Episode 954: Protect Your Network

Summary

The Official BNI Podcast

Episode 954: Protect Your Network
Host: Dr. Ivan Misner
Guest: Cameron Thorne (BNI Director and Trainer)
Date: April 1, 2026

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Episode Overview

This episode of the Official BNI Podcast explores the critical concept of protecting your professional network. Dr. Ivan Misner welcomes first-time guest Cameron Thorne, a seasoned BNI leader from Utah, who shares practical strategies for building, respecting, and sustaining powerful business relationships through intentional networking. Together, they underscore why sustained participation in a trusted network is essential for lasting business success.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Find Your Network

(02:02 – 03:26)

• Intentionality is Essential:
  Cameron stresses that successful networking isn’t accidental. “You have to intentionally seek it out, you know, align ourselves with professionals that may share the same value as your goals, you know, and your drive to succeed.” (02:22; Cameron Thorne)

• Multiplying Reach, Building Credibility:

  • Networking gives access to hundreds or thousands of relationships through introductions.
  • When recommended by someone within your network, you “literally borrow their trust,” which accelerates business opportunities.

• Consistent Business Flow:

  • A great network is more than occasional leads; it becomes a continuous, reliable referral engine.

• Personal Anecdote:
  Cameron recounts initially misunderstanding “BNI,” confusing it with “body mass index” (03:05). A trusted business coach insisted he join BNI, leading to Cameron’s transformational journey in networking.

  “She made me join, and I am so glad she did. ...I showed up and pink pieces of paper flying around...this is money. That's all he said on the spot.” (03:19; Cameron Thorne)

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2. Respect Your Network

(04:44 – 06:53)

• Respect is Sustained by Actions:

  • Show up on time and keep promises.
  • Always follow through on referrals—failure here undermines trust.
  • Treat every network referral like your best client.

  “...when someone in this room passes you referral, it's more than a name. It's a transfer of trust. If you mishandle that, you're not just letting down one person, you're letting down your entire network.”
  (06:25; Cameron Thorne)

• Treat the Network as Your Top Client:

  • Would you be late or distracted with your best client? Apply that respect to your networking group.

  “If you’re with this BNI long enough, this will be your best client at some point. Treat it that way.”
  (05:53; Cameron Thorne)

• Host Reflection:
  Dr. Misner relates a recent personal example where a referral was ignored, reinforcing the message that respecting referrals is foundational.
  (05:26; Ivan Misner)

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3. Never Leave Your Network

(06:57 – 10:48)

• Networking is a Long-Term Journey:

  • Cameron likens a business network to a “safety net” during both prosperous and tough times, referencing 2008’s market crash and the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • A true network isn’t just transactional; it’s a support system and “cheering section.”

• Trust and Results Compound Over Time:

  • Cameron compares building relationships in BNI to financial planning: it’s a long-term investment that grows exponentially in later years.
  • “Your first year, usually you’re least profitable. But year three and four, if it was up to me, I would only sell five year memberships. ...It was my third year that it final exploded for me.” (08:27; Cameron Thorne)

• Host’s Take:
  Dr. Misner encapsulates:

  “We live in this quick society. Everything is, you know, short and fast. And what they don't understand is that trust takes time. It doesn't happen quickly."
  (08:51; Ivan Misner)

  He recalls calling BNI a "beacon of hope in a sea of fear" during COVID-19.

• The Cost of Leaving:

  • Cameron shares his cautionary tale: after leaving BNI in his fifth year (thinking his network would follow him), he lost nearly half his business.
  • “In year five, I lost like 48% of my business... I immediately got back in... and it immediately just took off again for me.” (10:25; Cameron Thorne)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

| Timestamp | Speaker | Quote | |-----------|-------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 02:22 | Cameron Thorne | “You gotta be intentional about it. You don't just stumble into a great network.” | | 03:19 | Cameron Thorne | “I showed up and pink pieces of paper flying around...this is money.” | | 06:25 | Cameron Thorne | “It's more than a name. It's a transfer of trust. If you mishandle that...you’re letting down your entire network.” | | 08:27 | Cameron Thorne | “If it was up to me, I would only sell five year memberships...my third year, that's when things exploded for me.” | | 08:51 | Ivan Misner | “Trust takes time. It doesn't happen quickly.” | | 09:28 | Ivan Misner | “Your BNI chapter is a beacon of hope in a sea of fear.” | | 10:25 | Cameron Thorne | “In year five, I lost like 48% of my business... I immediately got back in...” | | 09:42 | Cameron Thorne | “Network like your business life depends on it because it truly does.” |

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Important Segment Timestamps

• [02:02] Finding your network: the importance of intentionality
• [03:37] Personal story: Cameron’s introduction to BNI
• [04:44] Respecting your network: action steps
• [06:24] The "transfer of trust" concept
• [06:57] Never leave your network: building long-term value
• [08:27] The compounding value of relationships
• [10:25] Story: The cost of leaving BNI
• [09:28] BNI as a beacon of hope during crisis

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Conclusion / Takeaways

• Finding, respecting, and staying in your network are the three keys to protecting your most valuable business asset.
• Consistent participation in a trusted network such as BNI results in exponential professional growth and invaluable support—especially during challenging times.
• Networking is a slow-cooking “farming,” not “hunting.” Results and trust grow over years, not weeks.
• Cameron’s cautionary tale: never take your network for granted; the losses from leaving can be rapid and significant, but commitment always pays off in the end.

