120 minutes of Business Coaching

On Friday I went to meet someone who I had met at a recent Federation of Small Businesses Event. We'd spent about five minutes chatting and having exchanged cards agreed to meet for a nice one shot Latte near where we both live. We agreed to meet at 10.30 and spend about half an hour together. We both arrived at 10.30 and left left 2 hours later.  We spent 90 minutes talking about what we had in common: Redundancy, gutters falling off our houses during the recent cold snap, education, family and interests. We spent 10 minutes talking about what we did and then twenty minutes bouncing ideas off each other. At the end I said thanks because one or two things that I had mulling over suddenly became clear and I had a new energy to tackle these issues and greater conviction about my capacity to do so. What we both agreed on was that small business can be a lonely business. The two hours we both spent on Friday was highly productive. As my friend said: "People do business with people".

The Seven Virtues Of A Good Networking Meeting.

After a well attend BforB meeting has just wrapped up, it seems a good idea to go through it to see what makes a good meeting.

1.  Courtesy and Integrity. Two emails yesterday explaining that people could not come. They were having to catch up with clients after the big freeze and had to undertake early morning journeys.

2. Commitment. Both the non attendees asked me to pass on thanks to others for previous support and one passed on a lead.

3. A Supportive Environment.  A first time guest admitted to major nerves giving his first 60 second elevator pitch, got a round of applause.

4. A Willingness To Share.  Mike's 10 minute slot ran to 20 as he talked less about his business and more about what people can do to go and find out about the dark arts of SEO. Free consultations were offered

5. A Willingness to Learn. 6 people signed up  for free one to one sessions on Social Networking from yours truly between now and Christmas.

6. Friendliness. Every one made sure they spoke to more than one person and made newcomers welcome. Informal networking ended at about 9.30 an hour after the meeting's official close.

7 Meaningful Contributions. Everyone requested one to ones and took up opportunities.


Business networking at BforB East Yorkshire

Action Coach Diary Tip

Quick entry today as I am flying around meeting people and venue scouting in Grimsby. Friday I was invited to a seminar for Action Coach to see if I wanted to avail myself of their services. Met some nice people , as you do, and walked out with a number of tips.

Best tip of the lot was this: Last thing you do when you finish work is write down your schedule for the next day. By writing it down you actually give your brain chance to process the information whilst you sleep. You may even find that you wake up and realise that there is something you can reschedule.

It was one of those moments when you " Yep know that one" but in my case I have to say that it is not something I always do. The last two weeks when I was pretty much unable to get about was a case in point. It's always good to have good practice positively reinforced.

One thing I've done as a result is make sure my social networking is primed and ready to go the very next day. Socialoomph is my preferred tool for this. Just log in for a free account and you can preset twitter comments to be sent during the day as well as an auto-response to people who are following you. That way you won't be thinking, "Have I got something to tweet and when can I do it?" as you get the kids' breakfast and trip over the dog food at 7.30 in the morning.

Wayne Rooney: His Part in my LinkedIn Network

I found out today that Wayne, who seems to be returning to form at last, having buggered up the World Cup in time honored English fashion plays a role in my LinkedIn network. I was flicking through the directory of LinkedIn groups today and came across Reds in Business, a networking group of Manchester United fans who wish to join together and forge business relationships around the their shared passion.

I also found  by clicking on the group details that 7 people in my LinkedIn network are members, one of them is a BforB member here in Hull. Well straight away that gives my colleague and I something to talk about next Wednesday when we meet at the fine hotel he runs. All the better for building those Know Like and Trust relationships.

It struck me that my LinkedIn  group member ship is pretty turgid and very narrowly focussed on my business field. Thanks to the group search facility, I've now made contact with the Football Fans' Business Network and have enquired about joining or setting up the Saints in Business Network. Any Southampton fans looking add a comment please.

Just as we like to find topics of mutual interest when we meet people for the first time its great to find on LinkedIn a means of thinking outside the networking box. Take the time today to find a group outside of your business field, share your expertise with a new audience and present yourself as a more well rounded person. Life's too short.

Best Way To Fight The Tax Man

A step away from the issue of networking in today's post. I'm glad the headline got your attention, because for any small business one of the biggest nightmares is unwarranted attention from the tax man. Whilst we all work hard to make sure our businesses are tax compliant, tax inspectors have a way of making us all fell a bit queasy: our integrity and efficiency are being second guessed.

By far the best protection from the tax man for SMEs is offered through membership of the Federation of Small Businesses. The Federation's "Tax Protection Scheme" comes as an automatic right of membership, which for a one man band costs £150 for the first year, £120 thereafter. If you have between 1 and 4 employees then it's £200 for the first year, £170 thereafter.

What does the Tax Protection Scheme offer? Professional advice and support and full representation during any HMRC investigation. Now when you consider that the average length of a tax enquiry is 21 months; just consider the cost, financial, emotional and time-wise that such a process will take out of you, your business your health and your family.

Here is an interesting statistic, in 25% of HMRC investigations the businesses concerned had a turnover of less than £25000, 50% of targeted businesses had a turnover of less than £150000. HMRC clearly sees small businesses as an strong source of revenue yield.

What are the results of FSB protection? Well 70% of FSB members had an additional liability of £500 or less after investigation.  30% had no additional liability. Add to that the fact that FSB professionals do all the work for you whilst you look after your business, and you can see like, BFORB East Yorkshire members have that it's a no- brainer.


