Keeping it social the key to business success

It took an apparent failure to reach a corporate goal that taught one company that business referral networking is not a numbers game.

“Small and intimate should be the rule of thumb for business networks,” says BNI New Zealand National Director Graham Southwell. “At BNI New Zealand we have 119 chapters countrywide, and we wanted them all to reach memberships of about 40 businesses each.

“However, for the last 10 years they have naturally averaged between 23 and 25 members each.”

He says that while the organisation has continued to grow beyond their wildest expectations (New Zealand recently beat 40 other countries to win the organisation’s highest market penetration award), it didn’t happen in the way they wanted or expected.

BNI’s growth to more than 2,500 members (all broken up in to small groups the organisation calls chapters) serves as a practical example of what leading anthropologists have maintained for years – that humans are wired to function best in small groups.

“The interactions of our members is practical evidence that the theory holds true in business dealings too,” he says. “If you want an effective ‘network’, attending heaps of networking events and meeting hundreds of people is not going to serve you well – better to keep it small and close,” he says.

Leading University College London anthropologist Robin Dunbar maintains that the most friends anybody can cope with is 150, but even within that, there is an inner circle of five core people and a layer of 10 outside that.

“Outside that there’s another circle of 35and another 100 outside that,” he says.

Known as ‘Dunbar’s Number’ it is defined as a theoretical cognitive limit to the number of people with whom one can maintain stable social relationships.

Even centuries old military structure is organised the same:
· Squad: 5 – 6 troops (family group);

· Platoon: 20 – 25 troops (village); and

· Company: 150 troops (tribe).

Southwell says the BNI groups have organised themselves in a very similar fashion.

“Within each chapter of 23 – 25 people (the village), we have hubs of five or six people (family). They typically organise themselves around a common business process. For example, the property hub will consist of a real estate agent, conveyance lawyer, accountant, valuer, building inspector and property maintenance company.

“This is a practical demonstration for anybody who wants to build a referral network around their business.”

He offers three tips for people who want to build a referral network:

1. Keep it small;
2. Maintain regular face-to-face social contact, because relationships are key;
3. Practice reciprocity. In other words, give in order to receive.

“It is important that people recognise that business is as much a social activity as it is a commercial one,” he says.

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About BNI

BNI is New Zealand’s largest structured business referral organisation for small to medium businesses, and is based on the principal of ‘givers gain’. The organisation has 119 chapters countrywide – from Dunedin to Whangarei – and more than 2,500 members who attend weekly breakfast meetings to pass business referrals to each other.

For more information: www.bniblog.co.nz