speaking at different places, have a newsletter in place and are being seen so that people can say, "oh so and so, I've know how s/he is."

Good luck!

Answer 3

I joined BNI almost 2 years ago... One of the downsides of joining is time. You have to attend every weekly meeting (if you can't be there, then you need to send a sub). It can get expensive (annual dues, lunch fees, gas to your meeting), especially if you don't get many referrals. The key, if you do join, is be active. When I first started I expected that everyone would just flood me with referrals - wrong. I really had to start building relationships with these other networkers. I became secretary (which they say if you are apart of the Leadership team, you have more visual time infront of the others and that tends to lead to more referrals). I really had to work toward getting referrals for the others - if you don't give then you don't receive too many. Why do the others want to help you out if they notice that you aren't helping them out? But, once you get things going and you start getting referrals (even one)...it could pay for your dues, lunches, etc. It is also hard if you don't come in a lot of personal contact with your clients, because then you can't get those referrals for others.

So, I would join if you have time, want to build personal relationships with other business owners/networkers, and realize that this helps local businesses.

Answer 4

My wife is in it. It is a real commitment. They meet once a week. You are supposed to have a referral for someone in your group every week. It is very structured, so much so that she says it gets very redundant.
Each person has to tell why they are there and what they do every week.
It seems to work better for some professions than others.
It is almost like an extended family. You are expected to refer business to each other. The problem with this is that there may be someone in the group that you would not refer to.
There is an accounting firm in my wife's group. They were there before my wife joined. We had a very bad experience with them. How is my wife supposed to refer business to them?
I am a Realtor. There is another Realtor in the group. Will she ever refer business to them?
These are some of the cons.
For some people or professions it can work well.

Answer 5

BNI requires commitment, money and time.

Most of the people that attend are very small businesses and sole practitioners, so if you sell to the corporate sector, you are unlikely to get leads.

There may also be cliques and if one of the longer-standing members take a dislike to you, then you are completely stuffed - you will never get a lead.

There are people who benefit - mainly estate agents, mortgage advisers, financial advisers, insurance agents.

Hope that helps

Regards
Business in Barnet
http://www.business-in-barnet.com

Answer 6

Bni Franchise Cost

Answer 7

I went to one or two meetings in Warner Robins, GA. They let me try it for free. I thought it was a bunch of nice people, but not necessarily my target customers. Maybe your local group will let you visit once or twice for free? P.S. I think its great if you are selling consumer products, not so great if you have industrial products. It is great for mortgage brokers.

Answer 8

I have also asked the same question 2 times, and did not receive a good answer