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LOCAL NETWORKING GROUPS

I just joined BNI and am attending my first meeting tomorrow (Wednesday). I have known people that belonged to Le Tip and found the group well worth the annual fee.

Does anyone here belong to a local networking organization (besides like the Chamber of Commerce)? What is/was your experience?

The memberships are limited to the industries.... so I will be the only Title Company, there will be ONE Realtor, ONE Mortgage Broker, ONE advertising guy, ONE Insurance person, ONE .....etc....

I would think just a few deals and I'm at break-even, then it's just gravy (assuming the group works as I expect).

The requirements include meeting once per week at 7:00 for a breakfast meeting. Well, I rarely eat breakfast, but the 7:00 is no problem.

Again....... anyone have experiences in groups like this?

Here's the BNI link

http://www.bni.com/Default.aspx?DN=2,1,Documents

Posted by Rob Robinson- Lehigh Valley PA on 06/12/2007 02:32 PM

Comments (31)

bni, networking, title, closings, rob robinson, lehigh valley, title insurance, bertrum settlements

Originally posted at: Rob Robinson Blogs: LOCAL NETWORKING GROUPS

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31 Comments on LOCAL NETWORKING GROUPS

JUN

2007

Sorry, I go nothing to offer you. But I do wish you the best of luck and lots of business from it. 7am? Now that's rough

Rob,

I have been a member of a BNI Chapter for about 7 years now. I deal in commercial real estate only, and we also have a member who deals in residential only. It has been extremely successful for me. In my meetings with the residential agent, she has indicated that over 50% of her business can be tracked through her membership and involvement with the group. She is in the top 30 for her company nation wide.

The key is consistency and sticking with it.

There is actually a BNI group here on AR ahttp://activerain.com/groups/bni. You will find some success stories there.

Good luck!

James, THANKS - 7 years, well it has to be worth it for you.

Ann, 7:00am is when normal people are already AT work and preparing their day :^) Hey, you in tomorrow...I may pop over in the afternoon.

I attended a BNI groups for several months. In the beginning. it was very personable, fun, and informal. As time went along, things started to get a little too legalistic for my tastes. I understand the need for structure and accontability, but when the rules superseed the relationship building, it's a tough sell for me. I have heard that other groups do well, so this may be an isolated instance perhaps. It just didn't work well for me.

I will be here in the afternoon. see you tomorrow

Rich - thanks for your input. I'm going with an open mind. I can fully understand how a group like this can get...."power hungry". it happens everywhere.

As an example, Real Estate related...Wifey and I led a small group and it took us 3 years to rid our 'BRAND new development' of a Home Owners Association. While some may like those associations, I find them to turn, after time , into a clique of power hungry people, looking after their own interests....not the community. We decided to nip it in the bud. Eventually, our neighbors agreed. (75% majority !!!)

Every new development around here has an Association. I personally believe, it's a negative to home BUYERS. (These are not condo's).

JUN

2007

Not familiar off-hand but you certainly leave no stone unturned. Good work Mr. Rob, you have much to teach me so teach away.....

Oh and LOL you consider yourself normal? LOL

One meeting.. within 5 minutes after.....I have two appointments. One with a Realtor and one with a Mortgage Broker.

As we speak...I'm excited.

Rob - sounds like you had a good first experience! Congrats!

I sat in for a colleague a couple times at his BNI meetings. It was quite informative. I think it's like most things - if the fit works for you then you will do well. If not, then find another group. Simple.

Carol - thanks. I have no idea where this will lead. But, if we do not keep an open mind....we'll never find the answer.

JUN

2007

Rob,

How did your meeting go?

I don't get knocked off my game too easily, but meeting #1 was just confusing (I had NO PREP from the person inviting me - he belongs to another group, and passed onto my owner that there was an opening in the one I belong. Realtors, Mortgage Brokers and Title Companies seem to be the first in line to get into these types of groups, the upside must be hugh...... thus I just 'went for it').

Meeting #1 was actually a venue where two groups were being formed (next town over from Allentown), so that lead to some confusion.

Meeting #2 was today, with just "my group" (Allentown II).. and will remain that way. It is very structured, alluding to what Rich implied. However, this is not a bad thing as it meets time commitments.

I have one Title order already in after one week (last Wed. to Today).

The Broker of the group passed on two leads to the Realtor. The end game is that I will get those jobs also.

