BNI Legends - Durban, KZN, South Africa

BNI is "the world's largest referral organization". BNI was founded in 1985 by Dr. Ivan Misner "for the primary purpose of building powerful referral networks". Chapter Format
The BNI organisation works by creating a group of people from various industries and encouraging regular passing of referrals. Each chapter allows one person per occupational classification, and prospective members must be a

pproved via an application process. BNI's philosophy is "Givers Gain" - members are expected to focus on giving referrals to other members to build relationships and receive referrals in return. BNI draws a distinction between a "referral" and a "lead." A lead is contact information for a prospect for a member's business, while a referral occurs only when the prospect has already expressed interest in the business in question, and is ready to be contacted by the referred BNI member. Chapters have specific rules regarding required attendance in order to cultivate the relationships needed to create a comfort level in referring business. Chapters track the monetary amount of passed business in order to prove the value of the financial and time commitment.