As you may have noticed, we’ve been talking a little bit about referrals this month on our social media and in our newsletter. The Connection Exchange serves as a sort of referral group all on its own. But we also know it is good to spread the love! Having multiple sources of referrals, leads, etc is good for business. There are several ways to get leads and referrals. You can have internal referral programs, join referral or networking groups, have referral partners, and paid lead generation sources (Connection Exchange). These are all great avenues to grow and get new business. One popular referral group in Columbia (and probably across the nation) is BNI. I reached out to a good friend of mine, Amanda Quick with Nerium International, to get the scoop on local BNI as I know she values her group. For those unfamiliar with BNI this will be good information for you.
Here is the scoop….BNI stands for Business Network International and there are 4 different BNI groups in Columbia, MO. They meet at various times during the week. The motto of BNI is “Giver’s Gain”. If you give you will receive….so give referrals to get them! Amanda shared this with me, “BNI isn’t your typical networking group and it’s definitely not for everyone. We have a weekly structured meeting, expectations of specific activity and we build strong relationships. It’s our personal goal to help each and every member build their business. You get out of it what you put into it…like anything in life. Personally, I have met some amazing people, learned an incredible amount of business and the best thing is the friendships I’ve developed.”
Utilizing different ways to give and receive referrals is good business.
The Connection Exchange 