Synopsis

Today’s question comes from Victor in Latvia.

I know a person I’d like to invite as a visitor, and I’m pretty sure he would join as a member, but his category is already taken in our group. Since he can’t join our group, our group couldn’t benefit from inviting him? Should I still invite him? If he joins another chapter, how can our chapter benefit?

The short answer is “Yes, absolutely you should invite him”–but first talk to the person in your group who represents that profession. Reassure that person that you are not bringing the visitor in as competition.

How can your group benefit from inviting a visitor who can’t join your chapter?

* Inviting this person is an investment in social capital. If you want to build a powerful personal network, you need to build relationships with many professions.

* Building strong chapters near you helps to create a strong BNI brand. The better BNI looks overall, the more likely good people are to want to join your chapter.

* If you help a group nearby, the more likely they are to help you.

* Any visitor, whether or not they join your chapter, has a network and can refer members of your group to them.

Send your questions to [email protected].

Brought to you by Networking Now.

Complete Transcript of Episode 452 –

Priscilla:

Hello everyone and welcome back to the Official BNI Podcast, brought to you by NetworkingNow.com, which is the leading site on the net for networking downloadables. I am Priscilla Rice, and I am coming to you from Live Oak Recording Studio in Berkeley, California. I am joined on the phone today by the Founder and the Chief Visionary Officer of BNI, Dr. Ivan Misner. Hello, Ivan. How are you today?

Ivan:

I am doing great today, Priscilla, and I have a really interesting question. It is a long one, so stick with me. It is kind of detailed. The question comes from Victor, A BNI member in BNI Wagoner in Riga, Latvia . Yes, we have chapters in Latvia, which I think is so cool. It is a long question so let me read it to everyone and then we will talk about it.

He says, “I know a person who I would like to invite to BNI, and I am pretty sure that he would join as a member, but his category is already taken in our group. So inviting him to the meeting and introducing him to the BNI program, he may like the meeting, but he wouldn’t be able to join my chapter. He could possibly join another chapter in a nearby city where his category isn’t taken. But in that way, the whole group and I really couldn’t benefit from bringing him in.”

So here is his question: “Should I be selfish and not invite him or should I invite him? And if I invite him and he joins another group, how can we as a chapter benefit from that? How can we benefit from bringing in somebody who we know can’t join?”

That’s his question. Interesting question, don’t you think?

Priscilla:

Yeah. I can come up with a reason, at least one reason why he should invite that person.

Ivan:

Alright. Hold that reason because I have two and I would love to hear your reason.

Priscilla:

Okay.

Ivan:

So I have two comments anyway. One really good reason, but two comments for sure. The first is if you are going to invite him into your group- and I think the short answer to the question of should I invite him, the answer is yes. Absolutely. You should invite him.

Before you do, first, talk to the person that represents that profession in your group. Make sure that they are not surprised. Now, you don’t have to ask for their permission to invite them, but you don’t want to blindside them, either. So you want to make sure that they know that you are inviting them, but you are not trying to encroach on their class...