Establish Networks

1. Develop and maintain business networks
1.1 The network and how the contacts were developed My company bring students from overseas to Australia, more specifically from South America. The most part of the students are from Brazil and the company gives the support to them here. I’m product manager and my duty is to make contact with the schools in Australia and make agreements with them. For this, I need to call them and show the interest of my company to recruit students to them, also demonstrate how this can be advantageous. All the contact between my company and the schools are done thought e-mail, telephone an visits. The contact with the students are done from the same way but we also use the Facebook and a website. With the companies in Brazil, we use the means of communication specified and Dropbox.

1.2 The networks strategies or channels for developing new networks or contacts and how these strategies helps to promote the organization

Our company uses Facebook as one of the channels for developing new contacts. The Facebook permits to share all our achievements, our events for students and schools, our new partners and promote our branch. The events to students and schools give the opportunity to us to know new people that can make our company grow in the market. Also it shows how we want to be close to all them. The events also help to promote our organization and the schools which have agreements with us. We are always doing workshops to students, what make them more faithful to our company and us more popular between the students. Using the website you can know better about the company, make contact with the counselors, know about the partner schools and visas and see testimonials from old and currently students. We have fortnight’s news letters that we send to our students telling about promotions, festivals and new information about the company.

1.3 Interpersonal skills required to effectively develop network contacts

To do this kind of work you need some skills as be sociable, know how to communicate, have knowledge about other cultures and religion, be patient, be good working in group and be independent solving problems.

1.4 How information is shared, recorded and communicated with others in the organisation

The Dropbox allows us to share internal information to our partners in Brazil and around Australia, what it makes the service standardized and efficient. We have a data base too, what it allows us to have all the information about the students and schools if necessary. All complains are done by e-mail, because it’s important to have this recorded for our safety. Having this information recorded we can have also the solution recorded, which allow us to not do the same mistake again or give the solution faster.

1.5 The importance of sharing and communicate information

Sharing and communicating we can exchange important information, help and be helped to achieve the company goals and it’s cheaper and easier for students and schools to trust than an advertising.

1.6 Network events

Twice a year we do a ‘Brazilian party’ for our students and guests. The ticket for this party is sold in our agency and costs 10 dollars, so we can see how our clients are doing here and make contact with their friends that aren’t our client yet. We also promote the party on Facebook which allows us and them to tag and invite friends. The party costs 4000 dollars. We need to print banners and tickets, to hire a DJ and make the decoration. Schools can also sponsor the party. When they do that, their names are printed on the banner. Other event is the meeting with the school’s representatives in functions. This type of event allow us to exchange business cards and know better the people who we work with. The costs change from school to school, but it’s around 5000 dollars. We also do Spyke meetings with agencies in Brazil for training and expanding our business. We make video training and all this don’t cost anything, being a wonderful tool for our business. The videos for promoting the schools cost around 1000 dollars.

2. Establish and maintain business relationship

2.1 Kinds of business relationship

We have different kinds of business relationship in our company, but the most important are: Suppliers: People who bring all that the company needs Business partners: schools and offices in Brazil Specialized Professionals: IT and counter

2.2 Importance of these relationships

All these relationships are important for the good business operation and without them we could achieve our goals.

2.3 Challenges

The last challenge which I had was the partners training for the new system. They were reluctant in accepting the new system and I had to do video conferences with them explaining how this system works and how that it would be better for all of us. In the end they saw that the new system it’s better and they learnt how to use it. I also have to teach about Australia, because the partners in Brazil don’t have any knowledge about Australia. To solve this problem I send to them videos explaining all about this country.

