For more information about the Referral Institute, email us at info@referralinstitute.com or call us at 508-809-9789.
REFERRAL INSTITUTE COMPANY STORY
Today, the Referral Institute is a franchise company with over 50 regions on four continents….yet the early beginnings of the company were just a bit different. In the beginning, the forming members of the Referral Institute were also part of an organization called BNI, Business Network Intl. Directors for BNI develop professional referral groups. Seeing the need for additional referral marketing training, Dr. Ivan Misner began cultivating material that would train business professionals to implement specific procedures on referral based marketing. Dr. Misners’ many best selling books on the subject led to creating Certified Networker, a 12 module training program that allows participants to receive the foundational knowledge that they need for a referral marketing plan for their business.
After a few years of being a “brain trust” many of the participants began developing more customizable material on referral marketing. In 2002, the company name changed from Business Referral Institute to simply Referral Institute. Dr. Ivan Misner partnered with Mike Macedonio and appointed Mike to President in May of 2003. At a partners meeting in November of 2003, the challenge of becoming a franchised training organization was decided. September 2004, marks the first sale of a Referral Institute franchise and as President, Mike Macedonio immediately spearheaded the opening of over 40 franchised regions in 8 different countries in just over 2 years! Please note that all of these franchises were generated 100% by referral! In fact, Entrepreneur.com has listed the Referral Institute in their annual top 500 franchises three years in a row.
In November 2005, the company vision was created. Dr. Ivan Misner stated that the Referral Institute would become “The World’s Leading Referral Training Organization.” He also created an acronym and in a playful, yet uncharacteristic gesture began approaching the participants motioning them to “knock knuckles” with him and said “TWLRTO” (pronounced twirlertoo). This became and still is today the slogan that all franchisees believe in and repeat regularly.
The mission of the Referral Institute is to help people create Referrals For Life™
During a partners’ meeting in November 2006 a very strong conversation about exactly what our clients’ needs were was discussed - the result revolutionized our company as we discovered the 3 Core Competencies of Referral Marketing”. The 3 Core Competencies are:
1) People must have the RIGHT referral marketing knowledge
2) They need to stay immersed in the information and implement their referral plan
3) Their referral network needs to be trained properly by experts
The program that brought all of these items together for our clients is the “Referral For Life™” program. This program allows our students to spend a minimum of one year with us attending any and or all of the programs that we offer, it provides several opportunities to bring their referral network to the experts, and the most important benefit is that the student stays immersed in the material basically guaranteeing implementation of the material into their business.
As the company continued to expand there was a need to appoint more management positions, hence the “April 2007 Challenge” was laid out. Dr. Misner and Mike Macedonio created a challenge for all of the franchise owners: Any franchise owner attaining a specific revenue goal would have the opportunity to be interviewed for the position of partner within the organization.
The first person to hit this milestone was Eddie Esposito, franchise owner in the New Orleans area. He was able to accomplish this feat just 2 years after the devastating Hurricane Katrina hit his area. Out of any region in the world, this was one of the most unlikely places for business owners to be investing in our training programs, yet Eddie, through his incredible relationships knew that he could help these business owners “Create Referrals For Life™”. Eddie was accepted to be the first VP and Partner into the organization. One of Eddie’s tasks as a partner is to work with the Franchise Advisory Board on crucial issues that the company faces. Eddie is also a Master Trainer for the Franchisee Training Program.
Victoria Trafton, franchise owner for the Phoenix area, was the next person to hit the revenue requirement. She was able to hit this goal in 10 short months! Her interview was then conducted by all 3 partners and she accepted the position of VP & Partner. Victoria immediately, with all of her corporate background, took over the coordination of our 2 annual conferences. Victoria is also a Master Trainer for the Gems Certification Program.
Dawn Lyons and Trey McAlister, co-owners of the San Francisco Bay Area franchise, hit the mark in December of 2007. With over 18 years of public speaking and sale experience Dawn Lyons coordinates a majority of the training material, directs the Master Trainer Team, and is the co-administrator for the Referral Institute Foundation. Dawn is also a Master Trainer for Pipeline Certification, Franchisee Certification, Master Franchisor Certification, Gems Certification, and the Sales Program.
Trey McAlister has a background in technology and marketing. One of his roles was to locate a suitable office building for a corporate headquarters. As of June 2008, Referral Institute Headquarters is located in Petaluma, California. Trey is also responsible for collaborating with Mike Zinni of Zincastle, a software and database company, to establish a training and certification program that will allow our franchisees to sell a product called Relate 2 Profit. Trey will be the Master Trainer for the Relate 2 Profit Programs and Certified Networker.
The organization continues to grow 100% by referral. In fact, in order to be involved with our company you must be referred! Yet, whether you are in Australia, Canada, Germany, Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Middle East or the United States, the Referral Institute has material to help all professional business owners create MORE business by referral. As we continue to coach our clients, add new training programs, and offer customized consulting, you can be assured that the Referral Institute will be in the forefront of proactive referral strategies for its’ clients. We look forward to seeing you at the next program! TWLRTO!
Key Executives of the Referral Institute include Senior Partner, Ivan R. Misner, Ph.D.,and Partner & President, Michael Macedonio
Ivan R. Misner, Ph.D., Senior Partner
Dr. Ivan Misner is the Founder & Chairman of BNI or Business Network Int’l. BNI was founded in 1985. The organization now has over 4,200 chapters throughout every populated continent of the world. Last year alone, BNI generated over 4.4 million referrals resulting in $1.7 billion dollars worth of business for its members.
