Tuesday, March 16, 2010

My Business Lifesaver

When the real estate market crashed, so did my business. I was in real trouble, as my builders and developers stopped operations. I needed to find new clients, quickly!

A friend suggested a networking group called BNI (Business Networking International) because BNI help grow his business. I was skeptical, because I had been a member of various business groups in the past, which was great for happy hour fun, but not for increasing my customer base.



BNI became a business life saver for me. The group I joined has about 25 members, all representing different occupations. I became the exclusive Advertising Agency of the group and was afforded the weekly opportunity to share with the group details of what I do, and what type of referrals I am seeking. The other members became my sales team, and they responded with many great leads for me. In return, I've been able to pass along many leads to the others in my group, as I've made countless business contacts throughout the 25 years I've been in Naples.

The results? At the conclusion of my first year in BNI, revenue generated through referrals totaled over 20 times my membership investment.

The secret? BNI trains members how to ask for referrals properly, and also how to listen and respond to other's requests efficiently. There is no shame in asking others for help. This was not the case in the other business groups I've associated with.

BNI is not exclusive to Naples. Groups can be found in anywhere. BNI rules allow 2 free visits before you are asked to decide to join.

I highly recommend you do.

Dave Horton
Dave Horton Advertising

See http://www.davehortonads/ or visit me on Facebook

Email me at davehortonads@gmail.com

1 comment:

  1. I never heard of BNI. I will certainly check it out!

    ReplyDelete