by Don Harkey

I heard a long time member of our chapter comment recently on why he has stayed in BNI for so long.  He said that he typically gets enough referrals to pay for his membership each month, but sometimes he doesn't, but he doesn't mind too much.  He says that taking an hour and a half each week to focus on building his business and setting up strategic collaborations is valuable in itself.  I have to agree.

Looking at other BNI chapters in the area, I see pretty high turnover.  Our chapter, however, has several members who have been in the chapter for years.  I attribute this to the fact that our chapter is more than a referral network...  it is a group of friends who work together to grow their business.  There are many stories in our chapter where people have received personal help and advice from other chapter members and sometimes this is more valuable than referrals.  The really cool part is that when our chapter is focused on helping each other out, the referrals flow freely!

I heard someone on the radio say recently, "if you are feeling sorry for yourself, help out someone else".  This came from a man who had been diagnosed with terminal cancer and spent the last weeks of his life helping other terminal patients come to terms with their condition.  He called the experience the most rewarding of his life.  BNI can work the same way.  The "Gain" in "Giver's Gain" isn't always financial...

I was in a dicsussion with some long-time, successful business owners who have used BNI successfully as a tactic and they were sharing some great insights into how they utilized BNI.

The first question to start with is simple... what do you want to get out of your membership?

Like any business tactic, BNI is not just something you do and grow your business.  It's not that simple.  You have to figure out how to best utilize it as part of your strategy. I have seen many BNI members come and go who didn't ever really understand that.  They entered the group and started having random 1-2-1 meetings with others.  They did their best to keep their numbers up, but it never really clicked.  They never really asked themselves what BNI could do for them. 

I know...  BNI's philosophy is "Giver's Gain", and this philosophy works.  However, you can't be very successful if you can't help others help you.  This is where you need to step up. 

For example, some people utilize the group to set up key introductions.  They ask for help meeting specific people and sometimes they get that help... sometimes they don't.  The best way to get introductions is to spend some time with others in your group, especially those who might know people you need to be introduced to.  This is being smart with your BNI membership.

What do you want to accomplish with your BNI membership?  If you aren't a member... what could you accomplish with a group of quality professionals who don't refer to each other because of membership, but because they have truly invested time into getting to know and trust each other.