Ivan Misner and the Referral Institute

Ivan Misner and the Referral Institute Quick Facts

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.