Building Better Business Meeting Etiquette

A business meeting can be held anywhere – in offices, hotels, coffee shops, conference centers, online, etc. There are different types of business meetings and each type of meeting has its unique rules. The unwritten commandments of any meeting are:

a.    Politeness
b.    Respect
c. Empathy
d.   Common sense
e.   Good behavior

If any of these commandments are violated, the meeting can fail. So, to ensure that your meeting is a success, here a basic primer on meeting etiquette:

Virtual Meetings

The meeting organizer must control the meeting. He must ensure that the meeting is brief and yet productive. He also must realize that many participants can slack off during virtual meetings, and therefore he must ensure that every item on the agenda holds the attention.

The organizer should communicate the meeting’s goals to all participants in a prior email. He should set expectations and communicate them to all participants. The attendees also should confirm if they are available on the meeting date and time.

The meeting should start as per schedule and its proceedings should be recorded by an assistant. Attention must be paid to action items and their allocation.

The organizer should send the minutes of the meeting to all the invitees, irrespective of the fact they couldn’t attend. He also should send the minutes to any person who is impacted by any decision made at the meeting.

Company Meetings

Such meetings are formal affairs that require advance preparation. All participants must double-check their data and presentations in advance and make suitable revisions/updates in the days leading up to the meeting.

Participants must arrive on time, follow the seating arrangement and the dress code. They must not carry their mobile devices. Carrying a notebook or diary and pen to such formal business gatherings is a must.

Protocol must be followed and senior colleagues should be allowed to have their say, participants must be brief and to the point while making their presentations. They must address the chair while making a point.

To Sum Up

There are certain unwritten common sense rules of every meeting. Participants should arrive before the meeting begins and be prepared with their items. They should interact with all the participants instead of forming silos and indulging
in small-group conversations.

They must listen attentively and speak only when they are given the floor. However, questions can be posed during the question time allotted after every topic – only relevant questions should be asked. Also, asking the right questions requires making relevant notes using paper and pen.

Participants should not bring any unannounced guests and control their urge to tap the pen on the table or their feet on the floor. Papers must not be rustled every now and then and participants must avoid doodling or unintentionally disturbing the speaker or their neighbors in any which way.

These are all commonsense tips that most office workers and business owners may know. What you have read is not the Bible of business meeting behavior – it is a plain and simple guide that will help you understand a business meeting’s basic expectations and plan accordingly.

About the Author: Evelyn A. Brown is an event planner who lives in Spartanburg, SC. She organizes meetings, conferences, product launch, weddings, and many more. She usually collaborates with EmpowerMint to find the proper venues for the events she handles.

Office Acquisition – The importance of having an agent on board

People tend to consider the role of an estate agent to be somewhat limited in its scope. Many would leave contacting an agent until quite late in the process of acquiring new business premises and wait until they had a clear idea and plan of what they wanted before getting one on board.

What those people don’t realise is that estate agents have a much broader range of skills than just providing a list of properties on their books and arranging viewings. They have connections across the property market and can help from the moment of considering a move to new premises right the way through to taking possession of the keys.

Determining your requirements

With a great deal of experience of dealing with dozens or even hundreds of clients throughout the course of their work, business estate agents have an excellent grip on the kinds of premises that will work for a business and how those needs can be required. Getting in touch with an estate agent as soon as you’re thinking about acquiring an office means they can ask the right kinds of questions and get companies looking at the sorts of properties that would be suitable for your needs sooner than if left to one’s own devices.

Meeting with an agent can help a company seeking an office to think through a number of things. The needs of the business, the likely use of the premises and available finances will help to set the scene for the types of offices that could be within reach and those that can be ruled out from the outset. Considering things such as ownership or lease, tenure and future expansion plans for the company can also assist with future-proofing plans for office space.

Finding the right property

With the company’s requirements and parameters in hand, an estate agent such as Occupa can then go about finding properties that fit the bill. The search conducted by the agent will take into account a number of things such as required space, cost, location and terms of the purchase or lease. By sifting out the properties that don’t meet the company’s vital requirements, the remaining list is a viable set of possibilities that the time-pressed company decision makers can consider.

The estate agent’s role is to do the searching for the company

Choosing a specialist corporate estate agent can also allow businesses to access a range of other supporting services. From seeking finance to purchase properties outright through to office removal firms, agents working in the field will be able to put businesses in contact with the right people to make the process as easy as possible.

Sealing the deal

Once the property has been selected, estate agents can guide the company through making the offer for purchase or lease. Negotiations will be carried out through the agent, so the fuller idea they have of the company’s requirements, limitations and points of flexibility, the better job they can do on the business’s behalf.

