What makes us different than BNI or LeTip or any other leads group?
First, let’s cover how we are the same as other networking groups. These are meetings intended to generate business for our members. We do sit in a room and learn about each other, and what we do for a living.
But that’s where the similarities end.
Here’s how B2B Gathering is Different
B2B meetings are run by professionals
All B2B meeting moderators have been personally trained by Rick Silva, one of the world’s most experienced leads group facilitators.
B2B meets once a month
B2B DOES NOT meet weekly at 7 AM. We meet once a month, at either 9 AM or noon. We find most successful, savvy business professionals neither have the time nor need to see each other every week to develop meaningful business relationships.
B2B doesn’t count leads, or require you to exchange leads during the meeting
Most qualified referrals exchanged through B2B Gathering, Inc. are NOT exchanged at the monthly meetings. We find tracking and/or requiring leads and referrals causes problems. Sometimes members feel pressured to share business names, which makes them feel uneasy and hurts the group. Also, when leads are tracked, members sometimes hold them until the next meeting so they “get counted.”
Because we don’t track leads, B2B members more often call other members right away to exchange referrals, as opposed to waiting until the next meeting. As a result of our business model, business happens sooner, and members bond faster.
B2B does not serve food during its meetings
We don’t meet in restaurants. We meet in professional conference rooms. We don’t like food at the meetings because we don’t want them to turn into “social hour” clubs. We’re all there to help each other build business, not chit-chat. Plus, food-serving groups often pass the restaurant’s cost on to the members. Would you like to pay for food you may not eat, to the tune of an extra $500-1000 a year?
You may bring your own food if you like. But we find it’s distracting, and we don’t want anything to take away from the reason we are all there: to help each other become more successful in business.
B2B welcomes your participation in other leads groups
Unfortunately, some referral companies insist their members not join other leads groups. However, there are several reasons why you SHOULD be in more than one group:
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- There are no other true Business-to-Business leads groups other than B2B. The chance of you having the exact same member categories in another company’s group is highly unlikely.
- Professionals such as attorneys, CPAs, financial advisors and many others are recommended against giving a client one name as a referral source, as it makes them exposed to problems if that client relationship fails. Most of them need 2-3 people they can provide as referral sources to their clients. Not only does this keep the business professionals safe, but also it gives the clients a choice as to whom to work with. This is the primary reason why we don’t believe you should only belong to one leads group.
More Information About B2B Gathering
As a B2B Gathering guest, you can come to the first meeting AT NO CHARGE. Decide at the end if you’d like to join.
B2B encourages you to invite other business owners and entrepreneurs to visit our groups. However, you must inform the group moderator 48 hours in advance, due to the non-compete arrangement we have (See “Industry Exclusivity” above).
B2B offers rewards to our Top Referrers. Refer the most business professionals who join a group each quarter and receive a selection of prizes from fellow members. (New members must join for a one-year commitment for qualification.)
B2B memberships are limited to 25 per group, in order for each meeting to get through all the items of business.
We have a 30 day unconditional refund policy.
For more information Contact Rick Silva or visit the What to Expect page.
