BNI MDPP VISITORS' DAY

Learn How You Can Build Your Business by 10%-25% in 2010

RSVP for the BNI Mid-Day Power Partner Chapter’s Visitors’ Day

Do you have a strategy in place to deal with this challenging economy and make sure your business prospers in 2010?

Virtually every successful business grows through good “word of mouth”: someone purchases your products or services, and recommends them to others. This is known as “referral marketing,” and it is the most successful (and inexpensive) form of “advertising” available to your business. The question is, how can you generate those referrals on an ongoing and consistent basis?

By joining a business networking organization. These organizations are specifically designed to generate new business for its members through regular meetings run in a structured manner, with each “chapter” having only one member from each profession. These chapters act as the “sales force” for all the professionals in the group, to provide qualified business referrals for each other. As trusted business professionals, they will be referring your business to their clients and social circle, while you do the same for them.

Business Networking International (BNI) is the largest of these business and professional networking organizations. BNI currently has over 5,000 chapters and over 100,000 members in 37 countries worldwide. By the beginning of 2008, BNI members had passed over 5.5 million referrals, which generated $2.2 billion worth of business for its members. BNI will typically increase business by 10%-25% in the first year, and can increase your business over time by 50% or more. It operates on the “Givers Gain” philosophy that those who give business freely to others will benefit in return and get business as well.

BNI has a saying that networking is about “farming” rather than “hunting.” Success in BNI is based on developing relationships: getting to know your fellow members and their businesses, both inside and outside the meetings, and building trust and good will between you and the other members. This is a long-term marketing strategy that can be the cornerstone of your business’ marketing efforts if done consistently.

And while building your business is the primary reason most people join BNI, participation in the organization also provides other important benefits:

• You will provide your clients with a valuable service by referring professionals to them that they can trust. People want to do business with people they like and trust, and they are grateful for having a resource that can provide that to them.
   
• You will develop a trusted group of professional resources for your own use. Many BNI members say this is as valuable to them as the business building aspects of BNI.
   
• You will have the opportunity to become comfortable in a networking environment and speaking in front of a group. While many business people come into BNI being intimidated by public speaking, most find that they become quite comfortable with it and that it helps them in client interviews as well.
   
• You will be offered a number of ways to improve your marketing skills. BNI not only provides its own training for member success, but it also has a sister organization, “The Referral Institute,” which offers training seminars in a variety of network marketing techniques.
   
• You are likely to find that BNI will introduce you to valuable friends as well as business colleagues. Many people find that the social exposure that BNI offers gives them a much needed circle of trusted friends that can reduce the isolation many feel as business owners. Also, many members have discovered valuable mentoring relationships through BNI.

We hope you will come and find out more about us to see if this type of marketing might not be a great business builder for you.

If you cannot come to our Visitors' Day, we invite you to join us for one of our regular meetings. We currently meet Mondays from 12:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. at Legends at Bennett Valley, 3328 Yulupa, Santa Rosa, CA 95405.

Click here to RSVP for one of our regular meetings, or call (707) 836-9602 for more information.

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