The BNI
Being active in BNI is like having up to 40 sales people working for you, because your fellow members will be carrying your cards and referring your business to people they meet, without you having to pay them any salaries or commission. Successful businesses depend on 'word-of-mouth' marketing as the best form of promotion there is.
BNI provides a structured, supportive, business environment in which local business people can get together to network, learn valuable new marketing skills and develop the strong personal relationships that lead to trust and the consequent generation of significant business for each other.
The Most Important 'Meal' of the Day - The breakfast meeting where business is the most important item on the menu.
'Its not net-sit or net-eat its net-work' - Ivan Misner PhD Founder and CEO of BNI
The essence of BNI is that although the meeting takes place at breakfast the sole reason for coming is to net-work! Efficiency and timings are maintained because every BNI meeting follows a structured 20 point agenda.
If you attend a BNI meeting in the UK, Ireland, Canada, Australia, the United States or anywhere else, you will find all meetings follow exactly the same format, using exactly the same agenda.
They are focussed on generating business for the participants and there are no secondary agendas.
The 60 Second Speech - The secret of making the maximum impact in a single memorable minute.
At the heart of the BNI meeting is the "60 Second Speech" slot. This is each member's opportunity to tell everyone at the meeting all about their business, the kind of leads they are looking for, and anything at all that will help the other members generate business for them.
60 seconds may seem to be the briefest of speeches, but BNI have developed a system to harness the power of this format, and regularly organise free training workshops to allow the members to develop their presentations, introducing techniques such as the memory hook, and effective ways to ensure that the message is remembered.
This system has immense practical benefits outside BNI, where in in real-life networking situations, the BNI member is trained to be able to give an instant and concise account of what they do.
Compare the value -
word of mouth marketing really works!
HOW MANY PEOPLE CAN YOU INFLUENCE WITH ONE NEWSPAPER AD?
(average cost in London £1,300)
HOW MANY PEOPLE CAN YOU COME IN CONTACT WITH IN ONE YEAR BY USING A SALES FORCE OF UP TO 40 PEOPLE?
Most business people advertise. We would never suggest that you stop your advertising. What we ask is that you "Compare the Value". Depending on position, one insertion of a small 4"x4" Display Ad averages about £1,300 in the London area. Annual membership in BNI costs a fraction of this amount. In addition, a referred lead is the best lead to get! You "Compare the Value."
The Evening Standard £1,000
Local papers £252 (average)
Yellow Pages £2,670 (quarter page)
Depending on the day of the week, and the position in the publication, the cost of a 4x4 display could cost you over £2,500, which would pay for several years' membership to BNI!
If you would like to find out more about how you can generate a steady flow of referral business for yourself in a BNI Chapter, visit us and judge for yourself!
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