A lot of people in search for a job think twice before engaging into business networking.  They don’t see themselves as networking material, this is, they don’t believe anyone will have an interest in talking to them or even less take time out of their schedules to help them.

Before you take this path and torture yourself with these thoughts, consider these:

1.    People’s natural instinct is to help.  It comes natural to us.  When you see someone in need, the first thing you want to do is give him or her a hand in any way you can, right?

2.    Most probably the person you are talking to has been in your same situation or a similar one, thus, he or she will relate and will want to give back.  In this time of continuous lay-offs, it is very probable that you will meet someone who was looking for a job not too long ago and was also requesting others for a few minutes of their time.  You are just giving them an opportunity to help others.

3.    Maybe they will see you for their own convenience.  Someone may think you are a future potential networking source.  Good networkers know that building a successful network is a continuous process, and they are always on the look for new faces.

4.    You may have something the other person needs, perhaps information, experience, or connections.  If you have networked before, you may have valuable and relevant information about your industry.  Read professional journals, articles, and books.

5.    When meeting with a manager, see it this way:  this is a part of his or her job; he or she is in the position to identify good talent, and there is no way they can find that talent if they don’t meet the candidates.  There won’t necessarily be an open position right away; however, after meeting you, the manager will keep you in mind for future opportunities.

6.    It is possible that someone knows about a job opportunity but doesn’t mention it to you, and this is a common tactic used to maintain the meeting more casual and to be able to assess you without the pressure and demands of a job interview.

7.    You may impress someone with the way you introduced yourself or with how you talked about your background, and he or she may agree to give you some time because you caught his or her attention.  This is a very good opportunity that we hope you take advantage of to start business networking or begin your own network.

The truth is that people have more than one reason to meet you, so, you have two choices: either you network or you are out of work.

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Networking is an art as much as a business strategy.  It is also a skill that can be learned, and one that you require if you want to be successful in the current business arena.

There are many tricks to networking, however, you don’t have to be a magician to learn this valuable ability, you just have to pay attention to several details and be conscious about the way in which you approach people:

1.    Adapt your attitude
Networking is about helping others; it is a way of life, and as it comes, it goes.  It takes advantage of the laws of the universe, which will always rule it.

2.    Evaluate your network
Be sure to know whom you know.  Make a list of all the people you know, including your hairdresser, the cashier at the supermarket, your mechanic, your accountant, your dentist, and even your favorite waiter.  Important ‘titles’ mean nothing, you never know who will lead you to someone who can truly help you.

3.    Relate to people of all ages and backgrounds who are good professionals
You can learn valuable things from everyone you meet.  You can find mentors anywhere and everywhere.  Offer to help them from the heart, and ask for help confidently.

4.    Form a network before you need something
Attending business networking events, community organizations, or chambers of commerce only when you need them for something is not going to take you anywhere but down.  In networking, you don’t look out for yourself, instead, as you look out for others, the help you need will come your way.

5.    Stay visible
You have to be everywhere and get known.  Say yes to every invitation, even if you want to say no, other successful networkers will be there too.

6.    Become a matchmaker
Help your contacts meet the people who can help them meet their needs.  Only the most powerful people are selfless enough to help others succeed without a personal interest in the match.

7.    Keep in touch
Just call or write to say hi and to ask how things are going.  Invite people to lunch or coffee, just to have a good time learning more about them, no hidden motives involved

8.    Keep people informed
When someone refers you, gives you an idea, or a lead, keep them informed of your progress so that they know to what extent they were useful.  It is just simple, but deep, courtesy.

9.    Value small talk
If you think small talk is BS talk, excuse me, but you’re a snob.  The intelligent networker knows that small talk leads to big talk, because this is how we bond.

10.    Have manners
The best of the best are always respectful, courteous, and gracious, and they always acknowledge others for their help and support.

11.    Reciprocate
Give back your support, help, and advice.  In fact, if possible, be the first to give all these to others, and expect nothing in return.

12.    Follow up
For effective business networking, you have to stay in the loop as to how your contacts are doing after you helped them, in this way; you ensure they will be there for you when your time comes.

If you liked this article, tell all your friends about it. They’ll thank you for it. If you have a blog or website, you can link to it or even post it to your own site (don’t forget to mention www.meetingwave.com as the original source).

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As a busy executive with a fulfilling personal life, you probably do not prioritize business networking as an important activity to meet new contacts.  There are just so many appointments involving so many people that it is difficult to think about meeting even more people, right?

Even if this seems logical, it is very wrong when you consider that, anyway, we meet lots of new people every day and this doesn’t alter our schedules, and also that if you do not expand regularly your circle of acquaintances, you could be jeopardizing your chances for business growth and success.

