Business Today

FTSE ends strong quarter on weak note, hit by falling banks

Britain's top share index dropped on Friday, after a strong quarter, as banks fell on renewed uncertainty over Deutsche Bank's financial health and as a spate of broker downgrades hit outsourcer Capita. The FTSE 100 was down 78.33 points, or 1.1 percent, at 6,841.09 by 0820 GMT, with financials taking 25 points off the index.

Deutsche Bank chief Cryan tries to reassure on bank's strength

John Cryan, chief executive of Deutsche Bank, has emailed the bank's 100,000 staff to reassure them that the bank's finances are strong, stating that the bank's reserves and profits underlined its strength. He told them the bank had become the object of "hefty speculation" and that "new rumours" were causing the share price to fall. Deutsche's shares hit new lows on Friday as confidence in the bank continued to falter. At no point in the last 20 years had Deutsche been as strong as it is now, Mr Cryan insisted. Deutsche shares were down 5% at midday, having fallen 9% earlier.

Read more: http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-global-markets-idUKKCN12004M

Spotify in talks to buy SoundCloud

Spotify is currently in advanced talks to purchase SoundCloud, the Financial Times reports. Both streaming services are in talks ahead of Spotify’s IPO, and the streaming service has already attracted 100 million users worldwide along with 40 million subscribers. On the other hand, SoundCloud would compliment the streaming giant and has built the company by allowing artists to upload their music and share it with the world. The deal would give Spotify another edge over rival Apple Music, which recently reached 17 million subscribers of their own.

Business rates hike could hit consumer bills as retailers and telecoms giants hit hard

Some of the country's biggest telephone and internet service providers were hit by major increases in their business rates today, causing their customers to have to face higher bills for these services. Figures published this morning by the Valuation Office Agency show the proposed new rates for thousands of businesses across the UK, which will come into effect from April. One of the biggest increases in rateable values is British Telecom, whose business rates bill for England and Wales will jump from £149m to £714m next year, although for technical reasons the company will only have to pay around half of the final amount.

Nissan boss warns on UK investment

Nissan's chief executive, Carlos Ghosn, has warned that Brexit uncertainty and possible tariffs could damage investment in the UK's biggest car factory. He said that the firm would need "compensation" for tax barriers that might result from Britain leaving the European Union. Nissan's plant in Sunderland produces about a third of the UK's car output. Nissan is due to decide early next year on where to build its next Qashqai sport utility vehicle.

Read more: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/brexit-latest-nissan-compensation-deal-uk-investment-a7339211.html

UK service firms defy Brexit, put BoE on spot over rates

Britain's giant services sector grew strongly in July, according to official data giving the clearest sign to date that the economy did not slump immediately into a major slowdown after the country's vote in June to leave the EU. The Office for National Statistics also said economic growth was stronger than it previously believed in the run-up to the June 23 referendum as consumers and businesses increased their spending. The data may dissuade the Bank of England from following through on its plan to cut interest rates again at its next meeting. However, the economy still looks set to slow sharply next year when the full impact of the referendum is likely to be felt.

RBS brand to be confined to Scotland in ring-fencing plans

The Royal Bank of Scotland has announced that the brand will largely be confined to Scotland, with the Natwest name replacing it in England and Wales. The new ring-fenced bank will be called Natwest Holdings, and will be comprised of its core NatWest, Coutts & Co, Ulster Bank and Ulster Bank Ireland DAC brands. By the end of 2018, RBS' Adam & Company unit, which houses its Scottish private bank, will be renamed Royal Bank of Scotland Plc as part of the changes.

British Steel in profit 100 days after its rebirth

British Steel has already reached profitability, its executive chairman, Roland Junck, said on Thursday, as he criticised the previous management's running of the company. On the hundredth day since its launch, the re-branded manufacturer announced £50m of investment as its reinvigoration continues. Mr Junck said the company had seen month-on-month revenue improvement this financial year and that it is on track to return to profit by the time it releases its annual results on March 31 2017. The company did not disclose figures, but also outlined plans for £50m of investment in its plants and announced that it had taken on 270 people since its formation on June 1.

