Blog Tag Results for "Business Networking"
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Maddie Hollis | 
13th Oct 2010 at 14:50 | 4734 views | 
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Apprenticeship Schemes – Are they worth it?
In September, after being an Apprentice at The Swan Company for 6 months I found myself not only standing in front of a full room of strangers but I was the centre of attention! This was possibly the last thing I thought I would be doing when I first joined the company back in March. Well it just goes to show how so much can change over such a short time.
So on September 14th Margaret MacKenzie (my boss at The Swan Company) and I presented our story at an Apprenticeship Information and Networking Event.
As I said I have only been an Apprentice and with The Swan Company for 6 months. However because I have fitted in so well we were asked to tell everyone else about our experience and why the Apprenticeship Scheme has worked so well. So we jumped at the opportunity to tell local businesses in the Dorset area a bit more about us, and what we do.
The first thing we wanted to demonstrate to everyone is what a...
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Category: Tales of an Apprentice
Maddie Hollis | 04th May 2010 at 11:15 | 1106 views | 0 comments(s)
Bank Holidays
Don’t you just love nature? We have a bank holiday weekend and ……it rains. Isn’t that what we all love? The one day we can go out and enjoy ourselves….We can’t.
Gutted. :-(
Still you can always do what we did over the cold…wet…weekend. Have a BBQ in the rain!! Though to be completely honest it’s not quite the same. You still have the BBQ routine. The whole waking up early in the morning filled with excitement, (and maybe dread at the amount of food that will be consumed on your premises – as well as the cost of this food ….), standing in front of the kitchen window making a massive potato salad, slight grin on your face…then suddenly…..Rain!! Pitter-pattering on the window……If you’re a duck, you love it…Sadly you’re not.
When everyone arrives you realise just how small your kitchen is and just how noisy small people are….. Althou...
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Category: Tales of an Apprentice
Maddie Hollis | 27th May 2010 at 13:49 | 996 views | 6 comments(s)
Bish, Bash, Bosh!
Now, as you may or may not remember, I wrote a Blog a couple of weeks ago about networking… Well, this very morning I went to my first ever networking event! It was the Dorset BusinessXchange breakfast in Kingston Maurwood, near Dorchester. Laura, the group leader, was keen to emphasise that it is a business support networking group and not a lead generating one. However, I swear that Margaret could find a lead in the Gobi desert… So I’m now going to tell you all about it…
I don’t think that I’ve ever had so much fun… In a business, boring-to-your-average-17-year-old kind of way. If you know what I mean. (Chuckles…).
Everybody who went to this event was just so lovely and kind…I swear it has nothing to do with the free full English breakfast that they receive beforehand.… Well maybe a little. But can I just add when eating this breakfast you are sitting next to potential clients, so I ...
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Category: Tales of an Apprentice
Maddie Hollis | 27th Apr 2010 at 16:11 | 253 views | 0 comments(s)
Cups of Tea!
If I could have one wish right now, it would be to be sat on the beach with a laptop, rather than being at this desk......
The likelihood of this ever happening is …... Zero......
Though to be honest I think a laptop and sand would not be the best combination in the world. You would get all kinds of gritty bits underneath your nails and in your hair. As well as the fact that if you tried sunbathing at the end of the day you would have a big white patch on you thighs! Who wants that?.........(If you do...you know what to do!)
Still I could have an extremely boring job when all I do is sit around and do completely nothing all day. ..rather than being very very 'busy and important' writing this blog :).
I don't know how people can just sit at a desk for 8 hours and pretend to be busy!..Surely that uses up far more energy than just getting on and doing something?!! ….And YES guys I know that I've already spoken about this........
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Category: Tales of an Apprentice
Victoria Moffatt | 06th Apr 2010 at 14:36 | 341 views | 1 comments(s)
Cold Calling - Do you need to change your attitude?
