Essex Business Network – Redbridge College 23/11/11

by Rob on November 23, 2011

East London Business Networking

london business networkingThere was a reasonable turn-out this morning for the Romford Meeting of EBN held at Redbridge college.

The discussion was led by Herbie Spence of Redbridge college on the subject of ‘Power & Intimidation Tactics’ and it was a real eye-opener!

First off there are a number of tactics that can give you the advantage in business meetings and negotiations, but they can also put you on the back foot if you are unaware of them. These tactics are;

  • sudden change in behaviour
  • the power handshake
  • keeping people waiting
  • silence
  • voice tone and volume
  • weight of numbers
  • interrupting
  • dismissing

Sudden Change in Behaviour

This catches the ‘victim’ unaware and having lulled them into a false sense of security, shocks them with an outburst or some kind of abrupt change in demenour.

This is often carried out in a good cop-bad cop style routine where a second person will enter the room and go against everything their colleague previously said.

The Power Handshake

This can take the form of the overly firm grip and pump-action shake, or the “controlling” hand over the hands action. This one says that the power-shaker is taking control, or that they are insecure. You decide!

Keeping People Waiting

This tactic says “things will begin when I’m ready” and may take the form of having the ‘victim’ wait outside the room, wait in the room alone, wait in the room whilst you are doing something, or just being late.

This one can lead to a ‘Mexican stand-off’ type situation if the ‘victim’ reverses roles and then makes you wait whilst they do something.

Sometimes tardiness can be mistaken for an intimidation tactic.

Silence

Not saying anything at all can be extremely powerful. Silence makes people uncomfortable and can lead to them saying ‘anything’ to fill the gap!

Voice Tone & Volume

Shouting and speaking in an aggressive tone is the oldest power and intimidation tactic in the book and no doubt we’ve all been on both sides of that one.

Weight of Numbers

Ever shown up for a meeting or interview with someone and suddenly your sitting before a panel that would make the Spanish Inquisition look like a day at the beach?

The psychological impact of this one is hard to nullify, but like any of these tactics if you are aware what is happening the effect is lessened.

Interrupting

This one is very common, although more often than not out of ignorance rather than any pre-conceived tactic. Being interrupted makes one feel small and insignificant and if unchecked hands the advantage to your opponent.

Dismissing

Dismissing someone’s point of view or research data falls into much the same category as above – it is designed to elevate the dismiosser above their opponent.

Summary

All these tactics if used correctly can give business people an advantage in negotiating the things that they want. Knowledge of when they are being used can help lessen the effects when they are used against you.

EBN meets every Wednesday at Redbridge college. It is an exclusive group which already contains representatives from industries such as web design, internet marketing, accounting, debt management, will writing, printing, barbaring, cloud computing and financial advice – if you are not in those industries and would like to come along please call Andy Walpole on 07858 756827

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FSB Business Networking Romford – Redbridge College

by Rob on November 16, 2011

Business Networking Romford – FSB at Redbridge College



Last Friday’s discussion at Redbridge was a continuation on the theme of networking.

Whilst we had a good discussion in the previous meeting on the subject, there was one area that we did not really get into and that was the question of what happens after a networking meeting – how do you follow up, how do you make yourself memorable?

Business Networking Breakfast – Discussion Summary

The main points that came out of this conversation were as follows;

  • Being memorable is not always a positive  – the example of Peter Lilley singing and sending the Tory party conference into cringes of embarrassment was brought up as an example of this (and it seems that Mr Lilley is a serial offender in this regard http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Lilley).
  • Being dressed appropriately was raised in relation to this as well .
  • The use of props can be an excellent way to distinguish yourself in a group of people – Paul Violet explained how carrying around a chicken at networking events has been an effective ice-breaking conversation starter (that’s not actually a real chicken but a kids toy in case you were wondering).

Being memorable is also about forming longer-term relationships with people and to do this is is vital that you institute a system to follow-up with people that you meet at networking events.

Now this isn’t to say that you should spam people with your special offers and sales messages, but more along the lines of sending an email summarising what you do and asking the receiver to do the same so you can both get a more in depth understanding of each other’s business.

Next Week’s Redbridge Networking Meeting

The next meeting is on Friday 25th November and Sharon Eden will be presenting to the group on ‘Passion in your business’

The other thing to note is that from now on the meeting will start at 8am sharp. The canteen opens from 7:30am for those that wish to eat and chat for 30 minutes prior.

Many thanks and look forward to seeing you all next week.

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