6. Go with a Goal If you are at all shy or afraid of going to an event by yourself or networking in a group of strangers you will want to go with a goal. First of all, know the types of people you want to meet; do you want to meet prospects who are your target market, referral sources or just friends? Say you want to meet 10 people then make sure you introduce yourself to and ask for 10 people's business cards.

7. First Impressions Making a good first impression is important and it's the one thing you can't make up for if it goes wrong. Practice your handshake and eye contact prior to attending events to make sure you have a firm handshake, not limp or half grasp and that you are consistently looking into the eyes of the person you are talking to rather than looking around the room for the next person to talk to. For the best results, act like you are really interested in each person you talk to, asking pertinent questions to get to know them better and steer the conversation so you can ease away quickly while still showing you are interested.

8. Card Passing No No Never "lead" with a card when you enter a room or circle of people, "leave" the card or wait until someone asks you for your card. Don't presume everyone wants your card. If they don't want it, they won't do anything with it anyways so why waste it on them? It's more important for you to get their card because you want to build your database, email marketing list and you want to be able to follow up with them. You can always mail them your card later if you have theirs; they will appreciate it more and possibly think more highly of you since you took the time to follow up.

9. Build Relationships Your goal of networking should be to build rapport and long-lasting relationships with the people that you meet, it should not be to SELL, SELL, SELL; that's a big turnoff. Don't expect people to use your services the first time they meet you; if they do, great, but don't depend on it. More than likely it will take 5-7 meetings before people will warm up to you so be prepared to network in certain organizations you choose for some time, try each of them for at least 6-12 months or one year of membership. Remember however, you will get out of a membership what you put into it so if you are not active or don't attend a lot of functions, you won't meet enough people in order to reach your desired 'expert' status or 'top of mind awareness'.

10. Help Others Another main reason for your networking should be to give; give referrals to others you meet, give free 'expert' advice about what you know, give suggestions on business or practices, make connections between people who need to do business with one another, even if that doesn't involve you or your business. If you make this the main reason for networking, karma will reward you with more than enough referrals and direct business that you could ever expect.

11. Don't 'Feature Dump' 'Feature Dumping' occurs when you're talking to people and you proceed to list all your services, benefits, features and everything about you and your business when maybe no one even asked you. You ideally want to find out what the other person wants and needs by asking questions and getting them to tell you. Their needs and wants might have something to do with your business or they might not. If they need your services or products, then of course after you LISTEN to what they need, you can respond with the solution to that need (NOT EVERYTHING, just that need).

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