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Our next event will be at TateHindle on 12th October. We hope to see you there!

Never Stop Learning About Your Customers

Your customers should be at the heart of everything you do; put them first and the rest should follow. They can be both your greatest advocate and your greatest critic, so it's important to keep track of who they are and what they want from you.

Generally speaking, customers are often far less loyal and trusting than they used to be, especially in industries which suffered reputational blows during the financial crisis. Even in unrelated industries, you're probably feeling some of the same effect. At the same time, customers also have more power than ever before, due to the rise of social media, online comparison shopping and a greater proliferation of choices.

The diversity of those customers continues to increase, which puts a premium on mirco-segmentation and deep customer insight. However, by increasing the noise-to-data ratio, the data deluge resulting from the internet can actually make it harder to see and understand your customer base.

Economic uncertainty and data overload confuses customers as well as businesses. This makes them less interested in products than in flexible, adaptive solutions, creating customers who are trickier and more demanding than ever. Therefore, it's more important than ever to really get inside the heads of your customers and try to stand in their shoes.

Five Ways to Really Understand Your Customers and Know What They Want

1. Field diverse customer services teams. Diverse staff are more likely to be able to understand and communicate effectively with a diverse range of customers.

2. Understand partnerships. Most business, especially digital ones, are only successful these days if they are able to build strong partnerships. Being aware of the various important players and their roles can help illuminate the specific nuances of an industry. This can also provide good opportunities for disruption and potential cost savings if a vendor or provider can be removed from the equation.

3. Use social media. Having social media accounts is a must in modern business practices, allowing you to interact with customers and track their preferences/habits/activity. Platforms such as Facebook and Twitter provide a wide range of insights into current and potential customers, including their buying habits.

4. Use big data sources and leverage that data to obtain critical insights into your customer base. Make sure you focus on the quality of the data, rather than the quantity but at the same time, use every bit of data you can collect from as many sources as possible. Also, remember that your business operates in real time so your analytics should as well. This allows you to understand what's happening as it's happening and to take appropriate actions to ensure optimal user experience and obtain the best results for your business.

5.Anticipate what your customers will want tomorrow, a strategy which has served many entrepreneurs well, such as Richard Branson and Steve Jobs. Use different tools, such as scenario planning to explore how underlying market shifts may affect your customers in the future.

Smart Scenarios

Good scenarios provide competing intellectual windows onto a complex phenomenon and challenge how you think about it. The aim is to test your current strategy and to make sure that your plans include enough flexibility that you can weather whatever the future brings. For example, if automakers in the US had examined various globalisation and technology scenarios a few decades earlier, then they might have switched their design and manufacturing strategies much sooner, shoring up and protecting the industry.

Start by defining the issue – look at it in terms of time frame, scope and decision variables. Then, make a list of what you already know. Ask which current trends will affect your industry in the future, then document these trends and explain why each exerts a significant, lasting influence. Follow up by identifying what you don't know – this means potential uncertainties which could affect your business in the future. Briefly explain why and how each point matters, and how they may be interconnected.

In response to this knowledge, construct multiple scenarios with different outcomes for each uncertainty. Identify how and where each of your scenarios may be inconsistent and eliminate combinations which seem implausible. You should end up with a few diverse but plausible scenarios which cover a wide range of the possibilities your business may face.

Top Tips

1. Identify your knowledge gaps and how best to fill them. This will provide direction and help you to set measurable goals to track your progress.

2. Keep asking whether you're doing the right thing by your customers. If you are, that should mean you're also doing the right thing for your brand, business and team, too.

3. Don't be complacent. Keep learning, doing more and finding ways to improve as a brand, team and individual.

4. Never assume you know what your customer wants or needs. Stay objective and allow the data to provide insight.

Click here to see our membership packages or here to subscribe to our mailing list. Leave a comment below to let us know how you keep up to date with your customer knowledge.