Here is the link to the FSB website. If you call them now you will receive a visit from an officer within a few days( weather permitting).

Good luck

Business Networking Clubs are a Complete Waste of Space

If you follow the guidance below:

1.  Join the first one you come across, especially if it's got lots of members

2. Don't waste your time outside of your club with fellow members. The whole point of the club is to provide you and them with one opportunity to pass on business.  We all have our own lives to lead. Focus on your business and focus your efforts on the needs of your business at your networking club.

3. Don't stay too long if you get no business out of it. Once you've found that none of these people you meet once a week are passing you business then join anther group.

4. What ever you do, don't take on what these clubs refer to as executive roles or officer status. Life is too short and you're not paying money for extra work.

5 Make sure you sell as much as you can to members. This links up to point number 3. Sometimes these people need to be reminded who you are, especially when you are trying things out. The best way to get noticed is by approaching individuals and letting them know what you have to offer. They will certainly remember you, especially if you offer a nice discount!

6 Don't get too anxious about your sixty second slot or elevator pitch. Everyone else is a nervous as you. Just be yourself and tell them as many things as possible about what you offer and all the different types of leads you are looking for. There is a good chance that at least one of your colleague swill pick up on one thing that will be advantageous to you. It's a numbers game after all.

Monty Python's Networking Technique

Mark:  Hello my name's Mark.

Mark's New Friend: What do you do then?

Mark: I run Business Referral Clubs.

Mark's New Friend: I went to one of those once.

Mark: Oh Good, Enjoy it?

Mark's New Friend:  Nah. Didn't want to go to a meeting every week.

Mark: Glad you said that, we meet once a fortnight.

Mark's New friend:  Didn't want to have to give referral every week

Mark: Glad you said that. In my group someone said that to me once. I just said, "Anything you do like asking to have a chat to someone later adds to building relationships." Referrals come later,  relationships first.

Mark's New Friend: Too much structure, don't like that.

Mark: Glad you said that. Well we have quite a bit of structure in our groups but we also make sure that we have plenty of time for informal chat. Last week's meeting overran by 30 minutes as we all stayed chatting about City.

Mark's New Friend: You follow City then?

Mark: No I follow Southampton

Mark's New Friend: You poor sod.

Mark: Yes.

Mark's New Friend: What time do you meet?

Mark: 6.45

Mark's New Friend: Sheessh too early for me!

Mark: Glad you said that. We'll be setting up an evening group in the New Year.

Mark's New Friend:  Like to get home after work. Also I like to do business in the pub.

Mark: Glad you said that. That's what x over there did. I introduced him to one of the members and they met for a beer last Friday.

Mark's New Friend: I only go to pubs with people I know.

Mark: Glad you said that. So apart from the structure, the referrals, the time in the morning, the time in the evening and meeting new people basically you think its a good idea, want to come next week?

Mark's New Friend: Grunt

Mark: I'll piss off now shall I?

Mark's New Friend: Nah, don't worry. So why the hell do you support a crap team like Southampton anyway?

Mark: Glad you said that.....

Netiquette Part 3: Sending E-Mail to Rude Folk

There's nothing quite like people who are rude and don't respond to e-mails.

I've just seen an excellent posting on the website Netm@nners.com . This article, tackles the question of how quickly one should respond to e-mails. Whilst there is no question that we can all become inundated by e-mails especially SPAM , it is incumbent upon us to respond to all e-mails as quickly as we can.

Sometimes it can feel a nuisance having to wade through a pile of e-mails, and there very well may be a good reason why we cannot send a quick response, but to the sender a lack of response  will appear to be bad manners. As the article says, the fact that the sender knows that the message is delivered to your desk the second it is sent means that they will  assume that you are able to deal with it there and then.

The answer, it is suggested is to set up an out office reply. This can set up a brief automated response to inform people that you are out of the office and will get back to them as soon as possible.

Here's a link to a site that shows you how to do it.  Anyone who has any comments or further advice, please post a comment  here.

I am a Name not a Number

I have to make a  confession. When I started my career in teaching I could never remember children's names. When you first start out in secondary teaching you have 7 or 8 groups of 30 children to teach. You meet them all once within the first 3 days, that's 240 names to learn. In my first year I struggled terribly for the first half term and there were still about half a dozen children whose names I could not remember. Part of the problem is that when you start teaching there are a bewildering array of things to learn, systems, timetable , staff names, discipline systems (or more usually a complete lack of them).

After the first 2 weeks I met with a Mother who wanted know how her son was getting on. I didn't know who he was. There was not much point making excuses that I was a new teacher and was suffering from information overload. I managed to fluff my way through with some generalisations and from then on resolved never to be caught out again. I developed a number of tricks to make sure that I had a class' names taped within two lessons.

Amazingly, I come across people in the business world who only meet 1 or 2 people at a time and yet still don't remember their names second time round. Greeting someone by their name is a compliment, especially if you have only met them once before. When someone greets you by your name they have clearly taken the effort to value you as an individual.

Two tips for remembering names with more to follow:

1. Repeat the name as you are presented. I don't mean repeat christian name and surname like Arnie in The Terminator, just say "Tom nice to meet you". Verbal repetition is a useful way of memorising something. You are also positively reinforcing your new acquaintance's identity.

