BNI

BNI: a $50M referral network of 270K tradespeople swapping customers

Shaan profiles BNI, a business referral network with ~10,000 local chapters where one of each profession (a plumber, a lawyer, a financial advisor) commits to sending referrals to the others. He estimates it makes around $50M/year on membership dues.

“So these guys, um, I think are making about $50 million a year. And what they do is, let's say you start a local chapter. So this is kind of like the Vistage model that both of us are interested in.”

Steal thisProductize trust: build a paid referral network where one of each local profession swaps warm customer intros.

BNI members generated $16 billion in referral revenue

Sam reads BNI's own stats aloud: over 270,000 members in 2019 who generated $16 billion in business through referrals among each other.

“It says they have over 270,000 members in 2019. Members generated $16 billion in revenue through referral business.”