So consider joining a business association. There's a lot of choice - local, national, international, trade-specific, general, big and small. What you're looking for in an association will define who you pick: you may want commercial support, technical advice, expertise outside your field, opportunity to share experience or meetings where you can have a bloody good moan with like-minded peers. It's all available; you pays your money - in varying amounts - and you takes your choice.

Since there are 60 of them, we'll consider first the Chambers of Commerce. Their main virtue is that they are each a forum for local businesses, with that word ‘local' at the top of the agenda. Membership is generally perceived (and accurately so) as a networking opportunity - not just doing business with local peers but sharing experience concerning practical issues and needs. Chambers are typically a mixture of retailers and the professions but members also cover all facets of business. Costs vary with the classic range, based on company size, being £200 to £2,000 per annum.

What you get for your money varies likewise from Chamber to Chamber. It will include access to funding, training programmes and advice on expansion. Most offer business-related specially negotiated rates on such things as fleet cars and HR management. Your local Chamber will have its relevant issues which you quite probably share - parking, transport, policing, etc - and which you have a route to influence via membership. They are also a unique resource for exporters. There are Chambers worldwide offering access to local markets, they run trade missions and provide access to local knowledge from business people on the ground in a target location.

Give serious consideration to the Federation of Small Businesses. This is fundamentally a business protection organisation, with a powerful lobbying function. The FSB is national and it's big - over 200,000 members big. Gordon Brown doesn't just talk to these people, he listens to them. Annual subscription varies from £100 (£130 in the first year) for a sole trader to £240 for someone employing 20 staff, £450 with 100 employees and so on, although I doubt that anyone with 100 employees regards themselves as a small business.

It's what members get for their money that makes it good value. 24/7 legal advice line plus advice on tax, VAT, DSS and employment law is a good start. It's backed up by representation costs up to £50,000 in those areas where the small businessman feels most friendless: in-depth Inland Revenue investigation; appeals to VAT tribunal decisions; motoring prosecutions; prosecutions and appeals under Health and Safety legislation. There is also advice and cover of costs for employment and PAYE disputes. There is anecdotal evidence that the VAT man and the Revenue avoid taking on businesses displaying FSB membership, because they know they'll get a fight.

Given those 200,000 business members, it's no surprise that the FSB have negotiated some hot money-saving deals, too. They're all business relevant, these are just a few that would make your subscription worthwhile: discounted insurance; lower call rates with BT, without a minimum call spend; free business banking.

The FSB operates on national, regional and local levels. For those looking for an advertising and PR opportunity to reach businesses in their locality, the regional magazines are ideal. Business-to-business media are almost always national and, where not, pretty poor. The FSB product is good and reaches the right people. Moreover, because people have paid for the mag (through their subscription) it gets read.

Let's just address the topic of networking, since this is an inherent business development opportunity in joining organisations. I will freely admit I've never been good at it, so this is a distillation of others' successful habits. Be a regular at those meetings because it's a long-term plan, plus you've paid for membership, so get your money's worth. Don't go to the first meeting, foist your business card on everybody and talk incessantly about your business. You will get a well-deserved reputation as pushy and self-absorbed - and no business. Be a good listener: it's the basis of good selling, in any case, so ask people for their advice, take their business cards, buy a few drinks. Quite simply, become everybody's friend. In the case of general (i.e. non-print) associations, talk to hon. sec. (after a while) and offer to do a presentation on "Choosing printwear" or similar. Organisers of associations are unpaid and often desperate for a good, relevant speaker. Your topic has the benefit of being propped by some interesting products. Don't turn this into a 30 minute sales pitch; give them advice and they'll talk to you when they're ready to buy. In due time, be ready to do a year's turn as one of those unpaid committee members. It increases your authority within the group and gives you more access to members.

So what is there out there in terms of specialist organisations in the printwear industry? Well, Prism is the new name for the former DSPA and is the lead body for print specialists and manufacturers, representing a total market in the UK of some £2.1 billion. Its aim is to promote best practise and help businesses to be successful. The membership is some 200 and Prism's stated aim is to expand the number of garment decorators within that figure. Prism works in both directions: supplying advice and information to printers and providing an access point for print-buyers looking for specialists to work on a project.

Annual membership costs between £168 and £1,032 depending on turnover of print related products and services. For this, you get a range of training and guidance in the form of seminars, workshops and conferences. There is also a spread of corporate services including insurance, Croners legal guidance and market information.

You also get access to some of the best brains in the industry and serious relevant information, both of which save management time and enable rapid decision-making.

But does it get you any business? First, Prism gets lots of calls and e-mails requesting recommendation of suppliers. Second, member companies' details and specialities are listed on the association's website with a link to their own sites. Prism's site currently gets around 500,000 page requests a month. A share of that surely has to convert to good revenue. 

Also out there is the BPIF - the leading business support organisation for British print, with 2000 members. It has three regional offices staffed by industry specialists, as well as its own solicitors, health and safety advisors, HR consultants and technical advisors. The significance of this is that it gives members access to a very wide range of relevant business advice, but above all, that advice is tailored to the industry sector and provided by people who know the whole print world.

As examples, the BPIF provides "health checks" on such issues as human resources and health and safety. In both cases these are disciplines for which many businesses (even quite large ones) don't have in-house specialists. They are also areas where "getting it wrong" is a potential disaster. Because of the federation's in-house team, visits are made to your site if required and recommendations are industry focused from the outset, rather than general commercial solutions with a print icing on top. Membership of BPIF starts at £160 for businesses with five or fewer employees and increases based on how big your business is and what level of membership you want.

Since you probably think that Westminster doesn't know you exist - or care that much - the BPIF commitment to lobbying on behalf of the industry could leave you cold. It shouldn't. The Federation has serious access to the central government machine and if you've got a serious beef on this front, it offers you a route to solve it.

There are also publicity associations. For no apparent reason, these seem to be concentrated in northern England. The obvious benefit of membership in this case is reaching potential customers on a personal basis. The Manchester Publicity Association (MPA) is the biggest in Europe and operates a variety of social, training and awards events, plus regular business lunches. Members of these so-called pub-clubs come from marketing departments, agencies of various types and the mainstream media.

So there you have it. There are more benefits to becoming a member of an organisation than you might at first think. One hour in front of a customer can only produce sales from that customer. One hour at a meeting of a business association could produce 10 such opportunities. The prospecting you do today creates the sales of tomorrow.

Paul Clapham is a marketing consultant with over 25 years' experience covering a broad range of business sectors and a full spread of marketing disciplines. He works with small, medium and large companies alike to increase their profitability through marketing. Tel: 01453 765432

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