2. If you've taken a business card from someone then send them a brief courteous e-mail that evening. By looking at the card and recalling the name and face you will again be embedding that person's identity into the memory bank.

How Not To Work the Room

Yesterday I went to an event hosted by Yorkshire Business Angels, they are a group of venture capitalists who invest in SMEs and have regular conferences where entrepreneurs can make presentations and pitch for investment.

I went along not because of any need for a business angel but to network and tell people about BforB. I met some familiar faces and one or two new ones as well. One particular chap I met is a  business consultant. As we talked I understood that we had a lot in common, we both spoke more than one langauge and we had both lived in Mexico city for a time. I also learnt that he was a vastly experienced business man who had worked for and on behalf many prestigious companies around the world.

As we spoke we were joined by somebody else who described herself as a "Non Exec". Having asked what we both do she spoke largely about herself and then said her goodbyes and joined another group. At the end of the presentations my older wiser and more experienced colleague turned to me and said: "Just a word of advice, I found that woman who joined us and then cleared off after 5 minutes pretty offensive. Make sure you remember that."

As we said our goodbyes he said: "I wouldn't expect you to pay me, but if you ever feel you need some advice on running your network referral business then let me know"

Enough said.

Following up after a Pitch

A friend of mine has made four major pitches in the last two months. Each of the contracts he was bidding for had different specifications and therefore he was not able to regurgitate the same pitch four times. He won one of the contracts but lost out on the other three.

The contract he won he was told there and then on the spot. The three companies who did not engage his services behaved in three very different ways.

Company 1. Thanked him for his pitch, left him to find his way out of the building. Informed him that he had been unsuccessful when he called to enquire a week later.

Company 2. Thanked him for his pitch, offered him a drink before he left. Informed him by letter 3 days later.

Company 3.  Thanked him for his pitch, received a personal e-mail the same day thanking him again for his presentation and pointing out specific strong points. the e-mail went on to say when he would be informed of the decision. A week later an e-mail telling why he had not been successful followed later by a call form the MD thanking him and expressing a wish to do possible business in the future.

Result. My friend has already recommended this business to a colleague.

10 Networking Tips for Introverts

An article from Internet Word Magic by Michelle Howe
As an entrepreneur you are encouraged to get out there and network. Make contacts and start building relationships by attending networking meetings and promoting your business.

This sounds like a good idea until you actually arrive at the networking meeting. Then the self-doubt and fear sets in. According to an article in Psychology Today, “48 percent of people identify themselves as shy.”  Is it any wonder that networking is difficult for many entrepreneurs?

Even if you don’t consider yourself shy, networking is a challenge.  How many of us really feel comfortable walking into a room of strangers and starting a conversation?  Except for those few souls who love to “work a room,” the rest of us struggle to fit in.  We revert back to that little kid on the first day of class at a new school.

But, it doesn’t have to be this way. You can learn to feel comfortable networking if you change your outlook. Here are ten tips to help you become more of a social butterfly:

1. Understand that most of the people around you are also feeling awkward. Shy people are focused on themselves and falsely believe that everyone is focused on them too. Wrong. They aren’t thinking about you; they’re thinking about themselves.
2. Give yourself time to feel comfortable in a situation. Get to networking events early, before the main crowd shows up. Strike up a conversation with a few people and build your confidence.
3. Listen to discussions before you jump in. Get a feel for the conversation and then contribute when it seems right.
4. Ask questions when you first meet someone and get them to talk about themselves and their business. Make them the center of your attention.
5. Don’t insist on talking about yourself and what you do. Go into networking with the attitude of gaining more information about the people in the room.
6. Don’t try to sell your products or services. Networking is for building relationships, not selling. When someone asks you what you do, that doesn’t mean she wants a sales presentation.
7. Learn how to describe what you do in 30 seconds or less.
8. Always ask someone how you can be of help to him or her and really mean it.
9. He who collects the most business cards or gives away the most business cards at a networking meeting is not the winner. Having a business card means nothing if you weren’t able to personally connect with that person.
10. Plan ahead and have a specific purpose when you attend a networking event. Rehearse the questions you want to ask and know where you want the conversation to go.

One of the best ways to build your business is to build relationships with other business owners. People want to do business with people they like and trust. Use a networking event as an opportunity to get to know people better and find out how you can help them grow their business. Your networking will be successful once you start looking at it as a way to help others.

© 2005 Michelle Howe

Selfless Networking Gets Results

 A friend of mine told me a story about how visiting a speed networking event produced to a highly promising business referral. He visited a speed networking event in a neighbouring town where he was hoping to launch his services. He spent about £10 on the speed networking event and another £25 on lunch.

One of the colleagues he met works for a youth enterprise scheme, which aims to give youngsters some experience of the business world by giving coaching sessions and seminars in schools. Now my pal is a former youth worker and, therefore, running a business mentoring session would be like rolling off a log, so he volunteered. He arranged to meet his new colleague, to go through the inevitable documentation that anyone who walks within ten yards of a youngster has to go through.

Three days before the meeting was due to take place, the youth worker called him and in the course of the conversation it emerged that she had dealings with company that he was considering approaching. He arranged for a meeting for him the very same day and a s a consequence he was able to secure a contract, effectively jumping the queue ahead of other interested parties.

