Networking

Should you worry about beating a male customer at golf and upsetting them? Certainly not says Janette Withey

One way to raise the profile of your business, or of yourself within an organisation, is to seek opportunities to speak in public. But with so many speakers failing to hit the mark your presentation could end up putting your audience off. Not really the result you want!

More than 55,000 members of social and business network 4Networking celebrated reaching a milestone in February – 6 years since the launch of the first 4Networking group.

UK Business networking organisers 4Networking and BlackBerry have teamed up to create a new concept in face-face networking called Make It Happen Mondays.

Mark Dixon: ‘Why you must network face-to face’ Social networking brings many business benefits but there is still great value in having personal contact with potential customers and clients, says Mark Dixon chief executive, Regus The Smarta 100 Awards, brought to you by O2 and Smarta, are now open for [...]

LinkedIn, the world’s largest professional network, have announced that over one million UK professionals have joined LinkedIn since June 2010, bringing the total number of UK members up to five million, which represents 40 percent of UK professionals.

4Networking, the business breakfast network started by entrepreneur Brad Burton, has unveiled its plans to launch in the USA, Republic of Ireland, Australia and New Zealand, and ultimately to create the world’s first, joined up global business network.

Sales Expert Andy Preston explains that although LinkedIn is one of the best business development tools available, many people don’t use it properly, and even worse – make various mistakes that actually LOSE them sales, rather than WIN them…

There’s lots of advice I could give you about how to get the most out of networking. If you ever want my help with that come and ask me. But these are the most important things to remember, in my opinion:

Have you ever wondered why some people seem to have a steady stream of ideal clients whilst others are always searching for the next? Have you ever wanted to get the opportunity to meet with your ideal prospect but never yet quite managed it? Most people recognise the importance of referrals as part of an effective customer acquisition programme. This workshop focuses on where to find referrals, particularly the ones right under your nose, and how to build an effective strategy to keep a flow of referrals into your business. Who this is For: This is for anyone who wants to work smarter and not harder. It is also designed to help those who feel they haven’t yet gained enough contacts or require a refresher in the ways to tap into their existing contact network.

This winter there has been a lot of talk about ‘visibility’. For the purposes of this blog post, though, I’m not talking about whether you can see out of your windscreen when it has frosted over. The kind of visibility that has become a trendy subject is about being seen in the marketplace. We all know about information overload and how much competition there is for your customers’ attention, both online and offline. So being seen – in person, online, in the media – is essential. However it is dangerous to stop there.

Business networking specialist Andy Lopata takes time to shatter a few illusions, as networking groups do not produce referrals.

That may disappoint a few people who have spent a lot of time and money joining groups in the hope of generating new business. Hours spent at breakfast meetings, lunches and chatting over canapés when you could have been watching The Apprentice…..all wasted.

Business Scene, the UK’s fastest growing online business community, has invited companies from across the capital to join them at ‘London Connections’, sponsored by Microsoft and Alliance & Leicester.

More than 200 SMEs from a range of industries are expected to attend, bringing the city’s leading business networking groups together under one roof on the 15th September.

A little while ago a member of the Business Matters Magazine Facebook Group posed a question:

“Networking events…….do they work?”

The questioner went on to explain, “Over the past year I have been overwhelmed by the volume of networking events that have been shoveled through my letter box but I have had a busy time so attending has not been a priority.

Increasingly, businesses have been looking to ‘word of mouth’ marketing to find clients with the growth of networking groups providing opportunities for companies to spread the word and get referrals.
Times move on and with the growth of online social networking opening people’s eyes to the power of the internet, companies are looking to see how the increasing number of ‘social’ business networks can be used for marketing and sales purposes.

Revolutions, once they are under way, are difficult to stop. But people will insist on trying.

177 years ago this month, the south-east of England was aflame as farm workers rioted. Under the leadership of the mysterious ‘Captain Swing’, they launched an orgy of burning and destruction across the countryside.

The rioters were protesting against technological progress. What worked them into their frenzy of pitchfork-waving rage was the growing use of threshing machines, which they saw as a threat to their livelihoods.

A new business networking organisation has just launched specialising in creating local online communities. Word Of Mouse, created by one of the former founders of the BRE Network is hoping to capitalise on the current boom in online social networking with sites like Facebook, Ecademy and Linked In.

Many small business owners will be used to copping flak for addictions to their ‘crackberry’.
The tell tale symtoms are all too common. Exasperated partners railing at post midnight emailing or blackberrys heading for a watery demise in the swimming pool during that longed for summer break.However, the vexed issue of the merits of Blackberrys is truely small fry compared to the grief that could be caused to business owners by the latest internet phenomenon. The explosion in popularity of social networking sites like Facebook, You Tube, Bebo and My Space presents a new potentially very big problem for owner managers to grapple with.