Back to Basics Business Building

In today's world, technology is king.  The traditional print copy of the yellow pages is nearly extinct.  More people search for goods and services of all kinds on the internet or their smartphones.  A strong understanding of social media and search engines is necessary, but it is not the only means of promoting your business.

Back before the yellow pages.  Long before the internet existed, tradespeople got work from word of mouth referrals.  This means of marketing has not disappeared.  Each week a group of professionals from a wide variety of businesses and services meet as the sun comes up.  They sit in firehouses, town halls and other meeting spaces to share referrals, practice their sales pitches and learn how to make their businesses better.

These people are all members of a local BNI or Business Network International chapter.  BNI was started in January 1985, as a way to provide a positive, supportive and structured environment for the development and exchange of quality business referrals.  Each BNI group has only one member representative for each type of business.  The types of businesses at each local group can vary. 

When you join BNI, you are instantly connected to other professionals that are dedicated to helping each other grow their businesses.  This structured word-of-mouth approach might feel like work at first, but as you continue with the group you will see that the work you put in is worth your time and effort.  As you give and receive quality referrals, you begin to understand the power of back to basics business building.

If you are interested in building your business the old fashioned way, check out www.BNI.com to see if a chapter near you has an opening for your trade.