BNI HAPPENINGS — New Zealand
Southwell Sees New Zealand Surging Toward Goal Completion
BNI is continuing to flourish in New Zealand with August heralding the launch of chapters 49 and 50. The average chapter size in New Zealand now sits at 22.8, making a total membership of 1,140—not bad for a country with only 4 million people—but still a way to go to achieve our target of 51 chapters with an average size of 25 by the end of 2003.
Recent events include the Auckland Mid-Term Leadership Team Dinner where over 100 leadership team members assembled for a fun and informative dinner. For the first time we invited sponsorship for the evening and as a result were able to provide a high quality evening at one of Auckland's top venues for a significantly subsidized cost.
With the chapter development phase now nearing completion in Auckland—and the business having grown by 40 percent in 2002—the focus this year has been on putting a management team in place to maintain and develop the chapters. The Auckland team is now approaching full strength with two more ADs having been confirmed in August—taking the total number to seven with one more to go. The two Regional Directors in Wellington and Christchurch are continuing to do a splendid job in terms of chapter launches and growth.
I look forward to seeing many of you at the BNI International Conference in November.
Submitted by Graham Southwell.
Ponsonby Gets Back to Basics
Colleen Abbott, who is the current President of Ponsonby chapter, has been working with her team on a "back to basics" program with meetings being run exactly to the BNI formula.
They have had workshops on referrals and dances, with a strong emphasis on dancing.
They have found, with a return to the basics, the chapter has seen a renewed energy, which reflects the strong commitment of the leadership team.
Member John May has even been active in writing to past members of the chapter, inviting them back to the fold.
Submitted by Graham Southwell.
Member Makes a Dream Come True
I'd like to recognize a BNI member who had a dream that burned for many years and has now been fulfilled!
Brian Falkner is Vice President of Albany chapter and Webmaster for BNI Australia/New Zealand.
Brian had always wanted to write, ever since he was at school, but the necessities of career and family got in the way. As he approached his 40th birthday, however, he felt that if he did not give writing his best shot, he would never do it.
And the result? A delightful book for children, entitled "Henry and the Flea," about a 12 year-old boy who wanted to join the NZ Warriors.
Why a children's book? Brian says that it was a great age group to write for because it is such an interesting age, full of innocence and expectation.
Brian wrote four chapters and sent them off to a couple of publishers, both of whom expressed interest. So he engaged an agent, finished the book and the agent sent the completed manuscript. The first response was a no, the second was a yes, and the third was a maybe.
"For someone who has wanted to write for most of their life and had numerous failed attempts at it, it is hard to express the euphoria of the phone call from my agent telling me that Mallinson-Rendel wanted to publish my book," Brian said.
While he was writing, Brian kept the project secret, even from his wife and children. His wife only found out after the book was accepted for publication and his children didn't find out until the book was launched. It was a great surprise for them.
Congratulations Brian! We look forward to your next book!
Submitted by Graham Southwell.
BNI HAPPENINGS — Malaysia
Malaysia Awards Gold Club Members
The following members were recently awarded Gold Club status:
- Jasmine Zain, Ampang chapter
- Jimmy Tanm, Uptown chapter
- Lt. Col.(R) Harbans Singh, Ampang chapter
- Koh Bee Yen, Xcellent chapter
Submitted by Avryl Au.
Achievers Chapter Lives Up to Name
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| Achievers chapter kick-off meeting. |
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| Mutiara chapter's letter day. |
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| Putra chapter's letter day. |
In April 2003, BNI Malaysia kicked off the Achievers chapter, the first chapter in Penang, an island north of Malaysia. Since then we kicked off the second chapter, Mutiara chapter, in June. The third chapter, Success chapter, is now preparing for kick-off in September.
Achievers chapter has taken off with huge success. At the end of July, the chapter had 31 members.
Submitted by Avryl Au.
City Chapter Celebrates 30 Members
City chapter, Johor, located in the south of Malaysia, held a celebration dinner for being the first chapter of six to achieve 30 members.
At only 10 months old, the chapter already has 35 members. Congratulations!
Submitted by Avryl Au.
BNI HAPPENINGS — Australia
Focusing on Fundamentals Gets Chapters Back on Track
When the Gateway chapter noticed a distinct decline in chapter numbers, referrals and attendance, they decided to be proactive and solve the problem.
Enter the trio of Stephen King, Chris Bauman and Michael Garner. They literally saved the chapter by getting members to focus on the fundamentals.
Membership has grown from 21 back to 27 and shows promise of growing to the goal of 40. Attendance has increased from as low as 70 percent to over 90 percent. Weekly referrals have increased by more than 50 percent. And all of this in just 12 weeks!
How did they do it? By implementing a plan that everyone was committed to and then following up on the plan every week.
The plan focused on networking rather than referrals. Dance cards became a premium. Attendance was mandatory and attendance policies were enforced. Visitors were treated properly and followed up with.
And the trio introduced a computer-based management system for the chapter that kept everyone on track.
Now the results bear witness to what a team approach can do. The Gateway chapter is well on its way toward meeting its goal of becoming the number one chapter.
Submitted by Geoff Kirkwood.
Word of Mouth Works Well in Launching Chapters
In the regional city of Coffs Harbour on the east coast of Australia, an accountant named Brad Alfred kept hearing stories about how much referral business his counterparts were getting in the Queensland state capital city of Brisbane. Some organization called BNI he was told.
Brad's firm, Davies Knox Maynards, has members in three chapters in Brisbane.
"So how do I get some of that?" was the question he asked of Geoff Kirkwood, BNI National Director of Marketing.
"Put 25 to 30 people in a room for breakfast one morning, and I will come down and investigate the potential for a chapter," was the answer.
Brad did this and 14 people joined on the spot. Hey presto… a core group!
Eight weeks later the Highway chapter chartered with 33 members in a city of 35,000 people and seven people were put onto the waiting list for the second chapter.
Not only that but two members have counterparts in a nearby city, and this year will see at least another two to five chapters started in the region.
Submitted by Geoff Kirkwood.
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
Writer's Guidelines for SuccessNet
We want to hear from you! SuccessNet Online needs your input. SuccessNet is truly YOUR newsletter. We ask you to consider the following tips when preparing your submission for SuccessNet:
- Writing style should be clear and concise. Keep your sentences short and give us details. Be specific.
- Use the inverted pyramid format, with your information leading us to the point, rather than giving all the details up front.
- Use dialog in your submission: John said, "BNI made a huge difference in my business."
- Be sure to include your name, chapter name and business name. When applicable, list your web address and we'll insert a hyperlink to direct readers to your website.
- If appropriate, give us dollar values for your chapter brags and testimonials.
- We would like digital photos of your chapter or regional events! As you can see from this first issue, we are able to have many more local-flavor articles and reviews. With your photos, include a brief description of the event, who's in the photo, and the name and city of your chapter.
- Please also include your web address with your submission, so we can direct our readers to your site.
- Please send your submissions to newsletter@bni.com
The types of submissions we are seeking are for Chapter Brags, Memory Hooks, BNI Happenings (your regional news), any other special announcements, success stories, or things your chapter has tried that have been successful.
Thank you!
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