Dr. Misner’s Ph.D. is from the University of Southern California. He has written eight books, including his New York Times bestseller; Masters of Networking and his #1 bestseller; Masters of Success. He is a monthly columnist for Entrepreneur.com and is Chairman of the Board for the Referral Institute – a referral training company with trainers around the world. He has taught business and social capital courses at several universities and sits on the Board of Directors for the Colorado School of Professional Psychology.
Called the "Father of Modern Networking" by Ecademy.com and the "Networking Guru" by Entrepreneur magazine, Dr. Misner is one of the world’s leading experts on business networking and has been a keynote speaker for major corporations and associations throughout the world. He has been featured in the L.A. Times, Wall Street Journal, and New York Times, as well as numerous TV and radio shows including CNN, CNBC, and the BBC in London.
Dr. Misner is on the Board of Directors for the Haynes Children Center. He is the Founder of the BNI Misner Charitable Foundation and was recently named "Humanitarian of the Year" by the Daily Bulletin. He is married and lives with his wife Elisabeth and their three children in Claremont, CA. In his spare time!!! he is also an amateur magician and a black belt in karate.
Michael Macedonio, Partner & President
Mike Macedonio is the Co-Author of the New York Times best selling book “Truth or Delusion, Busting Networking’s Biggest Myths”.
Mike Macedonio began his career in restaurant management spending over 20 years in the industry. Mike’s most impressive achievement was managing the highest volume restaurant in the nation.
Mike was a part owner of several BNI, Business Network Int’l., franchises. In this role he provided training to business professionals in creating and operating professional business referral groups. During his 9 years with BNI, Mike was involved in building the region to over 75 chapters in 3 States with over 1500 members. Mike also received numerous national awards from BNI including the National Director of the Year Award.
Mike has an incredible passion for mountain climbing, cycling and endurance sports.
Mike’s position within the Referral Institute began as a trainer in 2001. In 2003, Mike was hand selected to be the managing partner for the Referral Institute. Since then the Referral Institute has transformed from a handful of professional trainers collaborating and working together to a franchised organization. In fact, Mike was responsible for spearheading the acquisition of 40 new franchises in 8 countries in just 2 years!
Eddie Esposito, Partner & Vice President
Eddie Esposito is a Vice President with The Referral Institute and franchise owner in New Orleans, Louisiana. He has been a Master Trainer with The Referral Institute since it's inception and has contributed significantly to it's material.
Eddie also began his career in Restaurants and Catering, founding and operating one of the top 10 corporate aircraft catering companies in the world. His client base was built entirely by referral.
Eddie has a passion for wine collecting and car racing. He lives with his wife Heather and their 3 Children in New Orleans
Victoria Trafton, Partner & Vice President
Victoria Trafton is a Vice President with Referral Institute and a franchise owner in the metropolitan area of Phoenix, Arizona.
Prior to being a franchise owner, Victoria built her career in the high tech industry. From research and development in academia to the vendor world of Silicon Valley, her life was computers and technology for 3 decades. She enjoyed executive positions in marketing and sales. She turned her focus away from technology to people as a small business owner for over 6 years.
Victoria’s academic credentials are in languages and Education. She is a certified professional Behavioral analyst and Values analyst. Victoria distinguished herself in the early stages of her career at Stanford University developing a software system used by Universities both nationally and in 3 countries.
She has a passion for helping people through business. As a Referral Institute franchise owner, Victoria generates her business by referral and shows other companies how to do the same. Active in local chambers and business organizations, she is a dedicated member of the Phoenix business community and committed to contributing to successful growth and economic development in that area. She lives in Scottsdale with her husband Donald.
Dawn Lyons, Partner & Vice President
Dawn Lyons is a dedicated referral marketing expert. She has focused this expertise by being a co-owner of the Referral Institute SF Bay, a Vice President & Partner for the Referral Institute, a Master Trainer, a keynote speaker, a contributing author to the New York Times Best Selling Book – Masters of Sales, and the Referral Institute Foundation Coordinator.
Prior to the Referral Institute Dawn was an accomplished sales person for over 18 years with an added specialty in public speaking. She was introduced to BNI in June of 2000 and today owns 3 franchises for BNI, operates 75 chapters, a team of 26 assistant directors, and has 2,000+ members! She is in the Hall of Fame along with only 3 other people in the history of the company to open 20 chapters in one calendar year.
Dawn attributes her success to two things 1) finding someone who has want you want and do what they do and 2) having incredible mentors over the years such as Dani Johnson, and Dr. Ivan Misner.
Dawn enjoys wine tasting, entertaining, traveling, gardening and most importantly “Helping People Create Referrals For Life”!
Trey McAlister, Partner & Vice President
Trey McAlister is a Vice President of the Referral Institute and a franchise owner in the San Francisco region. Through referral and networking training like the Certified Networker Program and Referral Pipeline Program, Trey has helped Bay Area businesses become more profitable in less time. He is also Area Director and Area Trainer for Business Networking International (BNI) and a contributing author with Dr. Ivan Misner, Brian Tracy, Dawn Lyons and others in the recently released Masters of Sales.
When Trey is not networking around the Bay Area, he enjoys spending time working with his church youth, playing golf, appreciating musical theater with his wife and spending as much time as possible with his two sons Landon and Kienan. These activities together are a constant reminder of his mission to help people “buy back” the time to do something truly significant!
