BNI SuccessNet - July/August 2003

May 27 was the long-awaited kickoff day for BNI in Switzerland. After weeks of hard work and preparation, the newest chapter launched with 24 enthusiastic members.

BNI Regional Director, Ina von Koenig says, "Many of our visitors were excited and wanted to join immediately. We had seven applications right after the launch. By the end of the month we expect to have 30 members."

BNI's newest chapter, Liechtenstein-Werdenberg, is now meeting in the village of Sevelen, located near St. Gallen.

Ina says she first saw an advertisement in a Swiss newspaper for a worldwide referral marketing organization. She answered the ad and soon found herself attending Director Training in London.

"I was very impressed and enthusiastic, and I also liked the other people who work for BNI, whom I met there," she says. "I worked all the time quite hard. There was much to do."

With helpful coaching from the U.K. National Office, Ina's hard work started to pay off. "I did exactly what they told me, because I know one cannot build up a worldwide organization if everybody just does what he or she wants to do."

The first information meeting was on February 18, 2003. Soon others joined and the leadership team started coming together. Her Chapter Director (President) is Heidi Haefeli of HRC Human Resources Consulting. The Membership Coordinator (Vice President) is H.K.J. Fritsche, owner of Wirtschaftsformum GmbH. The "schatzmeister" or secretary/treasurer is Mr. Sascha Bolt, owner of DieBu GmbH, a bookkeeping firm.

From the beginning, Ina says that her biggest helpers were Heidi Haefeli, Simone Schapper and Manfred Batliner. "We see a lot of progress," says Ina. She believes that the best qualities in the group are expressed by the Leadership Team and says that they are "totally convinced about the BNI program."

The results speak for themselves. "Someone who attended only one meeting has already got two new clients, and before we even launched the group, our bank manager, Daniel Meier (of Raiffeisenbank) got a referral worth 1 million Swiss Francs from one of the visitors!"

Congratulations to Switzerland, and best of luck to them.

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