Zuora’s Post

Why you should listen when someone throws a crazy idea at you … If you’re the type of person who immediately dismisses what they say you could be missing out on something really good! Ask yourself if you would have taken a chance on this one. Here’s what happened … A woman I had met quite by chance told me about her idea. “Tried it before, small scale” she said. “It was very popular and I’ve often thought of bringing it into U.K. cities but I’m too nervous” Curiosity piqued! I pressed her for the details…. “Well it’s this thing that’s a bit like a mini trade show but it’s also a networking event and it’s also got a bit of fun built in”. It goes like this … • Very few stand holders – not too much competition for them. • No overlapping talks/networking taking punters away from them. • Networking that is properly facilitated so that it works • Only one short talk and it has to be USEFUL • Food glorious food • On the day special offers/discounts for everyone The most unique bit? A mechanism to ensure that all the visitors visit every stand and SPEAK to the stand holder! That same mechanism puts everyone into a prize draw to win a great prize. AND it’s all affordable. I’m in! Didn’t regret it. Especially when people who came along said… “Genius!” “Best thing I have EVER seen in networking!” “Put me down for the next one – NOW!” Is £19 good value for … Food, Facilitated Networking, A Delegates List, Special Discounts, 5 Top Takeaway Tips, Chance to Win a Great Prize? Yes or no?

Once in a networking event, Someone approached a gentleman, who is very rich and powerful and asked them, what do you do? The rich and powerful person, responded, I am a nobody who comes to the events for free food. Later I had to explain to that someone, who the rich and powerful person is. Later on, someone asked me, what do you do? Inspired by what I saw sometime back, I said, "Oh, I am a nobody and the person who asked me gave a look and just moved on."* Then it occurred to me. Rich people are the one who could afford to say, money is not everything in the world. Good looking ones are the ones who would say looks don't matter. Similarly, the popular, the powerful ones, the ones who are truly in the highest order of food chain are the ones who could afford to be humble, simple and down to earth. In fact, at the least they should appear to be humble. If not, they would be branded as arrogant (even if they are not) For rest of us, the mere mortals, our humility would be possibly interpreted as weakness! You would be tagged as someone lacking the executive presence. The simple, self deprecating nature (even if that is your true nature) would do more damage than being arrogant. (Yes, you also can't be more arrogant than you could afford to be) If you are someone who is in the middle of the food chain, you are better off by stating your true credentials, so you get the respect you deserve. *The chain of events may or may not have happened either partially or in its entirety!

Tis the season to network at holiday parties (I have a luncheon this afternoon and cocktail party tonight). Of course, when I meet new people, the question on both sides is "What do you do?" The answer has to be short and hopefully, memorable especially since this is supposed to be a more festive event. Plus, you don't want to be one of those people who goes on and on about themselves. I'm not a natural networker. I'm happy if I have a few good conversations to follow up on and then call it a day. Figuring out what and how much to say about yourself is tough. In my blog post, I try to share some of the tips I've learned over the years, but if you have some, please add them in the comments. Happy networking! https://lnkd.in/g9XZqewv #networkingtips #networkingevent #speakingtips

When you think of networking, what’s the first word that springs to mind? That’s exactly the question we posed to our members at our latest Fresh National event. And their responses? Probably not the words you’d typically associate with networking - but if you’re familiar with Fresh and what we stand for, it won’t surprise you in the slightest! • Energy • Connections • Motivating • Smiling • New faces • Engaging • Buzz Didn’t attend our national event? We still want to include you in the discussion! In the comments, tell us how you would describe Fresh in one word.

🎙️ 15 down, many more to go. Tune into our mash up of distribution and foodservice professionals that just dropped. Get a glimpse of real people, stories and takes on the industry. If you are a foodservice professional you’ll enjoy listening. This was a way for me to help make the industry a smaller place and help us realize we are faced with many of the same problems, opportunities and challenges. Networking is a key tool for all of us to learn and expand our connections. Don’t be afraid to reach out and look to learn from someone.

