Written by Chad Hayes, BNI Member in Vermont, USA

As an insurance agent, I have tried everything in the book to drum up new business. We sales people know how hard it can be to create relationships in your community that lead to new business sales. I’ve tried it all. From mass mailings to email blasts, and even going door to door knocking in hopes to get just one or two people interested in the services I provide. Since finding BNI®, I no longer do any of that! BNI has helped me realize there are better ways to build relationships that make us money!

When someone mentions BNI to you they will most likely talk about how much money has been passed in their Chapter on an annual basis or the lifetime of their Chapter. This is a huge incentive to want to apply to a BNI Chapter, but certainly not the only reason. The value you get when you become a referral partner is so much more than money.

The reason I say money passed between referral partners (or Thank You for Closed Business) isn’t the greatest value, is because these people you meet with every week become family. They will be at your wedding and children’s events. You will build relationships that will last a lifetime. That’s where the value is for me! But, like I said before, we all hate doing cold calling and at the end of the day, we are in BNI to make money.

This team can and does become a steady referral source. These referrals are vetted and expecting you to call them. They are looking for the service or product you offer. And all of this makes my life so much easier knowing when a referral comes through to me that they are excited to see if what I offer can save them money.

In my 4+ years with BNI, I have received many referrals that I will never forget. Some of my biggest clients came from my BNI family. I have also given referrals that helped a friend or client and helped my fellow referral partner. It’s nice to know that when someone you know, or one of your clients needs help buying a new house or selling theirs, I have a team to help them in the process. I can then refer them to a realtor, real estate attorney, mortgage originator and insurance agent.

To me, The BNI Way is knowing that the relationships I have built week in and week out are there for me when I need something! I was fortunate enough to marry the love of my life last October. As we said “I do”, we stood under a beautiful arbor that was built the week prior by myself and two friends. One of which just so happens to be a referral partner in my BNI Chapter. Without BNI, he and I would have never met or built the relationship that we have today. This is only one example of the amazing people in BNI.