My criteria
The criteria I use
These are personal criteria that I set and apply myself — to BNI members and outside partners alike. Not a certification, no committee, no published scores. I publish them so you know what stands behind each of my referrals.
The eight things I check, in four layers
The longest distance in referring someone is not from "I know you" to "I trust you" — it is from "I trust you" to "I will put my own name behind you in front of my client". These four layers are how I cross it. If one layer fails I stop: a decent firm that cannot deliver is still not referable, and a capable firm that sells people what they do not need even less so.
01
Are they straight with people
They do what they say and keep appointments. If this fails, nothing else saves it.
Clean legal standing
Valid licences, a traceable tax code, a real operating address and a representative I can meet.
Decent in business
No counterfeits, no inflated claims, transparent pricing without hidden fees, a returns policy that works.
Treats their own people well
Pays social insurance, pays wages on time, keeps the workplace safe.
02
What they want from a customer
Selling what the customer needs, or what pays best. The hardest thing to see, and where my clients lose money most often.
Sells what the customer needs
I ask past customers one question: has this firm ever told you NOT to buy something. A firm that never has is one I look at again.
Turns down work beyond their reach
Taking everything and doing it badly embarrasses whoever referred them. I would rather hear "not my line, let me point you elsewhere" than hear yes to everything.
03
Can they actually deliver
Decent but unable to do the work is still not referable.
Can actually do the work
A real track record, industry certifications where the field requires them, a clear process and warranty.
Responds quickly
Replies within a few working days. A firm that leaves my client waiting a week is one I stop referring.
04
What proves it
The first three are what I believe. This one is what I can verify.
Past customers vouch — and come back
I phone at least two former customers myself, not online reviews. And I ask one more thing: next time, would you call them again.
What rules someone out immediately
Applied equally to BNI members and outside partners. Regardless of how good they are, or how well I know them.
Trading counterfeit, imitation or IP-infringing goods.
A history of fraud, deception or misappropriation.
Owing wages or social insurance to their own employees.
Disguised multi-level schemes or paying returns from later participants’ money.
Usurious lending, loan-sharking or unlawful debt collection.
Operating a regulated business without the mandatory licence.
Recently penalised for false advertising or commercial fraud.
Seriously penalised for environmental pollution.
Use of child or forced labour, or discrimination.
Giving me false information while I was checking them out.
Refusing to let me contact past customers or see basic documents.
I never refer, no matter who asks: unlicensed crypto, betting, high-interest pawn broking, sham forex platforms, loan-file "beautification" services, or personal-data trading.
Fields where I am extra careful
Not that I never refer here, but I check harder and usually only within the narrow scope I understand.
- Supplements, pharmaceuticals and medical devices
- Aesthetic and spa services with clinical intervention
- Investment, financial and insurance advisory; real-estate brokerage
- Study abroad, migration advisory and overseas labour placement
- Any model that promises a return to customers
Documents I look at
- 1Business registration certificate
- 2Sector licence, where the field requires one
- 3Any quality certification they claim, still valid
- 4Warranty and returns policies
- 5A price list or sample quotation
- 6Phone numbers of 2–3 past customers for me to call
Four things I record on every profile
Legal documents reviewed
Business registration, tax code and any required sector licence.
Past customers called
I personally phoned at least two of their former customers.
Used them myself
I or my own clients have used this service and were satisfied.
Visited in person
I have been to their office or production site.
Anything I have not done is left unticked on the profile — no dressing it up.
The limits of what I do
I am not a certification body. I have no laboratory, no auditors, and there are fields where I lack the expertise to judge the technical side — I say so on those profiles. This list is a good place to narrow your options, not a substitute for your own due diligence.