Today’s advances in technology are incredible, aren’t they? It’s never been easier to get in touch with someone across the globe, and the internet means that we can now achieve many of our daily tasks from the comfort of our armchairs and offices.
To put it into perspective, we send around 200 billion emails per day, a statistic some might consider daunting, but most would say is an incredible feat of modern tech. And whilst we can converse so freely through emails and phone calls, many would in fact argue that we’re becoming out of touch with one another. That’s why face-to-face events are more important than ever for your business. They bring communication back to basics: real people having real conversations.
Building a strong rapport with a potential client or supplier is and always will be best achieved through engaged face-to-face interactions. Face-to-face events are powerful in creating strong business communities. If you’ve attended a business exhibition or networking evening, you’ll know what is meant when I use this term.
Face-to-face events do much more than merely provide you with leads; they give you the rare opportunity to form bonds with like-minded and driven businesspeople. Face-to-face events offer companies the opportunity to share their experiences from the world of business and learn from one another. Forging relationships through coming together and supporting each other is much more sustainable than simply turning up and trying to sell to everyone in sight.
Further to this, face-to-face events allow us to better gauge the thoughts and feelings of those we are trying to work with, as well as give us a better chance to present our businesses as confidently as possible. Studies show that facial expressions and body language equate to over half of the message we try to convey in our communication (something wholly lost through email or telephone conversation), so through face-to-face events we are given an opportunity to present our values and propositions in a more well-rounded and confident capacity, whilst allowing us to more accurately observe our respondents feelings.
Attending face-to-face events can also be powerful on a personal level, giving attendees an opportunity to continually improve their communicative skills. Having a good level of interpersonal ability is integral for progressing in any career and having the opportunity to build upon those skills is one that should never be passed up! What are you waiting for, get out there and make those connections!
Sonny Cutting is the MD of NetXp, which organises business shows and conferences in Sussex. Email Sonny at sonny@netxp.co.uk
Twitter @1NetXP
