Xàbia business people create BNI Nao networking branch

Wednesday 7th April 2021 | XÀBIA AL DÍA; translated by MIKE SMITH

A group of business people in Xàbia have created a branch of BNI, the largest networking organization in the world, called BNI Nao, which currently has 44 members and has been slowly developing over the past year.

The new branch has been created by David Cruanyes, a risk and insurance manager at Quality Brokers, who explained that “the pandemic has changed the way that we interact as well as the way that we do business. By starting at the beginning with the new of new technologies, a project like BNI Nao can reach a great area of influence and provide better time management for its members”. In addition, when interpersonal relationships are perhaps more important than ever, he said that “BNI Nao is helping to change the way of doing business to make it more human”.

In a short period of time, and thanks to the collaboration and long-term vision of BNI Nao de Xàbia, the branch has already become a benchmark for the BNI organization in Alicante and is the largest group in the province.

And, thanks to the international BNI network, the group’s members have been able to conduct business in all countries where BNI has a presence, establishing relationships with different members, both to offer and receive help and advice, as well as seek clients, employers, suppliers, and opportunities. Through the BNI Airlines project, the group is going to organize visits to different BNI group headquarters in Europe and the rest of the world and aims to consolidate itself as a BNI airport to be a regular destination for business people from around the world.

The overall purpose is to help business people expand their businesses through careful use of their contacts and following the Givers Gain philosophy – “those who give will receive”. This is, no-one receives any commission for the business generated.

BNI Nao consists of 44 business people with interests in Xàbia and the region, and its president Pablo Albi Vallés (Aluminios A. Valles) expects that the group will cover as many activities as possible to generate a large number of recommendations and closed deals for its current and future members and thus make the group a benchmark for doing business through Spain. In BNI Nao, as in the rest of the groups in the world, there is only one representative per activity or profession.

According to the vice-president, Paco Lifante (Karoon Pilates): “This is the key to success because by clearly defining the business person’s activity, it is more effective when giving references and recommendations, so collaboration is encouraged to provide an overlap between members of the same group“. So the group follows the general BNI methodology that consists of a structured a predefined work agenda, in which all its members participate, share objectives, and measure results.

The group’s secretary/treasurer Clara Fenollar (lawyer) added that it is essential to get the full potential of the group. BNI Nao is not where people go to have coffee but where they go to work to grow their businesses. It’s current objectives are to generate €6.5 million in business and grow to 60 members. Potential new members have to be approved by members as the group’s success is based on the mutual credibility of its associates.

It has held 51 online meetings to date, in which more than 220 local and regional business people have taken part. The philosophy of the group is to incorporate a single representative per profession, within all types of sectors. The interest in being part of a team of leading entrepreneurs to generate business thanks to mutual aid has made the group grow organically to the current number of 44 people, generating shared businesses worth more than two million euros.

About BNI

BNI is the largest networking organization in the world with more than 270,000 members from 10,000 groups in 74 countries. In 2019 alone, referrals from BNI members generated $16.7 billion in revenue for its members’ businesses. Members are supported by a global team that provides them with the training, structure and technology they need to succeed.

Click below to read the original article in Spanish on Xàbia AL DÍA