If you know 200 people, and your contacts know another 200 each, we’re talking about 40,000 potential leads right at your fingertips.  You surely don’t want to miss your share of info on a good job, more clients, an opportunity for a deal, a writing assignment, an investment break, or the best bargains, among many others.

Business networking is one of the most valuable activities you can engage into, and it is easy to become good at it; you just have to remember this rule, which is applicable to any kind of networking or any other kind of encounter: be open to learn more about each person you meet, be willing to help, and offer to stay in touch.

Networking helps you enhance your communication skills by encouraging friendly conversation.  Even if you don’t develop a relationship with someone, that person will remember you as a nice individual, and will say so if asked in the future.

If you are a very busy person, limit your networking events to those crucial for your business. Take advantage of every single casual contact you have during the day, and take more business cards than you give out so that you can control the timing for developing relationships.  While networking online, focus on your topics of interest and contact strategic people based on their profiles.  You can search for people who work in a specific field, live in a certain city, or happen to be experts on key topics, and they will probably acknowledge you because you both belong to the same communities.

As you can see, there is no such thing as no time to network.  There are many options to choose from without sacrificing your personal or business time while at the same time ensuring you are meeting people that will most certainly put you ahead in the business game.

If you liked this article, tell all your friends about it. They’ll thank you for it. If you have a blog or website, you can link to it or even post it to your own site (don’t forget to mention www.meetingwave.com as the original source).

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There is more to networking than being at every single event out there.  Once you meet people you must devote time to making these relationships grow into something meaningful.

Running around looking for more and more people to meet is a waste of time, money and energy.  Instead, after attending several events, you should be focusing on creating a worthy relationship with the contacts you already made.

Good business networking requires stopping at the right time.  You must look at what you have, prioritize it, organize it, select it, and spend time building credibility and profitability.  These two only come after a closer and deeper relationship has been created, and constant nurturing between the parts is given.

Normally, professionals find it hard to stop networking because there isn’t a reliable measurement system that assures them that a certain referral tactic is really working unless they close an immediate sale, thus, they continue to fish as much as possible, only to never evolve.

Seldom, the worth of building relationships is taken into account, because it almost never happens, even though this is the real purpose of networking: to meet people and create relationships that can get you new customers in the future.  These contacts may never buy from you; their value lies in whom they can bring to you.

In regards to business networking, you can sin both ways: by attending too few events or by going to too many of them.  In some situations you may be asked to attend weekly meetings, but this is so you can build relationships with the group members, keep up with the variety of products and services they offer, and pass referrals to others.  In any other case, you are wasting both your time and others’.

Surely you can see how counterproductive it would be to get more referrals than you can manage, as each one takes time, money and lots of energy.  To keep a strong and productive relationship, you must meet your partners on a regular basis and produce good referrals for them, even if you have to neglect your business.  Imagine what condition you will be in if you have to do that for a large number of contacts!  It is humanly impossible.

So, as it goes for most of life’s situations, center on quality, not on quantity.  Think of three strategic partnerships per year, sort them by importance based on your goals, and divide your time between them accordingly.  Measure and keep track of the results, and never promise too much.

The worst you could do is to neglect a business relationship; in that case, it is more beneficial to never start it in the first place.

If you liked this article, tell all your friends about it. They’ll thank you for it. If you have a blog or website, you can link to it or even post it to your own site (don’t forget to mention www.meetingwave.com as the original source).

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If you are in a business that requires someone to buy a product or service, you obviously possess a certain level of self-confidence when dealing with people, or else you would be doing something different.  So, even if you are not the most outgoing person around, you are capable of creating good relationships and expressing your ideas.

In order to be a good networker you must be a good listener, and shy people are just that.  Normally, extroverted people lose themselves in their talk and do not give space to others to express themselves.  You are not the only shy person out there, and all of you can still count on business networking as one of the best ways to promote your company.

You may think that because you are a shy person you are not good at starting conversations, when in reality, shy people are the best in the aspect of networking that is vital for creating meaningful relationships.

You see, there are two sides to networking.  First, you meet people and you tell them about yourself.  Here is where the extrovert can be better than you; however, here comes the second part, listening to the other person.  Extroverts love talking about themselves, but introverts excel at listening and asking questions.

Have you heard the proverb: ‘God gave you two ears and one mouth so you can listen more than you talk’?  Good networking is about asking questions and getting to know the other, because once you know him or her, it becomes very easy to meet their needs.

Thus, if you are a shy person, that is not an excuse anymore.  If it is difficult for you, there are many techniques to help you get started.  For example, if you just feel you can’t walk up to someone at a business networking meeting and introduce yourself, volunteer as an ambassador for that event, in that case, it is very natural for you to approach people to welcome them and say who you are.  In no time you will be enjoying a conversation with many of the attendees.

