BNI Group

[Bob_The_Insurance_Guy]

We have all heard how much the Financial Planner, the Air Conditioning Guy, and others have turned in. How much has the Life Insurance Guy gotten in the way of referrals?

If you measure the calibre of someone by how much money they spend, blindly, because they joined "the family", then there are other, deeper issues. How come BNI keeps needing Life guys, and not Financial Planners?

How come if you don't make your money back in referrals within 5 weeks, they want to talk with you, about how YOU need to change your message? There are alot of "givers" that "gain" without having to pay $700 a year to join a club.

My suggestion to the original poster is to go to Meetup dot com, and find a group to join (not BNI nor PowerCore) that will accept you, and work with you in building your business.

I'm still waiting on those HUGE referral turned to business numbers for Life agents in BNI groups.

 

[stuy119]

If you're not getting referrals, it's your own fault. We know people are spending money for goods and services. BNI (and networking in general) is about connecting and moving each person's business forward in a mutually beneficial way.

If you're not connecting, you won't succeed. If you're not feeling that you're getting something out of your BNI group, start with yourself and see what message you're putting forward. Why? Because you might understand something differently from how other people see it, and your message is boring to them. Or, they might not like you.

There's a management parable about how when your team is having issues with deadlines, staying on topic, working on successful projects, etc. that you should start looking at yourself first, then slowly moving outward in the organization until you find the problem - and fix it. BNI is like this, start with yourself, ask for advice, get other people to tell you what resonates.

BNI has a good bit of experience. Listen to what you're being taught, and apply it. Every category doesn't bring in nearly as much business as it could/should from their BNI group each year, and that fault is that of each person, not BNI.

Personally, I get a ton from our group each year (approximately $25,000 in new business commission). I also give about $200,000 in business referrals as well. Why? Because I ask questions, I ask for introductions to the people I want to meet, and I do my research. I spend more time developing the relationships with people right in front of me than I do cold calling or another type of marketing - and it pays off.

BNI is all about what you put into it. It's not a cure-all, nor is it a panacea - it's work. And if you work your network, you'll have success.

 

[VolAgent]

I have to go with Bob on this. More than any other slot in BNI, Life Insurance is always a revolving door. Does the life agent ever stay for any length of time?

 

[Yagents]

Without BNI, I don't think my business would have gotten off the ground as quick as it did in 2003. I only sold health insurance, and also represented the life category. Probably made 30k in first year. Most of the life agents were captive agents, and were to eager to make the sale vs. building the trust/relationship first. If they don't get biz, they scatter. One guy took a member fishing, and point blank told him he has to buy a policy since he took him fishing. Turns out, the guy was part of my same agency, I took his BNI spot, where he got zero biz, I made a lot of money with the same people.

BNI treats it like a business, they have a proven methodology that works. No reason to go recreate the wheel, and starting your own group is always the least productive decision. You should be spending the time gathering business instead.

You need to find a BNI group with at least 20 people, anything over 40 is too many and your message gets lost. Find a group that has fun with humor injected. It was my favorite time of the week. I always came with a new funny commercial ("Whether you're packing a few pounds, puffing a few smokes, or popping a few pills.....you're still sexy to me......call me for health/life insurance).

Your product must be something everybody needs, not what you think they want. Most are self employed, so they need health insurance. Once you get their business, they refer with confidence. The veterans in the group control the gossip, and if you screw over one of their referrals, you won't get any more biz. Avoid those that have a lot of MLM businesses. Be sure you have a power group in your chapter, mine was the financial advisor, the CPA, the bookkeeper, the lawyer, the mortgage broker, realtor, etc. They all deal with money, talk money, and their clients need to protect/save their money.

BNI is all about referrals, unlike most other groups that are social memberships. You've got to have a structure of accountability. I left the group in FL when I moved to AZ in 07'. I still maintain all of the clients and relationships after 6 years, and I still get referrals from them, even when a new health/life guy took my place. I didn't join a new one in AZ, because I knew few people, and knew I couldn't refer back as many to others. Plus, i live in booneyville and the closest meeting is 30 minutes away, my business is established, only work referrals now, generated by current book of clients.

With Obamacare, BNI is a no brainer, as most of the members will find it easy to refer you to everybody. In fact, I'm thinking of being a BNI whore for a couple weeks for O'care launch, and just going around to different chapters, acting like I'm interested in joining, getting my commercial out there, and let the referrals flow in.

 

[secondcreek]

Bob the Insurance Guy--

Our group is a bit different in that we operate with a lot of autonomy. Why would the BNI managers come in and fix something that is working? As a result, the financial adviser guy who is really an insurance products oriented adviser gets to corner the life insurance spot.

He has been in the group a long time and passes a lot of referrals that result in closed business.

This year I have already referred him 3 LTC cases that totaled close to $8,400 of premium and a $100k index annuity. He told me the CPA had referred him a "huge" single premium life deal.

I have no clue how many big deals the estate attorney in the group has passed to him.

I think the realtor in the group has referred him to a couple of investors who sold some property and were looking for an adviser to work with.

I know he just missed qualifying for Court of the Table last year and the vast majority of business is the result of BNI referrals and the referrals he gets from those referrals.

BNI as mentioned is not for everyone and is not a quick fix.

Think about it. People in a variety of professions gladly pay their renewal fees year after year to stay in our group. There is a reason.

If you haven't been in a successful group I understand the skepticism. But I don't understand the blanket negativity that has been expressed.