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Additional Resources

• BNI Utah North Website: bniutahnorth.com
• Recommended by Host: MeisnerAudioPrograms.com for further networking guidance

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Transcript

[A]

Episode number 954, Protect yout Network.

[B]

You're listening to the official BNI podcast with BI founder and chief visionary officer, Dr. Ivan Meisner. Stay tuned for networking and referral marketing tips from the man who's been called the father of modern networking, along with

[C]

suggestions and insights into getting the most

[B]

from your membership in the world's largest networking organization, bni.

[A]

Hello, everybody, and welcome back to the official BI 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?

[C]

I am home in Austin, Texas. This week I'm meeting with good friend and past CEO, Executive Chair of bni, Graham Weimiller. Graham and I are working on a book called Garage to Global, and he's going to be visiting me here in the next couple of days.

[A]

That's great. And what do you have for us today?

[C]

Well, I have an individual who's been a director for a long time, Cameron Thorne. He's been a part of BNI for 20 years. I've known him all of those 20 years. He's a national trainer and member of the BNI Franchise Advisory Board. He lives in South Jordan, Utah for the last 23 years, married and has four sons, and it's his very first time on the BNI podcast. And Cameron, welcome to BNI Podcast.

[B]

Thank you. I've listened to almost every podcast and I always thought, how do I get on here? Now I'm here.

[C]

So here you are, and I think you've got a really good topic, and that's to protect your network. So there are a few things. There are three talking points that you've got relate into this, and the first is you find your network. So talk to us a little bit about that.

[B]

Yeah, you think about finding your network. It's. Everybody wants success, but success, really, it doesn't happen in isolation. You know, any of us that belong to any sort of a network made a choice at some point in our lives to find a community where our relationships and referrals are very much fueled on growth in our own business.

[C]

And.

[B]

And so when you talk about finding your network, you gotta be intentional about it. You don't just stumble into a great network. It doesn't just happen. You have to intentionally seek it out, you know, align ourselves with professionals that may share the same value as your goals, you know, and your drive to drive to Succeed. So, you know, when you find your network, it does a couple of things for you. First of all, it multiplies your reach. You can only reach so many people on our own. You know, a network gives you access to hundreds, and if you're really good at it, possibly even thousands, Thousands of relationships through simple introductions. The second thing it does is it builds credibility faster. You know, when somebody recommends you're recommended by someone in your own network, you're literally borrowing their trust. That shortens the time it takes for others to feel confident in doing business with you. And lastly, it creates consistent business flow. That strong network isn't just occasional opportunities, but it becomes a reliable source of referrals and helps you grow that over time. And so that's. That's the first portion of just finding your network.

[C]

I think everybody who is in BNI absolutely recognizes what you're talking about as being so incredibly important. Now, I think you have a real example of that, don't you?

[B]

Finding your network? Absolutely. I mean, for my own self, just about every BNI member that's ever been out there has been introduced by somebody else out in bni. For my own self, my business coach, when I moved, when I quit my years of working in the resort business, I started my own business. She said, cameron, you have to join a bni. I had no idea what a BNI was. I looked up on the Internet, said, bmi, and I was like, body mass index. I don't think this is the right place. I honestly don't. But she made me join, and I am so glad she did. Her name's Cheryl, out in Indianapolis, longtime member. And she says, you have to do this. You have to do this. And I showed up and pink pieces of paper flying around. I'm sitting next to an account. I'm going, what are these pink pieces of paper? It's like, man, this is money. That's all he said on the spot.

[C]

And for those of you who haven't just, you know, reasonably new to bni, what we're talking about are the referral slips that we used to use much more than we do today because of B and I Connect. But go ahead. I didn't mean to interrupt you.

[B]

No, no worries. And so once you find your network, the second I want about protecting your. Protecting your network, you got to respect your network. That's the second portion of this I wanted to just hit on real quick. Here is, you know, finding the network is. Is simply only the beginning. Respecting it is what makes it last. And I always ask the BNI members around me, I said, what does respect look like for you and the things that they say? Or it's like, you got to show up on time. It's like, yeah, I always show up on time. You've got to keep your word. That's just a given. The next one is follow through on the referrals. And I'm always surprised by BNI members that receive referrals, don't even follow up on them.

[C]

Isn't that crazy that that happens? It happened to me just recently, by the way. I gave somebody a referral and I said, give me call. He didn't call me, and I had to call him. I was like, hey, man, you know, this is, this is. This is a 5 on the referral scale.