Needless to say the product my friend is offering suited the needs of his new client far better than that of his competitor. Howe the whole rigmarole of cold calling sending a letter and arranging a one-to-one was avoided simply because of a positive referral offered by somebody to whom he had offered support.
Follow the link to get business networking now in Hull.

Netmanners

Blog posts this week have focussed on basic good manners in the world of online networking. To round this off I have found an excellent site called Netmanners. It touches on a wide range of topics concerning Netiquette.

The article on when to send thank-you e-mails is basic stuff that we can all sometimes forget.

Netiquette

A whole host of advice on business networking is to be found on the internet, hopefully some useful stuff has also appeared on this blog.  E-networking using twitter or LinkedIn provides its own set of possible pitfalls for the unwary. Here are three tips I have gleaned from colleagues recently.

1. Make sure you actually know someone before inviting them to make a connection. Having someone's e-mail address is not the same as having met them. If I meet someone for the first time I invariably follow up with an e-mail. If they reply I invite them to link-in. If a friend or colleague passes my details to someone else, I wait for them to invite me or asks our mutual acquaintance to approach them on my behalf. An invitation from a virtual stranger is like SPAM.

2. Be honest about why you are asking for an introduction. If you want an introduction to someone who may be a potential client or link to a potential client then tell your mutual contact that's why. Nothing worse than being linked to someone on false pretenses and trust can evaporate  just as quickly as links are built.

3. Reciprocate before receiving.  Offer recommendations to people who have helped you or offered you a good service. They will be inclined to affect introductions for you and won't feel taken for granted. Spend one period a week going through your contacts to see if you can offer an introduction to a friend. Showing a pro-active interest in a colleague's needs will always make them think about you.

"It's Not Who you Know, It's Who they Know"

This quote comes from an interview I came across this evening. I'm not going to add anything. It's worth a read.

Member Spotlight: Pearson Park Hotel Hull

The Pearson Park Hotel is a founding member of Business for Breakfast East Yorkshire, serving as the venue for our Wednesday and Tuesday Meeting.

The Pearson Park was an obvious choice for BforB for 3 reasons:

• It's close to the centre of town and easily reached from Beverley and East Hull. Anyone coming from Anlaby or Kirkella can reach it easily via Spring Bank and Princess Avenue.

• It has none of the disadvantages of city centre locations everywhere, Parking is easy, either in the car parks or around the perimeter of Pearson Park. And it's free!

• Service and food are excellent. I've had Christmas lunch there on at least two occasions and it's one place where you know that you get value for money. So many Xmas venues do not give good value.

Though not the biggest Pearson Park is Hull's most attractive park, and makes a relaxing venue for an overnight stay. The bars and restaurants of Princess Avenue and Newland are a short walk away and the city centre is a short taxi ride. To be honest, most colleagues of mine who have stayed have been happy to eat in the restaurant or have a pint on the front terrace overlooking the park.

Above all the staff and are helpful and friendly, Anne-Smith Brady the General Manager and Lee have been a great help to BforB since we started there. Here's the link to the website of this lovely venue.

Don't Let This Happen To You

On Friday I had the pleasure of speaking to Will Kintish, whose eponymous website gives a wealth of business networking tips. His company offers a large range of courses to assist businesses in face-to-face and on-line networking.

I paid particular attention to this networking tip entitled "Don't Let This Happen to You", which was highly relevant to the previous entry on this blog. Will gives excellent advice on being prepared for any meeting and ensure that the agenda, style and tone of the meeting are understood by all parties. Failure to do so can lead to embarrassment.

It Takes All Sorts

On an earlier post this week I wrote about 5 ways to make an impression and suggested that we tend to accentuate those traits that play to our strengths. Sometimes we miss out on making a favourable impression by not paying attention to things that others may see as important.

This week I learnt that lesson in spades. I have called a potential BforB member several times and e-mailed a link to our website, so I turned up for our agreed one to one.

Turned out my contact was not there and another staff member greeted me and ushered me into the meeting room. Whilst the meeting was all times polite, friendly and courteous it was clear from the beginning that my colleague's expectation of the meeting and mine were different. The meeting room was set up for a formal presentation, a sales pitch. I was asked about the literature had brought and if I wanted to begin a PowerPoint presentation.

Usually when I have a one to one with a colleague it is simply a one-to-one, a conversation. This was not what had been expected and so I fell short. I was vey fortunate becuase as I say the meeting was cordial, but clearly the mismatch in expectations meant that neither party go what they had expected out of it.

So the lesson for me was be prepared for all eventualities, make sure that when following up on a networking contact that any one-to-one that is planned has an agreed "agenda". This may be no more formal than agreeing that you are just going to have a chat. It takes all sorts and all sorts of people have different expectations of a meeting. I'd forgotten that.

Member Spotlight: Insight Financial Management

Insight Financial management offer independent advice on mortgages , pensions, Insurance and investments. They are appointed representatives of Mint Financial Services.

Carl Wiles is a straight forward down to earth person who will always give calm professional objective advice on any financial matters. Carl's office is in Hedon which means he is well placed to serve clients from Hull, Holderness and the East Riding.

