Business Conferences are great for building relationships

Research shows that conferences are proven to be a brilliant way of meeting new business contacts to build your business
Technology now rules the world which is cutting down on our face to face interaction.  We say we are too busy to go out to events but are your competitors going?.  Are you missing great opportunities for building business relationships?

Many businesses are losing the personal interaction with their existing customers and are busy always trying to get new ones but don’t forget the ones you have.

A study by Travel Weekly of more than 2,000 business people found that half felt they had a lost a contract because they did not meet enough and over 80% felt that meeting in person was the best way to sustain a long term relationship.

Business psychologist and body language expert Hazel Carter-Showell said:

‘Although developments in technology allow business men and women to make achievements in meetings that would have been impossible a few years back, meeting face-to-face continues to ring significant benefits that are much harder to obtain through virtual channels.  One of these benefits is building trust, which research has shown is behind many profitable companies. Trusted companies have higher morale, productivity, lower employee turnover and create deeper relationships with their customers’

Social media can lack the personal touch which is so important.   There really is nothing like gathering in one place and meeting face to face.  This is what builds business relationships that last and what better place to do it than at a Conference, more so if it is FREE to attend!

High levels of online crime go unreported

This week our guest blog comes from insurance brokers, Jelf: 

With the constantly developing world of today, it seems the threat of having our data breached or our online systems hacked is becoming increasingly possible. We just have to look at the large organisations that have come under attack in the last 18 months.

But even with these reports reminding us of the challenges we face as a business, according to the City of London police commissioner, over 80% of online crimes go unreported. So what should be done to combat online crime? Read more here…

Former Porsche & BMW MD announced as keynote speaker of the Kent B2B, Ashford

Kent's longest running business-to-business exhibition and conference, the Kent B2B, run by Kent Invicta Chamber of Commerce welcomes a giant of the business world to its Ashford event on 7 July at the Ashford International Hotel. Kevin Gaskell has worked with leading luxury car marques Porsche and BMW and is recognised as one of the most capable leaders of his generation.

As a well-respected keynote speaker Kevin has experience of speaking at a variety of business environments including Google UK. Richard Trinder, Director, comments on one of Kevin’s recent keynotes; “Thank you for the inspirational speech you delivered to open our Google Think event last week. Your on-stage presence and natural charisma shone through. This coupled with the strength of your content and the clarity of your messages raised the quality of our event from the outset. You injected gravitas, humour and credibility.”

Bringing his open and involving style to the audience Kevin will help delegates to better understand how they can define and implement change in their own organisations.

Brand experience

Speaking about his scheduled appearance Kevin commented: “Great companies and amazing brands are not seen or heard, rather they are experienced. Using practical tools and real examples I help leaders to transform their organisations, achieve results – and have fun!”

Full conference programme and 100 exhibitors

Warren Knight will also be appearing at the Kent B2B in a conference programme that is designed to meet the needs of businesses from Ashford and across the county.  The Kent B2B which is sponsored by Caxtons, will have more than 100 exhibitors showcasing existing and new products and services – many with special offers and competitions on the day. The day kicks off with a business breakfast, sponsored by Jelf, featuring Clive Lewis talking about Edward De Bono’s “Six Thinking Hats” and will finish with the Chamber’s Annual Dinner, sponsored by Furley Page with Guy Browning.

Jo James Chief Executive of the Kent Invicta Chamber says “We’re looking forward to our 29^th year of the Kent B2B and a productive day that will offer businesses of all sizes and from all sectors a place to meet, network and do business.”

Top ten secret tips to exhibiting!

1  Set your objectives -  what you wish to achieve 

   
    Design your stand to meet your objectives and plan your staffing needs early

2  Train, train, train

    80% of the success of your stand is down to your staff

3  Exhibiting is not just for leads but also to find suppliers and to ...

    Develop customer relations, find business partners, research competitors, 

    launch a new product, get new ideas

4  Market your stand to both customer and prospects

    Invite them to meet you at your stand or in the networking area

5  Messages on your stand
 
    Should be simple, visual and in LARGE print which stresses benefits, less is more

6  Can I help you?
    Not a good question, ask open questions that require more than a one word answer

7  Don’t just wait for visitors to visit your stand

    Lead generation can be anywhere, getting coffee, at workshops and speaker sessions-   
    Talk to everyone you can wherever you are!

8  Networking is about helping other people

    Hard sell is not appropriate and not appreciated and less effective

9  Don’t

    Use a mobile, eat on the stand, sit down, have your back to the aisle, have a messy stand
    or have cheap tacky giveaways

10  Follow up
      Follow up leads as quickly as possible after the exhibition

       

The 24 deadly sins of exhibiting

Common mistakes of exhibiting 

1  Planning is key
One of the biggest reasons that businesses are unsuccessful at exhibitions is that they haven’t promoted and marketed their presence in the weeks and months leading up to it. Not planning or promoting your presence is fatal to your success.Use signature blocks on your emails, develop a social media campaign to highlight your presence, and personally invite clients & suppliers to meet with you.  

