Networking organisations are often associated with white collar businesspeople like accountants, lawyers or real estate agents. One of the many strengths of BNI is that we attract individuals from all sorts of industries – just look around the room at a meeting.
One important group of professionals that may not always immediately be associated with BNI, but are hugely significant with the contribution they make, are tradespeople, be they plumbers, electricians, painters or builders.
However, it can be a challenge attracting tradespeople to BNI. Why?
- Many tradespeople are sole operators or manage small teams. They are often so busy working IN the business they don’t have time to work ON the business. This means joining structured networking groups like BNI can initially be seen as a challenge for them.
- With the timing of the BNI meetings, they may lose a morning’s work in order to attend.
If tradespeople can overcome these challenges, they’ll find that BNI is hugely beneficial for their businesses. Joining BNI is a great way to add to their own word-of-mouth marketing efforts and can be a significant revenue contributor.
Tradespeople do very well in BNI. Take as an example Tim Nugteren, Residential Home Builder of Keystone Construction NZ Ltd who is a member of BNI Alchemists in Christchurch. Tim says that he has passed the $1.2m mark since joining BNI in 2013. On top of that is the referrals that have come about after carrying out work for a BNI referral. He attributes 90% of his business comes either directly or indirectly through BNI.
Beyond this, Tim says BNI has helped by surrounding himself with passionate business professionals many of whom he has used the services of in setting up his business. The advice and support he has had has been paramount in the success of his business. It also provided a great network for his business, being new in 2013, in helping to get his name out there. BNI has helped showcase his work and personality in the local community.
Why does BNI work for tradespeople?
Success in BNI doesn’t depend on the profession, but on the person. Their commitment and willingness to give and help and learn is important. Here are 2 great reasons why tradespeople should join BNI:
- By being in BNI you can build relationships with plenty of expert people that you refer to your clients and thereby create added value to your relationship with them.
- Proactive members will get business and referrals – no matter what business they’re in!
Tradespeople are dynamic individuals to have in a chapter and their participation should be encouraged. If you have the opportunity, share Tim’s full story (it will be on the BNI blog soon) and try to encourage other tradespeople to visit your chapter soon.
