An international business networking organization celebrated the official launch of a new St. Albert chapter this week.
Business Networking International (BNI) is a membership-only program that touts a structured networking system that generates word-of-mouth referrals for its members. Each member is expected to generate referrals for other members. Each chapter limits its membership to just one member per industry, which provides each member with exclusive access to referral business from the entire group.
“The whole power behind the group is to get the referrals. Once people start seeing the referrals change hands then [the chapter] grows as well as our business,” said Ryan Sellers, a St. Albert realtor who helped found the local chapter.
Sellers and others began forming the chapter about a year ago. For Sellers, it was an act of necessity because realtor seats are usually among the first to go in a chapter.
“Unless you start your own group, you can’t get it,” Sellers said. “I had to start a group.”
The group is trying to attract St. Albert-based businesses to become members and also wants to attract business to St. Albert, Sellers said.
“Even if we have a member that’s from Edmonton, we want to put them in St. Albert here to see that this is a good place to do business too, that they can grow their business here,” he said.
While the main beneficiaries of the new group will be the members themselves, the community itself stands to gain as well, Sellers said.
“Our goal is to also support the community. We’re going to do a couple charity things,” he said.
St. Albert Mayor Nolan Crouse, a former BNI member, congratulated the group for its successful launch at the Glendale Golf & Country Club Wednesday.
“You will gain business,” he said. “But for the greater good for the community, you will also make a difference. You will find yourself connected in a greater way.”
The BNI meetings are very structured. Members and guests all take a 30-second turn describing their business to all gathered. Later, referrals are passed between members on slips of paper and members report if a referral has led to actual business.
This accountability is one of the key components of the program, said chapter president Sylvain Blouin, an Edmonton-based real estate investor. For members who are active, the network can be powerful, he said.
“I know people in the BNI network group that do absolutely zero marketing. They grow and they run their business strictly on business referrals,” Blouin said.
The St. Albert chapter has about 18 members and is looking for more, Blouin said.
Pat Stride, a business coach and BNI director for Alberta North, credited the group for allowing her to exceed her former corporate income.
“I thought I’d never see that income again. I surpassed it a year-and-a-half ago thanks to BNI. I’m very grateful for that,” she said.
Beyond referrals, BNI members benefit from the company of other entrepreneurs, she said.
“It is about the relationships. Being an entrepreneur is tough. It can be lonely. Sometimes you don’t know where to go to get answers,” Stride said. “You will learn much about your business, about business in general.”
BNI started 25 years ago. It has more than 250 chapters across Canada and about 16 in the Edmonton region.
Anyone looking for more information about the St. Albert chapter can contact Ryan Sellers at 780-994-4663.
