Across the Globe - Australia/Asia
Singapore
First Chinese-Speaking BNI Chapter

On Wednesday, March 8, 2006, history was made with the birth of Xian Feng, the first Chinese-speaking BNI chapter in the world. Close to 50 business professionals were present to witness the power of word-of-mouth marketing in action.

The 12 founding members represent various nationalities but all speak a common language - Chinese. More importantly, they all speak the language of referrals, which spurred them to launch this chapter. The chapter has members from Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, China and Taiwan.

Xian Feng, which means "First Summit," will soon give birth to other chapters in the coming months. Special mention goes to Executive Director Alfee Goh who gave his full commitment and support during the chapter development process. The 12 founding members pledged to grow and maintain a strong team. The days ahead for Xian Feng look positively profitable!

Submitted by Sim Chow Boon, Founding National Director, BNI Singapore


Taiwan
First BNI Chapter in Taiwan

BNI Referral Slip in Chinese

The launch of the "Qi Qian," or Flagship Chapter, in Daan, Taipei, on March 31, 2006 was cause for celebration. BNI is making a giant step in Taiwan. In Taiwan, almost no one speaks English, so all of the manuals, materials, and agendas have had to be translated. Every group in Taiwan will be Chinese-speaking.

National Director Jihong Hall, who ran the meeting, said afterwards, "It was a tremendous effort from local director Simon Wang and our founding members to make this event such a success. Two of our members, Gloria Liu and Fiona Lee, brought no fewer than 30 guests between them. With 10 applications on the day, this should truly become the flagship chapter for the region."

With two new directors, Xie Smart and Xie Marco, recently trained and three new chapters starting this month, the future for BNI in Taiwan is looking very bright.

Submitted by Andrew Hall, BNI Executive Director

Thailand
BNI comes to Thailand

Avryl, Kollakit, YP Lai in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

BNI Thailand started their first core group in April 2006.

Kollakit Thalerngnawachart has been appointed Assistant Director to initiate the first chapter of BNI in Thailand.

Kollakit traveled to Malaysia to have the first intensive training with Avryl Au and YP Lai, Co-National Directors of BNI Malaysia.

Kollakit said, "It was amazing to witness how the Givers Gain concept and the BNI system is accepted and exercised by Malaysian business people. I have total confidence it will work just as well in Thailand."

Submitted by Avryl Au, National Director - BNI Malaysia and Thailand, Executive Director - BNI Hong Kong


Australia
Look Who Turned 50!

They might say that you are over the hill when you turn 50, but when a chapter that is only 11 months old turns 50, that's not the case.

In February 2006, BNI River View, located in Taree, reached 50 members. This is the first time a chapter in Australia has achieved this milestone.

Part of this chapter's success is its diversity. Apart from the usual categories, the membership also includes a funeral director, a child-care centre coordinator, a fish & chip restaurant owner, a vet, and a psychic.

So why the growth? It's simple: they bring visitors. There have been 15 visitors in the last five weeks, and converting them is easy when they see the energy in the room.

Submitted by Sue Mazur, Operations Manager - BNI Australia


Malaysia
Understanding Teams

The Excellent Power Team of Uptown Chapter

When members of Uptown Chapter attended their chapter Team Building in December, most just went to have some fun. Five members participated in the weekend activities and began to understand and support each other, work as a team, and practice Givers Gain.

The five also discovered they are in independent industries and share the same contact sphere. On returning from the weekend, they acted upon what they learned. The "Excellent Power Team" of Uptown Chapter worked on their ideas immediately, and over the past four months transacted eight projects with a value of RM1,000,000. Currently they are working on a handful of projects, worth another RM1,000,000.

Here are key points they learned from their team building experience:

1. BNI provides the platform and system. The rest you have to do. Nothing is going to happen if you just wait for business to come to you.
2. Revisit clients lost to competitors.
3. Target corporate clients as a group that you could not as an individual.
4. Provide trusted clients with total solutions.
5. Ask other BNI members to introduce you to their top 3 clients and see if you can be their service providers.

Submitted by Avryl Au, National Director, BNI Malaysia and Thailand, Executive Director - BNI Hong Kong