Take a look at your calendar for the upcoming week. Look at the names of the people you are having coffee with, the networking groups you are attending, and the 1-to-1 meetings you have scheduled.
Now, ask yourself a brutally honest question: Why are you spending time with these specific people?
Are they driving your business forward? Are they expanding your horizons? Or are they just comfortable, familiar faces who make for an easy Tuesday morning chat but never actually move the needle for your business?
If you have been swimming in the networking loch as long as we have, you know that not all connections are created equal. Recently, we were inspired by a brilliant concept discussed on the Official BNI Podcast (Episode 957), which centres around a surprisingly simple, slightly hilarious, but incredibly profound evaluation tool known as the “Two Beers and a Puppy” test.
This test forces us to look hard at who we are spending our time with and how we are evaluating our referral partners. Furthermore, it beautifully highlights why different networking environments, whether they be the structured accountability of BNI versus the relaxed, mix-and-mingle vibe of Business Buzz are both vital to building a robust, profitable network.
Grab a coffee (or a beer), and let’s dive into the depths of your contact list.
Part 1: The “Two Beers and a Puppy” Matrix
The concept is beautifully simple as articulated by Bradley Page to Ivan Misner. To evaluate anyone in your professional (or personal) life, you ask yourself two distinct questions:
- Would I want to have two beers with this person? (You can substitute coffee, tea, or a walk if you prefer). This question evaluates chemistry and likability. Is this person engaging? Do you enjoy their company? Are they a positive force?
- Would I trust this person to look after my puppy for the weekend? This question evaluates trust and reliability. Are they responsible? Do they follow through? Will they keep your precious puppy (or in business terms, your most valued client) safe and well-cared for?
When you apply these two questions to the people in your network, everyone falls into one of four distinct quadrants. Let’s break them down.
Quadrant 1: Yes Beers, Yes Puppy (The Unicorns)
These are your golden connections. You love spending time with them, and you trust them implicitly with your business and your reputation. If you hand them a referral, you know they will treat that client like royalty, and you’ll probably have a great time catching up with them afterward to hear how it went.
Your Action: Keep these people close. Invest heavily in these relationships. These are your power partners.
Quadrant 2: Yes Beers, No Puppy (The Fun Disasters)
We all know these people. They are the life of the networking party. They buy the drinks, tell the best stories, and are an absolute joy to be around. You would gladly have two beers with them. But let them look after your puppy? Not a chance. They’d forget to feed it, leave the gate open, and lose the leash. In business, these are the people who are brilliant at events but terrible at follow-up. They over-promise, under-deliver, and miss deadlines.
Your Action: Enjoy their company at social events, but do not give them your A-list referrals. Protect your reputation.
Quadrant 3: No Beers, Yes Puppy (The Reliable Bores)
This person might put you to sleep during a 1-to-1. They don’t have great banter, they are hyper-literal, and getting through a coffee with them feels like an endurance sport. You definitely don’t want to get stuck having two beers with them. However, they are meticulous. If you leave your puppy with them, they will feed it organic meals, log its walks on a spreadsheet, and return it with a brushed coat. In business, this is the rock-solid accountant, the detail-obsessed compliance officer, or the introverted tech genius.
Your Action: Respect them and refer them. You don’t have to be best friends with someone for them to be an incredible, trustworthy referral partner.
Quadrant 4: No Beers, No Puppy (The Anchors)
You don’t enjoy their company, and you don’t trust them to do good work. They complain constantly (failing the “Beers” test) and they drop the ball on projects (failing the “Puppy” test).
Your Action: Why are you still having 1-to-1s with them? Stop giving them your time. Politely distance yourself.
Part 2: The Danger of the “Halo Effect”
Why is the “Two Beers and a Puppy” test so important for business owners? Because as human beings, we are highly susceptible to the Halo Effect.
The Halo Effect is a cognitive bias where our overall impression of a person influences how we feel and think about their character. In networking, this usually manifests as: “I really like having a drink with Dave; therefore, Dave must be great at his job.”
We confuse the “Yes Beers” test with the “Yes Puppy” test.
Julie sees this often when working with highly empathetic, relationship-driven business owners. We want to support the people we like. We want our friends to succeed. So, when we meet someone at a networking event who makes us laugh and shares our interests, we immediately want to pass them business.
But referring a “Yes Beers, No Puppy” connection is professional sabotage. When you refer someone, you are lending them your hard-earned credibility. If Linda the Fun Plumber doesn’t show up to your client’s house, or leaves their bathroom in a state of chaos, your client isn’t mad at Dave. They are mad at you for recommending him.
The reverse is also true. Glenn often works with highly analytical business owners who write off the “No Beers, Yes Puppy” crowd. Just because someone doesn’t have the gift of the gab doesn’t mean they aren’t world-class at what they do. We have to separate social chemistry from professional reliability.
