BNI Philippines, the local unit of Business Network International (BNI), a business referral organization geared toward small and medium enterprises (SMEs), inaugurated two local chapters recently, and aims to expand its reach nationwide to reach more SMEs. During the launch of its two local chapters in Makati and in Pasig, Dexter Ortega, co-national director of BNI Philippines, told reporters the business networking company is eyeing to open more chapters in Quezon City, Parañaque and Cebu next year.
BNI Philippines is a referral and marketing business organization with presence in 55 countries and membership of around 170,000.
The firm aids SMEs by growing their business through a referral system to be advocated by the members of each chapter. The company works on a “Givers Gain” philosophy, said Ortega, whose members are entrusted to refer each other’s business to contacts and friends, trusting fellow members to deliver the best kind of service in their field.
Each chapter of the company works on an exclusivity principle where no two members can be in the same industry.
“What goes around, comes around. BNI provides a structured networking system for giving and receiving business referrals. The BNI’s Referral Education Program is more about farming than hunting. Members joining BNI share ideas, contacts, networks and business referrals. Being a member of BNI is like having sales people working for you every day who market your product or service. BNI is the environment where members build and sustain long-term relationships based on trust,” said Edward Ling, co-director of BNI Philippines.
Ling said its networking and referral marketing generated a total of 5.4 million referrals, resulting in $6.5 billion worth of business for its members, on a global scale.
Ling said that for the Philippines, they are aiming to recruit 10,000 members in about seven years. Current member count is only about 60-70 members.
Ortega said the original target of business to be generated per chapter will start by P2 million to P3 million average monthly for 30 members per chapter.
Ortega added that with this kind of business model, qualifying for membership is a stringent process.
“Every member has to undergo an interview and training. We have to make sure that if we take in members and refer them to our friends, they are reliable and have the capacity to grow,” said Ortega.
Ling said the annual membership fee is P24,000 per month but Ortega assures that the return is recovered immediately for members.