Welcome to BNI Brookline Networkers, the Brookline chapter of BNI (Business Networking International).
You have been invited to visit our Chapter or asked by a Member to act as a substitute for that person at our Chapter meeting. Here are some guidelines to help you become familiar with how we operate:
- Our meeting runs from 6:45am to 8:30am. You can find our meeting agenda here.
- Our meeting location can be found here.
- Street parking on Centre Street and adjoining streets is readily available. Some spots are free, but there are metered spots as well. You should plan on paying for 2 hours worth of time.
- Sign in with one of the Visitor Hosts when you arrive.
- Review our General Guidelines here.
- Bring business cards and materials to share. You can distribute them by putting them around the big table before the meeting or putting them on another table for people to pick up after the meeting.
- Visitors who are in a profession not found among our existing Members are invited to give a 45-second presentation during the meeting.
- For further clarity, if you work in the same industry as an existing Member, you may not speak about your business, but you may stand up, introduce yourself and announce that you have a conflict, but wanted to observe a meeting. Visitors present after all existing Members.
- If you are visiting from a company that already has a representative at the meeting, only one of you may give a presentation about that company.
- If you come late (after the meeting has started) you may not give your 45-second, as we all forfeit our turns when we are late.
- We ask people to honor the 45-second limit, and stop speaking when their time is up even if you have not finished the prepared presentation.
- Near the end of the meeting, we stand up and give referrals and testimonials, this is called the "I Have" portion of the meeting. When it is your turn, we encourage you to stand and say one or two sentences about how you feel about the group, the meeting or the experience.
- You are allowed to visit 2 times, plus a dedicated Visitors' Day, if one is scheduled. You may not continue to visit the Chapter if you have a pending application.
- The Member you are subbing for should provide you a prepared 45-second speech or notes in advance that you will stand up and say during the Member Presentation portion of the meeting. For example: “I’m Susie Smith, and I’m subbing for Lois Lane of XYZ Business…” If the Member you are subbing for does not provide this to you, ask them to!
- Substitutes who are in a profession not found among our existing members are invited to give their own 45-second presentation during the meeting. The substitute will first give the 45-second of the person for whom they are subbing, then give his or her 45-second later, during the visitor presentations. Visitors present after all existing Members.
- If you are visiting or subbing from a company that already has a representative at the meeting, only one of you may give a presentation about that company.
- For further clarity, if you represent the same profession as the person you are subbing for, work for the same company, or are in the same field as an existing Chapter Member, you may only give a presentation for the Member you are subbing for.
- If you come late (after the meeting has started) you may give the 45-second for the person you are subbing for, but you may not give your own 45-second, as we all forfeit our turns when we are late.
- We ask people to honor the 45-second limit, and stop speaking when their time is up even if you have not finished the prepared presentation.
- Near the end of the meeting, we stand up and give referrals and testimonials, this is called the "I Have" portion of the meeting. When it is your turn, we encourage you to stand and say one or two sentences about how you feel about the group, the meeting or the experience.
- If you don’t come to a meeting after a Member has arranged for you to provide coverage, it is counted as an absence for that Member, so please do not commit to subbing if you cannot follow through.
- You may not act as a substitute for more than one member at any given meeting.