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View Full Version : ? bni/ women's club?
nwells
06-18-2007, 07:45 AM
For those of you that belong to a women's club or bni or any networking group, how well do you do? Is it worth it?
Nicole
Nicole
kjdama
06-18-2007, 12:03 PM
I'm curious as well. I've heard about high costs to join these type of groups...
Jhanna, did you find the weekly meetings to be too much? How do I find out if there is a group near me?
Edited by: kjdama
Jhanna, did you find the weekly meetings to be too much? How do I find out if there is a group near me?
Edited by: kjdama
Candlemama
06-18-2007, 12:03 PM
It depends on if you work it or not. I went every week, and was guaranteed to sell product every week as well as receive referrals. This was through BNI.
Now I'm with Professional Saleswomen of Nevada, and LOVE it. It's not as rigid as BNI, but I'm not getting as many referrals (yet. I just joined. :) )
I highly recommend joining a networking group like the chamber, bni, or such. :)
Now I'm with Professional Saleswomen of Nevada, and LOVE it. It's not as rigid as BNI, but I'm not getting as many referrals (yet. I just joined. :) )
I highly recommend joining a networking group like the chamber, bni, or such. :)
Candlemama
06-18-2007, 12:05 PM
Don't forget, it's a write off!
DebClough
06-19-2007, 08:07 AM
<a href="http://www.bni.com/" target="_blank">
http://www.bni.com/</A>
http://www.bni.com/</A>
kjdama
06-20-2007, 12:36 AM
OOOH thanks a million for that link Deb. There are four chapters that are within 15 minutes from me and one is just down the street!!! I'm going to check them out!smileys/smiley4.gif
DebClough
06-20-2007, 05:25 AM
You're welcome, Kira. It is very smart to check out more than one group. I would checkout all four within your area. You are welcome to visit as a guest twice and I encourage you to do so...you will get a feel for how the group operates, the "energy" within, etc.
Goodluck!
Goodluck!
kjdama
06-21-2007, 09:39 AM
I heard back from someone at BNI, and they suggested the same thing. Luckily for both me and my husband, there are about 15 within 30 minutes of us that have opening for all three of our biz's- his is carpentry, and mine are the candles and Noah's ARk.
but I want to know how much is it to join a group like this? They are similar to chamber of commerce right, but different in that they can guarantee a certain amount of refferals? To join my chamber of commerce I would have to pay $250 a year. At the moment I'm stuck because I don't have the money to pay for that, yet how can I pay for it if I"m not in? KWIM?
but I want to know how much is it to join a group like this? They are similar to chamber of commerce right, but different in that they can guarantee a certain amount of refferals? To join my chamber of commerce I would have to pay $250 a year. At the moment I'm stuck because I don't have the money to pay for that, yet how can I pay for it if I"m not in? KWIM?
LDYAPXR
06-21-2007, 10:01 AM
I spoke to a lady in charge of our local BNI(there is one about 2miles from my house) and she assured me that there was an opening for my biz but when I tried to get info from her(cost, meetings etc) she was very snotty and then never called me back. Although this jsut might be a local town thing here because we have a TON of snotty people. LOL
nwells
06-21-2007, 10:27 AM
Kira,
Just so you know, you personally, can only be in one bni group. I am currently in one group for our carpet cleaning business but was going to join another for candles and was told that is against the national rules. Each person can only represent one company, and only one company. This is why I wanted to know if bni pays off for anyone selling candles.
Nicole
Just so you know, you personally, can only be in one bni group. I am currently in one group for our carpet cleaning business but was going to join another for candles and was told that is against the national rules. Each person can only represent one company, and only one company. This is why I wanted to know if bni pays off for anyone selling candles.
Nicole
Candlemama
06-21-2007, 04:08 PM
Go to the website, and all the cost information should be there. I think it's right around $275 for the first year, but that includes the initiation fee.
There are no 'guaranteed' referrals for each week, but as I mentioned, I was in a group of about 50 (which is a LARGE group), and would always bring at least 4 candles a week IN with me.
When I did my 30 second spiel (we only had 30 seconds due to our group being so large), I would pass around a different fragrance every week.
My bag was MUCH lighter at the end of each meeting because I always sold my candles. Plus, after a few months I did receive referrals on a regular basis.
However, you have to remember if you go ONLY looking for referrals, it's not going to work. It's like the old saying, 'you give, in order to get'. It takes a while to develop a relationship with people, so it may take a while to get referrals.
There are very specific rules to the groups, however, it must work as BNI is an extremely successful organization. Even though I'm not in it anymore, the connections I made continue to bring in business, and I now have a bookful of other businesses that I completely trust working with. :)
There are no 'guaranteed' referrals for each week, but as I mentioned, I was in a group of about 50 (which is a LARGE group), and would always bring at least 4 candles a week IN with me.
When I did my 30 second spiel (we only had 30 seconds due to our group being so large), I would pass around a different fragrance every week.
My bag was MUCH lighter at the end of each meeting because I always sold my candles. Plus, after a few months I did receive referrals on a regular basis.
However, you have to remember if you go ONLY looking for referrals, it's not going to work. It's like the old saying, 'you give, in order to get'. It takes a while to develop a relationship with people, so it may take a while to get referrals.
There are very specific rules to the groups, however, it must work as BNI is an extremely successful organization. Even though I'm not in it anymore, the connections I made continue to bring in business, and I now have a bookful of other businesses that I completely trust working with. :)