2.4 Action Plan to maintain relationships and resolve conflict

- Maintain relationship Cultivating strong business relationships is one of the most important factors for the success of any business, especially in light of the economic headwinds of the past five years. Now, more than ever, businesses need to pay particular attention to maximizing their return on investment. One of the best ways to do that is to make sure your current clients choose to stay with you. By some estimates, the cost of keeping an existing customer is as low as one-tenth of the cost of acquiring a new one. So cultivating strong business relationships offers a cost effective way to do business. Here are seven tips that can help you do that.
1) Everyone Is Important – The #1 lesson in relationship building is that “all relationships are important.” You want to build as many positive relationships as possible, because opportunities can come from anywhere. You never know who might be a key decision maker down the road or who might be highly influential behind closed doors. Showing genuine interest in and respect for other people pays big dividends in the long run. 2) Lay the Foundation Early – Identify potential clients or partners early. Express your interest, meet with them, and learn about their goals and objectives. Listen. Then, if and when that firm moves into your market, you’re at the top of their list. Why? Because you’ve already established contact and initiated a relationship. People like to work with people they know.
3) Meet Face-To-Face – My preferred method of contact is a face-to-face meeting. Why? Because any successful relationship means many months – maybe many years – of future collaboration. In a face-to-face meeting, you can read body language and pick up on non-verbal cues you just can’t see over the telephone. Can I trust this person I’m looking to do business with? You’ll likely know the answer after that first meeting. Also, a face-to-face meeting lets you get a feel for an organization and its culture. We want to work with partners who are collaborative and willing to listen so we can both benefit from each other’s experience. This creates a win/win for everyone.
4) Stay Active – Work to maintain worthwhile relationships, even if they don’t yield business in the short-term. In some cases, contacts move on to different firms, and it’s important to keep those relationships going. For example, I’ve had business contacts I really like move to other firms outside of our market. If I feel the relationship is valuable from a personal standpoint, I’ll make sure to keep in touch. Often, these friends turn out to be excellent sources for information, advice, and industry intelligence.
5) Have Patience – If you really want to work with someone, keep at it. If there’s potential for real synergy between ourselves, our potential partner, and the owner, we’ll be persistent in our efforts. Some working relationships have taken more than three years to cultivate, but it’s well worth the time in order to get the right partner.
6) Provide Unique Value – This is extremely important. Make sure you always bring something to the table. Ask yourself why someone would want to do business with you. The answer should be that you provide unique value for them – value it’s difficult to find anywhere else. In our business, good market intelligence provides a leg up. So share it. Your existing partners will love you for it, and that same expert knowledge opens the door to new relationships.
7) Everyone Builds Relationships – Remember, anyone engaged in contact with people outside of the firm (which is everyone) has the potential to develop and maintain beneficial relationships for your business. Friends, neighbors, and former co-workers are all fertile ground for potential business opportunities. So encourage everyone in your organization to build relationships.

- Managing Conflict Conflict is the aspect of group communication that people fear most, but it is more often productive than dysfunctional in a team situation. A lack of spirited, open discussion can lead to variety of decision-making problems, from a failure to adequately evaluate information to short cuts in analysis or planning. When individuals are unwilling to explore their differences of perception or interpretation, there is no way to insure that all the available data have being effectively used. Team communication calls for some particular sensitivity to the way in which cohesive communities handle conflict. Since the fundamental purpose of a community’s purposeful communication is to arrive at an agreement regarding common action, conflict is always something to be resolved. Rather obviously, it is impossible for a team to act as a team until every individual in the group is somehow persuaded, coerced or tricked into cooperating with the decision. Team dynamics will thus seem to seek an end to conflict, whether that involves individuals simply avoiding conflict and “pretending” to agree, creating group norms that justify agreement or engaging in communication that seeks resolution. Research demonstrates, for instance, that group members will direct most (70-90%) of their comments toward someone who has expressed a deviant position (Gulley, 1963). Even without intending to resolve or even identify the conflict, the group will be most interested in discussing a topic on which there seems to be a difference of opinion. Perhaps more frightening, however, is that once the group determines that it won’t be able to change the person’s mind, its members stop directing comments toward him or her. In effect, once the team realizes that it can’t act as a team on the point, it cuts off communication to the individual, figuratively throwing the person out of the group (Gulley, 1963). In spite of the natural avoidance of conflict, a group can learn to use conflict to discover that misunderstandings have occurred. Even when communication patterns appear to be avoiding an issue or driving the group toward a false agreement, locating the source of that conflict can be a method to identify an issue that needs to be discussed more openly. Accidental and uncontrolled conflict can be difficult to manage, however, and might even create interpersonal conflicts that damage the group. Better methods include formal brainstorming sessions, in which every idea is accepted and recorded before each one is systematically evaluated according to set criteria, assigning one or more team members to play devil’s advocate and systematically look for flaws in an idea, or a formal debate in which team members take opposing sides on an issue to insure that all arguments are raised for and against each option.

