Strategic networking - more than a conversation over a coffee

PEOPLE DO business with people so it’s no surprise networking is a long-standing staple of business life. A coffee at Cleaning Excellence, a quick chat on the stand at a trade exhibition, saying hello to the person sitting next to you at a conference. All present opportunities to start and nurture contacts that become the foundation for commercial relationships and many of the relationships in the cleaning and hygiene sector last decades. 

Today, however, in a world where time is under constant pressure, networking needs to offer more. Opportunistic connections may be fundamental to business relationships, but the most effective events need to deliver greater commercial value. They must combine the opportunity to deepen existing relationships and build new ones with valuable market intelligence, and the gloss of a truly memorable experience. In other words, strategic networking needs to be many-layered.

This is the thinking behind the Cleaning & Hygiene Suppliers Association’s (CHSA) developing strategic networking programme, which kicks off with the Chairman’s Lunch on 29 October at Lord’s Cricket Ground. Bringing together business leaders and industry professionals at one of the world’s most prestigious sporting venues, the event is designed to provide an environment in which members can connect, be inspired and do business.

Deepening relationships

The Chairman’s Lunch provides plenty of space and time for members to meet colleagues, exchange views, debate ideas and lay the groundwork for future business. While existing relationships remain important, the audience has been widened to create opportunities to make new, commercially valuable contacts.

This combination is central to strategic networking. Familiar relationships can be strengthened through meaningful conversations, while new connections can open doors to customers, partners and opportunities that may otherwise remain out of reach.

Delivering market intelligence

The commercial value goes beyond the networking itself. Liz Kentish, Managing Director and co-founder of Kentish and Co. will deliver the keynote address titled What Buyers Wish Suppliers Knew – the view from the other side of the FM buying table.

With experience on both sides of the client–supplier relationship, Liz will explore what those buying, specifying and using cleaning and hygiene products really want from their suppliers. Her session will examine what value means beyond price, what makes a supplier easy to work with and trusted, where innovation genuinely adds value, and what buyers now expect around sustainability, evidence and transparency.

Insight of this kind supports better strategic planning, inform market positioning and help identify tangible opportunities. It also provides a valuable context for commercial decision-making.

Something unique

Finally, there is something truly unique. Done well strategic networking can give us access to a place or experience that we will stay with us. It gives us a point of connection with everyone there that will underpin the relationships for the years to come. 

At our Chairman’s Lunch, those who wish will have a behind-the-scenes tour of the historic ‘Home of Cricket’, Lords Cricket Ground. Guests will get access to iconic areas including the Long Room, the England Dressing Room, the Media Centre and the MCC Museum. No one will easily forget somewhere they have been able to sit in the same places as England’s greats, or the people they were with at the time.

This combination – an opportunity to create and deepen important commercial relationships, access to valuable market intelligence, and a truly unique experience – is what makes strategic networking more than a conversation over a coffee. The CHSA’s Chairman’s Lunch demonstrates that when networking is designed with purpose, it can become a valuable commercial tool rather than simply another date in the diary.

Nick Thompson is chair of the Cleaning & Hygiene Suppliers Association

For more information, visit ​www.chsa.co.uk

Tel: 0800 243 919