It Seems Like a Good Idea

Networking can only ever be one part of your overall business marketing strategy. But it is a critical skill for anyone who is looking to succeed in business.

All businesses lose approximately 30% of their customers each year - so you continually need to replenish your sales pipeline. As it can take some time to build relationships to the point were a prospect has enough trust in you to do business with you, you must always be looking for new clients and new opportunities. Many business people find networking is a highly cost effective way of generating new business. It is often much cheaper than traditional promotional methods such as advertising or exhibiting.

The cost is usually based on time and personal commitment and only a small amount of actual financial investment. The time to start is not when you need to find new business, but long before that - in fact you should never stop networking. To use networking as an effective business tool and to use it to help you build productive business links, you must network continuously... and keep on networking! But be clear why you want to network - make sure you understand your objectives. Networking is not about selling, it's about building mutually beneficial relationships.

Preparing Yourself and Know the Benefits
Before you 'go networking' think about what you can offer - what is it that other people might find helpful or useful? Some people will say "I don't have to network, I've enough business" or "I'm very busy, I don't need any more clients".

This is never true.

Now is the time to find those future clients; now is the time to develop those relationships. You are not after the quick sale, but future customers, clients and even suppliers.

How to get Started

There are many different ways you can network both online and offline.

Think about all your contacts. Check through all your e-mails over the last 12 months - who could you reconnect with? Write down all those people, social or business, who you have 'lost touch with' and make it part of your plan to follow-up and get back in contact with a few each month. Write down who you would like to be in touch with - who are the Top 5 people you want to be connected to?

Make this part of your plan.

There are many occasions when business people meet and network. They may belong to a Networking Club, who meet on a regular basis, or meet socially at the Golf Club - the Old Boy Network still flourishes! Organised networking groups or clubs usually meet weekly, fortnightly or monthly for breakfast or lunch for the sole purpose of generating new business for themselves and other members.

Finally

Business networking can be conducted locally or globally via the World Wide Web. Many social and business networking websites are available via the internet, where you can now connect with people from all over the world.

There are over 200 social networking sites listed on Wikipedia,ranging from Facebook with 600 million members and LinkedIn with 100 million users down to local sites with a few hundred members. Many sites specialise in the business arena, such as Ecademy, LinkedIn, Plaxo and Ryze. Business people can use these internet networking sites to raise their profile and connect with like minded people. Networking is a continuous process and building a database of contacts can help you in all aspects of your life.

REMEMBER:

A Referral generates 80% more results than a cold call.

Approx 70% of all jobs are found or filled through Networking.

Most people have 200 / 250 contacts

What Networking Is:

    * connecting with other people
    * building relationships with other people
    * helping and sharing knowledge with others
    * finding people who are interesting and beneficial
    * introducing business opportunities to you and others

What Networking is not:

    * hard sell
    * promoting or selling products / services
    * finding a job
    * gaining charity donations
    * arranging funding
    * schmoozing to gain something
    * stalking

However, done correctly networking will help you in all these areas.(Apart from stalking!)

Paul Ashbury is a Networking Evangelist, an author, speaker and director of one of the UK's most successful networking organisations - Focus On Networking.
He has more than 40 years Sales & Marketing experience and over the last 10 years has help companies and individuals improve their networking skills.

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The Benefits of Free Audio Conferencing

In the age of technology that we have entered, the need to have instant access to information and communication has become a must for any business. When you have to relay a message to multiple clients or business associates, sometimes time is of the essence. When this is the case, you may want to consider finding a free audio conferencing service to get your message to them all at once. There are many benefits to utilizing a free audio conferencing service provider. Here are a few reasons you should consider:

1. You can choose to run a conference whenever you like

One benefit of using a free audio conferencing service is that you can hold a conference at the drop of a hat. You don't need to set a reservation. If you have an urgent need to create a conference and all those you want to talk to are available, you can have one immediately. You just need to present everyone with the phone number to your account and any login or password information, and you can be holding a conference in a matter of minutes.

2. You are in complete control of the conference

A second benefit of using free audio conferencing is that you can act as a moderator for your conference. You can see what number a person is calling from, where they are calling from, and how long they have been on the call. You can mute all other callers when you want to be the only person heard, or you have the ability to mute an individual caller if they are being rude or getting out of line. You will also have the power to completely remove someone from the conference.

3. You can record your conference calls

A third benefit of using free audio conferencing is that you can have your call recorded. You calls can be recorded in an mp3 format. This can serve multiple purposes. This acts as a great way to archive conversations for reference purposes. You can edit and use these recordings as training tools that are available for download. Most free audio conferencing service providers will store your recordings on their servers for a certain amount of time. This will allow you to distribute the file to those who may have missed the call. You can forward a link to those clients or associates and they can listen to the recording straight from your service provider's servers.

