Episode 927: Stay in Your Lane = More Givers Gain - The Official BNI Podcast

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[00:00]
A
Episode number 927 Stay in youn Lane Equals more Givers Gain.
[00:08]
B
You're listening to the official BI podcast.
[00:11]
C
With BI founder and chief visionary officer, Dr. Ivan Meisner. Stay tuned for networking and referral marketing.
[00:18]
B
Tips from the man who's been called.
[00:20]
C
The father of modern networking, along with suggestions and insights into getting the most from your membership in the world's largest networking organization, bni.
[00:31]
A
Hello everybody and welcome back to the official BNI Podcast. I'm Priscilla Rice and I'm coming to you from Live Oak Recording Studio in Berkeley, California. And I'm joined on the phone today by the founder and the Chief Visionary Officer of B and I, Dr. Ivan Meisner. Hello, Ivan, how are you and where are you?
[00:53]
C
I'm at home in Austin this week and I'm really excited about this topic. I love the rhyming of Stay in your lane equals more givers gang. It's a great title and our guest has been on BNI podcast before. Episode 849, the intangibles of BNI. And his name is Dr. Ben Reebs. He's an award winning naturopathic physician. I love naturopathic physicians and I said that to him before we started the recording and I've worked with many over the years. He's recognized as a leading expert in complex chronic illness and environmentally acquired illnesses such as mold illness. He's a dedicated B and I member for nearly nine years. He holds the power of one score in traffic lights, is a Gold Club member and is the incoming president of Portland business advantage, a $5 million chapter with over 70 members. I love chapters that are that size. They're just amazing to me. When I started BNI, I never imagined chapters that big. Dr. Reeves is passionate about fellow members and he thrives through intentional referrals to build relationships with them. He lives in Portland, Oregon with his wife Maria and their four year old son River. Ben. Welcome back to BNI Podcast.
[02:09]
B
Thank you so much for having me back, Ivan.
[02:12]
C
It's good to have you here. So there's a few different things that you want to talk about. One is narrowing the field to multiply the yield. I love your titles with these concepts. So talk about that a little bit.
[02:28]
B
Yeah. So, you know, I really didn't realize this would happen, but as I've become more, you know, specialized in my field, it's allowed me to become, you know, not only a go to referral source for mold, but it's allowed me to refer to members of my chapter and to other members who are not in my chapter who might become members. And what I've seen is that, you know, the tighter my niche is, the deeper the trust is, the bigger impact I can have. And I think the best example of this is I invited who I consider to be the best mold inspector in the Portland area, Garrett Dayfield, to my chapter about six months ago. And I wasn't inviting him to join. I just invited him to connect him to the 15 contractors in my group, including the roofer. And he came to the chapter and connected with our roofer, Brendan Jobin, an amazing roofer. And they became good friends. And right away, Garrett started sending referrals to Brendan. And many of them were the referrals that I was already giving to Garrett. I was giving him three a week. And so within about 30 days, I had closed, you know, or I. I had given $125,000 worth of thank you for close business. And then. And then Garrett joined our group and, you know, about a month later and. And now I'm kind of creating this home health mafia, so to speak. I know you talk about the wedding mafia, you know, from episode 151, I think, you know, the Flor photographer, the event planner, the caterer. And, you know, so unbeknownst to me, this happened and it just happened through intentional referrals. I didn't see it coming. Ivan.
[04:10]
C
Yeah. You know, I find the more you say near the field, multiply the yield. I couldn't agree more. I find that when people really specialize, they actually grow their business quicker. And that specialization is. It's counterintuitive because people think I need to try and represent as much as I possibly can, when in fact, if they can specialize and bring in other people to support other areas that they don't specialize in, they do much better. Would you not agree?
[04:43]
B
100%.
[04:44]
C
All right, so your next topic is referrals flow, where experts go. I need to. I need to talk to you about subtitles for my chapter titles of my books, because these are really good titles. Concepts. Talk about that.
[05:00]
B
Yeah. So through this, I realized that specialists attract specialists. And it's a little bit like almost like a high speed railway network where the nodes are specialists, each city, and the referrals are the passengers on the train. And the more we define who we are and what we don't do, the more that these high speed, high trust referrals can flow and alignment, you know, can create this momentum, so to speak, you know, and. And, you know, just kind of going a little deeper in the Story. You know, when Garrett joined my group, the mold inspector, he already knew the indoor air quality specialist in my group. They were already friends and referral partners before he joined. But since they joined, they've deepened their trust and solidified their referral partnership. And now they're, you know, they're passing referrals back and forth every week. And, you know, and, and it's under the same roof, you know, in, in my BNI group. And, and so it's just a good example of how this flow of, you know, between experts occurs.