Believe in what you are selling. Believe you have a right to make that call. If you think that the person you are calling is going to see you as a nuisance caller, the chances are that they will. If you believe in your product or service and can identify the problem that it can solve for your potential customer, then the message conveyed to the customer is that you can provide the solution. The only way you can do this is by using your listening skills. A conversation is a two-way process, and it is as important that you ask the right questions to find out what your prospect needs as it is that you listen carefully to the answers. This can mean that you actually help your prospect to identify the problem, and are then ideally placed to recommend your solution. The more you know about your prospect before you make the call, the more targeted your questions can be.
Many people hate making sales calls, as they think that all p...
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Margaret MacKenzie | 09th Jul 2010 at 10:37 | 787 views | 1 comments(s)
Cold Calling - Fear of Objection
An objection is not a rejection; it is simply a request for more information. - Bo Bennett.
You have overcome your fear of rejection, made that call and are now actually speaking to your prospect. Now is not the time for a stunned silence, (precipitated by the shock of actually getting through), but a chance to start building the relationship you want. Don’t be embarrassed about the fact that you are selling something, but do be honest about it. There is very little more irritating in life, than callers who say ‘I’m not trying to sell you anything’, when it is patently obvious that they are.
You gather your wits, you explain why you have called and, (because you understand the value of questioning in a sales call), you have asked your prospect some pertinent questions and listened to the response. You would now like to make an appointment, in order to explain your solution to the prospect’s problem in more de...
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Maddie Hollis | 20th May 2010 at 09:43 | 361 views | 1 comments(s)
Just because the suns out, it doesn’t mean it’s hot..
You know when you look out of the window on a nice sunny day and instantly decide to wear shorts or a summer dress …but when you get outside you are freezing! That slight swaying in the trees that you mistook for a gentle breeze is in fact an icy northern wind that whips right through you. Well I think today is one of those days…..
So I’m sitting here freezing, trying to sound intelligent, interesting, professional, business-like and altogether gorgeous. BUT.. every time I come to write this blog, my mind goes into lock down mode… I can’t work it out. All week I’ll be doing stuff and thinking to myself: ‘Oh yeah, I’ll put that in my blog…’ The day of the of the blog arrives and I’m twiddling my thumbs, having no idea whatsoever what to write!
So…..as this is a recurring problem I’ve decided to do something about it…
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Category: Tales of an Apprentice
Maddie Hollis | 12th May 2010 at 14:59 | 272 views | 1 comments(s)
Networking
This blog is all about the Dos and the Don’ts of Networking….
Now some of you may be wondering what exactly is Networking, well the dictionary definition is:
A supportive system of sharing information and services among individuals and groups having a common interest: e.g. Working mothers in the community use networking to help them manage successfully.
However in business terms, (well, especially with The Swan Company), the definition seems to be:
Meeting up with all your business associates for breakfast in a big hall somewhere and having a good old chin wag about what everyone has been up to.
Having the opportunity to meet new business people, get to know and to build relationships with them.
I personally think that this is a big difference…
Networking cannot really be defined as it is completely different for every single person and company, depending on what they are hoping to achieve. It is not a platform to sell, sell...
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Category: Tales of an Apprentice
Victoria Moffatt | 13th Apr 2010 at 14:22 | 269 views | 0 comments(s)
Tales of an Apprentice - Part 1
On the 29th March 2010 I started my Business Administration and Sales Apprenticeship with a telesales and appointment setting company, 2 weeks later and I have been ordered to write a blog…. Apparently this will help me reflect upon my training, raise the profile of the company, and be something good for when I go for Apprentice of the Year!....Right..
Today’s date is Monday 12th April at 9.15 in the morning and I currently have as much imagination as a fat toad eating flies…. This, in case you have not realised, is not very much….
The Swan Company Ltd is not what you would describe as your average, ordinary, boring employer. For example the office is in a field, in the middle of nowhere! We even have an office cat that is white and moulting…I wear black trousers…Mmmmmm. Boss 1’s dog (Boss 1a) comes to work wanting to play…we have a surprising amount in common. Not 100% sure if that is ...
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Category: Tales of an Apprentice