Our next event will be at TateHindle on 12th October. We hope to see you there!

Company Spotlight – Ernst & Young

Ernst & Young or EY is one of the so-called 'Big Four' audit firms. Founded in 1989 through the merger of Ernst & Whinney and Arthur Young & Co, the multinational professional services firm is the third largest in the world by aggregated revenue (2014), after PwC and Deloitte. The organisation operates as a network of member firms which are separate legal entities in individual countries.

In 2016, Fortune magazine ranked EY as one of the 100 Best Companies to Work For and it is now the 11th largest privately owned organisation in the United States. It has at least 212,000 employees in over 700 offices around 150 countries in the world. It provides assurance (including financial audit), tax, consulting and advisory services to companies.

EY Global

EY is the most globally managed of the Big Four firms. EY Global sets global standards and oversees global policy and consistency of service, with client work performed by its member firms. Each member is organised as part of one of four areas, whereas most other professional services networks are more centrally managed.

The four areas are:

• Europe, Middle East, India and Africa
• Americas
• Asia-Pacific
• Japan

Each area has an identical business structure and a management team, which is lead by an Area Managing Partner who is part of the Global Executive board. The aim of this structure is to effectively cater for an increasingly global clientèle, who have multinational interests.

“Building a Better Working World”

EY aims to create what they describe as “a better working world”, by asking #better questions, such as “how do we inspire future entrepreneurs to bring their ideas to life”? For them, this better world looks like increased trust and confidence in business, sustainable growth, development of talent in all its forms, and greater collaboration. This includes using their global reach and scale to start conversations about the challenges facing economies and the capital markets. They believe that “when business works better, the world works better”.

EY Entrepreneur Of The Year®

As part of it's goal to recognise, celebrate and nurture the power of entrepreneurs to make a difference and bring fresh ideas to create positive social change, EY started their Entrepreneur of the Year awards programme.

The first programme took place in 1986 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in the United States and by 1987 it was held across 11 US cities, expanding internationally in 1993. The programme celebrates entrepreneurs, giving them the chance to share their stories, inspire others and receive the recognition they deserve.

Over the last five years, more than 6,500 entrepreneurs have become Entrepreneur Of The Year alumni, a veritable “who’s who” of both developed and emerging markets. Over half of today’s top 100 NASDAQ companies have won Entrepreneur Of The Year, and most received the award before they achieved top 100 status.

Click here to see our membership packages or here to subscribe to our mailing list. Leave a comment below to let us know your opinion on this week's company spotlight.

Our next event will be at TateHindle on 12th October. We hope to see you there!

Business Today

Sports Direct: Mike Ashley steps in after CEO Dave Forsey resigns

Following the resignation of Dave Forsey, the founder of Sports Direct is taking over as the sports retailer's chief executive officer. Forsey's departure from the troubled firm follows months of mounting criticism of their working practices and corporate governance by shareholders, unions and politicians. Sports Direct’s share price, which has taken a battering over the past 12 months during which time the company fell out of the FTSE 100, was up nearly 5% on Friday morning following the announcement of Forsey’s departure, to about 300p.

Read More: http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-sports-direct-moves-idUKKCN11T0FA

Yahoo hack: World's biggest data breach could compromise Verizon deal and cost hundreds of millions of dollars

On Thursday, Yahoo revealed that it has suffered from what could be the biggest data breach in history. The breach could have wider implications, jeopardising Yahoo's recent deal with Verizon, its future parent company, costing it hundreds of millions of dollars.

Treasury minister Lord O'Neill quits government

Treasury minister Lord O'Neil has resigned from the government. The former Goldman Sachs boss was commercial secretary for 18 months and was a key figure in pushing the Conservative's Northern Powerhouse agenda. He is also a key advocate of the UK forging strong links with China. In his resignation letter, he said that the case for global trade ties and English devolution is stronger than ever.

