Synopsis

BNI members often ask Dr. Misner whether repeat referrals should count. This is a topic that local chapters should have control over and engagement in, so the membership committee should meet to discuss the topic.

Most chapters do count repeat referrals because they are legitimate referrals given for a legitimate reason. The money made through these referrals spends just as well as money from other referrals. However, there are some people who get crazy with repeat referrals, so chapters may decide that there needs to be, for instance, a minimum value for member-to-member referrals.

If your membership committee needs guidance on this issue, it’s important to bring in your local BNI director and work out a decision that the members agree with. While Dr. Misner himself believes that in most cases repeat referrals should count, the important thing is for each chapter to agree on which referrals should count. Get your leadership team and your membership committee together and have a discussion about it.

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Complete Transcript of Episode 463 –

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?

Ivan:

I am doing great today, Priscilla. Thank you very much. I have an interesting topic. At least, I think it is an interesting topic. It is “Do Repeat Referrals Count?” It is a question that I am often asked and have been asked a great deal over the years. I realized that I have never done a podcast on it. I thought we would do that today.

Priscilla:

Okay.

Ivan:

It popped up because I recently had a member ask if a repeat referral from one member to another should count as a referral. Here is the answer that I gave that member:

There are several ways one can look at this topic. Some people feel that repeat referrals, or inside referrals, are not legitimate referrals. Others feel that money is money and every referral should count.

First, I think that you should meet with the chapter’s membership committee and discuss this. There should be a dialogue in the chapter on this topic. This is a perfect example of how helping to guide the members in a positive way around an important issue is so critical for chapter’s success.

We believe that there should be some local control, so BNI doesn’t say, “You must do this,” or, “You must not do that.” The reason for it is that everybody’s business- there are differences that come into play from business to business.

This is an issue that we think the local chapter should have some level of control and active engagement. So the membership committee should discuss the pros and cons and make a decision based on their experience.

For the record, I have found that most chapters do count these referrals because they are legitimate referrals given for a legitimate reason. Now, I know some people are going, “Yeah, but wait–” Hold on. Let’s talk about it a little more because there are always exceptions.

The money made from these referrals spends just as well as the money made from any referrals. On the other hand, and this is really important, sometimes people get ridiculous at giving repeat referrals. They get crazy at giving repeat referrals.

Here is one of the first examples that came across my desk decades ago. I worked with one chapter that had a member that literally ordered one ream of copy paper every week. And they counted that as a referral for the statio...