U.S. SOUTHWEST: Manhattan Beach Offers More Than Just the Beach

By Kathleen Ronald

Southwest Bureau Chief

(Utah, Arizona, Nevada, California)

This month I am excited to highlight the Beach Cities Professionals Manhattan Beach Chapter of Business Network International (BNI). I had the pleasure of interviewing Ms. Joy Kennelly, who has been a member of this chapter for almost six months. Joy, a PR talent extraordinaire, volunteers as the Chapter Mentor of the Beach Cities Professionals Manhattan Beach (MB) BNI Chapter. Joy is one of two Chapter Mentors, along with Ms. Mindy Oumi, a compounding pharmacist at TLC Pharmacy in Hermosa Beach, CA.

Joy told me about the rich history of Business Network International, which was founded by one of our very own contributing writers for The National Networker, Ivan Misner, PhD. Ivan is well-known for his business networking success, as well as his New York Times bestseller, Truth or Delusion? Busting Networking’s Biggest Myths. While I had heard of BNI when I lived in the Bay Area, I was never able to make it out to an event. After speaking to Joy, I was thrilled to finally understand the true value that BNI offers to the business community as one of the leading Business Networking organizations renowned throughout the world.

When she first joined the Beach Cities Professionals MB BNI Chapter, it was considered a ‘startup group,’ because it had less than 20 members. It has since flourished, and is one of the more successful BNI locations in the South Bay area. While all chapters vary in the time of day of their meetings, Beach Cities Professionals holds their meetings in the morning.

Now, Joy was not a morning person when she joined; however, she really needed a networking organization that was focused on referrals as its main charter. As a result, she felt it was worth changing her day, in order to attend the 7:00 am weekly meetings.

Based on what Joy shared with me, I am convinced that BNI is the #1 organization when it comes to providing referrals as a business focus. As Joy went on enlightening me about the group’s dynamics, I continued to become more and more impressed by the level of mandatory trainings that is required of each new member.

Joy stressed that this component really sets them apart from other groups. The training sessions cover many topics, focusing on teaching people effective ways to be an awesome networker, as well as how to leverage their philosophies to gain skills and not only take full advantage of the BNI way, but to be a highly valuable contributing referral giving member. BNI’s motto is Givers Gain.

So what does a standard BMI meeting entail?

• A time of Open Networking
  
• The President opens the meeting with a welcome to visitors and induction of any new members. Then the member presentations begin.
  
• Each person has 30 seconds to introduce themselves and explain who they are and what a good referral is for them. If you are a guest, when it’s your turn, you only say your name and company, as the referral process is a benefit for members only.
• Two members are highlighted each month with a special presentation to introduce the group to their services in greater detail.
• They have 10 minutes in front of the group to highlight the following points:
• Introduce their business
• What sets them apart?
• What is a good referral?
• They also bring a gift to share in a drawing at the end of the meeting.

If you are just visiting, and want to become a member, they have a process of acceptance with the group. After attending a meeting, if you’re interested in joining you will have a private meeting with the Visitor Host who will answer any questions you might have. Then you will fill out an application; then the membership committee will review it, and then the core members are asked for their input as to whether they would be a good fit for the group.

They also have a limit of one person in each business sector- ie. one realtor, one financial advisor, one insurance salesperson, etc. While it may seem extreme, the care with which they treat applications is representative of the care with which they handle their members, and the highly selective process ensures an exclusive group of unbeatable referrals! In addition, it provides other business opportunities because the community knows these members have passed stringent membership requirements to participate.

Once accepted, the new member is formally inducted into the group with a welcome ceremony for each new member. After the induction, Joy and Mindy’s role as Mentors kick in. They meet with each member to train them and answer any questions. A nice touch, in my opinion, is that they cover all of the BNI policies and procedures- a huge benefit that really supports new members to fully thrive in the group. New members are also given a card caddy to hold all the members’ cards. Each member is encouraged to carry 5 cards for each member in the group. This way they are always able to refer folks when they’re out and about in the community.

Now that’s what I call integrated referral strategies!

The cost of membership is $300.00 a year, along with a one-time-only fee of $150.00. There is a weekly room fee at this chapter’s meetings which is paid quarterly. Joy’s chapter simply chose to serve coffee in lieu of breakfast, and focus on the agenda and business networking. Be sure to inquire with the BNI chapter in your area to see how they run their meetings, as most are designed for the morning, with some meeting over lunch.

After we covered the highlights of the BNI way, my first question was, "so what do you do if you have issues with someone in your group that covers a certain sector, and you are unable to give any referrals to them?" Joy assured me that while this does happen, members are both welcomed and encouraged to visit other chapters in order to find people you might feel better synergy with; BNI members ought to be comfortable both personally and professionally with the people they refer.

Another rule you should be aware of is that you are allowed to only miss 3 meetings per quarter; however, you can send someone to fill in for you if need be to allow you to maintain your membership requirements and avoid an absence. I totally support this expectation as I really feel you only get the most out of any group when you attend on a consistent basis. If you are a traveling speaker, a sales person who is on the road a lot, or someone who is otherwise not available for the required attendance, this may not be the style of networking group for you.

As Joy shared, “this is NOT a social club; it is for serious business folks who want to become savvy networkers and powerful referral sources.” The whole model is to support education and referrals! Amazing!

Training, as I mentioned, is a large component of the foundation of this organization. New members are required to take a series of classes within the first 60 days to complete the first training. One of the 3-hour training sessions is dedicated to the ever-popular 60-second elevator pitch, while others are focused on “How to Give Quality Referrals ” and more. I wish more groups would incorporate these types of standards, as I feel that training is so needed and missing from most groups I’ve covered for TNN.

BNI also has many benefits over the web. Within the chapter you are allowed to feature yourself online with your business logo, name, contact information, website and key words.

So if YOU are looking for a group that is all about good referrals, weekly meetings, and education ~ this is the group for you.

If you like what you’ve read, give BNI a try. If you live in the Manhattan Beach area and would like to visit, you can contact Mindy Oumi at tlcpharmacy@verizon.net, or go to www.socalbni.com to find a chapter near you.

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U.S. SOUTHWEST: Manhattan Beach Offers More Than Just the Beach