You can contact carl on 01482 409602 or e-mail him at carl@insightfm.co.uk. Better still come to Business for Breakfast's Wednesday meeting at the Perason Park Hotel, tomorrow at 6.45 am and introduce yourself

Make Sure You Are Remembered

I attended a speed networking and Business Lunch on Friday. When I got back I took out the business cards I had collected and sat down to complete the process by writing an individual e-mail to each of the people I met. The start of this activity was to sift through the business cards and place them in two piles. The firs, larger pile consisted of those people that I had met and could easily remember. These people I could write to and be confident that I was sending them a relevant personal message relating to something they told me about themselves or their business, or some talking point that we covered, perhaps a shared interest or opinion.

The second small pile was made up of cards where I had to think twice before I could remember anything significant. There are many possible reasons for this, not the least of which is that I may not have been fully switched on when I spoke to them; speed-networking is after all pretty tiring as I have said in a previous post.

This goes to show that it is important to be remembered. I found this article on About.com which give 5 rules for being memorable. These can be summed as

1. Have a distinctive appearance such as an attractive hand painted tie.
2. Engage with and be totally aware of the people you are meeting.
3. Ask Thought provoking questions that enable people to talk about themselves.
4. Reinforce key words about your business, be brief and to the point.
5. Contribute to but do not hog group conversations.

Now if you are like me you will look at Number 1 and think " Hand painted tie?- What's so important about that?" Big mistake. Different things push different people's buttons and whilst I might not normally pay attention to how I dress, there are some people for whom my appearance will outweigh any impact I make when asking questions.

Little check lists like this are useful in identifying where you can polish your presentational skills. My advice would be to take a list like this and number them importance from 1 to 5. There's a good chance that number 5 on your list will be one area where you are not performing to your potential. It won't ruin your networking experience but it might just put a small barrier between you and one potential colleague who has slightly different priorities to you, and who could do you a lot of good.

Quality Counts

An item here which again describes the importance of knowing how to develop referral relationships. One of the key points the author Paul Yates makes is that quality rather than quantity counts when it comes to referral links. Far better to have two top qaulity one to ones in a day rather than 1o five minute phone conversations.

How, then, do we identify those relationships that are worthwhile if, after all, we are going go for quality ?

My answer to this question is to see how receptive your potential colleague is to what you have to offer, not by judging what he/she offers to you. Next week I will be meeting someone I met at a Speed Networking event. We had a long chat after the event and I followed up with a phone call suggesting that his current business field could be expanded into another sector and that I might be able to offer some insights. Three days later I received an e-mail saying that he didn't feel he could help me in what I was looking for but would like to discuss my ideas for his business.

This is a quality referral relationship in the making. Complete honesty on his part as well as an interest in my ideas. In The Know Like and Trust ethos of BforB, what you give is often of more value in the long term than what you can take in the short. The fact that my friend was absolutely straight with me from the outset is more than enough for me to be getting on with.

How To Fail At A Referral Networking Breakfast Meeting

There is so much advice out there telling us the best ways to maximise our marketing efforts via referral networking. It’s time we had a little fun. So sit back and enjoy this tongue-in-cheek guide to everything you should avoid doing the next time you go breakfast networking.

First of all, don’t go. Instead, kid yourself that you can dispense with early morning referral networking and just stick to lunchtime or evening events. After all, you are a nighttime person, and are not at your best first thing in the morning.

Don’t worry because there’s no chance that the people you are likely to meet later in the day will be caught up in the stresses and strains of their businesses before they get to the networking event.

(While you’re at it, why bother to go to work at all?)

If you do decide to turn up for your referral networking meeting, make sure you talk at, not with, people. After all, the point is to sell yourself and get as much immediate business as possible. It’s OK to listen politely if someone wants to talk about themselves, but make sure you steer the conversation back to yourself as soon as possible.

If you can’t get any sales leads, make sure you get some referrals. Don’t waste any time thinking about referrals you could give to the other group members.

If you don’t get any leads or referrals from this event, make sure you never bother attending again. If anyone is going to do business with you, they’ll decide to on the first meeting.

Member Spotlight: Primary Technologies

"Primary technologies is run by engineers not sales people, We are proud of our no nonsense approach"

This is the first thing you will read on the Primary Technologies website and having enjoyed Tony, Martin and Dave's contributions to two of our network referral meetings here in Hull and visited them at their offices on Reform Street, I can say that no nonsense is exactly what they are about.

Primary Tec cover a large range of services including Network cabling, general IT support and AV solutions. They have worked very successfully with Primary Schools in Hull and are therefore well suited to provide support for any small/ medium sized business in our city.

Here is the website again.

Networking, Some people just get it!

Some people just do, a case in point is David Pickup of Carrington Stanley Media Services. After an enquiry from me to see if he wanted to join our second launch meeting for Business for Breakfast East Yorkshire we had a 15 minute chat this morning. David is actually based outside of Hull and will not be able to attend, but that did not stop him from giving me free advice on how to maximize the effectiveness of my e-mail campaigns pointing me in the direction of Mail Chimp.

An invitation to drop in and see him for advice when I'm in his part of Yorkshire followed.

A Know Like and Trust relationship being established.

Trust, the most important attribute

Picked up this story over the weekend form Phil Hopkins' The Passionate Entrepreneur site. The story is significant because it demonstrates how a lack of trust can undermine anyone's professional credibility and eventually their business.