Brexit latest: Bank of England policymaker 'not convinced' of need for another rate cut

Kristen Forbes, an external member of the Bank of England's nine-person Monetary Policy Committee, has indicated that she is not inclined to vote to cut interest rates still further later this year. She cited the better than anticipated performance of the UK economy following the Brexit vote. She argued in a speech on Thursday that the economy had been “less stormy than many expected” followed the shock result of the referendum.

HSBC walks U.S. regulatory tightrope over $10 billion of 'trapped' capital

Britain's HSBC is seeking to release billions of dollars of capital tied up in the United States without upsetting the country's politicians and regulators, senior sources at the bank said. HSBC, which has been in the sights of U.S. regulators over breaching anti-money laundering rules, has more than $20 billion of capital in the U.S. earning a slim 1% return, of which up to half could be returned to the holding company via asset sales, analysts and investors say.

Carney backs green finance to cut emissions and boost growth

Mark Carney, governor of the Bank of England, is backing the fledgling market in green investments to help cut carbon emissions and boost global economic growth. Carney used a speech in Berlin on Thursday to highlight green finance as an opportunity to boost financial stability while tackling climate change. He said that more of the $100 tn held by big global investment firms could be channelled into green bonds to help finance initiatives aimed at reducing carbon emissions.

Investors pull $7.4 billion from stocks funds, largest outflow in 12 weeks

Global investors pulled $7.4 billion (£5.69 billion) from equity funds in the week to Wednesday, the largest outflow in around three months, as uncertainty over U.S. and Japanese monetary policy unnerved stocks, Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BAML) said on Friday. A spike higher in longer-dated bond yields had caused yield curves in the United States, Japan and Germany to steepen over the past two weeks, prompting the redemptions from European, U.S. and emerging markets stocks funds. Although there was little expectation that the U.S. Federal Reserve would raise rates at its Sept. 20-21 meeting, investors erred on the side of caution and parked $15.6 billion in money market funds in the run up to the Fed decision.

Co-op Group says it 'planned' for a 50% profits drop

Profits at the Co-op Group more than halved to £17m in the first six months of the year. It has also cut the value of its 20% stake in the Co-op Bank by £45m. The bank said in April it would remain unprofitable for about two years because of tough trading. Co-op group chief executive Richard Pennycook said the fall in profit "was expected and planned" due to its restructuring programme. The group announced a £1bn three-year Rebuild programme in 2014.

In Other News

• Transatlantic trade war in the offing after Boeing claims victory following WTO ruling on Airbus's EU subsidies – http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2016/09/22/transatlantic-trade-war-in-the-offing-after-boeing-claims-victor/
• Frankfurt investment chief woos London bankers in Brexit business pitch – https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/sep/22/frankfurt-in-front-the-city-poised-to-become-londons-gateway-to-europe
• FTSE retreats, Polymetal slumps – http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-stocks-idUKKCN11T0SR
• Wall Street rises as Federal Reserve looks to raise rates this year – http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2016/09/21/japanese-shares-jump-as-bank-of-japan-overhauls-stimulus-package/

Click here to see our membership packages or here to subscribe to our mailing list. Leave a comment below to let us know your opinion on this week's business news or if there are any major stories we missed.

Our next event will be at TateHindle on 12th October. We hope to see you there!

How to Boost Innovation and Problem Solving Through Collaboration

Working together is one of the hardest and most rewarding aspects of our work lives. Different personality dynamics, skill sets and experiences are present in every team and in every workplace. The best teams succeed both because of and despite of this diversity.

When you're working on a project that spans several different disciplines, the ability to consult others who are experts in the core-competencies needed to make the project work is crucial. Not only will they have the required knowledge but they mostly likely look at the project from a new, different angle, seeing things and sparking off ideas that you wouldn't have done on your own.

