The art of networking is fairly easy but can be a daunting prospect. The main thing to remember is you can’t rush in and expect to meet everyone, make instant sales and make a big buck from your new ‘friends’. Networking is about building relationships, about giving as well as receiving (sorry if this sounds like a sermon) and having a good time.

Mostly it is about communications. Talk to people you meet, listen to what they say and see if you can help them and if they can help you.

So to make the most of it, here are my top tips

1. Try to find out who is going beforehand and see who may be interesting for you to get to know.

2. Set yourself objectives. For example, it could be to meet and chat to three new people. It is unrealistic to expect to talk to everyone.

3. Dress appropriately. This doesn’t have to mean a suit. Smart casual is the key – this is about socialising not about having a business meeting.

4. Arrive early. It is always easier to walk into a room with one or two people in and start up a conversation.

5. Wear a name badge, and pin it on your right lapel, as that is the direction the eye is naturally drawn to.

6. Walk in the room with confidence and remember your objectives.

7. If you are stuck for someone to talk to, learn the art of politely joining in a conversation. All you need do is approach a group and ask if they mind you joining – nobody is going to say no.

8. Don’t get stuck with the same person but politely excuse yourself. You are all there to network, so the person you have been talking to should be keen to move on too.

9. Take your business cards but only give these to people if they ask for them. If they don’t ask but you give them out anyway, the chances are they will end up in a drawer.

10. Follow up your networking events by contacting people you have got on with but don’t just email everyone regardless – you may end up emailing someone who was on the list to attend but never made it!

Jo Smyth
http://www.articlesbase.com/networking-articles/the-art-of-business-networking-676790.html

DATELINE:  QUINCY, MA… Because social Media and Social Networking are among the “hot” topics in our industries, you won’t want to miss the next South Shore Ad Club sponsored event.

What is Social Networking? How is it used in marketing? What are some of the useful tips and tools? These are the topics that will be covered at a January 13 (Tuesday) panel discussion from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Granite Links Country Club in the Veranda Room, Quincy.

Brian Bram from Last Panda, a Cambridge Interactive Media Company, and Tom and Reiko Beach of TRB Design, Inc., video production/web marketing from Norwell, MA, will talk about the importance of Social Networking. In addition to how it is used in marketing and the tips and tools to make it effective, the panel will also focus on how to make it more successful with proper audience alignment and content voicing – as well as how to get started simply and inexpensively with an existing website.

“Social Networking and Social Marketing is here to stay,” said Steve Dubin,” said Steve Dubin, owner of PR Works and member of the South Shore Ad Club’s board of directors. “As marketers, we need to make sure our websites and the strategies we use to market ourselves represent the very latest and very best in technology. This presentation will help streamline one’s understanding of the challenges, and benefits, of social networking and social marketing.”

The event will take place on Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2009, 6 p.m. at Granite Links Country Club’s Veranda Room, 100 Quarry Hills Drive, Quincy. The price of admission is $25 for non-members, $20 for members. Light refreshments will be served. Copywriters, graphic designers, Web designers, ad agencies, pr agencies, photographers, printers, typesetters, corporate communications professionals, marketing professionals, printers, videographers and all small businesses are welcome to attend.

To RSVP, please contact Colleen Jacobsen, Webster Printing Co., Inc.,

Hanson, Massachusetts at 781-447-5484 or e-mail colleen@websterprinting.com.

Payment for the event can be made online at www.southshoreadclub.com or you

can print out the registration form on the Web site and mail check, payable

to “South Shore Ad Club,” to: South Shore Ad Club, 1069 West Washington

Street, Hanson, MA  02341. Cash or checks will also be accepted at the door.

About the South Shore Ad Club

The South Shore Ad Club is a non-profit organization committed to the

personal and professional development of communications professional located

south of Boston. It’s the club’s mission to improve, strengthen and advance

career goals through learning and networking opportunities; and to serve as

a resource for local and Boston-area businesses requiring marketing,

advertising, public relations and/or communications services. For more

information and membership rates, please visit the South Shore Ad Club’s Web

site at www.southshoreadclub.com.

Steve Dubin
http://www.articlesbase.com/business-articles/being-social-is-about-a-lot-more-than-trading-business-cards-and-buying-drinks-a-look-at-social-mediasocial-networking-presented-by-south-shore-ad-678581.html

So your going to a networking funtion that you have never been to before (or maybe even one you have) determined to crack the networking code and start building priceless business relationships.  Careful, it’s possible to go to a networking event and not have any ‘networking moments.’  Remember it is not just about showering and showing up.  It’s about connecting with people and finding ways to help them progress.  Here are seven proven strategies for making contact at networking events.

1.  Go it alone.

When attending networking functions, go by yourself or at least communicate to your carpool buddies that you should all fan out.  Moving about a networking event solo encourages people to approach you and makes it easy to mingle and initiate conversations.  It may be more comfortable to have a friend right there with you, but remember: you are there to grow your network, not hang with the people already in your network. 

