About BNI

Being active in BNI is like having up to 40 sales people working for you, because your fellow members will be carrying your cards and referring your business to people they meet, without you having to pay them any salaries or commission. Successful businesses depend on 'word-of-mouth' marketing as the best form of promotion there is.

If you run a business in our area (our present members come from accross Ayrshire and your particular profession or trade isn't represented amongst our current membership, you might be just the person to help us grow Kilmarnock chapter and to grow your business at the same time.

We like to compare the modest investment in joining BNI with the cost of getting business in any other way. For example, many business people advertise. We would never suggest that you stop advertising, but rather that you compare the value. A single insertion of a small display advertisement in a newspaper today runs between £200 and £2,000 depending on position and day of the week. Sending out flyers by mail can be equally expensive. And how many people can you influence with one newspaper ad, or a single mailshot campaign?

By comparison, how many people can you come into contact with in one year by using a sales force of up to forty people? Because that's what BNI's referral system is like: all the other chapter members are watching for opportunities to find business for you, and to pass you qualified leads. And all for not much more than you might spend on a business suit this year.

BNI is a straightforward, no-nonsense business community. There are no strange rituals or funny handshakes, and anyone, whether part of a small or large business, is welcome to join. You can visit any BNI chapter a maximum of twice to get a feel for it, before deciding whether you would like to join.

If you apply to participate in BNI, your application will be reviewed by the chapter's membership committee, and you will be notified of the status of your application before the next meeting. Once a member, you are expected to comply with the organisation's policies, the most important of which are:

Only one person from each profession is permitted to join a chapter of BNI.

Members must represent their primary occupation, not a part-time business.

Attendance is critical to the group. If a member cannot attend, they may send a substitute (not a member of their own chapter) to the meeting. This will not count as an absence.

Members are required to bring bona fide referrals and/or visitors to their chapter of BNI.

BNI is not a "get rich quick" scheme. It will take time and patience to develop your reputation and contacts within the chapter. The most successful BNI members are those who embrace our philosophy of Givers Gain, and understand that membership is more like farming than hunting — cultivating relationships with other business professionals, and reaping the referrals that result.

So if you believe that you can have anything you want in life if you help enough people to get what they want, you should find BNI a satisfying and rewarding investment.

For more information, please follow the links on the left or contact BNI-Kilmarnock Chapter Director, Robert Morton telephone 01563 550370