Example: the owner of a small air conditioning maintenance company in Campinas, in the state of São Paulo, gets three invitations in the same month. The first comes from a referral group that meets early every week, the second from the city's business association and the third from a WhatsApp group of local business owners. All of them promise contacts, and he does not have time for all three. If you are facing the same question, choosing a business networking group starts with knowing how your network works today. Take the networking diagnostic before you go on: it shows where your clients come from and where they should come from, and that changes which format is worth it.
Before choosing, decide what you want from your network
Networking groups are not all the same. Each format delivers something different, and a common mistake is joining whatever shows up first, paying for a few months and leaving with the idea that networking does not work. Often, the problem was the fit between the format and the goal.
Answer three questions. Do you need new clients, or more referrals from people who already know your work? Do you sell locally, regionally or across the whole of Brazil? How much time a month can you give without hurting the business? The answers point to different formats, and many companies end up combining two of them.
The business networking guide explains why a network only brings in business when it has criteria, continuity and records. Here, the focus is on choosing where to do it.
Referral groups: for those who sell through recommendation
Referral groups bring together business owners from different fields who meet regularly to learn about each other's businesses and pass on referrals. A well-known example is BNI, which has groups in many countries. According to the official BNI website, members meet every week in a meeting with a structured agenda, each group has one person per profession, and referrals grow out of the trust built in those meetings.
The format works well if you sell something people buy on recommendation: accounting, renovations, insurance, IT services, catering, legal services. When a fellow member hears a client say "I need someone to take care of this", they think of you because they see you every week and know how you work.
The thing to watch is the commitment. Trust grows slowly, and results depend on showing up consistently and on you referring others too. Those who join expecting a return in the first month tend to get frustrated. Those who are patient and whose sale travels well by referral tend to get more out of it.
Associations and industry bodies: for those who want a local presence
Business associations (in Brazil, the associação comercial plays a role similar to a local chamber of commerce), retailers' associations, employers' unions and industry associations bring together companies from one city or one sector. Networking there is one service among many: there are courses, member discounts, representation before the government, events and, in many of them, business rounds for members.
The commitment is usually lower than in a referral group. You pay the membership fee, go to the events that make sense and do not need to show up every week. In exchange, contact is less close: you can spend years as a member without ever talking to someone who could buy from you, if you do not make yourself seen.
It works well if you sell to companies in your own city, want to be remembered as part of the local business community and like taking part in committees and projects. To make the most of it, pick one or two groups within the association and always go to the same ones. Repetition is what turns a member into someone people know.
Business clubs: for those looking for affinity and exchange
Business clubs and groups of business owners bring together people with something in common: company size, business stage, a sector, a region or an interest. Some look like an informal advisory board, where members discuss management problems. Others are more social, with lunches and gatherings outside working hours.
What a club does best is exchange between peers. You hear how another owner solved the same cash, team or pricing issue, and sometimes business comes out of that, because people buy from people they know. But selling is not the center. Those who join a club only to sell are usually spotted quickly, and not in a good way.
Before joining, ask who the members are today and what they are looking for. A club of factory owners is a very different place from a club of independent professionals, even when both use the same name.
Online communities: for those who want reach without leaving the office
WhatsApp groups of business owners, LinkedIn communities, industry forums and video call events form a layer of networking that requires no travel. The cost of entry is low, often nothing at all, and you reach people in other cities.
The weakness is lack of focus. In a large group, messages get lost, everyone advertises and almost nobody reads. What works is taking part the way you would in person: answering questions in your field, sharing something useful and inviting anyone who showed interest to a one to one conversation. The article on online networking events shows which formats lead to real conversations and which turn into just an attendance list.
Business rounds: for those who need new contacts
A business round (rodada de negócios, in Brazil) is one more format, and it does not replace the others. Instead of recurring meetings with the same people, it brings together companies that say in advance what they offer and what they are looking for, and, at the time of the event, it forms short conversations between those with affinity. You do not have to choose who to talk to: you talk to companies you might never meet in your group and leave knowing who wants to continue.
On RodadaDeNegocios.org, conversations are one to one, by video call inside the platform, with a fixed time and automatic room changes. The platform suggests conversations with those looking for what you offer, without repeating conversations, and contact details are only shared when both sides mark interest. There is no weekly attendance: you choose the rounds that match what you sell.
It is useful for opening doors outside your usual circle, testing a new market or region, or complementing a local group that no longer brings in new faces. The guide on how to take part in a business round walks you through it step by step, from signing up to the follow-up.
Compare cost and commitment before you sign up
The monthly or yearly fee is only part of the cost. The other part is time: travel, hours at the meeting, the morning away from the business, the referrals you need to generate for others. Add it all up before deciding and compare the formats side by side.
| Format | Commitment | How your business gets seen | Who it suits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Referral group | High: regular attendance and referrals for fellow members | Fellow members introduce you to their clients | Those selling a service that travels by recommendation |
| Association or industry body | Medium: membership fee and the events you choose | Through events, committees and projects | Those selling to companies in the same city or sector |
| Business club | Medium to high, depending on the club | Through time together and exchange between peers | Those looking for advice from other owners and long term relationships |
| Online community | Low: time to read and reply | Through what you write and answer in the group | Those who want reach beyond their city, spending little |
| Business round | One off: the day of the round and the follow-up | In a conversation matched by affinity with someone looking for what you offer | Those who need new contacts outside their usual circle |
After a few months in any format, look at your own network: how many conversations happened, how many turned into proposals and how many deals closed. The article on how to measure the return on networking shows how to track this without a complicated spreadsheet. Without that record, you keep paying out of habit, or you leave a group that was working.
Questions to ask before you join
Before signing any membership, ask to visit a meeting as a guest, when the format allows it, and ask these questions to people who already take part.
- Who is in the group today? Ask for the list of sectors or companies. If nobody there buys what you sell or serves those who buy it, the group will not help you sell.
- Who sells the same as you? Some formats keep one seat per profession; in others, you share the room with competitors. Find out first.
- What is the real commitment? How often the group meets, at what time, what happens if you miss a meeting and how long the membership lasts.
- What does it cost in total? Include monthly or yearly fees, joining fee, meals and travel.
- How do members measure results? A group that records referrals and deals shows it is serious. A group that only talks about energy and connections deserves more questions.
- Why do people leave? Talk to someone who left, if you can. The answer usually says more than the welcome presentation.
If most of the answers come back vague, wait. A good group will still be there next month.
Where to start
Go back to the diagnostic from the beginning and pick a format for the weakest point in your network. If referrals are missing, try a referral group. If you lack presence in your city, look up the association. If you need new contacts, try a business round. Start with one, give it time to work and only then add another.
To organize what you offer, who you are looking for and who you can refer, build your company's networking canvas and take it to the group you choose. The networking canvas guide explains how to fill in each block.
Your company's first online business round is on us: all you need is an active CNPJ (the Brazilian company registration number), once per CNPJ, and contact details are only shared when both sides mark interest. See the upcoming business rounds and use one of them to test, alongside your group, another way of finding clients.