Building a diverse team is often the only way to assemble the breadth of knowledge and skills required to pull off a complex, innovative project. For example, a film production needs researchers, scriptwriters, producers, cameramen, grips, actors, etc. Each of those people brings specific skills to the table as well as their own ideas, biases and unique point of view.

Even having multiple people with similar skill sets working on one specific aspect of the project can produce unique insights and brand new perspectives as they will come from different backgrounds, have trained at different schools and have different experiences influencing the way they think.

Collaboration Outside Your Business

Collaborating with other businesses provides the potential to experiment with new product areas and ideas as well as introducing both parties to a brand new customer base. It's important to carefully choose who you work with as collaborators who are different to you will often bring the most innovation to partnership.

Working with businesses in another industry or with a different audience in the same industry to pool client and press contacts is often beneficial, but it's also important that you're on the same page in terms of the final outcome and any ethical considerations.

However, it may be preferable to work with businesses with the same goals and customer bases. This helps increase your existing knowledge of your specific area of work as well as ensuring a greater level of understanding within the partnership.

Top Tips

1. Set Goals. Make sure that everyone knows exactly what they're working towards. This helps to keep individuals focused on team goals and provides measurable indicators of success.

2. A good team will share knowledge freely, learn from one another, help one another complete jobs and meet deadlines, and share resources.

3. Communicate. Share your ideas and listen to others. Digital tools such as Asana or Podio can be helpful for staying in contact and sharing information, especially for remote working teams. Podio is also useful for keeping a shared record of contacts and events.

4. Colleagues who focus not just on their own goals and the goals of the team/company but also each other's individual goals, working together to help everyone achieve what they need to in the best possible way, often get the best results.

5. Remember, colleagues should tell you when an idea is great but they should also let you know when it needs improvement and when it's so terrible that you need to scrap it immediately.

More Information

To Build Your Business, Smash Your Silos – https://www.fastcompany.com/1839317/build-your-business-smash-your-silos

5 Reasons why collaboration contributes to innovation – https://www.freshconsulting.com/5-reasons-why-collaboration-contributes-to-innovation/

The unexpected business benefits of collaboration – https://www.trainingjournal.com/articles/opinion/unexpected-business-benefits-collaboration-0

5 Reasons Why Collaboration Is Essential in Today's Business Environment – http://www.inc.com/natalie-nixon/5-reasons-why-collaboration-is-essential-in-today-s-business-environment.html

Business Spotlight – London Small Business Centre

Among the attendees of our most recent event at the Brain Exchange was a business adviser at the London Small Business Centre. Formally known as the East London Small Business Centre, they exist to provide help and support for entrepreneurs who wants to start their own business and be their own boss.

Their business support services are open to anyone living or trading within all 33 London Boroughs but they also run specific programmes in Lewisham and Redbridge, aimed at supporting local communities. This includes access to the Lewisham Enterprise Hubs, affordable workspace with business support and access to finance, and support for construction businesses in Lewisham.

As part of a commitment to supporting local businesses, Lewisham Council is working in partnership with London Small Business Centre to help Construction SMEs to access more work opportunities in Lewisham as well as in surrounding boroughs.

Key Areas of Focus

• Education.
• Advice and mentoring.
• Access to finance.

Education

Through a mixture of subsidised events, workshops and other programmes, they aim to ensure that small business owners are fully prepared and confident to start and grow their own businesses. Start & Grow is their three year tailored support business package funded by the Regional Growth Fund. The programme basically provides a step-by-step guide designed to take your idea from a start-up to a growing business.

Mentoring

The London Small Business Centre also providescre one-to-one mentoring services with their team of highly skilled, professional business advisers who have all worked for leading companies and have their own experience of starting a business. They give practical hands on advice about your business objectives, including help with business plans, cash flow forecasts and loan applications.

