BNI Continental has been going from strength to strength, achieving a fantastic milestone of 10,000 Referrals and AED 50 Million TYCB Business done to date! Currently, the leadership team is primarily women-led headed by Chapter President, Diksha Vohra.
Her journey began in March 2019, after attending BNI Continental’s Visitor Day. “I saw a room full of people interacting, I felt this is where I want to be,” Diksha says. One year later, she became the Secretary Treasurer before taking on her current role. “Business is just one aspect of what you gain from BNI; you gain relationships, you gain knowledge.”
Varsha Sharma, Secretary Treasurer, considers BNI Continental as a part of her blood. She joined in 2017, as one of the youngest members. “Initially, I had no intention of joining BNI – I wanted my dad to join BNI,” Varsha smiles. “ I was the youngest, I didn’t know if I could gel well but within 6-8 months, I joined the Leadership Team as the Secretary Treasurer.” Now, she’s added to her responsibilities by becoming Ambassador to BNI Synergy.
Although Shikha Chirag Agarwal wanted to join BNI Continental earlier, she had to wait until her category opened. “I attended the visitor’s day at the same time as Diksha, but bookkeeping is always full so I had to wait for a while to fill the seat.” As a Vice President, she’s benefited from her public speaking skills improving massively.
“BNI Continental is a very energetic chapter and I’m proud to be a part of this journey.” Gopal, the Ambassador chips in.
Director Consultant Pankaj Gupta won the quickest chapter turnaround during his first year with BNI Continental. “Winning the award was a boost,” he says. “In my journey with BNI, I found myself. I love to learn from everyone; ranging from seniors like Gopal to the youngest like Varsha.”
Celebrating Milestones
BNI Continental has been on the upswing. 10,000 referrals and AED 50 million in TYCB is a fantastic achievement. Commenting on the milestone Varsha says, “As a VP a year ago, I didn’t know we had crossed this milestone in such a short span of time. We will be celebrating and spreading the love around virtually, along with a personalized celebration package.”
At the virtual celebration planned for Valentine’s Day weekend founder members will be speaking about their journey. Members can also look back at Continental’s journey so far with the team posting pictures from 2013 until now on memory lane.
Always Learning
In 2020, the leadership team had to adapt to the changes – and they came out aces with the Business Accelerator programme every Wednesday, where Continental members meet to understand major business problems. Another initiative has been Sales Training started by Pankaj to get in more clients and help members explain their business better.
Diksha says, “The biggest learning of my journey is that the work doesn’t stop. No matter what happens you still have a way to continue. Innovation is key.”
“We’re always forward-thinking,” Pankaj adds. The focus of sales training is that members understand who can be their best referral point. “Check your vendor list,” he concludes. “If there is any vendor you have that is not a BNI member ask yourself why. Why can’t this service be bought by a BNI member, or why can’t the vendor be invited into the BNI family?”
We wish BNI Continental the very best in this journey and hope to see them back again with some bigger milestones being accomplished.
