Bni

NeedAssistance

Hi, I went to a business forum yesterday and meet with some people from BNI who were promoting their networking meetings. Has anyone had any experience with these guys. It seems really good, quite expensive, but one of the ladies who attends these meetings said that she doesn't advertise her business (online administration and bookkeeping) but gets all her clients via referrals from these networking meetings.

Any feedback would be great.

Many thanks

paddyrg

Might be worth checking if members get paid a bonus for introducing new members... Some of these schemes are a bit that way, so you are never quite clear of the motivations of the introducer!

They may be great, although personally I cannot bear artificial networking events. Fact is people buy from people, not businesses buying from businesses, so positive relations in your local business community are never going to harm your business and may well help. If your business is cheap printing you would get some interest from many people there, if your business is crotched kittens, word of mouth may not get you as far. Your proposition still has to be competitive.

My 2p!

Pennywise

A lot depends on your local group. Some are very good but others aren't. I've known a few people over the years who've been members but never felt they were right for me as I'm not a "networking" kind of person. Most people got business out of the groups, but everyone I've known has left after a few months or a year or two, because they found it hard work.

It will depend on the group, but the two local groups near me were very "hard sell" and pressurised everyone attending to bring "something" to each meeting, such as the name/number of someone else wanting the services of a member, or to have to give a brief presentation or whatever. It was very much a matter of being very heavy handed to create leads and contacts. There was also pressure to attend every meeting.

Like I say, the people I knew sooner or later found it too pressurised and gave it up, but they all agreed that it was good for business! One of the common comments was that it soon reached saturation point and it got harder and harder to "give" something at each meeting. For example, if there's never been an accountant in the group, when one joins, then they'll get a few of the other members moving to them and will be able to give a few presentations about tax planning techniques or whatever, but after a few weeks, it dries up - they run out of steam as to what presentations to give, and the other members able & willing to move accountants have done so.

Horace

I have come across them and know people who are members of them.

You are committed to attending every week and if for whatever reason you cannot make it then you have to send a substitute (difficult if you are a sole trader). You are pressurised into making referrals and if you fail to give 3 solid referrals each week then you could find yourself blackballed from the group. I do know that BNI groups work for some businesses but they are not necessarily suitable for all businesses.

There are other networking groups out there that are a bit more relaxed and probably more suited to sole traders.

4 Networking - again another very expensive group and you pay £10 a time for breakfast over and above your annual membership fee.

Chamber events - tend to be expensive - membership fees are high and whilst some events maybe free, most of them are not and you could end up paying £25 or more at a time.

FSB - £150 to join for the first year and thereafter £120 a year - great for free legal helpline and help if the taxman investigates you. Their events are often free and are well attended with 20-50 businesses there.

NRG - again extortionate membership fee - and they will charge you around £40 or more to attend a luncheon - these drag on for hours and you could find yourself losing a whole chunk of the day.

Use a website called Findnetworkingevents - this will give you a list of business networking events in your area. Use LinkedIn too as there maybe other types of groups in your area - I tend to join groups in my locality and exchange ideas online and attend various networking events that they put on.

Think of joining a local business club if there is one in your area - these often have lower membership fees, will charge a nominal amount to attend an event. Hold regular meets and you can pick up some useful snippets of information for your business. They are great places for sharing knowledge and if you have a problem with something then someone else may have experienced the same thing and can advise you how they got out of it.

NeedAssistance

Thank you, definitely food for thought. Maybe I will find out when and where the next meeting is and pop along as a visitor and get a feel of it before joining.

heretolearn_2

Go as a visitor and see. Some of these groups work well, some don't. It is quite expensive not only in fees but in your time, so you have to consider if it is going to be worth it.

My feeling is that they work better for the sort of services you don't use all the time. So for example signwriters/printers/mortgage advisors etc. I used to go to one as a freelance copywriter/PR person and it was ok.

But for professional services I think it has limited value, to be honest, as most of the people there will already have a long-term relationship with a firm and will only want to change if they are actively unhappy. Likewise they won't recommend a firm they don't use themselves.

There is also a LOT of pressure to take a guest or referral to every meeting at BNI. There are groups that don't have this requirement - you get fewer referrals but they are better quality.

I visited our local BNI as a guest and did my little blurb including the fact that between all our staff we speak nine languages fluently (we are accounting firm). One chap nearly turned himself inside out struggling over to get to me with a bit of yellow paper that was his week's referral that he was obliged to bring and had so far failed with. He referred someone who was looking for a translating service to us. Wow. Thanks. Totally not relevant but he wouldn't say no for an answer as otherwise he'd have been in trouble. MAde me realise what a load of tut most of the referrals would probably be so didn't bother to join.

So my experiences not great. But some people do quite well. I think the one I know that's had most success is an IT support company that specialises in small clients.