2  Not reading the exhibitor manual 

Ensure you read through whatever information that the event organisers send you. Don’t just assume everything will be provided.

3  Not thinking about your objectives 

How can you know if your exhibition stand has been a success or not and the return of your investment without some pre- stand planning beforehand? What are your reasons for exhibiting?  How many leads are you looking to achieve?

4  Being shy

Choose confident friendly staff that are more than happy talking to strangers and are comfortable ‘interrupting’ people passing by in a cheerful, friendly manner. These staff are representing your business so excellent people skills are essential to make sure a lasting impression. 

5  No training

Not training your staff to run the show behind-the-scenes could be detrimental to your conversion rate!

6  Your exhibition stand doesn't clearly communicate your business

Think carefully about your stand design and graphics.  Always assume that people have no prior knowledge of your business. Pictures really do tell ‘a thousand words and so ensure your graphics clearly illustrate your offering.

7  Give people a reason to come to your stand

The power of a compelling incentive. Not creating a great, innovative reason for people to visit you on the day can have enormous consequences on getting the leads.  Display the benefits of choosing you over competitors and the value they will receive from signing up with you. 

8  Not making an effort or giving enough thought to your presence 

Make your stand exciting and stand out! Think about what you could bring on the day to intice potential customers over to your stand, and maybe consider a competition you could run or something equally interesting! 

9  Acting Disinterested

No matter how long your day has been, try to keep up a friendly smiley face and make eye-contact with potential customers at all times. Make sure staff are standing on their feet in an approachable manner and engage with as many people as possible… 

10  Having Too Few Staff

It is important to have plenty of staff to cover breaks and make sure that people are always seen to as soon as possible.

11  Having Too Many Staff

On the other hand, you don’t want your stand to be over filled with too many staff wanting potential customer’s attention… 

12    Staff Who Know Nothing about Your Product or Company

Ensure all staff working on your stand are completely knowledgeable of the whole company and its key information. Even if they are long term staff make sure that they are briefed with a coherent message and approach. Your staff need to be confident and be able to deal with any enquiries in a professional manner. 

13  Compel your audience to visit your stand

 Work on ways to compel your audience to visit your stand, it will dramatically increase your capture rate on the day. Being proactive never lost anybody a sale. You can’t remain at the edge of your stand and expect your leads to flock over. You can afford to leave your stand for 5 or 10 minute missions.

Get out and about, listen to the speakers, go to a workshop, engage with people at the café, when you are getting lunch, visit other stands and see how they are getting on – it’s not just on the stand that you can make contacts, be open and easy to approach. This approach will gain you leads.

14  Not Perfecting your Elevator Pitch

You will need to explain your business and its products/services countless times during the exhibition, so make sure you and your staff can explain the succinctly and effectively.

15  Not Listening

Make sure to really listen to any potential customers to answer as best you can any questions asked, and engage in a conversation with them.    

16  Not having information to take away

A lot of people will not want to be overloaded with bits of paper, but if asked you should have some simple/detailed information that people can take home with them if they wish!

17  Being Cagey about Pricing

Be prepared to answer any questions about price and be upfront! Even if you offer a bespoke service, be sure you can offer them a rough idea on price.

18  Taking Forever to Record Leads

Contact customers that have left their details as soon as possible- Don’t leave them hanging around!

19  Spamming 

If you are to send customers information, make it useful and exciting! Don’t end up sending the same content time and time again. Create interesting, innovative content that people will enjoy reading.

20  Exhibitors commandeering the time of other exhibitors

Respect that exhibitions are for strictly time for business, not to be used to socialise with industry colleagues and suppliers.

21  Uninspiring Tweets

Continually telling people during the exhibition to come to your stand, doesn't necessarily mean they will unfortunately. Give your social media messages some thought! Upload pictures and videos to maximise engagement.

22  Badmouthing Competitors

Be professional at all times- Focus on selling your brand to potential customers!

23  Packing Up Early

Packing up early at an exhibition is prohibited and you will be looked down on. You should be making the most of every last minute at your stand, networking and meeting. Packing up isn't just a potential health and safety issue but it reflects terribly on your organisation.

24  Not Following Up Leads Post Event

The final pitfall between you and gaining business from an exhibition is the way you approach leads after the event. Convert your hard work into strong sales and stop yourself from squandering the great work you did to capture new business prospects.  

Top Tips For Choosing The Right Travel Management Company (TMC)

In today’s economic climate keeping an eye on corporate travel spend and maximising travel budgets is critical (regardless of the size of your business and scale of travel requirements).