Right now we are at 15 members.... the 'average size' is about 40 members.

We are all asked to give a '30 second commercial' at each meeting.

Sounds silly at first, right? Every meeting?

Step back though..... this does two things:

1) It makes me (and each member) better, through practice, at presenting who they are/what they do in a networking environment .... like on an elevator

2) Through repetition, the other members KNOW what I do and who I need as a referral. Immediately, if you asked me if I know a General contractor, or a Financial Adviser, a Realtor, a Plumber, a Florist, or a Lawyer,.... I can whip out a Biz card and say YES, I know so and so.....

The premise is so simple... if there are 40 members, each member now has a 'Sales Staff' of 39 people...and EACH of those 39 people probably have a network sphere of.....200 people?

So....after week #2...I think this will EASILY pay for itself, AND get my company significant incremental business.

That is great. I like the structure, and our group is also very personal - we have a great time!

At 15 people, you should get 60 second commercials. The additional training for Member Success is well worth it and may assist with how to refine and develop you 30 or 60 second spot. Time is important, it is the value over time that REALLY pays off.

Keep us updated on your success.

Starting I think in 3 weeks we also have two members at each meeting give a 10 minute 'speech'. Rotate the members each week...forever :^)

Oh, and for sure there is fun and relationship bulding. I can see that already. People are hanging out before and after the meeting just to yak. Someone has already mentioned having a get together after work. While this can't be BNI sponsored, it certainly will bring the group even closer...and we could invite..whomever....

MAY

2008

I like the idea, why does it cost so much? Who makes money on your fees? And REALLY why 7a.m.? Do you work early generally? I work from 9 to 9.

MAY

2008

Well it's been almost a year I have belonged. Number of orders?..... probably (I'm guessing because it seems everyone in RE almost came to a halt in Oct, Nov, Dec, Jan..... maybe 15 orders in 10 months. Over 1 per month.

The cost is:

$100 to join BNI (one time fee)

$330/year for annual membership to pay for training materials, periodic seminars,, blah, blah... I'll have to look up the actual dispersement of this ... but i would assume goes to the BNI corporation.

$12/week to cover the hotel banquet room and breakfast. (probably varies depending on location)

So the cost is approximatly $1,000 per year.

WOW you say. A THOUSAND?

Then I look at what I have gotten out of it revenue wise - ONE closing covered my annual cost. Depending on what your business is, most cover their out of pocket costs from 1-3 referrals/year.

The 7:00am meeting time (once a week) is ideal for anyone in the trades like a contractor, as they would not like leaving a job site at say noon. 7:00am also means that these are true business people that want to pass on referrals with the hope of gaining referrals. (Remember, referrals, someone needs a service we have in the chapter - not 'leads'). I'm back at the office by 9:00 and run my day like any other. And I work until I'm ready to go...... normaly around 7, but we have closings as late as 10-11pm.

There are BNI Chapters that run their meetings at 11:30am. Whatever works, but I have seen a tad higher attendance problems with these groups. (I guess people get stuck in a meeting or whatever during the day).

MAY

2008

I've been in BNI for over a year now and have found it immensely useful! You are right that with one deal you can cover the cost of the annual membership.

The thing I appreciate about the 7 am meeting time is that it ensures our group members are committed, and it also tells you a little about who's in the group. If someone is consistently late, for example, I wouldn't want to send my valued clients to him for business. Or if someone misses meetings a lot, I would be nervous about them treating my referrals with the same disrespect that they're treating the rest of us BNI members.

Since you're the only person in your occupation in the group, you have the great privilege of getting all the referrals from so many other people - just make sure you live up to your responsibility to be the kind of group member they feel comfortable referring their friends and family to.

How is it going with the group now that you've been at it for a while?

JUL

2008

I belonged to an LBN group which is a spin off of BNI here in the Midwest. For me the question was the time invested not so much the annual fee which was someting like $200. I do commercial real estate loans and though I did receive some leads and closed a couple of loans I think there are better marketing activity for someone in my business. Just my thoughts. commercial loan training

AUG

2008

Rob,

Just wondering how BNI has been for year now that it has been a year.

AUG

2008

Better than expected. Though Real Estate is 'somewhat slow', we have a top gun Mortgage Consultant that is pleased with our Title work and giving me everything she has. Average... 1.5 /month.

