bni.co.uk Bewertungen 

I came across the Trustpilot reviews for BNI and felt I should leave one of my own. The reviews I have read are mostly 1-star and say very negative things about their experiences. I felt that for balance, I should share my story and feelings about it all.

I joined BNI in June 2015, over 11 years ago, and I have remained a member ever since.

BNI is simply a platform for networking and building relationships. The networking is structured and follows a system that helps people grow and gain more business. I have seen good and bad in BNI, but the good far outweighs any bad.

Over the years, I have done many roles within my chapter and supported many people. In the main, I have built fantastic relationships with other BNI members and with people I have met via BNI who are not members. BNI has helped me grow, and I have met some of my very best clienst and introducers via BNI.

My feeling about whether people like it or not is that it is about mindset. I often hear that there is pressure to give referrals, but I do not see it that way. I joined a group where we all agreed to try to help each other. I want to refer my fellow members, so I go out of my way to try. There are some people I refer to less than others because of natural synergy or because, for one reason or another, I don't want to refer to them. I only refer people I feel I can trust and want to help. That is it. I am not pressured to do so, but I am accountable to my fellow members and to myself.

I have regular meetings outside of the BNI weekly meetings, with other members and people I meet. I am not forced to; I understand how relationships work. The more you get to know people and like them, the more you will want to refer them if they are good at what they do. If they like you, they will refer you. I am not being pressured, but if you are in business, why wouldn't you want to build relationships?

I genuinely never understand why people have so much bad to say about it, although I can't comment on any experiences in an individual chapter. Every large organisation will have politics, and sometimes not all members will like it, but in the main, the system works if everyone is honest and wants to work together. I get to help a lot of members and clients as a result of BNI, and I will not likely ever give up my seat until I retire.

I encourage anyone to join BNI, give it a try, and look past the negative reviews. Many of them reflect bad experiences that are exceptions to the rule, but they often get the most attention. Please do your best to engage with your group, seek an experienced mentor, and learn how to do things. It can work for any open-minded business person.

During COVID, I had a terrible time and almost had to close my business. I went to a trusted member and explained my situation, and they introduced me to someone they felt could help. That person wanted to help me and didn't want me to fail; they thought I was a good person, they threw me a lifeline and introduced me to two clients, who are now two of my biggest. This literally helped me through one of the most difficult periods of my life.

I'd never done networking before joining BNI, so I wasn't sure what to expect. Looking back, it's one of the best decisions I've made in years.

I'm part of the A2Z chapter, and every Wednesday morning I'm surrounded by a fantastic group of business owners who genuinely want to help each other grow. It's not about hard selling. It's about building trust, creating relationships, and passing quality business to one another.

The atmosphere is refreshing, positive, and full of energy. Every meeting leaves me motivated for the week ahead, and the support from the group has been invaluable for both my business and my personal development.

Maybe I've been lucky to join such a brilliant chapter, but if my experience is anything to go by, I'd highly recommend giving BNI a try. It's been a game changer for me.

I started as a single Mum and never been in business before, never networked before, trying to make it for myself and not knowing where to go and who to speak to, I spent my whole life employed.
I was then invited to a BNI meeting and everyone was so welcoming and friendly.
Fast forward 2 years and 6 months, i have gained confidence, speak infront of people about myself amd what i do. Met a fountain of amazing talented people and we all just want to help eachother grow.
BNI generates 85% of by business income. I love the format, I love the accountability and I love being part of this huge family.
I cant thank BNI enough, I wouldnt be where I am now without it.
Id highly suggest new and old business owners visiting a chapter near them. Who knows what can come of it

Joined in June 2000. My one man business was just about surviving with no real prospect of growth without significant investment.
Then I was invited along to BNI
I could see quite quickly that if I followed the system I stood a great chance of being successful with my business.
I did that and the relationships I built created opportunities for me I could only previously have dreamt about.
Best business decision ever.
I loved BNI so much that after 15 years of being a member I bought the Norfolk franchise.
WHY? Because I love how much it gives the small business owner a genuine chance to have a successful business.
Is it easy? No, the best things in life you have to work for. Follow the system, put the time and effort in as directed and I have zero doubt it will work for you.
There are always bumps in the road, of course there are. But time and time again I see many hundreds of business owners in Norfolk and across the world having a great time because of the system BNI provides.

