Why My Local Networking Group is Better Than BNI
This is the fourth article I have written about my BNI saga. In this article, I will write on the objective reasons that a local networking group, in this case the one I am in, is better than the International BNI, Business Network International. This will probably be the case should you choose an organized networking group to join.
This is the fourth article I have written about my BNI saga. In this article, I will write on the objective reasons that a local networking group, in this case the one I am in, is better than the International BNI, Business Network International. This will probably be the case should you choose an organized networking group to join.
Dues- When you join BNI, you are becoming a servant of Ivan Misner, BNI’s founder. He founded BNI over 20 years ago in California and he spread it like wildfire internationally. That is good for him, no doubt. Therefore, the dues for BNI go to Ivan Misner. In the United States, the dues are about $400 per year plus an application fee of about $100. My local group has dues of just $50 per six months; they stay in the local area. The dues are only there to defray small administrative costs of the group and the fee to the hotel that houses the meetings.
Meetings and attendance policy- Of course, you have to spend time to make the connections and build the relationships. However, BNI allows just three “cuts”, absences over a six month period. This is even stricter than ABA law school suggested attendance policy of 80% which would amount to five “cuts” per six months. If you miss a meeting, you better have a substitute. If you miss that fourth meeting, no matter how good a member you have been, you’re out of there. In addition, the meetings are 90 minutes; it becomes a two hour commitment with travel. With my new group, we meet just for one hour and only twice a month. If you have to miss a meeting, you can get another member (not allowed in BNI) to speak in your stead. There is no cut policy. I am an attorney and I have had to miss some meetings because of court. No excuse shy of death is valid for missing a BNI meeting. The excessively strict attendance policy discourages small outfits from joining.
Every lead is checked- BNI, as I discussed in one of my earlier articles, forces people to write bogus referrals if they do not have a legitimate one. These referrals are usually not checked as only one or two referrals are checked at every meeting. However, in my new group, every lead-referral is checked at the following meeting to verify that people are sending good referrals to each other. There is no pressure to put bogus referrals in my local group; on the contrary, you need to put in a good referral in the basket or nothing.
BNI is for some people. However, it is not good as the hype is. Proceed carefully if you are going to spend your money and time in BNI.
5 Comments
You give a wonderful chance to read this interesting article
I impressed with your writing skills
Best Regards
Thanks raman
Jack, I love that you’re becoming more enraged with every post. You should be enraged. If BNI simply conned you out of the membership fee it would be one thing. But the BNI program followed to the letter will consume 10% of your 40 hour work week.
Now $400-$500-$600 a year isn’t insignificant but when compared to 200 hours a year of your time… thats the real cost.
Is BNI worth it? Easy calculation divide how much you’ve earned by being in BNI by 200 hours. Thats what you made per hour of BNI participation.
I can’t remember in exact numbers but we ended up bringing in net revenue of $5-$6 per hour of BNI time. Which is about 1/30th of what we generally bill per hour of a client project.
With those numbers BNI cost us money. A lot of money.
Networking works! BNI doesn’t. Networking is the business that you do with people that you like and trust. Your network is built over years of your successful career. Not in 60 second increments in a room full of brainwashed strangers.
GrumpyNerd: Thanks again for your comments and your blog. Youre right about the 4 hours of the week when you add in the one on ones and the travel time and the prep time for the Education Moment, worse when I was the VP. My hourly rate is 150 which is 5 X 30, right again. I am a math kinda guy which is why your articles really hit it with me.
Yes, networking works. The people that you have done business with over the years. I think that some relationships will survive BNI. Others wont and those arent the ones worth saving. I am working on a 5th article, about the 90 minute meeting and how it is brainwashing.
Dear Jack, I am sorry that BNI did not work for you. It has worked for thousands of people in over 40 countries for almost 25 years now. Clearly, you had a bad experience and for that I am sorry.
I love my business and I work hard to help people all around the world grow their business in BNI through referrals. It is my life mission and my passion.
BNI is locally owned and operated. There are more than 1,000 people who work for the organization on a full, or part-time basis to help achieve this mission.
Our networking program, including all of our policies were created by the “members” through our international Board of Advisors (made up of only members).
With any company, there is a plan and set of policies and then there is the “execution” of that plan and/or policies.
Clearly, either the program itself or the execution of that program was not something you liked. I understand and am sorry it did not work for you.
I wish you continued success in your networking efforts and hope that someday you might soften your anger towards our organization. We exist to help people succeed and although it wasn’t for you – it is helping many other people around the world in these difficult economic times.
I invite you to contact me directly if you would ever like to talk.
All the best.
Dr. Ivan Misner
Founder
BNI