There are many great books to help you with business networking. Read as many books as possible so you can develop your own unique technique. Many people shy away from networking because they don’t know what to do. There are four simple steps that must be followed for effective business networking:

1. Choose Events Wisely: Attend events where there will be business owners or decision-makers to buy your product or service. Don’t waste time attending all events as there will be a lot of events where people are just not suitable to purchase from you.

2. Talk to Strangers: Walk up to people that you do not know and introduce yourself. Introduce yourself with a firm handshake, look them in the eyes and say your name and company name. After they introduce themselves, ask them questions about their business.

Some questions are:
1. How did you get started in that business?
2. How long have you been doing that?
3. What do you like best about your business?

Make the conversation all about them and not you. People love to talk about themselves. If you allow them to talk about themselves, you will be remembered as someone who took the time to get to know them. Networking is not about the quantity of business cards with which you come home. ... Click to read the rest of this post right here at Virtual Assistant Forums.




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Great post! This is something that I need to remind myself of and can really apply to any kind of business. Thanks for sharing!

Laura

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Laura Kelly-Pifer

Great information. I need to start looking in my community for networking events so that I may try out these steps.
My to do list is growing. ha ha..
But that is a good thing.....

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Tamera
“Let me manage the daily tasks for you.”

Great post! I just joined a Meetup for Entrepreneurs. This will help me use my time wisely and get the most out of events I do go to.

I agree with most of that except (of course there is an 'except) if you enjoy networking meetings, gatherings, go to as many as you want to. Sometimes the people might not be able to use your services but will have a friend, who has a friend, etc. I would think that would be time better spent than talking to strangers... my Mom always told me not to talk to strangers

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www.sageva.com
Shelley Halpain,