South Hertfordshire’s “networking queens” remind people to balance social media with going out to meet people.

Maree Atkinson and Katrina Sargent are so good at getting out and meeting people that they’ve now been dubbed Hertfordshire’s “networking queens”.

Katrina, regional sales manager for the Federation of Small Businesses, is responsible for building membership of the company from places such as Borehamwood, Potters Bar and Watford.

She said: “There is no secret to good business networking. I am a great believer in social media as a part of networking and balancing it with going out and meeting people face to face as well.

People do business with people so if you have a package that works for them, they will buy it, sometimes on the spot.”

Katrina is well known in the county's business community, having been involved in setting up the eight award winning Hertfordshire networking groups as well as the Hertfordshire Business Expo.

Although the FSB is the country’s largest business membership group, Katrina and Maree are keen to build its presence even more in Hertfordshire and get more people networking.