Doing Business in Salford

On January 27th I had the pleasure to attend as a guest to the Business for Breakfast (BforB) Ramada Salford Quays Group at its regular fortnightly meeting. On this occasion they were celebrating the contributions that they made in 2010 towards the success of the group.

All important Recognition, Awards and Thankyou's were made in each of four categories of Top Ten members, Attendance, Introducing Quality Guests & Leads and Referrals passed.

Business for Breakfast is run by Rob Webb, who started the Salford Ramada BforB as a way to connect local businesses. “It’s a well known fact that a business referral generates 80% more results than a cold call and that approximately 70% of all jobs are found through networking,” explains Rob, “Now, more than ever, business people, professionals, decision makers and the self employed need to get out there and referral network with other like-minded individuals – it’s vital as a means of sky rocketing your marketing efforts, meeting useful new contacts, and improving your order book. It’s also a relaxed and friendly whilst being very effective"

Christine Thorpe receives her ‘Best Contributing Member’ award from John Fisher

Mark Burgess, Graham McLeish & Tony Kelly with their Best attendance certificates and John Fisher

Christine Thorpe receives her ‘Best Ambassador’  certificate for bringing the most guests in the year,  from John Fisher

Sucheet Amin, one of the groups most popular members receives his award for bringing the most leads and referrals to the group.

John Fisher congratulates the group ‘TOP TEN’ performers

Sean Martins, Gary Crosbie, Graham McLeish, Mark Burgess, (John Fisher),Christine Thorpe, Steve Swinyard, Sucheet Amin, Neil Buckley

Sharing Best Practice is key to everyone's development and Success

So what are Rob’s tips for first-time referral networkers? “It might sound obvious, but you have to be approachable and talk to people – you also need to be prepared and be able to sum up your business effectively in 60 seconds.At the meet, be aware of your body language and try and adopt an open and approachable posture to attract others to talk to you. Show interest in others and don't just start talk about yourself - ask lots of open questions to encourage conversation. Networking is all about building up long-term relationships so after the meet, make sure that you follow up effectively with all contacts you have made and suggest a one to one meeting where you can both find out more about each other’s businesses and how you can work together.