[06:07]
C
Yeah. And, and the more you can get power teams together, you know, people that are in symbiotic professions, the, the more referrals you're going to get. Because, you know, you, you talked about the, the, the wedding power team. I, I, I like to call the wedding mafia. I get in trouble with the word mafia, but the truth is, the original meaning of mafia was community. So, you know, the, the wedding community, the home health community. The more you can build a powerful, a strong power team in a chapter, the, the more referrals you're going to generate because one referral can become a referral for two or three or four people, because they're in all in this power team. And, and that's why chapters of 70 members or more pass significantly more referrals than chapters of, say, 35 members. Because when you double your size, you double the number of power or the strength of the power teams within a chapter. Your last concept was. Or one of your last concepts was from giver to connector. Build a chapter within the chapter. Talk about that a little bit.
[07:20]
B
Yeah. So this kind of gets into the, you know, the idea of the power teams, you know, kind of a focused referral pod. And, you know, I had no idea that mine would be with the trades. You know, as a physician, of course, I have a pod with my wellness practitioners as well. But just in these last, you know, two or three months, I think I've given $143,000 or something like that. If I look at my app and it's, you know, because of this pod, you know, with mold inspector, indoor air quality, roofing, H vac. And by staying in my lane and referring intentionally, I became a connector. And now the referral, Referrals flow back to me and through the group, you know, but I'm not keeping score. It's just the power of bni.
[08:04]
C
Yeah. You know, it's interesting how you've made a connection with a group of business professionals that one would not normally think of to be A referral source for you to give to people or to receive from people. But I could see where they would, you know, if there's mold in a house, that they would make a referral to you and, And. And vice versa. You bring up a really good point. I mean, this is one of the examples of how BNI works in ways that I didn't really think of when I created. BNI has these elements to it that just blow my mind that are. That are beyond the original intention and powerful. All right, so what advice would you give to members who feel like specializing might limit their referral opportunities?
[09:03]
B
Yeah, I would say to them, you know, it's exactly the opposite. The tighter we have our lane, you know, the more we can build trust, and the more we focus our role, you know, and become that, go to our specialty, the more we can intentionally connect specialists and form a micro team. You know, it's almost like an algorithm, you know, where we define ourselves, we clarify that role, and then we can connect, and then we can multiply referrals through giver's gain, and then at the end, we receive.
[09:36]
C
Yeah, I've done a number of podcasts on this. For those of you listening, look, look up some of the podcasts on. On Power Teams and. And you'll find some examples of chapters that. The ones that jump out at me are the. The chapters. Two chapters that I ran into that had five, six, seven lawyers in the same chapter, which kind of blew my mind. And yet those chapters generated more referrals for the lawyers because they specialized, as you're suggesting here in what you're saying. Ben, any closing thoughts before we wrap up here?
[10:22]
B
I'd just like to thank you, Ivan and Priscilla, and then I'd also like to thank John Rivers, who founded our chapter 10 years ago, just for being a mentor to me.
[10:31]
C
Well, I appreciate it and I appreciate you being on. You are welcome to be on the BNI podcast anytime. And for anyone that is interested in getting more information on Dr. Reeves, go to Portland Clinic of Natural Health dot com. That's Portland Clinic of Natural Health dot com. Dr. Reeves, thank you so much for being on BNI podcast. I appreciate your input and your advice. It was good advice and I hope members listen to it because they. They do try to shotgun their approach in BNI rather than sharpshoot it and, And. And be specific and, and target their specialty. So thank you.
[11:21]
B
Thank you.
[11:22]
C
Over to you, Priscilla.
[11:23]
A
Okay, perfect. Thank you so much, Ben. That's some great information. This podcast is sponsored by MeisnerAudioPrograms.com these audio programs will provide you with the tools and the inspiration to powerfully enhance your B and I experience. So check out the great material that's available to you@meisneraudioprograms.com and then use the promo code IVAN5O for 50% off of everything. All of the proceeds go to the B and I Foundation. Thank you so much for listening. This is Priscilla Rice, and we look forward to having you join us again next week for another exciting episode of the official B and I Podcast.