So what makes the FAN Conference so different? "You get to hear content from genuine experts, ask questions then discuss with your peers," says Kate Groom, co founder of FAN. "That's one of the things that sets the FAN Conference apart," she said. "It's one thing to hear from experts. But it’s another thing to process that information by discussing it with others in the industry." The FAN Conference brings together experts from the franchise sector to share their knowledge and experience. But the key is in the networking and sharing of that knowledge amongst the attendees. We also focus on the networking aspect. To get to know at least two or three more people than you did before. “This is one of the joys of FAN," says Kate. To be part of the FAN Conference, be sure to register. Booking details in the comments section below.

Going to an event soon? Here’s a 𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝘄𝗶𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗻𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴. Who’s speaking at this event? Find them on LinkedIn and view their profile. Follow them and see if they’ve posted about being a speaker at the event. If they have, Like their post and add a comment saying “I’m looking forward to hearing you speak [@name].” If they haven’t posted, see if the event organiser has posted. Reshare this post to your network, saying “I’m excited to hear [@speaker] share their thoughts at this event. See you there!” Or just do your own post and tag the organiser and speaker. The point is, you’ve now made yourself visible to the speaker in a nice, friendly, professional way. Very possibly, they will like and even comment on your comment/reshare/post. Now you can send them a connection message. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁: instead of you sending a cold connection invitation, you're now sending a warm one. That feels more comfortable, doesn't it? 𝗕𝗼𝗻𝘂𝘀 𝗽𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁𝘀:  introduce yourself at the event.  Guess what? They will recognise your name! ** 𝗗𝗼𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗯𝗼𝗻𝘂𝘀 𝗽𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁𝘀: take a photo of them speaking and post it with your top takeaways. 𝗧𝗿𝗶𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗯𝗼𝗻𝘂𝘀 𝗽𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁𝘀: ask someone to take a photo of you with them and post it with your top takeaways. ** Don't underestimate how rewarding it is for both of you to experience this burst of familiarity. When I'm at an event where I don't know anyone, getting this moment of recognition can make all the difference to my level of enjoyment.

Networking... What should you expect to get out of it, and what makes a good event? Yesterday I had the pleasure of attending an event hosted by Grantley Hall at Thimbleby Shooting Ground. (thank you for putting on a great event) The guest list was mixed, we had Asbestos Removal, Waste Disposal, Event Management, IT, Prestige Car Sales and a Luxury Watch dealer. Nobody was there to specifically sell anything to each other, but to have a good time, meet new people, enjoy the shooting and share stories. By the end of the day, the social side of the event had created a great vibe and we all had an enjoyable, if not extremely wet day (they do say there is no such thing as bad weather, just bad kit.... I questioned that yesterday). It was good to chat and find out what was going on in other industries, their highs, and lows, success stories and what impact the economy was having on them. By the end of the day, I left knowing a little bit more about other industries and enough confidence to recommend their services if the need arose. Perhaps they left feeling the same way? So, networking does not always have to be so thought through, sometimes it just needs to happen, you never know where the path goes if you don't wander down it! So next time you get an invite and you think ‘it’s not for me’, have another think.

This is why you need to network. Having strong and supportive men is important if you want to become famous and rich. Having a strong network pushes you to go above your limits. Having a strong network helps you become rich. Having a strong network of men makes you brave. So, now you may be asking, how can I network with brave and rich men? The answer is to search for them in big restaurants, hotels, etc. The only way to network with people is by giving them value. For example, paying for their coffee, dinner, etc. That’s it.

Networking is one of the most important actions you can take to build your brand be it personal or for business, and gets you in front of the right people for you and your business growth.. Just so happens FORWARDER Magazine and Paul Stoneman are the champions at this!!! 🙌 Thanks for the lovely mention in today's post, you guys are awesome 😁 #networking #forwardermagazine #meetinggreatpeople