The Realtor that started with us left (marriage) and the new Realtor, another high hitter in the area, is passing on 'some' of her work.... maybe .5 per month.

In addition, since I explained to the members that the CHOICE of a Title company (in PA at least) - is that of the CONSUMER - I have had additional work coming from referred BNI people that could not use the member Realtor due to 'geography', but since our radius is further than most Realtors - we were asked to do title. YEA !!

So, the approximate $1,000/yr cost is covered on the first closing.

Others (other disiplines) make up their fees on 1/2 an order or tops I would say 3 orders.

We meet from 7:00am-8:30am once a week - so my 'work schedule is not impacted.

I HIGHLY recommend BNI as a referral source.

That sounds absolutely awesome, Rob! I wish I could join a BNI. I'd do it in a heartbeat. But, alas, we've got 6 kids - 2 are in school so I've got to be here in the mornings to get them off to school and the other 4 are still babies/toddlers so they are still at home. I need to find one that is in the afternoons or early evenings.

~Renae

Thanks for the update. I appreciate it. Our intro meeting with BNI is next week so at that point we'll make sure the first ten are committing and then we'll start.

Do you meet at a restaurant? if yes do they have other customers? i'm trying to come up with a meeting place and wondered what other groups are doing

the one i visited met at a restaurant that wasn't serving breakfast to others, but did serve a basic one for the group.

i'm thinking a 7am start date would be best but wondering if others would prefer a 8am start time. what is your groups feeling on the 7am time.

thanks again for the info.

We look at the time this way:

"What's happening RIGHT NOW , while 30 business professionals are meeting and passing money at such an early time"

The answer?

"Our competition is still sleeping or taking a shower"

The 7:00am - 8:30 am timeframe works well for people in the trades as they certainly do not want to leave a job site. Overall - though sometimes a bit sleepy - people that meet at 7:00am once a week are .. COMMITTED.

We meet in a banquet room at a hotel, the hotel sets up a buffet breakfast. $12/person for room rental and food. (thus times 52 weeks & BNI annual fee - the '$1,000' number)

I think some chapters meet in restaurants that have a "seperate" room off to the side.

Having a meeting in a restaurant with NO privacy will not work (IMO) .... the 30 second commercials alone will bug the 'public'.

SEP

2008

Hi Rob,

I joined a BNI group in Northeast Ft. Lauderdale, Florida about the same time you joined your chapter! It really is an amazingly simple concept, isn't it? It works so well for me as well. With real estate being slow, BNI has stepped in as my (now) primary form of marketing. It is also so great to have a network of professionals that you know and trust and feel comfortable referring friends, family, customers, and even yourself!

Our treasurer includes in his report each week that the membership includes a sales force that you don't need to pay! That really drives the point home!

Do you attend regional BNI events? We have several county wide "round tables" where we learn even more and can network with the other 20 chapters in the county as well.

Have you served in any leadership roles? I serve as the chapter Vice President. It is a way to give back and receive additional exposure as well. I highly recommend serving in leadership or on the membership committee.

I'm glad to hear it is working out well for you! It's so true...Givers Gain!

Best wishes,

Laurie

SEP

2008

Hi everyone,

Well we've just had our fourth meeting I think...it's still two steps forward and one step back. We settled on 7am...which caused another member to drop out, we had two others who basically couldn't start until 8:30 or 9 but the rest of us felt that was too late to start.

so here we are at 7 members still ... the seven seem committed. we're finding it hard to get people to grasp the concept...they hear either the 400 dollar fee to join or the weekly meetings and don't want to be a part of it. Or want to wait until we're up and running fully before joining.

anyone have any suggestions as to how to find members willing to commit?

MAR

I've been with my BNI Networking group now for 6 months and we are finally about to kickoff. We have around 18 members and are located in Monrovia, CA. I just co-listed a property with the Financially advisor in my group and am working with some referrals. Take care and it really is a great network to be a part of. Givers Gain... That's our Motto :]

APR

Best of luck to all.

I have had only good things happen from the BNI networking strategy.

JUN

Been to the Letip thing but too much saluting for me at that stage in my life. There was a realtor at that time when I was going in as a photographer.

Anyone know of other groups like this without the high fees to join?

Bill C

(CR#2114)

OCT

This sounds like a wonderful group to belong to. I am going to see if there is one in my area! Thanks for all the feedback!

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