Summary5 min read

The Official BNI Podcast

Episode 927: Stay in Your Lane = More Givers Gain
Date: September 10, 2025
Host: Dr. Ivan Misner (with Priscilla Rice)
Guest: Dr. Ben Reebs

Overview

This episode focuses on the power of specialization within networking groups like BNI, emphasizing that narrowing your business focus ("staying in your lane") can actually lead to increased trust, stronger partnerships, and more quality referrals—the core of the BNI “Givers Gain” philosophy. Dr. Ben Reebs, a naturopathic physician and long-time BNI member, joins Dr. Misner to share his personal experiences and actionable insights on how intentional referrals and forming specialized teams within chapters have delivered surprising and exponential results.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Narrowing the Field to Multiply the Yield

Dr. Ben Reebs’s Journey:
As Ben became more specialized in treating mold-related illnesses, he found himself both a go-to expert and a connector within his chapter and beyond.
- “The tighter my niche is, the deeper the trust is, the bigger impact I can have.” – Dr. Ben Reebs [02:30]
Example of Intentional Referral:
Ben invited mold inspector Garrett Dayfield to his chapter, facilitating connections among 15 contractors. This led to significant reciprocal referrals, even before Garrett joined the group.
- Within 30 days, Ben had given $125,000 worth of "Thank You for Closed Business" referrals through these connections. [03:26]
- "I wasn’t inviting him to join; I just invited him to connect him to the 15 contractors in my group ... and right away, Garrett started sending referrals to Brendan [Jobin, roofer]." – Dr. Ben Reebs [02:59]
Specialization Builds Trust and Results:
- “It’s counterintuitive because people think, ‘I need to try and represent as much as I possibly can,’ when in fact, if they can specialize and bring in other people to support other areas... they do much better.” – Dr. Ivan Misner [04:12]

2. Referrals Flow Where Experts Go

Attracting More Specialists:
Specialists attract each other, creating a network (compared to a “high-speed railway”) where referrals naturally and efficiently move between areas of expertise.
- "The more we define who we are and what we don't do, the more these high-speed, high-trust referrals can flow..." – Dr. Ben Reebs [05:13]
Power Teams & Community Impact:
The formation of power teams (groups of complementary experts) multiplies referral opportunities.
- "The more you can build a powerful, strong power team in a chapter, the more referrals you’re going to generate because one referral can become a referral for two or three or four people." – Dr. Ivan Misner [06:31]

3. From Giver to Connector: Building a Chapter Within the Chapter

Referral Pods and Unexpected Connections:
Ben found himself at the center of a “home health mafia”—a referral pod among trades (mold, air quality, roofing, HVAC) during the last few months, generating $143,000+ in referred business.
- “By staying in my lane and referring intentionally, I became a connector … Referrals flow back to me and through the group, but I’m not keeping score. It’s just the power of BNI.” – Dr. Ben Reebs [07:43]
Expanding Beyond Expectations:
Dr. Misner remarks on how BNI’s structure fosters these powerful and sometimes unexpected partnerships:
- “BNI has these elements to it that just blow my mind … that are beyond the original intention and powerful.” – Dr. Ivan Misner [08:29]

4. Addressing Concerns About Specialization

Does Specializing Limit Referrals?
Ben insists it’s the opposite: defining a narrow focus amplifies trust, allows more intentional connections, and increases the volume and quality of referrals.
- “It’s exactly the opposite. The tighter we have our lane, the more we can build trust… the more we can intentionally connect specialists and form a micro team.” – Dr. Ben Reebs [09:06]
Power Teams Among Peers:
Dr. Misner recalls chapters with 5–7 lawyers each, which increased, not decreased, referrals because of focused specialization.
- “Those chapters generated more referrals for the lawyers because they specialized.” – Dr. Ivan Misner [09:50]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

On Specialization:
“The tighter my niche is, the deeper the trust is, the bigger impact I can have.” – Dr. Ben Reebs [02:30]
On Intentional Referral Networks:
"I wasn't inviting him to join. I just invited him to connect... and right away, Garrett started sending referrals..." – Dr. Ben Reebs [02:59]
On Power Teams:
“One referral can become a referral for two or three or four people, because they're all in this power team.” – Dr. Ivan Misner [06:37]
On the Impact of BNI:
“BNI has these elements to it that just blow my mind … that are beyond the original intention and powerful.” – Dr. Ivan Misner [08:29]
Advice on Specialization:
“It’s exactly the opposite. The tighter we have our lane, the more we can build trust…” – Dr. Ben Reebs [09:06]

Timestamps for Important Segments

00:52 – Dr. Ben Reebs introduction and credentials
02:08 – Ben’s opening remarks and “Narrowing the Field to Multiply the Yield”
03:00 – Story of inviting the mold inspector & early referral impact
05:00 – “Referrals Flow Where Experts Go” explanation
06:06 – Dr. Misner on the role and benefit of power teams
07:19 – “From Giver to Connector: Building a Chapter Within a Chapter”
09:03 – Advice on specialization and building trust
10:21 – Closing acknowledgments and final thoughts

Closing Remarks

Dr. Ben Reebs thanks the hosts and his mentor, John Rivers. Dr. Misner underscores the importance of specialization, targeted referrals, and the often-unexpected benefits of intentional networking within BNI. Both encourage members to embrace a focused, relationship-based approach for multiplying opportunities and success.