The business woman highlighted in Phil's story went behind the back of someone to whom she had been referred in order to gain a relatively small financial advantage. Business, however is not just a question of hard cash; as an effective business networker you must think in terms of "Emotional Capital".

Cutting a potential colleague out of the ideal for a few quid is no different to betraying the confidence of one colleague to another for short term gain. A bit of gossip may ingratiate you to someone in the short term but they are bound to be suspicious of telling you anything of significance about themselves as a consequence.

Know Like and Trust relationships are achieved when both parties offer two things, a listening ear and practical help. That help may be no more than encouragement to a budding entrepreneur or a possible lead. But if all you can offer is the cheap thrill of a bit if tittle-tattle your networking relationships will be about as valuable and long term as a chocolate teapot.

Three Quick Tips from Business Balls.

Just three quick tips form the excellent Business Balls website to end the week with.

The word that stands out is Integrity.

1. What goes around comes around.. humankind can't yet explain this scientifically, but it does seem to work. Give to receive. Counter-intuitive to many people, nevertheless it's the fundamental ethos of business networking. Help others.
2. Use a helpful approach especially on business networking websites. Think: "What can I contribute to this community which people will find truly helpful?" And then work hard to extend that help - whatever it is - to as many relevant people as possible.
3. Always keep your integrity. Nothing destroys networking like lack of trust. Trust is based on knowing that the other person has integrity.

Have a good weekend.

Business for Breakfast

Lead or Referral?

Thgis article can now be seen at business networking now.com, The website of Hull BforB

BforB East Yorkshire Launch

A later entry today as I have been at our first BforB launch meeting in Hull. Anne Smith- Brady did us proud with both the facilities and fine food. Director of Operations Paul Richards' appreciation of the sausages was noted by all.

Seriously though, I never cease to be impressed by how responsive business colleagues are to the BforB ethos of Know Like and Trust, elevator pitches and one to one meetings were all highly successful and when it came to the final business of the meeting several strong leads were offered by colleagues to people they had met but an hour before. Big thanks to Russell Mcgrath who traveled over from Bradford and provided us with valuable information about his marketing firm Tandem Marketing Solutions.

Pride of place goes to Anne, who not only looked after us so well but acted as co-ordinator for the final part of the agenda. Here is the link to the Pearson Park Hotel, a fine hotel with easy free parking facilities only a stone's throw from Hull city centre.

One Quick Question

Just a quick posting today. I spent a recent Saturday with The BforB team at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham. There were lots of businesses represented. In many cases it was pretty easy to deduce what services they offered; banks, Pizza companies, travel agents etc.

When people passed the BforB stand it was not quite so easy for them to pigeon hole us, they would often pause and as they did so it was easy to ask an invitational question, "Would you like to know what we do?" Most people, I believe like to establish a positive rapport with others and so only one said,"No".

Inviting people to find out more about you, perhaps by having a company badge with the business name on it, and not immediately saying "I am a" I work in" "I provide" is a simple first step in building "Know Like and Trust" bridges.

Business for Breakfast East Yorkshire opens tomorrow, Pearson Park Hotel 6.45 am in Hull.

Speed networking go -slow

Read this post on Business Networking Now, the website of BforB in Hull, The East riding and North Lincs

Too shy?

You can read this posting at Business networking Now.com  The website of BforB Hull, Eastb Yorkshire and North Lincs

The S Word

When you go networking, keep in mind the S word – it will get you more referrals and better results in general.

What am I talking about?

Specifics.

Here are 4 (of the many) reasons why being specific is of great use at your Business For Breakfast meetings:

Firstly, you can talk about the specific benefits of your business. Which of these 2 pitches do you think you will remember in half an hour?

A – We provide a high quality coaching service that covers many aspects of business growth. Customers are always happy with our service and we get many referrals.

B- Our business coaching covers on and offline marketing, leadership skills and advertising. Last year we were responsible for on average a 20% profit increase in our clients’ business. Referrals account for 70% of our new clients.


Another reason to be specific is that statistics are more
easily remembered than more general statements. In the above example the 70% is impressive because it is something measurable that we can apply to our own businesses.

Thirdly, if you use your pitch to ask for specific referrals this is likely to yield better results. Asking the group if anyone can introduce them to a web designer, or better yet to John Smith the (very hard to reach) web designer, will stick in their minds. Even if they don’t know whoever you want to meet, they may know someone who does.

These are just 3 ways to leverage the S word. What other ways can you get more specific at networking meetings?

The Greatest Virtue in Networking

What is one of the main reasons for failure in networking?

Impatience.

We all know that networking is very rarely something that producesimmediate results, but it is wise to take a step back sometimes and really understand the power of patience when it comes to networking.

Just consider the following:

It takes anything between 7 and 37 contacts on average to make a sale these days. (A contact is any occasion that a potential customer is exposed to your brand. So meeting you at a networking event + visiting your website + receiving a mailshot + an email + seeing your advert = 5 contacts).

Do you really think that you can turn up to a group, make your 60 second pitch, and watch the orders roll in?

People’s buying behaviour has changed since the credit crunch. Consumers(including business customers) take longer to come to a buying decision than they ever used to. You need to plant the idea in your prospects’ heads, then wait for it to take root.

You never know when someone will need your product or service. The selling guru Richard Denny once told his sales staff that the person with the most number of ‘No’s from potential customers would get the following Friday off work. Why was this? Because he knew that a ‘no’ often means ‘not today’ – and that the prospect might well come back when the time was right.

