In this BNI Education Slot, Darren Jamieson introduced members to a new way of thinking about artificial intelligence. Instead of seeing it as a cold, technical tool for research, Darren reframed AI — specifically ChatGPT — as the most connected networking partner you could ever meet.

https://youtu.be/Uk5SDTyu8HI

If you’ve been to enough BNI 121s, you know the difference between a good meeting and a great one. In a great 121, the other person doesn’t just listen to what you do — they understand your goals, they know exactly who you should be speaking to, and they can open doors to the right people.

Now imagine having that same conversation with an AI that has instant access to vast amounts of information and can structure it in seconds. That’s exactly what Darren demonstrated.

The most connected 121 you’ll ever have

Darren opened his talk by describing what felt like the best 121 of his life. Every time he mentioned a company he wanted an introduction to, this “person” already knew them — not just the business name, but the key contacts, the email addresses, and the phone numbers.

When he explained the types of businesses that referred work to him, this “person” suggested other companies with similar profiles that he might not have considered. And when he outlined his ideal client profile, they identified entirely new opportunities.

It sounded too good to be true until Darren revealed the secret: his 121 partner wasn’t a person at all. It was ChatGPT.

This was the lightbulb moment of the session — reframing AI as a conversation partner rather than a search engine.

AI as a 121 partner

Darren made an important point for anyone in the room sceptical about AI: stop thinking of it as a research tool for “nerds with beards and sandals.” Instead, think of it as having a 121 with someone who is extremely well-connected and willing to share what they know.

If you approach AI conversationally, as you would a 121 partner, the results are transformational. All you need to do is tell it:

What you do (your business and services).

Who gives you referrals (the kinds of partners who open doors for you).

Who you’re looking for (your ideal customers or contacts).

By feeding this information to AI, you can receive a structured response that includes business types, specific company names, key contacts, and even advice on how to approach them.

Three real-world BNI examples

To prove that this approach works, Darren spent just two minutes each running “121s” with ChatGPT for three members of his chapter. The results were impressive.

Example 1: Piano restoration in Wrexham

For a piano restorer in Wrexham, Darren asked ChatGPT which businesses or individuals were likely to own pianos in the northwest.

The AI didn’t just provide a general list — it broke opportunities down into categories like:

Music and performance venues.

Education providers.

Heritage and hospitality locations.

High-end property owners.

Music retailers and services.

It then gave him a list of specific musicians and tutors based within 20 miles of Wrexham, complete with names, locations, and even phone numbers and email addresses. In just a few prompts, Darren had a tailored list of high-value contacts.

Example 2: Carpet fitting in Chester

Next, Darren looked at a carpet fitter based in Chester who wanted to work with portfolio landlords — people who own multiple properties and regularly replace flooring.

ChatGPT initially pushed back, saying it couldn’t provide direct lists of landlords due to privacy restrictions. But Darren didn’t stop there. He asked who regularly interacts with landlords, such as property management companies and rent-to-rent operators.

ChatGPT produced a table of relevant companies, including two Darren hadn’t heard of before, complete with phone numbers, email addresses, and key points of contact. When Darren pushed further, the AI provided the names of directors and marketing managers for those businesses — the exact information needed for a targeted introduction.

Example 3: Food photography in Chirk

Finally, Darren worked with an award-winning food photographer in Chirk who wanted to work with prestigious restaurants and hotels in and around Chester.

ChatGPT returned a list of 12 highly acclaimed venues, including Michelin-starred restaurants, and offered to create a spreadsheet with names, emails, and phone numbers for key contacts. Initially, the AI only provided details for four of them, but with a follow-up prompt, it delivered all 12, complete with owners, managers, and marketing leads.
Why this matters for BNI members

For many BNI members, being specific in referrals can be challenging. Knowing exactly who to ask for and how to reach them can feel like guesswork. Darren’s approach removes that barrier entirely.

By using ChatGPT as a 121 partner, you can:

Identify new referral opportunities you hadn’t considered.

Quickly build targeted prospect lists for networking.

Gather key contact details for decision-makers.

Approach conversations with far greater clarity and confidence.

Darren’s final challenge to the room was simple: don’t ask him to do this for you — do it yourself.

Book your own 121 with ChatGPT. Spend just two minutes providing clear, specific information, and see what comes back.

As Darren put it, “It will take two minutes of your time and produce a list of all the details you can get for your own referrals.”

Full Transcript

Darren Jamieson:
I thought, well, the best way to do it is don’t look at it as a research tool. Don’t look at it as something that nerds with beards and sandals would use.