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Business Performer Commitment to Reduce Carbon Emissions

 

Commitments taken by businesses to reduce emissions 41 percent by 2020 is a form of support for the ambitions of the Indonesian government in reducing carbon emissions. Information released by Green Radio stated that this commitment set forth in the declaration B4E or business to the environment which was read in front of conference participants and the Coordinating Minister Hatta Rajasa.

B4E declaration states that, businesses are committed to reducing the intensity of natural resources through massive investment in energy efficiency programs and resources and programs to redesign the product and distribution chain to achieve a more transformative changes.

The contents of the declaration statement includes support for protecting areas with high biodiversity and natural carbon stores, as well as invest in and promote sustainable urban planning and integrated land use management.

The business person in the B4E conference agreed to put climate change as a challenge to development and economic growth. Individually and in cooperation with governments and civil society, businesses will realize their commitment to support sustainable development.

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Manufacturing Leading U.S. Economy on Exports, Inventories

 

The Institute for Supply Management’s factory index fell to 60.4 last month from 61.2 in March, the Tempe, Arizona-based group said today. Readings greater than 50 signal expansion and the measure has exceeded 60 for four consecutive months, the best performance since 2004.

Demand from emerging economies like China, the need to replenish stockpiles and investment in new equipment may keep benefitting manufacturers, including Caterpillar Inc. and Cummins Inc. Federal Reserve policy makers last week said the expansion was “proceeding at a moderate pace,” buoyed by stronger business spending.

“The overall manufacturing sector remains healthy,” said Robert Dye, a senior economist at PNC Financial Services Group Inc. in Pittsburgh. The industry “is helping to sustain an ongoing economic expansion,” he said.

The median forecast of 78 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News called for a drop to 59.5. Estimates ranged from 57.5 to 62.

Construction Gain

Another report showed construction spending rose more than forecast in March as companies put up factories and power plants, while home improvement outlays also rebounded. The 1.4 percent gain was the biggest since April 2010 and followed a revised 2.4 percent decrease in February that was larger than previously estimated, Commerce Department figures showed.

Also today, results from a Federal Reserve survey showed banks made borrowing easier in the first quarter as they forecast the economy will improve. Looser standards for business loans reflected more competition among banks, while some financial institutions “also pointed to a more favorable or less uncertain economic outlook,” the Fed said in its quarterly poll of senior loan officers.

The median estimate of economists in a Bloomberg survey projected a 0.4 percent increase.

Stocks dropped, pulling the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index down from its highest level since June 2008, as a slump in commodity shares dimmed optimism spurred by the death of Osama bin Laden. The 500 Index fell 0.2 percent to 1,361.22 at the 4 p.m. close in New York. Treasuries were little changed.

Manufacturing Globally

European manufacturing growth accelerated more than forecast in April, driven by higher production in Germany and France, a separate report showed. A gauge of manufacturing in the 17-nation euro area rose to 58 from 57.5 in March, London- based Markit Economics said in an e-mailed report today. That’s above an initial estimate of 57.7 on April 19.

The ISM’s export index climbed 6 points in April to 62, and its inventory gauge rose to 53.6 from 47.4 in March. Measures of production, new orders and employment eased.

“A lot of this growth in manufacturing is driven by export demand and the weaker dollar,” Norbert Ore, chairman of the ISM survey, said in a conference call from Atlanta. The ISM figures are showing no effect from supply-chain constraints linked to Japan’s earthquake and tsunami in March, even as some automakers had “to make some changes” in production schedules due to the disaster, he said.

The index of prices paid rose to 85.5 from 85. A measure of supplier deliveries decreased to 60.2 from 63.1.

Backlogs Building

The measure of orders waiting to be filled jumped to 61, matching an almost six-year high reached in February 2010.

Caterpillar, the world’s largest maker of construction equipment, posted first-quarter profit that topped analysts’ estimates and raised its full-year earnings forecast as sales surged in China, India and Brazil and other developing countries.

“We expect that the pace of world economic growth will support continued recovery in the key industries we serve,” Doug Oberhelman, chief executive officer at Caterpillar, said in a statement last week.

Demand from countries like China and Brazil is spurring U.S. exports of machinery and consumer goods. Sales overseas reached the highest level on record in January before falling in February for the first time in six months, according to Commerce Department figures.

Emerging Economies

Columbus, Indiana-based Cummins, a maker of diesel engines, more than doubled its first-quarter income from a year earlier and boosted its forecasts for sales and profit this year.

“Our first-quarter results reflect continued strong growth in key international markets, especially China, India and Brazil,” Chief Executive Officer Tim Solso said in a conference call last week. “We are seeing significant growth in demand for our products and services in nearly every geographic market we serve.”

The business spending that helped lead the economy out of recession is being helped this year in part by President Barack Obama’s compromise at the end of last year with congressional Republicans on taxes. Companies can depreciate 100 percent of investments in capital equipment in 2011.

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