Monthly Newsletter |
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| December 2007 | 0870 747 4967 | www.nw-events.info |
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Welcome to the North West Events and Information Newsletter for December 2007
In the run-up to Christmas, catch up on the latest events and information from around the region.
Our next newsletter will be distributed on 9th January 2008. The deadline for articles is 19th December 2007. If you would like to include an article in the newsletter, please download our order form, email info@nw-events.info or telephone 0870 747 4967 for details. Please note that the order of placement of articles in our newsletter is decided by the order in which completed order forms are received. Therefore, the earlier you order your article placement, the higher up the newsletter your article will be listed. A very merry Christmas and a happy and prosperous New Year from everyone at Vanilla Storm! Best wishes |
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Courses for the Public at the University of ManchesterCourses for the Public at the University of Manchester are currently taking applications for their January to March programme. Courses available cover a wide range of topics from Music to Medicine. New courses for January include “How to be your own PR consultant” and “Practical Freelance Journalism” delivered by practitioners in fields of PR and Writing. In addition, the lecture series “New Views in Psychology” will provide an opportunity to explore current thinking on issues such as stress and anxiety in the company of leading University researchers. Carrying on a tradition which began with the University Extension lectures in the nineteenth century and continued with the Extra-Mural Department in the twentieth century, we provide a varied and changing programme with an emphasis on independent learning and self-development. All our courses are designed for adults studying part-time and are delivered by specialist tutors who are experienced in adult education. To accommodate people with a range of lifestyles our courses are of varied length. We offer day-schools and short study visits as well as daytime and evening courses of between 6 and 12 weekly sessions. More information is available on the website www.manchester.ac.uk/coursespublic or in the printed brochure which can be requested from cce.reception@manchester.ac.uk or by telephone 0161 275 3275. |
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Where’s Your New Business At Networking Events?How good would it be if new business came to you rather than you having to find new business? And what if new business came to you and it didn’t cost you a penny in advertising? Wouldn’t that be good? What if gaining new business was as easy as recommending a good restaurant, film or book? Everyone has recommended one of these to friends and family. The restaurant, cinema or author/publisher are making money from the recommendation and it costs them absolutely nothing to advertise to secure that business. So how do you apply this to your business? Easy, it is all in the power of word of mouth referring, which is just another term for networking. Business people naturally know lots of people, many they would call friends and a fair few they trust implicitly, so refer business to. If in your day to day routine you were to come across a potential piece of business for a friend's company you would of course refer it to them. Your friend receives some new business, new business gained without spending a penny on advertising and of course they will reciprocate for you. (It is said that a referral generates 80% more business than a cold call. So not only is there a saving on advertising but there is a significantly better chance of converting a referral into new business.) Apply word of mouth referring to a group of say 16 business friends, all keeping their eyes and ears open for each other and in all essence you have a 15 strong unpaid sales team working for your company. The beauty is that not one person is spending any additional time, cost or effort, each are just being aware of opportunities for each other in their usual day to day routine. Word of mouth referral combined with the premise that 'givers gain' is a very powerful tool. You can tap into the power of word of mouth referral by doing very little, simply by building good business relationships and looking out for opportunities for others as they will do likewise for you. Networking speeds up this process as it provides an environment where ‘word of mouth referral’ and ‘givers gain’ are encouraged and believed in very much. It is said that on average a person knows around 250 people. It could be argued that a business person could double or treble that amount, but let’s work on a figure of 400. If your 15 business friends have access to 400 people each, that amounts to 6000 people through a chain of just one person! If those 6000 people know only 250 people each, through a chain of just 2 people you have access to 1.5 million people!! Yes, 1.5 MILLION people!!! It is said that through a chain of 6 people you have access to everybody on this planet!!! An example from our events of a poor understanding of word of mouth referral is a gentleman who came to two of our events a few years ago. His ideal contacts were schools and those responsible for recruitment within them. Towards the end of his second event he advised that whilst enjoying them he would not be attending again. On asking why he advised that in two events he had not met a single school teacher. When giving this example I always ask ‘Do you know a teacher?’ 99% reply ‘Yes!’ This person's new business was only a small step away from 99% of the delegates he met but he couldn't see it! So when you are out in general and at networking events look further than the person you are talking to, because who do they know? Harness the power of word of mouth referral. Details of our next events can be found here: www.networking4business.com/future-events.htm Written by Mark Greenwood of Networking4Business. |
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Salford Business Awards 2008 – Call for EntriesThe first Salford Business Awards, sponsored by LPC Living, were launched at the Lowry Hotel on Thursday 22 November 2007. The awards will give Salford businesses the recognition they deserve and will reflect the City’s strong traditions and fascinating history of innovation and success. Providing a platform to promote Salford, its businesses and their growing successes.