I had what is possibly the best 121 I’ve ever had this week. Every time I mentioned a particular company I wanted an introduction to, he knew them. He didn’t only know them. He knew the key contact details at that company and had the email addresses and the phone numbers and shared them with me and then helped me work out how to be introduced to them. When I then talked about, as you do in a 121, the kind of businesses that also give me referrals, the kind of people in BNI that give me the most referrals, he then suggested some other companies that were very similar to them that I could possibly speak to as well. And then when I told him what we do and the kind of clients that we help and why the clients like us, he suggested other clients that I hadn’t even thought of. It’s probably the most connected person I’ve ever had a 121 with in BNI.

Anybody else like a 121 with this person?

Yeah.

Yeah. His name’s Jack GPT. He’s got a couple of other mates. One’s called Claude, one’s called Gemini. There’s a few others as well. So whichever one you like to use will work for you.

Show of hands, who currently uses one of those regularly within their business right now?

That’s more than I was expecting. More than I was expecting. Harry put his hand up late there.

Yeah, I use it to cut words.

But it’s actually really good for writing emails.

It is really good for writing emails. But I was thinking about how can I get this to explain to BNI members who are perhaps going to go, “AI? No, thank you. I don’t want to touch that.” I thought, well, the best way to do it is don’t look at it as a research tool. Don’t look at it as something that nerds with beards and sandals would use. Look at it as having a 121.

Because if you use it in a conversational format and you tell it what you do as you would in a 121, and you tell it who gives you referrals as you would do in a 121, and you tell it who you’re looking for as you would do in a 121, it will respond to you in a conversational format and it will give you suggestions.

And just to prove that this works, I did it yesterday. I spent two minutes on each one and did it for three members in the room, pretending I was someone else. And I’m going to wear the lesser-seen glasses because my vision is completely going for short distance.

So I’m going to give you these three examples now. I will paste the full transcripts into the WhatsApp. For the members I’ve not done this for, don’t ask me to do it for you. You can do it yourself. It’s really easy.

I won’t say the names of the specific companies it came out with here for the benefit of the video for the thousands watching at home.

The first one I did was: if I was a piano restorer based in Wrexham and I wanted to be introduced to businesses and people who likely own pianos in the northwest of the UK, what sort of businesses should I be asking for?

ChatGPT came back with a number of different types of businesses broken down by sector. So music and performance venues. It went into education, heritage and hospitality, high-end property, music and retail services, and then gave me a list of people I should be asking for at networking.

Further, let’s break this down and be more specific. Let’s look at musicians and music tutors. Could you give me a list of specific musicians or music tutors based within 20 miles of Wrexham? And it did, with their names and where they’re actually located.

And then it suggested ways I could be introduced to them. But that wasn’t enough. I then asked it, can you give me the contact details in a table with the phone numbers and email addresses, which it did.

That was three prompts, two minutes.

I then looked at another member.

If I’m a carpet fitter based in Chester and I want to be introduced to portfolio landlords who own multiple properties and replace their carpets often, could you give me a list of such landlords based within 40 miles of Chester who own multiple properties?

Unsurprisingly, ChatGPT said, “I can’t do that because that’s private information.” But that’s okay. I think if I pushed, I’d get more out of it. But it did give me a list of all the people that engage with landlords and speak to landlords on a regular basis. And it gave me a big list of different industries.

I wanted to break this down. I said, “Can you give me the main points of contact for the property management and rent-to-rent companies, please?” Because there were two companies who I’d never heard of who deal specifically with portfolio landlords. One of them based in the Northwest. And it gave me the details — two companies with their phone numbers, their email addresses, and an alternate phone.

That’s no good for BNI. You want to know a specific name. So I said, who are the owners of those two businesses? And it gave me the names and details of the people who own the business, the directors and the marketing managers for each of them.

And then I did one more. If I’m an award-winning food photographer based in Chirk in Wales and I want to work with the best chefs and the best restaurants around Chester, which restaurants should I be working with? Which are the most prestigious restaurants and hotels known for their award-winning food?

ChatGPT gave me a list of 12 restaurants known for either winning Michelin stars or being acclaimed for their food. One of which I know you’ve asked for specifically in the past.

And it says, “Would you like a spreadsheet with these venues with contact names, emails, and phone numbers?” Yes, I would. And it’s given me that, but it only gave me four because sometimes AI can be lazy. It wants to save resources. So I then went back to it and said, “Please give me all 12 venues in the spreadsheet and add the names of the owners, the managers, and the marketing contacts.” And it’s done that.

So what I’m looking for you to do here is not ask me to do this for you. In the next week, I want you all to book your own 121 with ChatGPT. It will take two minutes of your time and produce a list of all the details you can get for your own referrals.

But no, you cannot log on the app. Thank you very much.