Once you've secured a start-up loan from the London Small Business Centre, you're assigned an adviser to mentor you through the start-up phase and to continue to review the practical aspects whilst you're trading and growing. If you’re an existing business and looking to grow, you’ll also be assigned a business adviser who will guide you on how to scale up. Businesses and advisers are paired together depending on their business ideas and goals. Sessions are structured dependent on the kind of support needed.

Finance

They also work with various partners and sponsors to ensure that clients have access to the right kind of loan and subsidised programmes to help start and grow a business. Their diverse range of partnerships with companies and organisations ranging from the European Regional Development Fund to London South Bank University deliver a range of pan-London projects.

As well as start-up loans, creative industry finance and RevoLewisham, the London Small Business Centre might be able to provide the following loans:

• Short-Term Loans Against Orders up to £10,000.
• Sharia Compliant Loans For Entrepreneurs of Muslim Faith.
• Gap or Match Funding With Other Lenders.

You can get involved through sponsorship, offering pro-bono support to entrepreneurs or donating to the East London Small Business Charity which runs the centre. The donations are used to help create jobs in London by training ambitious entrepreneurs to start their own businesses.

RevoLewisham

RevoLewisham is the revolving energy fund for Lewisham. It is designed to help Lewisham businesses aquire the skills, knowledge, accreditation and tools needed to put themselves in the best position to develop and benefit from market shifts.

Currently 17% of the total carbon emissions in the UK come from homes, commercial and public buildings. This will need to be substantially reduced in the coming years, offering a massive opportunity for businesses. Between the number of home and business retrofits which are taking place each year, increasingly stretching carbon targets and clear signs from government that most energy efficiency improvements to properties are going to have to be funded by occupants, there is every reason to believe the market for energy efficiency measures will grow substantially.

RevoLewisham can provide support or funding to increase the ability of your business to develop and access the growing energy efficiency market and help your customers make informed choices. The interest-free loan can be used for training, accreditation fees, retrofit equipment, project development and marketing. The programme is funded by the London Borough of Lewisham.

Click here to see our membership packages or leave a comment below.

Our next event will be at TateHindle on 12th October. We hope to see you there!

Business Today

Executive pay to be investigated by Mps

MPs have launched an enquiry into corporate governance, focusing on executive pay, worker representation in the boardroom and the lack of women in senior positions. The Business, Innovation and Skills Committee (BIS) has recently held inquiries into Sports Direct and BHS. The Prime Minister has also pledged to overhaul the way that businesses are run. The enquiry will look at the factors which have led to a steep rise in executive pay over the past 30 years in comparison with the salaries of more junior employees. They also want to hear about what barriers are preventing women achieving senior executive positions.

Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-37332112

FTSE set for weekly loss, knocked by banks

Britain's top share index fell on Friday, setting it up for a second straight week of losses, as the heavyweight banking sector dropped after U.S. regulators fined Deutsche Bank more than expected for miss-selling mortgage-backed bonds. Royal Bank of Scotland, Standard Chartered and Barclays were down between 2.2 percent and 4 percent, making them the top three fallers on the FTSE 100. Traders cited read across from a slump in Deutsche Bank, which fell nearly 8 percent.

UK overseas territories could be affected by EU tax crackdown

Eight British overseas territories and crown dependencies, including Jersey, the British Virgin Islands and Cayman Islands, could face EU economic sanctions after Brussels identified them as having low or no corporation tax. Experts have published a scorecard showing red flag warnings set against a list of the 81 countries that may attract companies or individuals seeking to avoid or evade European taxes. The scorecard will be discussed among member states before a shortlist of countries is selected for further screening and whittled down to a definitive EU list of tax and secrecy havens, to be published at the end of next year.

One in three finance workers think bonuses are undeserved

More than a third of UK finance professionals working at a company with a bonus scheme believe the payouts are 'undeserved', according to the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA). The global poll of 6,500 financial decision-makers found that 62 per cent of UK professionals felt unjustified bonuses fuelled resentment among colleagues, with the level reaching 97 per cent among workers in the North East. The CIMA said that the findings suggest that Britain's bonus culture is in urgent need of a re-think and that bonuses are a trust issue as much as a financial issue.