The agent can get you to the point where the deal is sealed

When the company’s offer for the office has been accepted, the role of finalising arrangements and agreement can be passed to solicitors. However, everything before that point is something in which the estate agent can have a key role in securing and agreeing.

Conclusion

Rather than just acting as a list service for office properties, estate agents have a valuable role to play in the acquisition of offices right from the first thoughts about taking on new premises. Involve specialist business estate agents at the earliest opportunity to ensure that the best advantage is taken of their unique abilities and inside knowledge on the workings of the corporate property market.

Image Credits: mushon and SalFalko

The Importance Of A Business-To-Business Partnership

The marketplace is a wild place. It’s no secret that the dog-eat-dog climate of working in a competitive industry with a determined company can be highly stressful and call for careful business planning and tactics. This is because with such huge opportunities and outlets for growth many companies are struggling to stay ahead of the curve and be the best at turning a profit. However, in such a financially and structurally diverse ‘jungle’ of a marketplace, sometimes it’s better to travel in a pack rather than be the lone wolf.

For years the business climate and ways of industry practice have been head to head. The cut throat decision making and make or break efforts of a business plan that were once reserved for only the largest multi-national conglomerate corporations has now trickled down into ever a serious competition between small local businesses. No matter what the industry, a company is best to wi
sely pick their friends and enemies. This is why many companies must know the importance of have a proper and productive business-to-business partnership.

What Is A Business To Business Partnership?

A Business To Business Partnership, otherwise referred to as B2B relations, is when two businesses work together to benefit from each other’s services. Often times one or possibly both of the businesses are client based. This means that they provide a good or service to particular individuals. A partnership allows for both companies to be more productive and profitable by gaining what the other has to offer. This can span from deals on each other’s services to joint promotional offers or campaigns.

Joining a business to business partnership is a very beneficial thing, but also a meticulous process that shouldn’t be rushed into. One of the best examples to give in regard
s to what a B2B relationship can be and how it can be organized is the use of many local cities like Austin, Texas, using voucher-based promotions from various companies. For instance one of the more famous programs used by companies all over the world is Groupon. They approach local or national businesses, both service and good based, to buy into their program. The program allows clients and consumers to get a business’ service or good at a discounted percentage, thus driving more traffic to that business while simultaneously promoting Groupon.

However, that is not the only discounted voucher-based program here in town. There are several different ones; Bellie, GoodyBag, Go Local. All of these offer their own rates and charges for setting up a discount voucher deal. This is where an individual business has to make sure the plan they choose benefits them most. Questions like “Is it cost-efficient?” and &ldquo
;What’s the prospected turn around of this investment” come into play because no business can profit in a partnership where they give more than they receive. Shopping around for the right B2B relationship is a major part of the decision, because in such a fast paced ‘shark tank’ of a businesses climate there is little room and time for a mistake of a partnership to form.

Contracting Business To Business Partnerships

We’ve all seen the in various scenarios the importance of having a paper trail. Contractual agreements are great legal evidence of an agreement made and hold up strongly if legal action should be taken. Having a proper contractual agreement between businesses in a B2B relationship is vital because it ensure that both companies will uphold their end of the agreement. This way there will be no question as to the duration of the partnership, the cost of the agreement on each end, and even the quality of service or good being received. Since both parties set out to benefit in a partnership it is in their best interest to uphold their end of the deal so that ethically, as well as legally, the other will do the same.

Taking legal action on a failed or insufficient partnership is always a scenario that is frowned upon. With all the effort that goes into orchestrating and designing a business to business partnership it is a shame to see it go to waste of a company’s failure to provide or uphold. However, these instances do happen and having a properly outlined and clearly stated contract signed and acknowledged by both parties is the easiest way to terminate or amend the situation without a long drawn out process that can jeopardize business.

Business to Business partnerships can be great and beneficial to a company at any level. If the proper steps are taken to make sure the agreement will be in a positive and efficient nature then both parties could definitely see their investment turn positive. With so many overlapping services and necessities that are provided amongst business competitors, B2B relations almost make sense when you’re looking to keep your company’s head above water. It is important to understand the weight of a contractual agreement should you enter one.

About the Author: Zach C. writes for Colley and Colley, LLP, a personal injury law firm in Austin, Texas.

Four Ways To Spend Much Less On Your Small Business

An essential part of running a small business is constantly finding new ways to reduce costs, keeping spending to a minimum. Initially, you may be thinking that by spending less you will have to make sacrifices, damaging your business in the process. However, reducing spending does not always have to equate to a loss. Ultimately, removing unnecessary expenses in your small business will increase your budget, freeing up money that you can invest in other parts of your business.