Stop emailing and spamming everyday, not interested in your silly offer. I did not rely on you to start running my business, I know people lost thousands because of you and didn’t get anything in return just words. Look for better job and start providing your existing clients with something before you look for new clients!!!

I was drawn into what I thought was something I could make my business grow!
It cost £1000 to put in which I had to borrow!!
Then a monthly fee for food and drink I didn't want!I don't eat breakfast am allergic to caffeine!!
So i paid for nothing!
Then we had several meetings a year where it required hotel stays for meetings you had to attend!
Then of course the weekly 1-2-1 meetings again costing money yet they were just trying to get you to use their business never intending to buy from you!
Knowing they already had qualified trades the same as your but in the room as another type of business!
They put in fake referrals to hit monthly targets to jeep in the green!
The director was awfully nasty and told me I could leave!!
Never got to do any of my presentations as the whole year being in mine always got cancelled!
It cost me 2k for gaining £200
Its a rip off scam that if you want to keep your mental health and finances I DO NOT RECOMMEND!!!!
Scam artist cult!!
However I did meet some genuinely nice people who I still talk to!
Very clicky little cult though!!
Stay clear

Scam

Please don't waste your time and money,

Everything is scripted

Wasted 18 months in BNI and got no meaningful business from it. A few issues were;

Most people were there because they struggled to get business as they simply weren't very good at what they did. Some weren't even regulated to sell the services they were offering (in regulated industries)

The main aim was to get more members to join, rather than making sure that existing members got value for money

On multiple occasions members stood up and stated, in front of everyone, that they could introduce me to the company I'd asked for an introduction to, having no actual intention to do so despite attempting to follow up with them

There was no quality control on any new members with some even trading without insurance

Having to stand up and tell everyone what we'd been doing each week, along with the traffic light system, felt like being back in school. The traffic light system is a way of BNI tracking and ranking your activity against fellow members. Most members didn't log that you'd given them business so it wouldn't actually show up in the system. Unless you dedicated lots of time to chasing people up on this it could look like you didn't contribute to the group, when in fact people weren't logging the business you passed over

I was pressured on multiple occasions to log the value of the deal rather than the income I received from the deal. The figures they show are inflated to make it more appealing to entice new members to join

If you're looking for a networking group to meet fellow professionals then this isn't it. Most people are there because they aren't very good at what they do. There are some very good professionals there, however they are few and far between. The main aim of BNI is to get you to pay membership, they don't actually care if you make money or not

BNI is the worst thing ever which has happened in my partner's life.
Ever since my business partner has joined BNI, he has gone crazy. BNI is a cult whereby they absorb the person so much that instead of focussing on his business and family, one tends to focus and prioritise unnnecessary networking, events and parties. To top it up BNI pushes people to take on extra responsibilities. BNI expects financial and time commitment from business owners and takes away a major chunk of their work time.
In my opinion, BNI is a hyped up thing and should be avoided at all cost.

BNI is not a networking group rather just promotion for BNI within the meeting agenda.

All the networking has to be done outside of the weekly meeting in your own time. I tried to turn up early or stay late to actually network to be asked to welcome guests or help set table up etc etc

All the members were great personally and great people however as a business everyone was either a start up looking for contacts

This is defiantly not worth your time and BNI should re structure the meeting to help the actual paying members rather than just looking for revenue and using the time to promote themselves and put on a show for visitors to sign up.

I have also received £510 in parking fines from the carpark i was told to park in during the meetings. When asking for help none was received rather just a email address for me to deal with this myself. More wasted time in my busy day.

DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME OR MONEY. Im sure there are plenty of networking meetings that actually focus on the members

I joined BNI with the hope of growing my business through genuine networking and referrals. Unfortunately, my experience has been extremely disappointing.

Instead of focusing on real business opportunities, most of the time and energy is spent on unnecessary weekly meetings and personal parties. These so-called "networking events" often feel more like forced social gatherings than productive business meetups. It's becoming more about who can throw the next party rather than who can bring the next business lead.