Theresa May accused of avoiding security and cost issues of Hinkley

Teresa May has been accused of backing down on security concerns about Chinese involvement in nuclear power and failing to drive a better deal for taxpayers in the Hinkley Point C deal. May’s surprise decision to review planned nuclear power station had been regarded as marking a break with George Osborne’s enthusiastic courtship of China and as a display of willingness to take on big business. But after the Chinese ambassador publicly raised concerns about future trading relationships if Britain pulled the plug on the deal, May gave the go-ahead.

US asks Deutsche Bank for $14bn to settle mortgage investigation

The US Department of Justice is asking Deutsche Bank to pay $14bn (£10.6bn) to settle an investigation into mortgage-backed securities. The bank has said that it 'has no intention to settle these potential civil claims anywhere near the figure cited'. The claim against Deutsche, which is likely to be the subject of negotiations for several months, was much bigger than expected. The fine has emerged at a difficult time for Deutsche Bank. Its most recent results revealed a 20% fall in second quarter revenues and a 67% drop in profits.

Read more: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2016/09/16/rbs-shares-fall-on-shockwaves-from-potential-14bn-deutsche-fine/

Cyber security awareness growing within business sector, research shows

According to Marsh's UK Cyber Risk Survey Report 2016, businesses are developing an improved awareness of cyber security risks with 83.8% of respondents claiming to have a basic-to-complete understanding of the potential threats posed to their business. 29% of respondents claim to have bought, or to be in the process of buying, cyber insurance cover. However, more than 35.4% did not know how much an attack on their systems would cost them. Just over 40% of organisations claim to have suffered a cyber attack in the past 12 months, while 15.4% said they had insufficient knowledge to confirm or deny they had been victim to hackers during this period.

Twitter beefs up business users' customer service offerings

Twitter's new features for businesses will make delivering customer service via the online social media platform much easier. Businesses can enable a feature via that dashboard which displays the words 'provides support' when users search for their username or mention them in a tweet. Companies will also be able to add business hours to their profiles and those with direct messaging enabled will have a more prominent Message button.

In Other News

• Phoenix in advanced talks to buy Deutsche Bank's Abbey Life – http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-abbbey-life-m-a-phoenix-group-idUKKCN11M0DM
• Bank of England leaves interest rates unchanged – https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/sep/15/bank-of-england-leaves-interest-rates-unchanged
• UK watchdog head cautions on using housing for retirement income – http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-pensions-property-idUKKCN11M1MP
• SVG’s board fends off £1bn HarbourVest offer as it entertains rival bidders - http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2016/09/16/svgs-board-fends-off-1bn-harbourvest-offer-as-it-entertains-riva/

Click here to see our membership packages or leave a comment below.

Our next event will be at TateHindle on 12th October. We hope to see you there!

Event: Building Trust With Your Customers

This week was our first event of the Autumn term and was attended by a diverse range of London's business people from a multitude of different industries. We would like to thank Geri McAndrew and ButtleUK for hosting the event at their offices in Victoria.

This week's hotseat topic was building trust between a business and its customers in a unique way. For our hotseater, who runs his own, one-man financial consultancy, the core issue was whether there were different and more innovative ways with which to build trust with his customers.

Questions

In the exploratory section of the event (where the group asks questions in order to clarify the question and explore the issue) the questions included;

• How do you know when you have won a client’s trust?
• What is the profile of a typical client?
• What do you understand by the term 'trust'?
• Why do you do what you do?
• What separates you out from other financial advisers?

Ideas

Our attendees then discussed the issue and offered advice. Some of the highlights were:

• Identify your unique selling point – if you don't know what it is, then your clients won't be able to see it either.
• Your clients need to know that you care about them, that you understand their situation and that they come first.
• Genuinely listening to your clients is an essential tool to create trust.
• Get some really good feedback – what do clients think of you?
• Aim to show, not tell – this is what will ultimately drive trust between yourself and your customers.
• People don't buy what you do, they buy why you do it.