Online Marketing

More often than not, marketing costs take up a huge amount of budget, particularly for small businesses that invest in offline methods such as direct mail. However, by simply switching or concentrating more on online marketing, you could save yourself a great deal of money, while targeting a much larger market. There are various ways you can market your business online, all of which are often low-cost and very effective. Essentially, you will be paying less for a more
successful method. You can start by creating a profile for your business on one of the many social media platforms. It is free and a great way of connecting to your customers while building up a strong following. Another idea to market your small business online is to start a blog that contains content related to your products or services.

Go Green, Go Paperless

Without realising it, a lot of money can be wasted away on paper through the sheer cost of ink, supplies and postage; not to mention the endless waste of paper. By eliminating the use of paper or even just minimising you can significantly reduce spending. Going digital is said to save a great deal of money, but not only that, it also creates a more organised working environment and is a lot more secure than having a paper trail. You can make the transition by opting for digital invoices, filing information on the computer and completely replace snail mail with email. As well as cutting spending you are
also helping the environment, which is always a positive thing.

Telephone and Web Conferencing

As a small business, spending large amounts of money on conferences, presentations and meetings really will make a significant dent in your budget, as there are a great deal of expenses involved, including travel and food. To reduce the costs, opting for a teleconference or web conference service is a great idea as you will spend a lot less for a good service than you ever would with face-to-face costs. Additionally, using such a service will allow you to connect to colleagues and clients globally.

IT Managed Service

As hiring an IT guy is a luxury to many small business, using managed services is proven to be a wise decision; you have access to IT expertise at a fraction of costs.

Managing Your Team

As your business develops so will your team, but it is essential that you manage this process carefully if you want to save money. Within a small business you need to ensure that you are regularly assessing your team’s productivity, making sure that most of your employees’ time is spent on value creating activities. Also, there are way
s that you can get the job done without having to hire an extra employee, including using interns and freelancers.

Tips On Selecting Umbrella Companies – What You Need To Know

Umbrella companies act as an intermediary between your contractual business and your client. Your business does not need to be a limited company in order to reap the same benefits. While administrative and financial management may increase your costs significantly, these companies allow you to relax and outsource these tedious tasks. People are readily shifting towards the concept of self-employment by establishing their consultancy services and so, the ideology of umbrella companies is also on the rise.

Responsibilities of an Umbrella Company

An umbrella company is responsible for providing for your administrative and financial concerns. This includes managing your expense records, receiving payment from your client, deducting national insurance costs, and tax after taking due tax exemptions, and paying you a gross salary in exchange for a minor fee. It allows you to enjoy the perks of a self-employed business while also providing you with employment bene
fits.

Benefits of Contracting an Umbrella Company

The singularly most important benefit of getting an umbrella company is that it provides you with flexible free time. You can spend that with your friends and family which would otherwise have been spent managing your administrative concerns. This not only allows you to relax; it also accentuates the benefits of being self-employed.

Other benefits include your tax payments which are deducted and paid on your behalf after due adjustments are made, and giving free consultancy advice if you need any.

How to Choose the Best Umbrella Company?

There are numerous well established umbrella companies willing to provide services to you. However, it is important to note that all umbrella companies are essentially answerable to the Board of Inland Revenue. This means they cannot tweak around with your earning or tax payments. However, the only benefit any one company can provide over another is through the difference in their fee structures.

The best option is to go for an umbrella company with a fixed fee structure – so even if your earnings improve over time, you are not handing out more money in fees. On the other hand, some umbrella companies may demand for a certain percentage of your earnings. If your mathematics calculations provide you a better incentive in any of these plans as compared with other alternatives, there is no reason you should not capitalize on it.

Moreover, you should seek to find out about the terms and conditions of this contract. Are there any punitive charges if you decide to leave your umbrella company? Are there any hidden charges you will need to face each month? Can this contract impact you negatively in any way? Being forewarned will help you plan the future and cope up with all possible problems more effectively.

Lastly, and more importantly, you need to know how much time it will take for your earnings to get into your account. Some companies can transfer it into your account within two days of receiving it from your client – others may take longer. If time is sensitive, you would want to go for one which can provide you with your earnings as soon as possible.

About the Author: Mark is living at the beautiful island of Cyprus. His job is to help people who work abroad with the technique of umbrella companies. Check more information about is here http://www.groupchesterfield.com/umbrella-services