Some people think that social media and technology solves all the issues around keeping in touch with clients: well, no. That round robin email of the interesting article, bcc’d to your database, is poor fare. Linked In and the like are great tools, but never believe they are enough.

Being able to manage your emotions is a sign of good emotional intelligence and a key criterion for leaders. You’re intelligent – of course. You’re good at your job – that goes without saying. You’re great at helping others recognise and manage their emotions…..are you? And do you stay the course when things get tough, in a way that’s productive and helpful for yourself and those around you?

Nobody ever got up in the morning for an achievable goal, but then resilience means knowing when to quit. Andy Murray got to world number one against all the odds and any elite coach will tell you attitude is the foundation of success. This is where we start, it’s the cornerstone of all that follows.

Trust is the holy grail; if I like you I will listen to you, if I trust you I will do business with you. Trust is about eschewing your self-interest until you have established your credibility, reliability and intimacy. The best way to advance is to have your prospect suggest the way forward; it works like magic.

Do you pass the morning after business card test? This is how you leave the right impression by creating the all-important emotional connection, making an impact and having the required degree of gravitas and authority, whilst effortlessly exuding personal presence and charm.

There is alchemy in gravitas and authority, and an X factor that can be hard to pin down. But confidence, assertiveness, empathy and rapport are ever present traits. Ensuring communication is a two-way process and being able to say the right thing, at the right time, in the right way is where we get to here. Powerful, very powerful.

Delivering on your promises is a very attractive quality: end conversations with an action, take control when you need to and call when you say you will. This is how to get yourself ahead in your relationships: by doing exactly what it says on the tin. The best relationship builders do what they’re supposed to, when they’re supposed to: they have exemplary modern manners.

Your reputation is all you have so guard it with your life. What skills, traits and abilities are you known for? Remembering that perception is reality, what do you want to be known for? If you had the chance, what would your 45 second personal pitch be? You get the chance to deliver it here.

Here you get the fundamental underlying skills and behaviours of those who are great at building business relationships. Then we look at the key emotional intelligence competencies you can develop to be more effective in your business environment.

All that networking activity amounts to nothing if you don’t follow up. You might as well stay in eating Jaffa Cakes if you can’t get to the next stage. The best rainmakers keep control of the business development process and always, ALWAYS, know what action they are going to take next.

An injury is sooner forgotten than an insult. In the fast-paced modern business world it is easy to forget behaving properly does more than make you friends: it is good business. Do you know someone who is forever turning up late? Uses their mobile when they shouldn’t? Never seems to hear anything you say?

Today’s workplace can be tricky. Often we plunge in without clear thought as to who we need to know and what we want to be known for. Whether to advance your career prospects, help you build successful professional relationships or win business, understanding and engaging in your networks is vital.

The global snow dome has been shaken and nobody knows the rules anymore, so anything goes. Effective follow up is as important to Rainmakers as an assiduous training regime is to an athlete. It involves two things: effective use of time and systems and getting front of mind.

Developing professional and personal relationships and influencing effectively are essential skills. These skills will help you get closer to colleagues, stakeholders, clients and contacts, and obtain ‘buy-in’ from them to your ideas, your services, or your products. This seminar will focus on essential communication skills and behaviours, from key Emotional Intelligence (EI) traits, to assertively following up and keeping your promises. Designed for those who know relationship management is about much more than technical ability…we call it making the emotional connection.

Do you walk into a room, read the fire escape instructions three times, talk to a plant, down a few glasses of wine then go to the toilet? Would you rather exude the effortless charm of the consummate corporate ambassador? Many of us are all fingers and thumbs over the canapés when there really is no need.