Effective networking involves a strong combination of skill and luck; a willingness to take the occasional risk to forge good contacts; energy; openness to other people and their needs; and constant awareness of the opportunity for give and take in every setting,” according to Ruth Thaler carter, author of “Networking for Success.”

Below, I’ve listed “10 Tips for Effective Business Networking” that I’m sure will help you with your networking success:

1. Always carry your business cards with you. Networking opportunities can present themselves at parties, at church or in elevators.

2. Talk to everyone everywhere. You never know who someone is until you start speaking with them. For example, I met one of my best public relations clients in front of the merrygoround in a local entertainment park.

3. Don’t sit with friends at meetings. You can speak with them any time. Try to sit by new people at each networking function so you can get to know them.

4. Set a goal to meet five (or more) new people at each networking meeting. Most groups have a social/networking time before the official meeting starts. Make it a point to approach and exchange business cards with people you don’t know.

5. Be a good listener. Listening has become a lost art. Everyone is in such a hurry to make a sale that they forget one important point: You can’t “sell” to someone until you get to know them first. Most people won’t do business with strangers, so become a friend.

6. Focus on others. What can you do to help them? Introduce them to someone you know; find out what their needs are and make suggestions; give them a referral for their product or service.

7. Build your people skills. How would you like to be treated? Be friendly, sincere, warm, caring . . . all the qualities you like in others whom you consider friends.

8. Think of networking as an investment one that will pay off down the road. Make friends when you don’t need them; then they will be there when you do require help. Don’t expect a lot of business from your first networking meeting. It doesn’t work like that. You are still unknown to people the first few times they meet you.

9. Make networking an active behavior. Being a wallflower is not effective in a business situation. Make the effort to reach out your hand first. You’ll be surprised how relieved other people look because they are afraid no one will talk to them.

10. Be concise and memorable when you introduce yourself. There’s no greater turnoff than someone who brags about his business especially if you can’t understand what he’s talking about. Talk in “layman’s terms,” without industry jargon, and keep it simple. You might say something funny, clever, or different so that people will remember what you do.

Remember, the main purpose of networking is to connect on a professional level for professional gain.

About the author: Sonia Colon is writer/publisher of My Fashion E-Mall Blog, and owner at Once Upon A Star. For additional powerful business articles and Internet marketing tips for maintaining a lucrative business subscribe to her newsletter.

==> Learn How To Create An Online Business Using The Power Of Facebook And Other Social Media!

==> Learn How To Create An Online Business Using The Power Of Facebook And Other Social Media!
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