3. Promote the relationship
3.1 Strategies to represent and promote themselves, and the effect of their presentation skills As a product manager, I was invited by ILSC to a network event in order to promote my company and myself. Other companies on the same field as mine will be there, so I must establish my communication strategy. I need to dress me appropriately for the event, make sure that I have my business cards with me, have my LinkedIn actualized and have all my business's proposes in mind. I also need to know well the ILSC to demonstrate that I’m interested on them and my company will be the best on the market to sell their courses. During the event, make contact and build a relationship with the organizers and competitors and give your business card to them. Take pictures and post on our company page showing how you appreciated to be invited to the event and how you are enjoying it. Be friendly but in the same time professional, it’s a business event. Have a confident stance to demonstrate that you are reliable and able to solve problems. Listen to what other people have to talk and respect the differences of opinion and culture. After the event, join to groups on LinkedIn to promote your company name and expand your network. Using this tool to keep in touch with the people that was in the event and with people that is interested on the product you can promote yourself, your company and ILSC on the same time. You also make your resume more rich and interesting for new partners. Send a thanking gift to the ILSC’s owner and congratulate the invitation for the event. Also send a newsletter to students and partners about the event and explaining about ILSC and their courses.

3.2 Barriers

Barriers to communication | How can you overcome the barrier to ensure the relationship is promoted effectively? | Dismissing others’ concerns or point of view | Listen carefully. Show you are aware of the other’s point of view. Ask questions | Differences in perception | Listen carefully. Speak clearly and directly to the other person. Ask questions. Give feedback |

3.3 Feedback

To measure the event's feedback you should see how many likes and share the ILSC and your event’s pictures we had. How many new contacts we made and how is your group on LinkedIn. Also, we need to count how many new students we sent to ILSC after the event. All this data should be put in a presentation that will be shown on meetings with our partners and ILSC’s representatives.

3.4 Monitoring effectiveness

Track Internet statistics: Viewer statistics can be a useful way to track effectiveness. Install Google Analytics into your website code and log into the user interface, where you can monitor the visits, unique visits and bounce rate, and also see how many pages per visit each person makes). If the numbers go up drastically after the event, it is a good indicator of success. Analytics will also tell you the page that linked visitors to your site, which can help you track the progress of online advertisements. Compare sales statistics: This event also had as an objective to increase sales for your business. Keep track of the sales before the event and after it has ended. If sales drop after it, it is an indicator that those efforts were unsuccessful. Track the newsletter: how many people subscribed, where do they come from, what do they read,etc. You also should track how many of those receiving my newsletter actually read it. CRM: Gather all data you can as you would do using a CRM: if such data does not bring much value yet, it might answer some of your questions in the future. Simply make sure you respect the law in terms of privacy. LinkedIn: See who is keeping touch with you and how the discussion about the event is going are a good way to measure the effectiveness.

3.5 Contacts and participation in the event

After the network event, we must keep in contact with the professionals and people we have met there, because is a good way to make the relationship between new contacts and the organisation stronger. Besides the people to whom I have had contact in LinkedIn, I studied about some potential contacts for new partnerships and send an e-mail to 3 of the most promising on my new network. I had to learn about their business and how we could work together to improve your business and achieve your goals. Two of them were CEO’s from schools in Europe, which could be a new market for us and can provide them students from South America. The other one was a representative from a small agency in Brisbane that could make a partnership with us and provide support to your students in Brisbane and we could increase their sells. 4. Conclusion Building up a network of diverse people is very helpful for any business. Contacts with different clusters or groups would help you possibility of greater opportunities. Nowadays this tool is one of the most important for a business success and personal career. Knowing that you must to build a personal and a professional network and always actualize them with your achievements and news.

5. References http://business.uni.edu/buscomm/Interpersonal/Managing%20Relationships.htm http://www.ha-inc.com/blog/entry/7-rules-keeping-and-maintaining-business-relationships/ http://ilsc.moodle.com.au/pluginfile.php/403/mod_page/content/16/Establish%20Networks%20Presentation%201.pdf http://www.ehow.com/how_7507461_measure-effectiveness-marketing-plan.html http://www.julienrio.com/marketing/english/promote-monitor-blog-secrets-successful-blogging http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Importance-of-Networking-in-Business&id=1525118