September/October 2006
Art of Networking
AustraliaFounder's Cup Recognizes the Best
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| Ivan Misner and Barbara Knackstedt with the Canberra Founder's Cup. Photo by Paul Chapman. |
Membership drives promote BNI around the world, and this region is no exception to the 'double your numbers, triple your referrals' philosophy. During his visit to Australia, Dr. Misner also spoke about how strong chapters generate the greatest quality and quantity of referrals. It's what makes BNI the most successful networking organization in the world.
To win the Founder's Cup, a chapter had to meet certain criteria. Chapters generated points by adhering to the BNI system of sponsoring new members: completing dance cards, sending new members to MSP, inviting visitors, and loading their photos and contact/business details on the BNI website Trade Directory. Chapters lost points if members were absent without sending a substitute or failed to enter PALS data on time or were late with renewals.
On July 4, 2006, at Canberra's Old Parliament House, Dr. Misner presented the inaugural Founder's Cup to BNI's Federal Chapter. In addition to adding eight new members to their chapter, they also held 102 dance cards during the three months of the membership drive.
All six of the region's chapters attended the Gala Breakfast as did numerous government dignitaries, including the Federal Minister for Small Business Chief of Staff.Wendy Johnson of Clarity Communications did a great job at PR, which resulted in Dr. Misner's visit getting wide coverage on radio and in the press.
For more on Ivan Misner's visit to Australia, visit the BNI website.
Submitted by Barbara Knackstedt, BNI Canberra
AustrailaSydney Big Breakfast a Huge Success!
Over 300 BNI members and guests gathered at Sydney Olympic Park on a foggy morning to hear the Master of Networking, Dr Ivan Misner. And the people who drove from Hornsby to Wollongong and the Blue Mountains, were not disappointed.Another enthusiastic attendee was Senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells, who has a special interest in Australian small businesses.
Submitted by Tony Benner, BNI Executive Director
AustrailaUp, Up and Away with Dr. Ivan Misner in Coffs Harbour
It's 6.30am, it's wet and cold, but that doesn't deter BNI Members. There is already a crowd gathered at Pelican Beach Resort in Coffs Harbour, ready to hear from the Founder.117 members and guests listened intently, sometimes serous faces other times raucous laughter. Dr Misner has us in the palm of his hand.
Passion is the word of the morning - many comments were made to us from members about Ivan's passion for his business and that message came through in his presentation as well. We all need to have passion for what we are doing.
With attendance from every chapter in the region, some members had a VERY early start driving up to 3 1/2 hours to the breakfast - talk about passion and commitment.
The morning finished with Ivan being taken "Donald Trump" style by helicopter to the airport to meet his flight back to Sydney.Submitted by Russ Holland, BNI Executive Director
MalaysiaThe Dynamic Chapter at Its Best
During Ivan Misner's visit to Malaysia for KL06, BNI's first Worldwide Conference, he visited with the Dynamic Chapter in the Johor region. The Dynamic Chapter presented Ivan with a gift—an image of Ivan which is actually comprised of tiny photos of every member of the chapter. This gift was created by the chapter's graphic designer, Mino Yong.Dynamic Chapter also produced a chapter newsletter, which you can view here. We love how the newsletter tracks referrals, the monetary value of BNI referrals, and the number of visitors. Notice, too, that the newsletter features new members, networking leaders, available categories, and upcoming speakers.
Dynamic Chapter lives up to its name!
MalaysiaBNI Founder Raves about Ampang Chapter
During his whirlwind tour of Asia and Australia following KL06, the first BNI Worldwide Conference held in June, Dr. Ivan Misner attended a meeting of the Ampang Chapter of BNI.Ivan reports, "They have about 32 members and had 10 visitors. They ran a great meeting. It is always amazing to me to see how BNI works virtually the SAME in every country."
MalaysiaKL06—A Catalyst for Referrals
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| The Referral Board during KL06, an activity put up for members to list their ideal referrals. |
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| Enthusiastic members at KL06. |
There was also an impressive line-up of speakers, including BNI Founder and Chairman Dr. Ivan Misner, Andy Bounds from the UK, Geoff Kirkwood - National Director of Australia, Robert French—National Director of Spain & Malaysia.
To read more about KL06 and see great photos of the event, click here.
