List below are tips that networkers, professionals and students can use to build their trust with new business counterparts and old friends.

The Name Game

A great way to gain someone’s trust and attention is to remember their name. Names come a dime a dozen but people really pay attention and acknowledge their counterparts who respect them and remember their name. Professionals may have tons of excuses why they have a hard time remembering names. Learn to say the person’s name as often as possible during the initial networking conversation. Ask for a business card so that you can link their name with their face. Also follow up in a timely manner and send out an email or phone call. These are great ways that networkers can remember their business counterpart’s name.

Actions Speak Louder

One of the most embarrassing events could be to link up with a professional, make a promise and not follow through. It is also the quickest way to lose your credibility and trust with that particular person. It is true that actions speak louder than words. Be an individual of your word. Follow through with even the smallest commitment. Keep yourself and others accountable. These are also great ways of showing professionalism.

Be Prepared

While attending networking events and business functions, always come prepared. Arrive on time and have enough business cards. Make sure that you RSVP ahead of time as a form of etiquette. Have a proper handshake and a great 30 second speech for introducing yourself. Ask great networking questions and listen carefully as others speak. Take a genuine interest in your business counterparts and follow up to develop good relationships. These keys will gain you an outstanding amount of trust.

Chi Chi Okezie is owner/producer of SIMPLEnetworking, LLC in Metro-Atlanta, GA. Newly published author of “SIMPLEnetworking: Creating Opportunities … The new form of success!” View excerpts of the book and polish your professional approach: http://www.snseminars.com

If you’ve ever been into a store and had great service then you probably left thinking that you have seen a store with which you would definitely return. However, if you have been to a store that has has below average service then you quite possibly will say goodbye, never to shop there again.

Many business owners simply do not put enough effort into the job application process and when they do finally employ a worker, the service training is so tantamount to success that it is possible that the lifeblood of the business itself is tied pure to the level of service offered.

The nature of the company is of course a huge factor, but generally speaking it’s hard to see a business other than a monopoly, succeeding with inadequate service levels.

Returning Customers = $$$

Many businesses are heavily reliant upon repeat sales, in instances where this is in fact the case, service couldn’t be more important. In a competitive industry where prices are similar and there is very little to distinguish first from last place, the many ways to stay ahead of the field and separate yourself from the pack is to offer better service.

If your company has the better rapport with it’s customers then you could end up winning the service war. It surprises me frequently when I enter a store only to be greeted by such lethargy that it would compare to a hungover sloth. I can not and will no t believe that any self respecting business man wouldn’t monitor the staff in their establishment better than this. It beggars belief.

If I am dissatisfied with service then I vote with my purchases and move to a new place of business. In fact as a proponent of capitalist economics, I have always believed that the power of the customer to change a company is more powerful than any decisions the business can make itself.

In other words - No customers = no money, so you’d better listen up to what the consumer has to say.

A Very Serious Dilemma

It happens in monopolies where there is no competition. Service isn’t a priority simply because it won’t make more money. If customers aren’t happy then they don’t have much choice but to return anyway.

Every now and then a monopoly has it all to easy, then all of a sudden in the fire of a legion of disappointed customers - A competitor takes to the market place.

Even in a monopoly, if you neglect customers with constant inferior service, it leaves the door open for another business to come on in and pick up the base of clientele that has been hereto neglected and seek to show the previous monopoly a lesson in why service is so important.

It has happened before and will continue to happen.

Service Rules The Roost.

A.J James is a personal trainer/motivational speaker. He is a contributing writer for http://www.thesolutionwebsite.com and is a non-profit contributor.

However, today we see with many new types of businesses that do not have any manufacturing, but they still must find inefficiencies in their business model and delete them. One of the areas that website based sales businesses need to specifically look at is the time it takes to take a customer order and convert it into the delivery process; i.e. make it ready for FED EX, UPS or US Mail pickup.

Every step a company can eliminate between the order process and the delivery is a huge time saver and that equates to labor cost savings, happier customers and higher profits. Many software companies that specialize in CRM put out rather lengthy reports and white papers that essentially prove this, still, it is important for all companies and industries to consider this, not only those companies that the trade journals or white papers discuss.

So, next time you wish to increase your profits through increasing your production goals, perhaps you might stop and consider the very basic elements of your business model and not merely the manufacturing process or material flows into the company. There is a whole lot more to increasing production and efficiency than manufacturing, so please consider this.

Lance Winslow - Lance Winslow’s Bio. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; http://www.WorldThinkTank.net/.