Is joining a business networking group actually worth it?

Yes, if two things are true: the people in the room sell to the same clients you sell to, and you track what the group returns in revenue, knowledge and contacts. Miss either one and a networking group is an expensive coffee habit. Most groups fail the first test, which is why so many people say networking doesn’t work.

I know because I was one of those people. I used to hate networking. I thought it was handing out business cards and pretending to care about everyone’s 60-second pitch. I’d leave feeling like I’d wasted my morning.

The problem wasn’t networking. It was the room.

Why do most people say networking groups are a waste of time?

Because most people join the wrong room and then never measure anything.

Early in my career I sold commercial printing. If a company didn’t order between a quarter of a million and a million dollars of printing a year, it wasn’t worth a conversation. So I went to the big referral groups, the chambers, the local networking groups. I’m not knocking them. But when I said I did printing, people asked me if I could do their business cards.

That’s a $50 job. It wasn’t a realistic conversation for either of us.

I wasn’t going to cold call and I wasn’t going to knock on doors. Networking had to be the game. So I had to figure out how to make networking work at a level nobody around me was teaching.

The second reason groups feel like a waste is what I call the treadmill effect. You feel like you’re doing everything right and you’re not making any progress. Happy hours. Breakfast meetings. Group lunches. Coffees. All that motion, and no money.

If you’re going because it’s a good time and the drinks are flowing, that doesn’t mean it’s good for your business.

Who should actually be in the room?

People who already sell to your buyers and can open doors to them.

When we were selling into midmarket companies, everyone told us to network more. So we did. And we learned fast that our ideal clients weren’t networking. CEOs, CFOs and decision makers weren’t at happy hours, chamber events or local meetups. They were busy running companies.

So we stopped chasing prospects in the wrong rooms. We built rooms full of B2B professionals who sell to the same clients we do. Consultants, MSPs, agencies and other trusted experts. People who could open doors, not just hand out business cards.

That is the whole idea behind Success Champion Networking. Every chapter meets weekly over Zoom. Each chapter holds “one seat per category,” so you’re never next to a competitor. No MLMs, under any circumstances. Today SCN has 450+ vetted members across 9 countries.

The test for any group, ours included, is simple. Look around the room and ask: do these people talk to my buyers every week? If the answer is no, the group isn’t worth it for you, no matter how nice everyone is.

How do you know if a networking group is paying off?

You track it. If you can’t say what a group returns, you don’t know if it’s worth it.

Your time is your most valuable asset as a business owner. Take inventory of where you’re going, who you’re meeting, and how that turns into actual value. I keep it to three things:

1. Revenue. Is there a direct financial gain from the activity?
2. Knowledge. Did you gain insights or skills you can use?
3. Contacts. How many meaningful connections did you make?

Then add up the cost. Dues, event fees, travel, and the hours you spent. Weigh that against what came back.

Ask three questions about every group and every event:

• Which networking is getting me leads?
• Which of those leads are actually buying and turning into clients?
• Which clients are now referring me to other people?

I also want you to know your own numbers. How many introductions you make before you gain a new client. How many referrals. How many coffees. When you know those, you stop guessing which rooms work.

One more thing. Networking is about growing other people’s businesses. It’s giving more than receiving. But you have to receive something back, or you’ll get taken advantage of.

Give, give, give, GET, give.

Does it really work, or is that just a sales pitch?

It works when you do the work, and I’ve tested it with numbers.

In May 2026 I went to Houston, a city where I had no local network, and spent five days networking from nothing. Here is what I logged:

Real conversations	79
Invites to keep talking	21
Strategic introductions	11

You can read the whole breakdown in my five-day Houston networking test. The point isn’t that 11 is a magic number. The point is that a focused approach in the right rooms produced introductions in less than a week.

Most of the value of any group is lost after the meeting. Advisor Impact’s 2010 study of more than 1,000 financial services clients found 83% said they were comfortable giving a referral, but only 29% ever gave one. That gap is follow-up. I wrote about closing it in why referrals are built in the follow-up.

What does a business networking group cost?

Count both the dues and your time. The time is usually the bigger bill.

For SCN, membership is $970 a year, or $97 a month on a 12-month commitment, plus a one-time non-refundable $50 application fee. The annual plan works out to two months free compared with paying monthly. That covers weekly chapter meetings, visitor access to every chapter, member-only training and a private community. The full breakdown is on the pricing page.

Whatever group you look at, run the same math. Dues plus hours per week, against the revenue, knowledge and contacts you can trace back to it. If the math doesn’t work after you’ve done the follow-up, leave.

When is a networking group not worth it?

Let me be fair before I’m blunt. Plenty of good people run groups that don’t fit your business. That’s not their fault.

A group isn’t worth it for you when:

• Nobody in the room sells to your kind of client.
• Your industry seat is already filled, so referrals go to someone else.
• You show up, pitch, and never book a single follow-up conversation.
• You can’t name one dollar, one lesson or one useful contact it’s produced.

That third one is on you, not the group. I see people pay dues, attend every week, and never have a one-on-one. Then they say networking doesn’t work. It didn’t get a chance.

The bottom line

Joining a business networking group is worth it when the room is full of people who serve your buyers, you put in the follow-up, and you measure what comes back. Without those three, you’re on the treadmill.

Don’t take my word for it. Go sit in one. If you sell B2B, find a chapter that fits your industry and schedule, and visit free before you decide anything.

Questions people ask

Can I visit an SCN chapter before I join?

Yes. Your first visit to a Success Champion Networking chapter is free, and it is required before you can apply. You sit in a real weekly meeting, see who is in the room, and decide. The chapter decides too. Both sides have to agree it is a fit before anyone joins.

Does SCN let two people from the same industry into one chapter?

No. We hold one seat per industry category in each chapter, so you are never sitting next to a competitor pitching the same clients. If your category is taken in one chapter, you can look for another chapter in the directory where that seat is still open.

Is a virtual networking group as good as meeting in person?

It can be better for B2B. Every SCN chapter meets weekly over Zoom, so you can join a room built around your buyers instead of the room that happens to be closest to your office. The relationship work still happens one on one, in virtual coffees and follow-up.

Should I quit networking events if I join a group?

No. Events are fine when you go with a purpose. Know who you want to meet and why before you walk in. A good group gives you a steady weekly base of people who know your business, and events become a place to deepen those relationships, not a lottery ticket.