Steve Quillen recommends the networking advantages of joining Business Network International (BNI).

Steve Quillen, co-owner of Grass Roots, Inc., in Wilmington, Delaware, has been a member of Business Network International (BNI) for more than seven years. Once a week, he meets with 27 other business owners in the Wilmington area. They have breakfast, talk about their businesses, share referrals, and take networking to a different level overall.

“Being a member has been a great help to our business,” says Quillen. “On average, we get 5 percent of our new business annually from the group’s referrals, and just as important, the meetings have helped me broaden my relationship with community members and widen my sphere of friends.”

A founding member of the Talleyville (Delaware) Chapter, Quillen describes how a typical BNI meeting unfolds. “The meetings are very structured. We get moving with our breakfast around 7:00 a.m., the president of the group makes a few comments, and then each of us gives a 60-second commercial about our business and explains what a good referral would be for us. On a rotating basis each week, two members also give an extended talk about their businesses. Over the years, I have talked on topics such as flower installation, pavers, lawn renovation, and how important it is to keep mower blades sharp.”

Lasting approximately 10 to 12 minutes each, the extended talks give speakers an opportunity to educate their sales force. That is the power of the group, Quillen emphasizes. BNI members have their “antennae” out looking for business prospects for other members. In the weekly meetings, they exchange referrals found the previous week. In addition, each member has a collection of business cards from other group members. If, for example, a member has a conversation with a commercial or residential property owner in need of lawn maintenance help, he or she can hand out a Grass Roots business card. 

BNI chapters are comprised of noncompeting businesses. The Talleyville Chapter includes an accountant, an insurance agent, a real-estate agent, a travel agent, a home decorator, a residential cleaning service representative, a painting contractor, a general contractor, and other blue-collar and white-collar business owners as members. There are a couple of lawyers in the group, too, because, as Quillen explains, businesses can be broken out into categories. “We currently are the only landscape contractor in the group, but theoretically, we could have a design-build company, a maintenance company, and a landscape architect as members, just as we have lawyers who specialize in different fields.”

Quillen continues, “We are all like farmers sowing seed. Longstanding BNI members are not looking to receive a ton of referrals and translate them immediately into revenue. We are, as the name implies, networking. We are getting to know each other, broadening our relationships with other community members, and working to help each other grow our businesses. Ours is a strong group, but to make it meaningful and valuable, members have to work at it and view the meetings as an extension of their business day.”

Quillen says membership dues for chapters range from $250 to $300 annually, depending on the market. His chapter charges an additional $6.00 to $7.00 for breakfast. It is well worth the cost, he adds.  “Like other landscape and lawn maintenance contractors, we have found that word-of-mouth is our most successful advertising. Being a member of BNI is just an extension of this marketing vehicle.”

By Steve Quillen

Grass Roots, Inc.

Wilmington, Delaware