BNI (organization)

Business Network International (BNI) is an organization which is "the world's largest referral organization" with over 150,000 members worldwide.^[1] BNI is in over 45 countries worldwide.^[2] BNI was founded in 1985 by Dr. Ivan Misner "for the primary purpose of building powerful referral networks".^[3][4]

Chapter format

The BNI organization works by creating a group of people from various industries and encouraging regular passing of referrals.

• Each chapter allows one person per occupational classification, and prospective members must be approved via an application process.
• BNI's philosophy is "Givers Gain" - members are expected to focus on giving referrals to other members to build relationships and receive referrals in return.
• BNI draws a distinction between a "referral" and a "lead." A lead is contact information for a prospect for a member's business, while a referral occurs only when the prospect has already expressed interest in the business in question, and is ready to be contacted by the referred BNI member.
• Chapters have specific rules regarding required attendance in order to cultivate the relationships needed to create a comfort level in referring business.
• Chapters track the monetary amount of passed business in order to prove the value of the financial and time commitment.

Financial structure

• Members pay a one-off joining fee, an annual membership fee, and a weekly meeting fee to cover room hire and refreshments.

Statistics

• Number of chapters: over 6,866 (as of 2011)
• Number of members: 170,000^[5]
• Total annual value of referrals: 5.4 million referrals resulting in $6.5 billion (U.S.) (2014)^[6]

References