Applications are now being accepted from businesses across Salford and the organisers of the awards hope to encourage as many entrants as possible. The process of applying for the Awards is simple and applications are accepted from any Salford based business. The deadline for applications is the 29 February 2008. Application packs can be downloaded from www.salfordbusinessawards.co.uk. There will be a number of events leading up to the Awards Ceremony on the 17 April 2008 where businesses will have the opportunity to find out more about the Awards and seek help with their applications. You can also keep up to date by visiting www.salfordbusinessawards.co.uk. Salford City Council, the University of Salford and Chapel Street Business Group are working together to make sure this inaugural event becomes a regular and prestigious feature in Salford’s calendar. The Awards are sponsored by Salford-based LPC Living which was established in 2002 with a simple ethos - to provide everyone with the opportunity to enjoy all the benefits of home ownership at a realistic and affordable price. The categories for the Awards include Business of the Year sponsored by LPC Living, the Excellence Award sponsored by Peel and the Innovation Award sponsored by the Innovation Forum. To enter your business for the awards, download the application pack at www.salfordbusinessawards.co.uk.
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University of Salford’s Women’s Business Network
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Salford Central - Time for Action - 6th December 2007 As well as having the opportunity to have your say on the future of regeneration across the Salford Central area there will be an additional short presentation given to the Business Group. Renata Eyres, the Head of Business-led Learning and Development at the University of Salford, will give an overview of the University's project which is designed to provide solutions for businesses by exploring new ways for them to work with universities for the benefit of their workforces. In recognition of their excellent track record working with industry we are delighted to announce that the University has been awarded almost £3m from the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) to be used for a two-year project. The project will investigate how higher education can better work with businesses to provide employer-led education and training that can be delivered in the workplace. The Leitch Review (Dec 06) recommends that the UK commit to becoming a world leader in skills by 2020. The Review also recommends that the focus of higher education be expanded to focus on workforce development and that funding be demand-led. The aspiration of such a demand-led system will rely on higher education institutions (HEIs) understanding the skills needs of employers and working together to design education and training for their organisations’ future success. In addition, employers need to know and understand exactly what higher education can provide, how much it will cost, how quickly and efficiently it will be delivered, and what the benefits to their organisation will be. The University wishes to engage with the Chapel Street Business Group and this event will serve as an introduction to the project, the project team and the programme of events that will take place throughout the two years. Some of the aims include increasing the belief amongst employers that HEIs can support and improve their businesses with high quality, relevant provision through creating a better understanding of the range and types of provision and facilities available within the University. We will also have presentations from Chris Farrow and Chris Marsh from the URC. There will be a question and answer session after the presentations, followed by food and drink and the chance to network and ask questions individually to the regeneration partners and members of the University. You will also have the opportunity to find out more about the first annual Salford Business Awards.
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Christmas is ComingThe Bridgewater Hall, Manchester Join the St Ann’s Hospice Festival Choir for its traditional fundraising concert of Christmas music and carols for choirs, orchestra and audience presented by Peter Wheeler. Also featuring Cheadle Hulme School Choir, Corus Brass Ensemble and conductor John Pomphrey. Ticket prices £20.50, £17.50, £14.05, £10.50. To book call the box office on 0161 907 9000.
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Networking EventsBelow is a selection of networking events that are taking place in December 2007:
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Promote Your EventsOur monthly newsletter is distributed to around 4,000 recipients around the North West of England on or around the 1st of every month. If you have an event, press release, news story or special offer you would like to include in our newsletter, please download our order form or contact the North West Events team. This unique service costs just £50 + VAT per article (£25 plus VAT for registered charities). We will also (subject to available space) list all business events that are mentioned in the articles submitted to us on the home page of our website. |
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FeedbackIf you have any feedback on the content of this newsletter, or to subscribe a colleague, please let us know by emailing info@nw-events.info. Our subscriber list is confidential. We will never release, sell or give a subscriber's name or e-mail address to any other party or organisation, unless referring business. Our subscribers will only receive e-mail messages that contain requested information, new monthly articles or announcements of new services. |
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See you in 2008.the North West Events and Information Team
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Hello and a very warm welcome to our December newsletter. 
Gift Ideas and Stocking Fillers at Indie Quarter
The Awards were launched by John Wilkinson and Felicity Goodey who spoke about what the future has in store for Salford and how important the Business Awards will be. 
| A Vanilla Storm Service. ©2007 Vanilla Storm Limited |