These are 3 extremely powerful reasons to be patient with your networking.

A strong CASE for speed networking

Just got back from a speed networking event at the KC stadium in Hull. Very worthwhile as I met a good number of interesting people. Most interesting of all was Andy Batty who runs CASE, an employment support charity.

Andy's job involves finding employment for people with learning difficulties. He works with employers to find people work placements, short term contracts and even full-time contracts. Andy and his team assess employers' needs and match them to the skills of the people he supports. Very often, thanks to Andy's intervention, employers are able to adapt their work place to help accommodate people with learning difficulties who, as Andy says, are often the most talented, honest and loyal of employees.

Part of the buzz I get from networking is the opportunity I get to lear about other people's skills and the services they offer. Here's the link to his website, I thoroughly recommend it.

Why miss out on F ups?

F ups refer of course to follow ups, as an essential component in effective networking.

This link is to an article by Kelley Robertson. He is talking for a sales perspective butthe points he makes are valid from the perspective of developing networking skills with ethos of Know Like and Trust.

A Worthwhile Source of Networking Contacts

In my previous life I spent 25 years as a teacher and had all sorts of roles in all sorts of very different schools. It is without doubt one of the greatest jobs in the world but, being an inquisitive sort, I decided to have a change and now have my own business.

In spite of what the media try to tell us the Business World and Education World have a great deal in common. In Business we are always striving to find new outlets for our products and to make new contacts: in Education teachers are always looking to find that extra edge that will help their students learn, or offer them an additional experience to enrich their lives.

There is one area where this shared desire to improve collides and that is in Statutory Work Experience. Every school in the country has to offer 15 year olds two weeks of work experience placement in a local business. In a secondary school near you there is a coordinator building a list of businesses to place 200+ teenagers every year.

By offering your business as a work experience placement you can achieve several things.

• A student who has had an enjoyable experience will be an advert for your business. I personally have done business with a firm of solicitors simply on the strength of the the tremendous way they treated my teenage daughter.

• Teachers use local services as well. During the placement a teacher will be given responsibility for overseeing the student. Often they will elect to supervise a student they know well. By simply praising the child concerned (when appropriate) you will create a positive relationship.

• The school coordinator will have a list of businesses where other students are placed, its quite reasonable to ask to be put in contact with these. Just say you want to "find out about and share best practice" which is one of the top ranking public sector catch phrases that opens all sorts of doors. You can then establish a line of contact with another business.

• And Finally....... You will be enriching a young person's life. That young person will never forget a happy work experience placement; indeed I know of several students of mine who have gone on to take up work with their placement business after school.

My Sister in Law loves Network Whoring!

Follow the link to businessnetworkingnow.com. the website of BforB East yorkshire

What I hate about Business Networking!

This is the name of the post I encountered on the internet today. It certainly caught my eye and I suppose has done the same for you otherwise you would not be here. Actually a better title would be "How Good Manners Make Business Networking Worthwhile."

The author transformed his business networking experience by doing something that I always do whenever I meet anyone anywhere and collect a business card. The same day, or as soon as possible, I send each person a quick e-mail along the lines of:

Dear....... It was really nice to meet you at........... today, It would be nice to find out more about your business. I hope that we get a chance to talk again soon.

I usually try to add some reference to the conversation we had, such "good luck with.... "or even a topic of personal interest "Let's hope Portsmouth don't get relegated again .. ". It takes five minutes and builds a sense of "Know Like and Trust." Simple but effective, and it won't be chore if you are genuinely interested in people. Here's the link.

The Sixty Second Pitch

A common feature of structured networking events, particularly speed networking events is the sixty second pitch. "You only get one chance to make a first impression" is a well worn cliche, overused, but it has a ring of truth nonetheless.

A sixty second pitch is one long first impression. You can make mistakes and rectify them. With experience and practice you can gauge the reaction of your audience, lower the tone of your voice, slow down or speed up. There is excellent advice in this article from business networking techniques.com.

The philosophy to adopt during the sixty second pitch is that you are there to give. Offer yourself as a colleague who will add value to your new colleagues, be generous, aspire to be someone they can Know Like and Trust, and they will be inclined to return the favour.

Something to read and share

Here's a quick link to an interview with Andrew Thorpe. Well worth a read.

Thanks to my colleague Stuart Walton for bringing this to my attention

Brighouse Breakfast

Another day closer to the Hull launch of Business for Breakfast and I decided to kill two birds with one stone today. Up at 5.00am to get to The Holiday Inn in Brighouse for a club meeting and a planning meeting with my colleague Russell McGrath.

It's always good to see how other clubs function. Every effective networking group has its own distinctive mix of personalities and style of doing business, there must be a structure but if the structure and the rules stifle individuality then "Know Like and Trust" will be a long time coming.

Best part of today's meeting was that it was entirely run by the club's own elected members; people who see such a great benefit from business that they put in extra time to ensure that all members benefit.

Business Workshops and Networking

There may be opportunities for you to participate in business workshops if you don't take advantage of them already. The pros are that they may provide specialist advice about your business sector or give general advice on business financing or tax matters.