Submitted by Avryl Au, National Director—BNI Malaysia, National Director—BNI Thailand, Executive Director—BNI Hong Kong
IndiaRaining Referrals in India
One morning, as I set out for my weekly BNI Business Genies meeting, the wind was howling and it was raining buckets. Such weather might deter some people from attending—not our members. By the time we sat down for the formal part of the meeting, all 27 members were present. And there were 12 quality visitors out of the 15 expected, 45 referrals, and 7 applications. Not bad for a meeting that looked like it was going to be a wash out!As the meeting ended, it began raining torrentially for the next three hours. We were stuck at our venue. Members began impromptu one-on-ones with visitors. We also had an extremely productive leadership team meeting. After about hour and a half we started to play games in one big group. It was amazing to see relationships deepening, which I'm sure will result in referrals.
A number of members mentioned that they could not think of a better place to be stuck then at a venue with their BNI colleagues. It is important to make sure to keep the continuity of your regular meetings—even when circumstances seem unruly.
Submitted by Niraj R Shah, National Director - BNI India
Sri LankaBNI Launched in Sri Lanka!
On July 5th BNI Sri Lanka was officially launched with the inaugural meeting of the Kandy Host Chapter. In spite of the heavy rain, there were 35 visitors present on their launch day. From 15 core group members, they added ten more that first day! The Kandy Host Chapter will meet every Tuesday at the restaurant of the Hotel Casamara in the city of Kandy.The National Director for Sri Lanka and the Maldives, Mr. Marjan Manzil, says that the kickoff meeting was a "real success indeed." Congratulations to the new Leadership Team Members: President, Mr. C. P. DeSilva, Vice-President, Mr. H. M. Shafeek, and Secretary/Treasurer, Mr. M. S. Faizar Ali. Marjan says, "This is a fine group of enthusiastic professionals who are recommending more people to join."
The city of Kandy is located in the center of the beautiful island nation of Sri Lanka. It is famous for its rich cultural heritage and is very proud that the business community represents all of the many ethnic groups that inhabit this vibrant community--Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslims. Marjan says that as the founding chapter in Sri Lanka, Kandy Host will be the "model for all proceeding chapters." Their goal is to increase to 30 members within three months.
In Marjan's inaugural remarks he said, "In an economy like ours, the best business promotional strategy is the word of mouth marketing by developing a network of contacts—and BNI provides the structured system for it."
ThailandBNI Thailand Launches Its First Chapter!
On July 4th the new "Heritage" Chapter enjoyed its highly successful kickoff meeting. The core members were very enthusiastic and had sent out 100 invitations. One person alone, Ms. Sriluk, invited 18 people!Kollakit is the Regional Director in Bangkok. He is very committed to the success of BNI Thailand and already has plans for a second and third chapter. Judging from the response to the Heritage Chapter launch, he is excited to see the potential of BNI in Thailand and the opportunity that BNI can create for businesses in Thailand.
Kollakit said, "We were excited to see 80 people turned up to start the meeting at 7:15 a.m, something which we did not expect Thai people to do. And as the session carried on, we had another 20 people joining us!"
Kollakit conducted the first meeting very smoothly and professionally, and at the end of the meeting there were 60 people filling out application forms to join BNI! Visitors were obviously impressed to see the professionalism shown and an effective system being presented by the director and members of the core group.
The Co-National Director for BNI Thailand, Ms. Avryl Au, says, "The Heritage core group business men and women are no different when it comes to business and BNI. They are some of the most successful and influential business people in the community, and BNI will be successful when we have the right people in the core group."
Submitted by Avryl Au, National Director - BNI Malaysia, National Director - BNI Thailand, Executive Director - BNI Hong Kong
Hong KongSuccess Chapter Launched
BNI HK launched its 3rd chapter on July 28, 2006. Members were enthusiastic about their chapter successfully launching; it is aptly named Success Chapter. Ms. Winnie Wong brought 16 visitors, and Mr. Peter Ho brought 14 guests. Business people in HK eagerly embrace BNI's systematic way of generating business and the BNI philosophy of Givers Gain. It's working well in HK.Submitted by Avryl Au, National Director - BNI Malaysia, National Director - BNI Thailand, Executive Director - BNI Hong Kong
SingaporeMedia Spreads BNI Message
During Ivan Misner's visit of Asian countries following the first Worldwide Conference in Kuala Lumpar, we arranged for media coverage of BNI events and Ivan's visit.On June 26th, NewsRadio 938, the Singapore national radio station, invited Ivan Misner to THE LIVING ROOM - an interactive program where listeners get to call in and ask questions. Ivan was able to present Masters of Success through a series of questions asked by the hosts.
On June 27th, ChannelNewsAsia, the premier Asian TV news station, hosted Ivan Misner on their Prime Time Morning program. Building business by word-of-mouth and networking was the topic that was discussed over the live program that is aired across Asia.Submitted by Sim Chow Boon, Founding National Director - BNI Singapore
