AMIDST the stigma networking has come under, it is a wonder referral marketing organization Business Networking International (BNI) is faring well.
In an interview at the sidelines of its celebration of International Networking Week last Friday, BNI Philippines operations director Michelle Diaz explained that although they might use the word networking in their tagline, their business is about using the network of other people so that it can generate referrals. She clarified that it is not like the networking or pyramiding schemes.
Diaz and executive director of Cebu 3 region, Benjamin Hortelano, share that they try to change misconceptions about the company by informing people who want to join that BNI is about making working business relationships.
Diaz said that referrals are a must in business.
“We are continually increasing in numbers. The first chapter in Cebu we created became the first and the biggest chapter of the entire Philippines,” said Hortelano.
Some very successful professionals and business owners has made use of this service.
And according to Florimae Velasco, the awardee for the highest closed business for over 48 million, that apart from the referrals that earned her the award, BNI has also increased her leadership skills and given her strong business relationships.
Hortelano said there is much to gain in BNI--the exclusivity, the larger marketing team, the continuous source of new business, and the education. (Tessa Frances T. Aguilar, USJ-R Intern)