𝗗𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗸𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗶𝘁 𝗮 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗻𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁?

With over twelve years of membership in any group, you do invariably become friends with the other people. So when you see each other at a networking evening, greeting each other with hugs and kisses simply underlines the warmth of the event.

This time last week I was getting ready for the Your Business Community (YBC) mega networking at Howden’s impressive head office in London. I guess there were around 120 people in the room, including some of my clients – past and present. (Hopefully future too.) And I must have kissed at least 30 or 40 people.

It’s not unprofessional.

Coupled with mutual respect, trust and an awareness of each other’s expertise, I believe that it makes for an environment that encourages referrals, recommendations and business opportunities. And it shows that you’re happy to see someone.

In most cases we’ve had lunch together, or dinner (probably not candlelit!), or we’ve shared a bottle of wine. We’ve discussed issues, gained advice, maybe even shared secrets – it’s all about building lasting relationships with people around us that we enjoy spending time with. Because let’s face it, we’re not going to do business with people we don’t like.

If I’m going recommend someone for something, it’s likely they’ll be within my networking ‘friendship group.’

Last Tuesday, gathered together in a fabulous environment overlooking the city, watching the sunset from a rooftop terrace, it was definitely more like a party than a business event. In fact, it celebrated YBC’s 12th birthday – so congratulations to Ted Wigzell and Mia Flanagan who run the organisation!

(For a more professional perspective on the evening you can see YBC’s posts here: https://www.linkedin.com/company/your-business-community/.)

Really lovely to catch up with the people in my pics, plus everyone else I chatted with over the five hours we were sipping champagne!

If you’re interested in joining an upcoming London or Essex networking event, drop me an email or a note on LinkedIn and we can sort that out.

Looking forward to a hug soon!