You can really learn to network, no matter how social you are.  There are zillions of training seminars and workshops to teach you how to network the right way, and once you learn how to overcome your shyness in a comfortable way, your confidence will grow and you will be meeting people and networking the night away!

If you liked this article, tell all your friends about it. They’ll thank you for it. If you have a blog or website, you can link to it or even post it to your own site (don’t forget to mention www.meetingwave.com as the original source).

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You’ve just started your own business and have arranged to meet up with a large group of professionals in the same field. Your goal? To network and make as many good contacts as possible - these future relationships could be vital to your business’s growth. Before you set off for your event, you’ll want to revise some good business networking practices. Here are some of the most common mistakes to avoid:

1. Forgetting Your Business Cards
You’ll want to exchange as many business cards as you can. If you forget yours, you’ll appear unprofessional scribbling your details on pieces of scrap paper. Instead, a well-presented business card will convey a lot about you - those who take yours will be encouraged to look up your web details or contact you again via the details supplied.

2. Not Being Polite and Courteous
People will want to know what type of person you are. If you can be considerate and polite, even when things go wrong, e.g., when you have bad service at a restaurant, this will speak volumes about your character. Avoid being negative about anyone or anything, even your competition. A person who is positive about things is a more attractive person to be around.

3. Not Watching What You Eat and Drink
The best advice when drinking and eating is to do as little of it as possible when networking. Consuming too much alcohol can quickly start to cloud what you say and how you appear to others. Also, it is never easy to juggle plates of food, shaking hands, swapping business cards and smooth conversation while you are eating. Try and eat something before an event if you can - even if it is at a restaurant, you can order something to nibble on rather than to appease your appetite. And be aware that it is rarely attractive to talk with you mouth full of food.

4. Not Being Prepared for Casual Conversation
When meeting people for the first time, there are likely to be some lulls in the conversation. Have a few interesting subjects on hand to help revive a conversation again. Watch or read the news the day before your meeting, or browse through magazines related to your field - then bring up something you think might interest someone else or be good for discussion. Avoid controversial subjects like politics or religion.

5. Getting Stuck with One Group of People
It’s easy to find a group of people you feel comfortable talking with, and you might feel reluctant to keep working the room. But don’t let your goal of networking slip out of your focus. Try and pretend the event you are at is something you are hosting and make yourself move on and greet and talk to more people. Perhaps offer to get your new group some drinks or offer them a plate of appetizers - these tricks make good first impressions.

If you enjoyed this article, please feel free to post it to your site or blog and forward this link to your friends. Have a great day!
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Never before in the history of business has there been a better tool for expanding your contact list than the Internet!  Literally thousands of opportunities exist for having meaningful and dynamic interactions with potential clients, partners, and like-minded business professionals each day.

With all these opportunities at our fingertips, the challenge is finding the RIGHT sites to visit and use in order to use our time most efficiently – and knowing HOW to use these sites most effectively.

One site that is incredibly useful to meet people and build business contacts is LinkedIn (It’s spelt w one word or is the extra space intentional?).  LinkedIn allows you to set up a profile that can then be viewed by potential employers and business contacts alike.  You can search the profiles of others in order to build your network, and ask for introductions to contacts shown in the profiles of your contacts.   Linked In has job listings, networking groups to join, and the ability to add presentations to your profile to promote your business.

MeetingWave provides the opportunity to list your business interests and background information in your profile, and search for invites to face to face or web meetings hosted by people with like interests.  It is free, and a great way to expand your local network.  Members of MLMs, attorneys, consultants, local services such as realtors, nail salons and hairdressers, and IT or facilities businesses would benefit from joining and using it to effectively network.

Although Facebook is primarily a personal social networking tool, it is a great way to add a warm and friendly image to your web persona to win over clients.   Many realtors are using Facebook in order to create a friendly rapport with potential clients.  Facebook allows you to post pictures, interesting links, video, etc as well as your profile.  It is a “real-time” type social network, which means you can type in comments, observations, etc just like in the ultra-real-time application Twitter.

Another great way of expanding your business network which works especially well if you are  offering a niche product or service is by creating your OWN social network on Ning, and publicizing it.  Joining Ning (www.ning.com) gives you the opportunity to design, build, and create your own social network – with discussion sessions, forums, blogs, etc.   Publicizing this site would then attract new people into your network, for a healthy and exciting exchange of ideas.    You can publicize the site through the use of Google ad words – not free but effective, or by adding its URL to your profiles on other sites.

If you enjoyed this article, please feel free to post it to your site or blog and forward this link to your friends. Have a great day!