The BNI®   Abundance, the 4th Sri Lankan chapter of Business Network International (BNI®) was launched on the 1st of November 2017, with a representation of leading personalities from diverse fields. BNI®  District Director for Sri Lanka and Executive Director BNI® India – KVT Ramesh, Launching Director Ragulan Tharmakulasingam, Director Consultant Anjana Gunatillake and Chapter Director Sanjeev Pushparajah were among those present at the event.

 

Members of the Abundance Chapter of Business Network International (BNI® ) – Sri Lanka: Amithe Gamage (President), Surajee Ratnayake (Vice President), Chulanga Dias (Secretary/Treasurer), Kapila Dodamgoda, Malaka Elikewela, Dilum Kumarasinghe, Kalikavi Ragulan, A.Jayaseelan, Mufaddal Akber, Dilshan Perera, Lakshman Jayasuriya, Chinthaka Ranathunga, Dimitri Ramaneshwara, Priyan Karunaratne, Chandima Dodamgoda, Gowrie Indraratne, R.Gangatharan, Mohan, Morais, Ramesh Dassanayake, Farzana Khan, Suneth Perera, Ishara Kapuwaththa, Ajith Wanigasekara, Shivanthi Nadarajah, Susana Shanmugarajah, Desmond Erskine, Hameed Fareed, Suthaharan Perampalam, Premajith Kathirgamar, Asir Mohammed, Herman S Gonsal, Shirani Fairbanks, M R Hassan, S, Ravindran, Eresha Kumburulanda

“In any Economy, SMEs play a major role and BNI® is a platform for them to grow themselves using the network within 71+ countries. It’s a proven platform for 32 years, founded by Dr.Ivan Misener in 1985, therefore it will definitely help Sri Lankan Business too to grow their business locally and globally using the structured Referral Marketing processes.” Said the District Director for BNI®  Sri Lanka, KVT Ramesh

With over 222,000+ members worldwide, Business Network International (BNI®) is the largest business networking organisation in the world. During the past 12 months, BNI ® worldwide generated 9.5 million referrals resulting in 13.8 billion dollars worth of business for its members. The highest valued referral generated within Sri Lanka amounts to $ 5.2 million. BNI® offers members the opportunity to share ideas, contacts and most importantly, business referrals. This is an ideal networking space for those businesses that rely heavily on referral marketing, especially entrepreneurs who want to expand their horizons.

During the launch, the launching director Ragulan Tharmakulasingam also spoke about the amount of money spent by the local businesses to grow globally and locally through conventional marketing activities, but not spending enough time on the world’s strongest marketing approach, i.e. Word of Mouth Marketing (referral); the marketing which happens through recommendations, based on the trust and relationship among two decision makers. According to Ragulan, BNI® is a structured and the most successful platform to do referral marketing in the world.

Today, for most of the businesses, recommendations are what drive the business. According to research findings, 92% Consumers are more likely to trust their peers over advertising when it comes to purchasing decisions. When you are looking for a referral, who do you turn to? When you need good service or a good deal, who do you ask? You ask your peers, your friends, your acquaintances – because they are the ones who can tell you about the experiences they have personally had.

BNI® helps you to promote your business through a wider audience. By joining BNI®, you’ll increase your exposure to like-minded professionals, gain referrals from a global network and sharpen your networking skills with exclusive member resources. With thousands of chapters worldwide, BNI® provides a global business network that remains unmatched. In addition to unparalleled business growth, BNI®  members develop lasting relationships that allow them to grow personally and professionally.

While Speaking to Lanka Business News, the Chapter Director Sanjeev Pusparajah expressed that the BNI® has standard processes, structures being used by it’s members and chapters all around the world are the same, and even the meeting agenda is the same when you go to any of the country. This structured approach towards the referral marketing will definitely help Sri Lankan members to get themselves in to the right BNI® Culture and grow their Business. Adding to that the Chapter President Amithe Gamage, expressed his experience and how he was convinced to start the BNI® Abundance chapter after witnessing the Vietnam and Cambodia BNI® National Conferences during his visits to Vietnam and Cambodia few months back.

Get involved, and experience it;

At BNI® Abundance Members meet every Thursday at 7.30 a.m. at the Hilton Residencies, Colombo 02 for a weekly business meeting. With the launch of the chapter, members gain access to BNIConnect® – an online portal where all BNI® members worldwide are connected to find suppliers and business partners globally and showcase their business offerings available to members from across the world.

If referrals are an important part of your business, then BNI® is definitely the place for you. Would you like to expand your professional network, grow your business, develop your networking skills, and create lasting personal relationships? In BNI®, you can do all that, and more !

Join us at the next meeting of the BNI Abundance Chapter Meeting next Thursday to gain an understanding on how BNI®  can help your business flourish. Call Sanjeev on 0777692699 or Amithe on 0777418077 for further details.

Visit the BNI® Global website www.bni.com for more information.