[B]

Exactly. And you follow up on those referrals, and then you will protect the reputation of those who trust you enough that they recommended you. And then you got to treat it like it's your very best client. I always ask BNI members, I presented two or three chapters a week, and I say, explain your best client. What does it mean? How do you respect your best client? Would you leave in the middle of the meeting? Would you take a phone call? Would you be on the Internet? Would you be late? All these types of things. And they're like, absolutely not. I treat them with most respect. Nice. Like, if you're with this BNI long enough, this will be your best client. It will be your best client at some point. Treat it that way.

[C]

Yeah, absolutely. Any, any story to represent that or you ready to move on?

[B]

It's always, yeah, when I'm in the room, I say, you know, when someone in this room passes you referral, it's more than a name. It's a transfer of trust. If you mishandle that, you're not just letting down one person, you're letting down your entire network. But when you, with excellence, you elevate not only yourself, but also the person who referred you. And so you got to keep that best client happy. So first part is, find your network. Second, respect your network.

[C]

Yeah. All right, so the third one is. Yeah. Never leave your network. Talk about that.

[B]

Are you kidding me? If you spent all that time getting your network, why would you ever leave your network? The businesses? It's simply a journey. And it's not always an easy journey. There are reasons. There are seasons of growth and seasons of struggle, but the one constant is always going to be your network. There's so many reasons why you wouldn't want to leave your network. You know, We've come through. I was in BNI during 2008 during the market crash. I was there during the COVID It's your safety net during these challenges. You know, we watch people shift in what they're doing during these times. It's like, hey, I can't help you. You know, if you're the chiropractor, I can't help you because you're not supposed to touch people during, during COVID But I got other work for you. Are you willing to do that? So it's that safety net helps people during those challenges. It's also your cheering section. When you succeed, you've got people behind you. And then because trust wants a build, it compounds over time. I teach people that your network is financial planning. It is. The longer you are with that, the better it gets. Your first year in financial planning, you're like looking at your portfolio and like, I put in $10,000. Why is there only 6,000 inside of there? Well, everyone had to get paid, so. And then. But year two and three and four, it compounds. And it's the same in bni. Your first year, usually you're least profitable. But year three and four, if it was up to me, I would only sell five year memberships. Memberships, because it really takes. It was my third year that it final exploded for me. I did okay my first year. Second year, I did five times better than my first year. But my third year, that's when things exploded for me. And in the business that I was in, it, it finally, you know, after my third year, I never did less than $200,000 in thank you to close business. In my business after that third year,

[C]

it takes time to build trust. And I think that's where people don't understand it. We live in this, you know, quick society. Everything is, you know, short and fast. And what they don't understand is that trust takes time. It doesn't happen quickly. And the longer you stay with a group, the more likely they are to be there when times are tough. During COVID that's when I came up with the phrase, your BNI chapter is a beacon of hope in a sea of fear. Because we were living in crazy times, yet I saw people make it through Covid successfully because of their fellow members.

[B]

It's crazy. I mean, it's, you know, why you would ever leave is just beyond me. Never, never leave. So if we bring it all back together, find your network, be intentional about who you surround yourself with, respect that network. Show up, follow through, treat it like it's your best client. And then you never leave your network because it's more than business. It's community. I teach people network. Like your business life depends on it because it truly does. So BNI is more than just a group. It's a foundation for success. You know that.

[C]

So I know I've been doing it 41 years and I keep, you know, I see it over and over and over again that when people give it time and they build the relationships, they do really, really well. And when they, you know, treat it like hunting versus farming, you know, they just blow through the group and they think, hey, I, you know, I built relationships with these 30 people. I'm done. Now I'm going to find another 30 people. And that's just not the way to do it.

[B]

You a quick story. I left out my fifth year thinking I had it made. And I created a golf group to go play golf and thought those referrals would still come to me. And I didn't tell my wife. I didn't tell my business coach. I didn't tell anyone. And we're looking at my bottom line. In year five, I lost like 48% of my business.

[C]

Wow.

[B]

And my business coach, Jennifer, she cusses like a sailor. And she sure did. When she found out, she goes, what's been going on? I said, I love being I. And she screamed at me. Her name's Jen and my wife's name, Jen. I've had two Jen's yelling at me the exact same time on the phone. I immediately got back in. Wasn't the same chapter, and it immediately just took off again for me.

[C]

Well, we're really glad that you got back in. Give us your website in Utah for BNI.

[B]

Our website is bniutahnorth.com bniutahnorth.com Listen, Cameron,

[C]

it was great having you on the BNI podcast today. I really appreciate it. And with that, let me hand it over to Priscilla.

[A]

Okay, well, I think that's it for this week. Thank you so much for the great information. It was really fun. This podcast is sponsored by MeisnerAudioProGrams.com these audio programs will provide you with the tools and the inspiration to powerfully enhance your BNI experience. So check out the great material that's available to [e-mail] and use the promo code IVAN50 for 50% off of everything. All of the proceeds go to the BNI Foundation. Thanks 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 BNI podcast.