Part 3: Testing the Waters — BNI vs. Business Buzz
So, how do we actually find out if someone passes both tests before we risk our reputation? This brings us to the importance of the environments in which we network.
Different networking formats are designed to test different parts of the matrix. Let’s look at two distinct models: the highly structured BNI model, and the open, mix-and-mingle Business Buzz model.
Business Buzz: The “Beers” Testing Ground
Open networking formats, like Business Buzz, are brilliant. You walk into a room (or a virtual space), grab a coffee, and flow from conversation to conversation. There are no strict attendance rules, no mandatory referrals, and no rigid agendas.
This environment is the ultimate testing ground for the “Beers” question. It relies heavily on social intelligence and personal chemistry. You get to see how people behave in the wild. Who is a good listener? Who is just throwing business cards at people like confetti? Who makes you feel energised, and who drains your batteries?
Business Buzz is phenomenal for expanding your horizontal network, meeting a diverse range of people, and finding those you genuinely click with. However, because it lacks forced accountability, it is harder to immediately answer the “Puppy” question. You know they are fun, but you don’t yet know if they follow up. You have to do the heavy lifting outside the meeting to test their reliability.
BNI: The “Puppy” Testing Ground
On the flip side, we have structured networking like BNI. BNI has rules. It has an agenda. It tracks your attendance, tracks your referrals, and measures your one-to-ones. It requires commitment.
To some, this feels overly restrictive. But mathematically and psychologically, BNI is the ultimate testing ground for the “Puppy” question.
Think about it:
- If a member shows up at 6:30 am every single week without fail, they are proving reliability.
- If they bring qualified referrals that turn into closed business, they are proving competence.
- If they follow up with visitors and complete their CEUs (Chapter Education Units), they are proving commitment.
BNI’s structure forces people to show you if they can watch the puppy. The people who can’t handle the accountability naturally filter themselves out of the system. Now, does BNI guarantee the “Beers” test? Not automatically. You might have a chapter filled with highly reliable people who aren’t the most charismatic. But that is what the culture, the social events, and the deep 1-to-1s are designed to cultivate over time.
The Hybrid Master Connector
The most successful networkers we know, the true Networking Nessies who swim seamlessly through any environment, understand that they need both mechanisms.
They use open networking (like Buzz) to cast a wide net, find high-chemistry individuals, and discover fresh opportunities. Then, they use structured networking (like BNI) to build deep, accountable, high-trust relationships where the “Puppy” test is proven week after week.
If you only do open networking, you risk building a network of “Fun Disasters.” If you only do structured networking, you risk becoming siloed and missing out on the vibrant new energy of the wider business community.
Part 4: The Networking Nessie Audit — Who Are You Spending Time With?
In the BNI podcast episode, Dr. Misner challenges listeners to audit their time. As we mentioned at the start of this post, it is easy to let your calendar fill up by default.
It is time to take control of who gets your energy. We challenge you to do a Two Beers and a Puppy Audit this week.
Step 1: Map Your Top 10 Write down the names of the ten people you spend the most time with in a business/networking context. This includes the people you have the most 1-to-1s with, the people you sit next to at events, and the people you talk to on the phone most often.
Step 2: Apply the Matrix Be honest with yourself. Put a B (Beers) and a P (Puppy) next to their names. Add a checkmark (Yes) or an X (No) for each.
- John Smith: B(Yes) / P(No)
- Sarah Jones: B(No) / P(Yes)
- David Lee: B(Yes) / P(Yes)
Step 3: Adjust Your Calendar Look at your results.
- Are you spending 80% of your time having coffee with John Smith because he’s a great laugh, even though you haven’t exchanged a pound of business in two years? It might be time to move John to an occasional after-work drink and take him out of your prime business hours.
- Are you ignoring Sarah Jones because her conversations are a bit dry? You might be missing out on your most reliable referral partner. Schedule a 1-to-1 with Sarah and focus strictly on how you can strategically align your services.
- Are you dedicating enough time to David Lee? The Yes/Yes people deserve your premium time, your best ideas, and your highest-level introductions.
Conclusion: Stop Babysitting the Wrong Puppies
Time is the only non-renewable resource you have in your business. Every hour you spend sitting across from a “No Beers, No Puppy” connection is an hour stolen from a “Yes/Yes” unicorn who could actually change your business trajectory.
Networking is not about collecting the most contacts; it is about cultivating the right contacts. It is about understanding that chemistry and reliability are two completely different traits, and while it is magical to find them in the same person, you need to know how to navigate relationships where only one exists.
Embrace the mix-and-mingle of Business Buzz to find the spark. Lean into the structured accountability of BNI to prove the fire. And never, ever give your best clients to someone just because they buy the next round of drinks.
Here’s to filling your calendar with great company, and knowing your business (and your puppy) is in safe hands.
Keep swimming,
— Glenn & Julie Cameron The Networking Nessie Team