I have worked in retail most of my life and have been with Club Dangan for ten years. We are a premium menswear retailer, dressing men in Clare for over 2 decades. We were invited to attend a BNI visitor’s event at the temple gate hotel last year. With the current economic climate we thought it was worth exploring further so we went along and were very impressed at the over all structure and enthusiasm of the chapter. Also having one member for each category made commercial sense and heightened my interest.

We subsequently joined and have benefited in a few ways from the great mix of business people who are committed to keeping business local, and to meeting up every Tuesday morning at Woodstock hotel to network and bring referrals for their colleagues.

On one level having a structured environment that creates a forum for people to do real business is a great bonus, but also the training provided is an added incentive for anyone serious about growing their business to attend a meeting and see for themselves. There is great synergy among the group and in recessionary times such as this, it does motivate you to keep active and to market your business in a way that produces tangible results. BNI has provided us with another platform to do this.

I have thoroughly enjoyed my role as membership co-coordinator over the last six months and would like to thank everyone in the chapter that has helped me along the way. We have a talented group of people in Abbey and looking to the future I am looking forward to building long term business relationships and enhancing the level of business done within the chapter, after all ‘givers’ definitely ‘gain’.

The next skills workshop takes place on Monday 9^th May from 1pm at the Absolute Hotel in Limerick. The programs available are;

• 1.30pm – 4pm – Member Success Programme
• 5.30pm – 8pm – Quality Referrals Workshop

To reserve your place, please sign up with Tony Cogan

V (Visibility) + C (Credibility) = P (Profitability) ie Referrals

As a member, you develop your visibility through regular attendance, active networking and good clear presentations. You can grow your credibility in all that you say and do and by the quality and quantity of the guests and referrals you contribute. Build the V and C elements carefully and you will achieve profitability through the referrals that result.

Visitors and VCP

One of the easiest ways to give and gain the most value from the VCP Process TM model is to bring a visitor to your bni meeting.

Inviting quality visitors increases your visibility and credibility with the person you invite and with all the members. It increases the chances of moving all these relationships into profit.

For Example

• Your Visitor meets a great supplier
• A member wins business from or via your visitor
• Your fellow chapter members see you in a new light
• Your chapter colleagues speak highly of you to your visitor
• The person you invite, can’t attend but is touched you would think of them
• Your guest becomes a member bringing value to themselves and the chapter.
• ……. The opportunities are endless.

Sarah Owen, Master Franchise of the Referral Institute UK

Belonging to BNI is like having dozens of sales people working for you because all the other members carry copies of your card with them. When they meet someone new that could use your products or services they hand out your card and personally recommend your services.

It’s as simple as that! Last year members of BNI passed 6.2 million referrals, which generated more than €1.8 billion worth of business.

Word of Mouth advertising is considered a powerful, cost-effective way to increase business. BNI provides an environment for developing personal relationships with teams of business professionals which become the foundation for increasing your business referrals.

BNI is built on the premise that what goes around, comes around.

People who give business referrals, get business referrals. In other words … Givers Gain.

Don’t miss out on referral business

Only one person per category may be a member of BNI Network Central and the maximum capacity of our group is just over 40 members. If you are interested, move fast. A competitor may be about to lock you out!