The cons are that they can be expensive which means you have to pick and choose accordingly. Universities are usually cost effective providers of such events

An added value for money bonus in some events is that speed networking events are staged at the same venue, usually before the activity of the day.

If you do attend then there is alway an opportunity to network effectively. I've attached a link to a page on Business and Networking. com which covers this.

You can use these occasions to develop your "soft networking skills" such as being an active listener and showing an interest in people by engaging them with positive body language and eye-contact.

My advice would be to go to a workshop with BforB core values of "Know Like and Trust" firmly in your mind, evaluate how you developed relationships after and view these contacts as a bonus to take from a worthwhile event.

From Speed Dating to Speed Networking Part 2

This article can now be seen at Businesnetworkingnow.com. Website of BforB Hull

From Speed Dating to Speed Networking. Part 1

This post can now be seen at  Businessnetworkingnow.com  website of BforB in Hull and ethe East Riding

Share Business Balls Top Ten Tips

The cracking Business Balls site has this top ten tips for networkers. Worth a read.

1. Elevator speech.	Describe yourself concisely and impressively.
2. Be different.	Differentiate yourself. Aim high. Be best at something.
3. Help others.	Help others and you will be helped.
4. Personal integrity.	Integrity, trust and reputation are vital for networking.
5. Relevant targeting.	Groups and contacts relevant to your aims and capabilities.
6. Plans and aims.	Plan your networking - and know what you want.
7. Follow up.	Following up meetings and referrals makes things happen.
8. Be positive.	Be a positive influence on everyone and everything.
9. Sustained focused effort.	Be focused - and ever-ready.
10. Life balance.	Being balanced and grounded builds assurance.

Listen with your Body

.This post can nowbe found at Businessnetworkingnow.com The website of BforB in East Yorkshire

Stepping in is scary

Found a really nice link today which talks about how to deal with any nerves about stepping into a networking meeting for the first time. It is not a sign of weakness to recognise that going into a networking group for the first time can stir up old fears. Fear of being left out, of being rejected of making a blooper that's going to make you look daft.

Stepping in is scary. Rest assured that you won't be the only one to be feeling nervous. Here's my three rules for getting those butterflies under control.

If there's a coffee table go to it. Gives you access to people who probably are in the same boat as you. They have just arrived and are using the coffee table as a base to see who there is to talk to. Also "Can you pass the sugar? " Quickly leads to "Thanks, What's your name?" Sometimes the coffee table will be inhabited by people who may be breaking off from a group within the room. They will be confident and at ease and ready either to meet you or introduce you to others.

Check out singles. Someone standing on their own around the centre of the room might be having a good look around to see who they can talk to next. If you catch their eye then smile. If you are quite a long way away, make sure you don't fix your eyes on theirs as you stride purposefully across the room. Prolonged eye contact can be perceived as aggression ( see previous posts). It is better to approach them in a slightly more roundabout way, slowly in a relaxed fashion.

"What do you do?" Everyone at a meeting wants to have interest shown in them. Remember networking is about establishing relations that are going to mutually beneficial and are based on the keywords Know Like and Trust. By asking someone this question you showing an interest in them, you are removing any reticence they might feel about talking about their business and achievements, they are at their ease and trust you........ congratulations you've just made a perfect entry to a networking group.

Business for Breakfast brings like minded professionals together in an atmosphere of Know Like and Trust. Come to The Pearson Park Hotel Hull at 7.00 am, Wednesday October 6th or Tuesday the 12th

Check out this link http://www.kintish.co.uk/Tips-on-Working-the-Room

Mark

Check Out Business Balls!

See this article on http://www.businessnetworkingnow.com/  Our east Yorkshie and North Lincs website

The Eyes have it!

You can now find this article on Businessnetworking now.com. The website of BofrB in Hull and East yorkshire

Beware of the Hard Sell

Read this post now by following the link to Business Networking Now. The website of BforB Hull and East Yorkshire

(Parts of this post were reproduced from a post by Sarah Elaine Eaton www.eaton intl.com)

Improve your Presentations, BforB East Yorkshire tests alternative to Powerpoint

Just a quick post to alert you to Prezi.com. Prezi offers an alternative to Powerpoint and could make your presentations and business spotlights stand out. Free to use although you can pay extra for additional packages.

Have a good look but as I always advise colleagues, remember to make sure that the focal point of your networking presentation is you. Good screen use enhances that. Too many gizmos on the screen detract from that.

You can't get to "Know Like and Trust" a memory stick.

Why Business for Breakfast?

As the October launch of Business for Breakfast East Yorkshire draws closer I've been asked the same question. Why BforB?

The best answer was provided a member who said: "I can't think of any other activity that sees me leave the house for a 7 o'clock meeting, and then leave 90 minutes later feeling invigorated and optimistic about the day ahead. That's because at BforB I'm in a no pressure environment where colleagues support each other and see the benefits of not only developing their networking skills, but also enjoy helping me with mine".

At BforB its about network rather than net gain.

Business for Breakfast East Yorkshire

Business for Breakfast, the fastest growing business networking company in the UK will be coming to East Yorkshire soon.

BforB's reputation is founded on a commitment to develop all of our members' networking skills in a friendly, supportive environment.

Business for Breakfast meetings allow businesses a platform from which they can gain quality referrals based on the principals of "Know Like and Trust".

Business for Breakfast will launch very soon in the East Yorkshire region.