What’s worse is the financial strain it puts on members. With constant contributions, event expenses, and pressure to participate in personal celebrations, it's draining rather than profitable. I’ve seen many members quietly step away after realizing that this system benefits a few while financially burdening others.

If you’re looking for real business growth, I would recommend exploring more balanced and cost-effective networking options. BNI might work for some, but for many like me, it’s been a costly mistake filled with empty promises and unnecessary financial pressure.

Extremely Disappointed with BNI Group in Alton, Networking Hampshire Ltd

I had a deeply frustrating experience with BNI Group in Alton, Hampshire. After we expressed dissatisfaction with the services provided by the company, things took a very negative turn. Instead of addressing the concerns professionally, the directors chose to pursue a County Court Judgment (CCJ) against the director's personal name, rather than the company itself. This felt completely inappropriate and unprofessional, especially when the issue was with the service provided, not any personal dealings.

As a business, it's expected that disputes would be handled in a reasonable and business-like manner, yet this situation was far from that. I strongly advise caution before entering into any agreements with this company, as their handling of customer dissatisfaction leaves much to be desired.

Would not recommend.

I did the mistake of becoming a member hoping and believing the promises.
Paid for the year almost £1500 and still 5 months after paying we still haven't launched and no benefits received like the app and so on.
BUT they dare have demands from me to work for them to promote BNI. I pay and apparently I work for them as well and nothing promised was delivered.
They are a pyramid scam, do not register, do not waste time and money.
Still chasing them for a refund as we never launched but they keep demanding from me.
Scammers at best.

I've been in business 16 years and I've tried all different forms of networking for myself and my staff. BNI has always been far more profitable. Yes it's a big commitment and the structure can be a bit like being in school but this is why it works.

Time and money waste,payed bni membership and president of chapter ask me for any refferal to add on quote 10% his bonus,yes bni is a very big scam.
Presidents of chapters they won't do anything else then "hunt" for members for gain their comision.
Should be instead of "givers gain" to be "givers don't see money back ever".

BNI has been fabulous for us... True it is very focussed but like any business growth stratedgy focus is the key to being succesfull... We grew our first Telecommunications business from a seedling when we joined BNI in 1999 and sold it it 2014... We are now on our second business jouney to success and without BNI we would never have got it off the ground so fast... If you are looking to start grow or sustain your business BNI is the perfect platform... It is focussed and process driven and most imortantly fun.

BNI has been a game changer for both my business and personal development. It has transformed me from a solo entrepreneur into a more confident leader, presenter, and overall business professional. The referrals are just a bonus! The real value lies in the invaluable skills, connections, and personal growth I’ve gained. I can’t recommend it highly enough

11+ years with BNI

I built a cleaning business to £1 m a year in 3 years of being a member of BNI . The support and training I received especially the personal development far outweighed the cost of the membership. I then sold my business to another BNI member.

I bought a membership for 2 years
I then found out I was pregnant and put my membership in hold with 18 months remaining.

I was told I had 2 years to start using it again
After 1 year I contacted head office to start the process as I didn't want to lose out

I got out on to a wait list for a group that hafnt gone live yet but as soon as it did I'd have a place.
Except they cancelled the group and forgot to tell me. I'd been on the waitlist for 10 months. They said the expiry hadn't been extended for the wait period so still due to expire at the set date.
I was furious. So I sent loads of emails stating this to be told
1. In not in so many words... tough shit
2. This is what head office have said is the policy there's nothing we can do

Spike to head office and they had idea of the situation. So person who claimed this about head office (may I add is very high up in Midlands bni) blatantly lied.

Unfortunately head office came back with a 3 month extension.... not the 10months I'd lost out on and not the further months its taken to get to this solution.

Absolute joke!
I will be making sure I market this story as much as possible so people are aware of BNIs scam on this instance. I am extremely disappointed with them stealing months from me at no fault of my own.

Rogue business people who don't pay. The bni ethics are absolutely ignored once in a conflict.

The head of the area will allow her direct consultants to send abusive and treating voicemails and do nothing.

This was greater manchester east, kirkless and calderdale patch

Avoid at all costs