For more resources, visit:
Portland Clinic of Natural Health

This summary captures the essence, strategies, and inspiration offered in Episode 927, providing actionable takeaways for anyone seeking to grow their business through purposeful networking and specialized referral relationships.

Loading summary

Transcript24 lines

[00:00]
A
Episode number 927 Stay in youn Lane Equals more Givers Gain.
[00:08]
B
You're listening to the official BI podcast.
[00:11]
C
With BI founder and chief visionary officer, Dr. Ivan Meisner. Stay tuned for networking and referral marketing.
[00:18]
B
Tips from the man who's been called.
[00:20]
C
The father of modern networking, along with suggestions and insights into getting the most from your membership in the world's largest networking organization, bni.
[00:31]
A
Hello everybody and welcome back to the official BNI Podcast. I'm Priscilla Rice and I'm coming to you from Live Oak Recording Studio in Berkeley, California. And I'm joined on the phone today by the founder and the Chief Visionary Officer of B and I, Dr. Ivan Meisner. Hello, Ivan, how are you and where are you?
[00:53]
C
I'm at home in Austin this week and I'm really excited about this topic. I love the rhyming of Stay in your lane equals more givers gang. It's a great title and our guest has been on BNI podcast before. Episode 849, the intangibles of BNI. And his name is Dr. Ben Reebs. He's an award winning naturopathic physician. I love naturopathic physicians and I said that to him before we started the recording and I've worked with many over the years. He's recognized as a leading expert in complex chronic illness and environmentally acquired illnesses such as mold illness. He's a dedicated B and I member for nearly nine years. He holds the power of one score in traffic lights, is a Gold Club member and is the incoming president of Portland business advantage, a $5 million chapter with over 70 members. I love chapters that are that size. They're just amazing to me. When I started BNI, I never imagined chapters that big. Dr. Reeves is passionate about fellow members and he thrives through intentional referrals to build relationships with them. He lives in Portland, Oregon with his wife Maria and their four year old son River. Ben. Welcome back to BNI Podcast.
[02:09]
B
Thank you so much for having me back, Ivan.
[02:12]
C
It's good to have you here. So there's a few different things that you want to talk about. One is narrowing the field to multiply the yield. I love your titles with these concepts. So talk about that a little bit.
[02:28]
B
Yeah. So, you know, I really didn't realize this would happen, but as I've become more, you know, specialized in my field, it's allowed me to become, you know, not only a go to referral source for mold, but it's allowed me to refer to members of my chapter and to other members who are not in my chapter who might become members. And what I've seen is that, you know, the tighter my niche is, the deeper the trust is, the bigger impact I can have. And I think the best example of this is I invited who I consider to be the best mold inspector in the Portland area, Garrett Dayfield, to my chapter about six months ago. And I wasn't inviting him to join. I just invited him to connect him to the 15 contractors in my group, including the roofer. And he came to the chapter and connected with our roofer, Brendan Jobin, an amazing roofer. And they became good friends. And right away, Garrett started sending referrals to Brendan. And many of them were the referrals that I was already giving to Garrett. I was giving him three a week. And so within about 30 days, I had closed, you know, or I. I had given $125,000 worth of thank you for close business. And then. And then Garrett joined our group and, you know, about a month later and. And now I'm kind of creating this home health mafia, so to speak. I know you talk about the wedding mafia, you know, from episode 151, I think, you know, the Flor photographer, the event planner, the caterer. And, you know, so unbeknownst to me, this happened and it just happened through intentional referrals. I didn't see it coming. Ivan.
[04:10]
C
Yeah. You know, I find the more you say near the field, multiply the yield. I couldn't agree more. I find that when people really specialize, they actually grow their business quicker. And that specialization is. It's counterintuitive because people think I need to try and represent as much as I possibly can, when in fact, if they can specialize and bring in other people to support other areas that they don't specialize in, they do much better. Would you not agree?
[04:43]
B
100%.
[04:44]
C
All right, so your next topic is referrals flow, where experts go. I need to. I need to talk to you about subtitles for my chapter titles of my books, because these are really good titles. Concepts. Talk about that.
[05:00]
B
Yeah. So through this, I realized that specialists attract specialists. And it's a little bit like almost like a high speed railway network where the nodes are specialists, each city, and the referrals are the passengers on the train. And the more we define who we are and what we don't do, the more that these high speed, high trust referrals can flow and alignment, you know, can create this momentum, so to speak, you know, and. And, you know, just kind of going a little deeper in the Story. You know, when Garrett joined my group, the mold inspector, he already knew the indoor air quality specialist in my group. They were already friends and referral partners before he joined. But since they joined, they've deepened their trust and solidified their referral partnership. And now they're, you know, they're passing referrals back and forth every week. And, you know, and, and it's under the same roof, you know, in, in my BNI group. And, and so it's just a good example of how this flow of, you know, between experts occurs.