Conclusions

Our hotseater then reflected back to the group. His main conclusions were that he needed to focus on learning how to listen well and tell great stories in order to relate better to his clients.

The main takeaway from the event was that business is always about putting people first, no matter what industry you're in and that it is too easy to lose sight of that fact. When trying to build trust, it's important to be able to engage with your customers on a human level, to demonstrate that you can relate to and are interested in their unique circumstances.

An interesting outcome was that, in a discussion which looked like being about the ‘hard sell’ the group settled on the importance of selling the person, rather than the product. As one participant remarked “we succeed when we show who we are”.

Click here to see our membership packages or leave a comment below.

Our next event will be at TateHindle on 12th October. We hope to see you there!

How to Network Effectively (and Why)

Networking is a term that we throw around a lot in our working lives. It's one of those polarising things that people either really love or really hate. Or really love to hate. So what is networking and why is it important?

In the world of business, networking is essentially the process of connecting and interacting with others to exchange information and develop professional contacts. In other words, networking is about meeting and talking to people who you will be able to work with in the future, either collaboratively to create something new or to problem solve for one another.

If you want to be able to network effectively, you have to be able to ask your self not only “what can this person do for me?” but also “what can I do for them?” If you give as much as you take, then you can build up goodwill. It's up to you and your network to then keep that momentum going but asking 'what's next?”

A lot of people see networking as manipulative and as a necessary (perhaps even unnecessary) evil in the business world. This doesn't have to be the case. Good, effective networking is a symbiotic relationship; two or more parties connecting and creating genuine relationships to get things done.

Is all networking good networking?

It's a common misconception that all networking is worthwhile. Not only do you need to make sure that you aren't wasting someone else's time but also that they aren't wasting yours.

When it comes to joining networking groups, be discerning and never feel pressured to sign up. Some groups have a strong, solid purpose and others are scams, hitting up business owners for joining fees. If it feels right and you want to be a part of it, then jump right in. But if it doesn't, then it just isn't worth your time.

Making sure, going in, that you know exactly what you want and why you are networking in the first place. Don't do it just because you think you're supposed to; it's okay to break the 'rules' if they aren't going to be useful to your business.

Be a Connector

One of the best ways to build your network and to build your personal brand is to introduce people within that network to one another. Not only does this help to improve your relationship with those people – they feel valued and are far more likely to remember you – but it helps them to expand their own network. Often, those will be the people who will offer you work or help you out later down the line.

With this in mind, don't spend all our time in industry specific groups. Diversify the events you attend and the connections you make because you never know when you're going to want to diversify your brand or need that outside knowledge on a project.

Again, good networking isn't just about helping yourself, it's about helping others. Your experiences and knowledge should be as value to the people in your network as theirs are to you. Share you expertise, be nice to everyone and shelve your ego. When people see that you're interested in helping them, they're more likely to trust you and reciprocate.

Top Tips

1. Be authentic, genuine and trustworthy. Not only will this boost your reputation in the long run but people are more likely to work with you in the short term.

2. Consider what you can do for others as well as what they can do for you.

3. Know what your goals are and what you need to succeed.

4. Choose your networking groups carefully. If it doesn't feel supportive, then walk away.

5. Ask open-ended questions in networking meetings to open up the discussion and show members that you're interested in what they have to say.

More Information

How to network like you really mean it - http://www.inc.com/minda-zetlin/8-things-power-networkers-do-make-connections.html

How to network effectively - https://www.nytimes.com/ref/open/finance/OPEN-NETWORK-EFFECTIVELY.html

Create an effective networking strategy - http://www.marketingdonut.co.uk/marketing/sales/sales-lead-generation/create-an-effective-networking-strategy