On the surface, price would often appear to be the driver in choosing corporate travel arrangements. However, the cheapest flight online doesn’t always equal the cheapest option! In many cases, there are restrictions to certain fares and hidden charges which means you may not always be buying the most cost effective option.

We’re not just talking flights here, the TMC is the expert. They have the knowledge and the relationships with suppliers to get you the best possible solution for your needs at the best price. They can save you a lot of wasted time and help to get you out of difficulty.

Consider what you really need:

·    - More time to do your own job?

·    - Expert Advice?

·    - Policy Compliance?

·    - Reporting?

·    - 24 hour help?

·    - Centralised Payment Solutions?

·    - Flexibility?

Many TMCs will be able to offer what you are looking for but you need to ensure that it is offered in a way that works for you and your business. Cultural fit is critical to a lasting relationship – your TMC should feel like an extension of your own company. That’s where BBTM (Baldwins Business Travel Management) can help. Call us on 01892 515900 for details or visit our website www.bbtm.co.uk

Residential buy-to-let Investment

Alan Stewart 

By Alan Stewart, director and head of Residential Lettings and Management

"Today, it is even more important for anyone considering investing in a buy-to-let property to do their homework. It can make the difference between a lucrative investment and a disastrous and expensive failure. Location is always a key factor, whether buying to live in or to let. Always consider market value, rental income and capital growth. Who will let and manage the property? If an agent, the cost must be factored in."

This was the penultimate paragraph of an article I wrote at the end of 2014.

In the intervening three months, the increased level of publicity regarding property as an investment has prompted me to expand on the topic:

Recent reports confirm that tenant demand continues and is outstripping supply.  As a result, the buy-to-let sector remains attractive for both larger property investors and first time landlords who, during the downturn saw their savings diminish in real terms due to low interest rates, poor returns and limited options.

During 2014, buy-to-let was the fastest growing segment of the mortgage market, and as an investment option, there are many advantages.

Tax breaks are available for buy-to-let properties that are denied for private residential house purchases. In addition ‘allowable expenses and allowances’ permit landlords to offset interest charges on a buy-to-let mortgage against their taxable income.  This makes it an even more attractive proposition for investment.

As well as reaping tax benefits and a regular income from tenants, there is the potential long-term gain from capital growth when investing in bricks and mortar – although it should be remembered that property prices can go down as well as up.

To establish a realistic ‘bottom line’, management, accountancy and other professional fees, void periods, maintenance costs, legislation and regulations will all need to be factored in to the equation, but the yield may still be attractive enough to entice a modern-day investor. It would be wise for any first time buy-to-let investor to consult an expert. 

Some commentators predict an influx of buy-to-let investors releasing monies from their pension funds could add to the problems of first time buyers.  This may put the property ladder even further out of reach for many first time buyers who currently find it extremely difficult due to high prices, lack of mortgage options and the huge deposits required, thus further supporting the strength of the lettings market for buy-to-let landlords.

Generally, buy-to-let and first time buyer properties are one and the same.  In due course, first time buyers move up the property ladder.   Landlord investors tend to hang on to their property.  The inevitable result will be a bottleneck, reducing options for first time buyers even more than at present.

Currently properties in good areas, with potential to provide above average rents, are in short supply.  This has a knock-on effect and the level of investment required may affect long-term gains.  Add to that a soon to be introduced EU directive that, according to David Cox, MD of the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA) “…will require lenders to tighten affordability levels on buy-to-let loans, making it harder for amateur landlords to obtain a mortgage”.

Urban Sales & Lettings Ltd has conducted a study revealing pre-election nerves have slowed investment in the private rental sector.   This, they suggest, is due to uncertainty around Labour’s intention to introduce a rent cap and longer fixed term tenancies, and a worry that property prices would fall if they were in government.

On a more positive note, Knight Frank and accommodationforstudents research reveals that student property is outperforming all investments. 

My colleague and associate director Duncan Reeves, who is head of residential and student lettings in our Canterbury office says students are more demanding than ever.  No longer will six to a bathroom suffice.  Students, and their parents, are not prepared to compromise, so anyone considering an investment in this market would be wise to explore top end, purpose built property. 

As head of a successful and professional student lettings organisations, Duncan’s experience is that the first properties to let are those sensibly priced, located close to the universities, decorated to a high standard with good quality furniture, modern appliances, wi-fi and en-suite facilities.  Less popular are houses in multiple occupation, that were once so popular.

To summarise, prospective property investors must do their homework: consider whether student or professional tenants are the best option; location is paramount; factor in all outgoings against income and then allow a sensible contingency; remember property will show greatest gains over the long-term; and finally, take advice from professionals who are experienced in the field.

For further information contact Alan: astewart@caxtons.com or telephone 01634 576000.