Business is more likely to be won as a result of a face-to-face meeting than any other method, including online social networking, according to research by Vodafone UK.

The research found that 57% of business people win business via the traditional face-to-face method, dropping to just 34% who have won business by email. One in five managing directors admit they would not deal with someone they had not met face-to-face.
Workers spend 59 minutes a week in 'face-time' with a top client; this is ahead of any other form of communication.

The research found that 47% would expect to be treated to a top restaurant or drinks at a private members club (26%), while more than one in 10 still prefer to tee off a relationship on the golf course.

Despite the phone being voted as the most dominant networking tool (59% use it to network), phone usage has dropped by almost a third in the space of a generation when comparing those under and over 40. For younger workers, this figure drops dramatically with almost half of entrepreneurs in their 20s preferring to network online only.

Kyle Whitehill, director of enterprise at Vodafone UK, says: "Online networking is a huge phenomenon and one that will no doubt have an impact on some of the ways business communicate and market themselves. When it comes to the basics of winning and keeping business, however, embracing all the various networking options may strike a better balance for business success."

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