After being a BNI member for over 3 years, and for some of that time being on the leadership team, I felt like I could offer some decent feedback about this networking group that claims to be the ‘most successful one of its type in the world’.
This post is probably aimed at people who haven’t tried BNI before, but I also wanted to share my good and bad experiences whilst I was a member so that if any members/leaders are reading they might value my feedback.
You meet all kinds of people at BNI and I suppose like any successful organisation/group – its all about surrounding yourself with the right kind of people. And I met some great people at BNI! But of course there were also some people I don’t wish to see ever again (no names mentioned).
Since leaving BNI a few months ago I have lost 2 clients that were fellow members – both of which I don’t believe I would have lost if I had stayed as a member. This has made me question everything about the values of BNI…
The first of these clients did not even have the courtesy to call me to explain that he was leaving me and using someone else (another BNI member) and to my knowledge I had done absolutely nothing wrong. In fact I had even done this member a massive financial favour with his new website. He was clearly dropping me to use someone else so that he could give out another referral and receive a TYFTB (thank you for the business).
So basically he was putting the BNI traffic lights system ahead of his relationship with me! A relationship that I clearly valued more than he did. So a relationship that we had both spent our time building over the past few years is now completely ruined all so he can keep himself in the so called green club!
So my feedback here is that if we are not careful, the BNI system can actually encourage good relationships outside of BNI to end. If you are reading this and perhaps new or early in your ‘BNI journey’ then I would encourage you to not get to swept up in the traffic light system. You are there to build relationships and hopefully get some business – not to just refer and switch suppliers just because they are a fellow member.
I have seen how BNI can change people for the better and worse – it has definitely helped me in many ways and I would highly recommend it. It’s great for growing your contacts and growing your confidence. But its a shame that the system sometimes encourages the wrong behaviour. So if you are a BNI newbie, please stay true to yourself – and remember why you are attending, for your business achievements, not the BNI achievements.
Hope this helps.