If you’ve ever sat in a BNI meeting, gone back to work, and then two weeks later thought, “Damn, I should’ve sorted that referral,” you’re not alone. But there’s a simple, structured way to make sure you’re consistently giving value, staying top of mind, and ultimately, getting more referrals yourself – as Jo Finnerty of Jo Finnerty Recruitment explains in her talk on the “BNI Power Hour”!

What’s a 90-Minute Member?

Ask yourself — are you a “90-minute member”? That’s someone who shows up to the weekly BNI meeting, ticks the attendance box, then forgets about BNI until the next one. You know the drill: it’s Wednesday night, and the panic sets in. You realise you haven’t done a thing for any other member that week.

Cue the scramble: “Should I throw in five CUs just to look good? Should I make something up?”

There’s a better way.

The Power Hour: Your Weekly BNI Booster

Jo explains that she was lucky. From day one, her mentor drilled this into her: schedule a weekly Power Hour. She explains that hers is every Monday at 11am. It’s in the diary, non-negotiable. No team calls, no interruptions — just her, focusing on her BNI group.

Here’s how Jo structures her Power Hour — and how you can do the same.

The Three Tasks of a BNI Power Hour

(Just remember: F.A.R.)

1. Follow Up on Your 121s

How often have you had a brilliant 121, raced back to the office, then got distracted by work and forgot to follow up? Grab those GAIN sheets and go back through them. You’ll find missed referral opportunities and useful prompts that may have slipped your mind.

This isn’t about ticking boxes — it’s about honouring the time you’ve already invested in other members and turning it into real results.

2. Attract Visitors from Your Network

Spend 10 minutes scanning your phone contacts. Who do you know that would benefit from BNI? Which of your clients, suppliers, or local trades could gain from the network — and what value could they bring to your chapter?

Jo explains that she has personally invited people just by thinking, “Who’s not already here but should be?” Sometimes it’s someone as close as the guy three doors down. If you haven’t invited them yet, why not?

3. Referral Generator: Go Specific

This is where things get tactical. Look at the names and businesses other members specifically asked for during the meeting. Then dive into LinkedIn, Facebook, or your phone and see if you have connections.

Even if you don’t know someone directly, don’t be afraid to reach out. Jo once contacted a woman Gail had asked for, using Gail’s intro wording. It wasn’t a sales pitch — just a simple message: “I’m reaching out on behalf of a fantastic contact who’d love an introduction.”

Two weeks later, that contact came back and said they’d love to chat with Gail. Job done. Referral made.

The Impact: Why This Matters

When you actively help others get what they want, you build trust, strengthen relationships, and stand out. The members who go out of their way for others are the ones people remember — and the ones who get referrals in return.

So set your Power Hour. Protect it. Use it. And help create a BNI chapter where everyone goes the extra mile.

Video Transcript

[0:12] Jo Finnerty:
So… who would like more referrals?

[0:20] [Audience responds]:
Yay!

[0:23] Jo Finnerty:
Who would like to— I’ve got to put that there.
Who would like to give more referrals?

[0:27] [Audience responds]:
Me!

[0:32] Jo Finnerty:
Oh, we like that. Okie cookie.
So, the way that we can do this more effectively — and not be a 90-minute member…

[0:41] Jo Finnerty:
What’s a 90-minute member, Paul?

[0:47] Paul (audience):
Uh, they go to a BNI meeting and they go home… and don’t do anything between the matches.
Like going to a football match and not thinking about football.

[0:57] Jo Finnerty:
Or you get to a Wednesday night and you think,
“Oh my God, they’re going to ask me about contributions and I haven’t done anything for any other members this week.
Shall I throw in five CUs and make it up? Shall I do— what shall I do, what shall I do?”

[1:12] Jo Finnerty:
So, to alleviate that — and to be seen as a brilliant member in the group —
I’ve done this from day one.
Because I was taught from day one, from my mentor, to do a Power Hour.

[1:28] Jo Finnerty:
And so, I schedule in — on a Monday at 11 —
so don’t contact me at Monday 11, because my team don’t contact me within the hour.
And I have it in my diary for my BNI Power Hour.

[1:43] Jo Finnerty:
And what your Power Hour should involve is three things.
If you think F-A-R.
Couldn’t think of anything else, really.

[2:05] Jo Finnerty:
But number one is: follow up on your 121s.
Sometimes you can have a 121, you whizz back to the office, you have the GAIN sheet… ideally.
That’s thrown.
You get on with your work and then you think a couple of weeks later,
“Aaah, should have got that referral for Zoe, should have got that referral for Colin.
I know the people who he’s after — when am I going to get this done?”

[2:28] Jo Finnerty:
So: follow up on your 121.
Have a look at the GAIN sheet again, if you haven’t done it straight after the meeting,
and see if you can generate those referrals.

[2:36] Jo Finnerty:
Number two: go through your phone for about five to ten minutes.
Inviting visitors.
Inviting people in from your contact sphere that you think,
“Oh, who could do really well out of being in Chester?
Who could this help? Could it help your clients, could it help your suppliers,
could it help people down the road who’ve got a van, who are a trade, who aren’t in the room?”

[3:08] Jo Finnerty:
Have they actually gone and knocked on people’s houses in the street and gone,
“Do you know about— do you want more business?”
“Yes we do!”
And they’ve come along and they’ve become members.

[3:20] Jo Finnerty:
I wouldn’t invite Mike because obviously Mike’s about three doors away from me and he’s already here.

[3:26] Jo Finnerty:
And number three is the referral generator.
And this is to go through the names of people who have been asked for in the meeting today.

[3:38] Jo Finnerty:
So you will go through that, and hopefully we’ll have a good clump of members that have been specific,
who’ve said, “We want to speak to this person,” or “That person,” or “That company.”
And then you can spend the rest of the hour looking through your LinkedIn, or your Facebook, or your phone,
to see if you know those people.

[3:59] Jo Finnerty:
I do it quite regularly on LinkedIn, because when you contact somebody that you may not even know —
like a lady that Gail asked for about a month ago —
and I didn’t know the person.

[4:17] Jo Finnerty:
But I made contact, she connected with me,
I then sent a message to say,
“Right, I’m not— this isn’t a sales call.
I’m calling on behalf of a really good business contact of mine who suggests—
who would like an introduction to you.”

[4:33] Jo Finnerty:
Because Gail had already given me the sentence.
It was in her intro email.
And I copied and pasted and put that in.

[4:43] Jo Finnerty:
Two weeks later the person came back to me and said,
“I’d love to have a chat with Gail.”

[4:50] Jo Finnerty:
And that referral was made.
That— if you’re going out of your way to help other members,
it really, really stands out.

[5:00] Jo Finnerty:
And that’s what we want to have.
We want to have a room full of members that go the extra mile for the other members,
and help them achieve the money that they want to achieve in BNI.

[5:11] Jo Finnerty:
Thank you very much.