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Sedgefield-based accountants learn the importance of networking

Accountants from Sedgefield met this week at a lively and interactive event to help them hone the important networking skills that are essential in modern business life. The event was held by the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) at Hardwick Hall Hotel on Tuesday night where they met to hear from Business Coach, Nathan McNee.

Yorkshire- based Nathan is a Business Coach, Trainer and Business Development Manager at Dale Carnegie Northern England and he led an engaging session on networking skills.

Nathan said, “In a time when organisations are running faster and leaner, all business people must be skilled at networking to maximise their value, create mutually beneficial partnerships, sell their organisation’s benefits and increase business connections.”

The event was particularly relevant to those Sedgefield-based business people, such as management accountants, who have a role which involves needing to build and grow business expertise and client bases.

In his talk Nathan explained that the fastest way to expand your business network is to connect with someone else’s network. He says “It isn’t just who you know, it is who wants to know you, and who wants to know the people you know.”

At the session those who attended learned to build networking skills to make the most of networking events and connections, build on contacts for mutual benefit and develop a flexible and authentic personal branding statement. This included name remembering, developing a memorable self introduction and making a stronger first impression.

Nathan continued: “The critical first steps in the process for engaging with people when networking media are vitally important and that is primarily about creating the right impression about ourselves. It can often be the starting point for the entire relationships with a client or contact, and it sets the tone for the whole interaction.”

At the session those who attended learnt to build networking skills to maximise networking events and connections, build on contacts for mutual benefit and develop a flexible and authentic personal branding statement. This included name remembering, developing a memorable self introduction and making a stronger first impression.

Nathan also focused on the use of social media as a networking tool.

He added: “The starting point for any communication with a client or contact is meeting and greeting them in the right way whether face-to-face or on social media. By energetically and professionally welcoming people, we make each engagement more successful and build up those all-essential business networks.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by CIMA UK Regional News .