[06:07]
C
Yeah. And, and the more you can get power teams together, you know, people that are in symbiotic professions, the, the more referrals you're going to get. Because, you know, you, you talked about the, the, the wedding power team. I, I, I like to call the wedding mafia. I get in trouble with the word mafia, but the truth is, the original meaning of mafia was community. So, you know, the, the wedding community, the home health community. The more you can build a powerful, a strong power team in a chapter, the, the more referrals you're going to generate because one referral can become a referral for two or three or four people, because they're in all in this power team. And, and that's why chapters of 70 members or more pass significantly more referrals than chapters of, say, 35 members. Because when you double your size, you double the number of power or the strength of the power teams within a chapter. Your last concept was. Or one of your last concepts was from giver to connector. Build a chapter within the chapter. Talk about that a little bit.
[07:20]
B
Yeah. So this kind of gets into the, you know, the idea of the power teams, you know, kind of a focused referral pod. And, you know, I had no idea that mine would be with the trades. You know, as a physician, of course, I have a pod with my wellness practitioners as well. But just in these last, you know, two or three months, I think I've given $143,000 or something like that. If I look at my app and it's, you know, because of this pod, you know, with mold inspector, indoor air quality, roofing, H vac. And by staying in my lane and referring intentionally, I became a connector. And now the referral, Referrals flow back to me and through the group, you know, but I'm not keeping score. It's just the power of bni.
[08:04]
C
Yeah. You know, it's interesting how you've made a connection with a group of business professionals that one would not normally think of to be A referral source for you to give to people or to receive from people. But I could see where they would, you know, if there's mold in a house, that they would make a referral to you and, And. And vice versa. You bring up a really good point. I mean, this is one of the examples of how BNI works in ways that I didn't really think of when I created. BNI has these elements to it that just blow my mind that are. That are beyond the original intention and powerful. All right, so what advice would you give to members who feel like specializing might limit their referral opportunities?
[09:03]
B
Yeah, I would say to them, you know, it's exactly the opposite. The tighter we have our lane, you know, the more we can build trust, and the more we focus our role, you know, and become that, go to our specialty, the more we can intentionally connect specialists and form a micro team. You know, it's almost like an algorithm, you know, where we define ourselves, we clarify that role, and then we can connect, and then we can multiply referrals through giver's gain, and then at the end, we receive.
[09:36]
C
Yeah, I've done a number of podcasts on this. For those of you listening, look, look up some of the podcasts on. On Power Teams and. And you'll find some examples of chapters that. The ones that jump out at me are the. The chapters. Two chapters that I ran into that had five, six, seven lawyers in the same chapter, which kind of blew my mind. And yet those chapters generated more referrals for the lawyers because they specialized, as you're suggesting here in what you're saying. Ben, any closing thoughts before we wrap up here?
[10:22]
B
I'd just like to thank you, Ivan and Priscilla, and then I'd also like to thank John Rivers, who founded our chapter 10 years ago, just for being a mentor to me.
[10:31]
C
Well, I appreciate it and I appreciate you being on. You are welcome to be on the BNI podcast anytime. And for anyone that is interested in getting more information on Dr. Reeves, go to Portland Clinic of Natural Health dot com. That's Portland Clinic of Natural Health dot com. Dr. Reeves, thank you so much for being on BNI podcast. I appreciate your input and your advice. It was good advice and I hope members listen to it because they. They do try to shotgun their approach in BNI rather than sharpshoot it and, And. And be specific and, and target their specialty. So thank you.
[11:21]
B
Thank you.
[11:22]
C
Over to you, Priscilla.
[11:23]
A
Okay, perfect. Thank you so much, Ben. That's some great information. This podcast is sponsored by MeisnerAudioPrograms.com these audio programs will provide you with the tools and the inspiration to powerfully enhance your B and I experience. So check out the great material that's available to you@meisneraudioprograms.com and then use the promo code IVAN5O for 50% off of everything. All of the proceeds go to the B and I Foundation. Thank you so much for listening. This is Priscilla Rice, and we look forward to having you join us again next week for another exciting episode of the official B and I Podcast.