Last year BNI cooperated with Steve Brewer, a graduate student from St. Thomas University in the United States, as part of his Masters Thesis in Marketing. As a result of this research, we have acquired an interesting picture of the average BNI member.
Based on this study, we learned that over 76% of all members came to BNI because they were invited by someone!
OK, that's not a big surprise since we are a "word of mouth" organization; however, it is excellent reinforcement to what we already know - namely, that people mostly join BNI through the "invitation process". Amazingly, only 24% came to the organization from all other forms of marketing and advertising combined (including the internet, tradeshows, calendar listings, newspaper articles, etc). Traditional media exposure definitely supports recognition of the BNI "brand", but what brings most members in is one person asking another person to visit.
The overwhelming majority, 70%, first visited BNI because they were interested in some type of networking group. Roughly 6% were encouraged by their company to attend. But what's most interesting is that 5% of the people who visited and joined, didn't want to offend the person who invited them!
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HUDDLE TIME
The Magic of Networking
By Robyn Henderson, CSP
Networking accounts for approximately 87% of business in the market place today. It is a word that is bandied around in daily newspapers, offices and boardrooms. But how do you know if you are networking effectively or if there is room for improvement with your networking style?
Networking is in fact a life skill, not just something we do when we want something from someone we know or from a total stranger.
Two major keys
There are two main keys to successful networking:
• Give without expectation. Do things for others. Not just to get something back but rather to help that person achieve their goals or solve their problems.
• Have an abundance mentality. Firmly believe that there is plenty of opportunities (business and personal) for everyone.
Great networkers listen
Great networkers are generally great listeners. They believe in having quality conversations not quantity. They don't try to talk to everyone in a crowded networking event. What's the point? The conversations will be shallow, brief and more than likely not memorable for either party.
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