BNI-Central Virginia, LLC
Regional Office
2706 Enterprise Parkway
Richmond, VA 23294
(804) 612-2891
About BNI
Started in January 1985 by Dr. Ivan R. Misner, Founder & Chairman, BNI provides a positive, supportive, and structured environment for the development and exchange of quality business referrals. It does so by helping you build personal relationships with dozens of other qualified business professionals..
Last year, members of BNI passed over 6.5 million referrals in 5500+ chapters with over 135,000 members in 45 countries resulting in more than $2.8 billion in business! Belonging to BNI is like having dozens of salespeople representing your business, and in return you are representing their businesses.
What You Should Know
Networking requires commitment. The most successful chapters of BNI are comprised of participants who are sincerely committed to helping one another through networking. They are a team. As a participant in BNI, you are responsible for complying with the policies and guidelines of the organization
- Weekly meetings last for 90 minutes. Members need to arrive on time and stay for the entire meeting.
- Only one person from each professional specialty is accepted into a chapter of BNI.
- All participants must represent their primary occupation.
- Attendance is critical. If you cannot attend a meeting, you may send a substitute.
Membership Investment
There is an initial application fee, annual membership dues, and chapters may have a venue fee. Please see the chapter Secretary/Treasurer for exact information and current fees. When you apply to participate in BNI, your application will be reviewed by the chapter's Membership Committee and you will be notified of the status before the next meeting.
Benefits
- Increased exposure to many other business professionals
- Substantially increase business through referrals
- Learn to effectively talk about your business
- Sharpen your presentation skills
- Participation in up to 52 networking meetings per year
- New Member Packet: Business card file, name badge holder, orientation CD, BNI pin
- SuccessNet newsletters with educational material on networking, public speaking, and business
- Member Success Program workshop
- Advanced Education Series workshops
- Leadership Team Training
- Participation in business tradeshows
- Participation in local conferences
- Access to BusinessNetworkingU.com
- And much, much more!
About Mark M. Deutsch, MBA - Executive Director & CEO
Mark Deutsch (pronounced DOYCH – since that’s not one you see every day!) has been the Executive Director & CEO of BNI-Central Virginia since Sept., 2007.He focuses on implementing referral, word-of-mouth, sales, and marketing strategies for business owners, sales teams, and entrepreneurs in a wide range of industries including healthcare/pharmaceuticals, real estate, insurance, financial management, mortgage, legal, accounting, high technology, telecom, retail, direct sales, banking, consultants, and non-profits. A highly sought after speaker and agent of change, his live seminars, programs, and keynote talks continue to receive rave reviews from meeting planners and organizations coast to coast. His core expertise (eg. The thing he gets paid to do), is showing entrepreneurs and salespeople how to make more money in less time than they ever thought possible.
Mark has enjoyed over eighteen years as an entrepreneur, executive and salesperson – mostly in the healthcare arena. He is currently the Executive Director & CEO of BNI (Business Network International) - Central Virginia, the largest and most successful business referral organization in Central Virginia. BNI provides a structured and supportive system for businesses to build their revenues and networks through referrals and word-of-mouth marketing. Mark has authored hundreds of articles on the topics of sales, marketing, and management in dozens of business and professional journals. He speaks more than 100 times a year to trade associations, business organizations, and professional groups. Mark is widely recognized in Central Virginia as THE business networking, referral, and word-of-mouth marketing expert.
Mark is a life-long entrepreneur who has has started or operated more than a dozen companies ranging from a medical billing software company (during the dot com boom) to a diagnostic imaging provider (MRI of Richmond). He is a board member of numerous professional associations, non-profits, and private companies. Mark also owns equity positions in a number of mid-sized private businesses, across a variety of industries.
In prior lives, Mark was an executive or top-performing salesperson for the following:
- Dominion Medical Management, Inc. – Vice President, Client Development
- MRI of Richmond / MedQuest Associates, Inc. – CEO / Center Manager
- Eli Lilly & Company – Sr. Sales Representative / Diabetes Specialist
- Third Millennium Healthcare Systems, Inc. – Regional Sales Representative
- CareTech Services, Inc. – Co-Founder / National Director of Sales & Marketing / Senior Consultant
- NMC Homecare – Senior Marketing Manager
- Tokos Healthcare – Senior Market Manager / Regional Sales Trainer
- U.S. Naval Reserves – Signalman Third Class Petty Officer
Mark is a proud graduate of the University of Central Florida (Go Golden Knights!) and has an MBA from Averett University, graduating Summa Cum Laude. He is very active in his community through numerous organizations, including the Western Henrico Rotary Club; the Tuckahoe YMCA; multiple Chambers of Commerce in the Richmond Metro, Fredericksburg, and Charlottesville areas; and the Retail Merchants Association.
When not working, Mark spends as much time as possible with his very understanding family – Henly (his lovely and talented wife), young sons Jack and Davis, and the family rescue dog - Jasper. He is also a very competitive tennis & soccer player and thoroughly enjoys coaching his son Jack’s soccer team (Davis is not quite in to the soccer thing yet). The Deutsch family lives in the West End of Richmond and they love to travel whenever possible.
Mark M. Deutsch, MBA
Executive Director & Chief Executive Officer
Office: (804) 612-2891 ext. 1
Mobile: (804) 338-3987
About Dawne Brooks Gulla - Executive Director & CNO
Dawne Brooks-Gulla
Executive Director & Chief Networking Officer
Office: (804) 612-2891 ext. 3
Mobile: (804) 690-9220