 2.  Stand near the registration table. 

After you have registered and put on your nametag, take advantage of the many opportunities to make small talk with new arrivals after they have signed in. These are the couple of minutes when most people are alone and interested in someone new to communicate with.  Even something really easygoing like, “Looks like a good turnout…” is probably good enough to get a friendly conversation started.  Remember that like you, people are there to make new contacts.  And if they are not, they are in the wrong place. 

 3.  Study the tags.

If nametags are preprinted and on display at the registration table, scan the tags of the other attendees to see what opportunities await you.  Here’s something, though I have not tried this myself, Rachel Wood, a top financial advisor in the Boston area who introduced herself to me after one of my CODE Crackers Networking seminars, does something pretty neato.  If she spots a nametag on the registration table of someone she would like to meet, she asks the people manning the table if she can clip a note to their tag saying she would like to meet them.  She swears by it. 

 4.  Circle and scan.

Before diving into the event, try circling the room and checking out the nametags for people or companies you definitely want to make contact with while there. 

 5.  Look for people standing alone.

These folks may be nervous, and your initiative will often endear you to them.  Plus, one-on-one networking is the best networking. 

It is hard to join a group unless invited. 

 6.  Sit between people you do not know well.

If the event is a sit-down affair, do not sit by a friend or business associate.  You already know that person!  You might be sitting there a while, so make sure you are going to be sitting by someone you can form a new relationship with.  Plan who you want to sit by, but wait until the last minute to actually sit down so you can keep making new contacts.

7.  Hang out at the food table. 

I know it sounds like I’m joking, but people tend to be easily accessible around food.  Stand near the food table, but not the bar.  People tend to grab their drinks and move away from the bar, but are more likely to linger near the grub. 

As people check out the buffet table, small talk comes more easily. “That Danish looks good…” is as good an opener as any.  Once they have their hands full, people often look for a flat surface where they can place their plate and beverage.  Take a spot next to them and get to chatting.

Check this out.  Our endorphin levels are higher when we are close to food, which boosts our memory and the chance that we will remember and be remembered.  We humans are a trip, aren’t we?

One quick DON’T

Don’t go to networking functions hungry.  

Eat before you go so you can focus on the person, not the cantaloupe.  If you are hungry, grab a quick bite off to the side, and then mingle.  And don’t talk with your mouth full. (I hope I didn’t need to write that.)

Get Cracking.

Be Progress.

Dean Lindsay
http://www.articlesbase.com/business-articles/seven-ways-to-connect-at-a-business-networking-event-with-dean-lindsay-sales-keynote-speaker-and-author-of-cracking-the-networking-code-referrals-biz-746505.html

Some tell you that you need to talk and go to seminars, but it goes beyond. Get acquainted and suggestions here. You have just started a business. You have the dream of setting up a business empire.

You have invested a lot of initial capital. When you started you had a great deal of enthusiasm but challenging situation start popping with the conclusion of getting better wholesale distributors.

How do you reach them? How do you advertise your business? How do you bit your competitors? You might be quite perplexed. Different people are giving different suggestions and everyone is an expert when you search online.

Some say that you need to attend educational training on wholesale business. Some are advising you to talk to knowledgeable and experienced persons, some are advising you to attend seminars as the number one priority. You have been there and found that either such advice was more theoretical or you found it difficult to follow.

You have tried some of the formulas, yet they run dry when executing. Even some require you to have thousands of dollars for the privilege. One of the most important aspects of business is the heads involving decision making and running the business.

Product acquisition is an important role of the wholesale distributor. The three important aspects of the wholesale distributor are the product acquisition, product movement and the transaction taking place. The function of a wholesale distributor is to acquire product in a finished or semi-finished state from a manufacturer and sometimes from another wholesale distributor.

These products are then prepared for resale or final consumption. This function can be performed independently or through intermediaries. The problem occurs when you trust the intermediaries without making a thorough research about the product. In this process you are likely to be cheated and end up buying a product at a higher rate.

The other function of the distributor is to manage product delivery. In order to make this process fruitful one must remember that the product should be available to the customer at the right time and at the right place. So again, a market analysis is required to set up the distribution structure and offices at the most desirable places. The offices are to be located in such a place from where optimum services to the customers can be provided.

So in order to do effective networking, a detailed research of various factors regarding the product movement is required. The other function of the wholesale distributor is to have the right networking of retailers who are ultimately responsible for the sale to the customer.

To build up an infrastructure by carefully analysing all these aspects of the business might be quite a challenge for a new person, especially for somebody who has just entered this field. Before you invest, make sure to get enough information about wholesale distributors and the wholesale industry. It is big business, but making smart decisions should be your top priority always.

Joaquin Reveron

If you are in business today, it has become almost imperative that you have a website. If you are in business and are planning to make a significant long term income off of your business, it is an absolute must. And, most businesses have jumped on the website bandwagon, filling the internet with millions and millions of websites.

On the other end is the user. One person, often looking for just one thing. With so many options to choose from, how do you get them to focus in on you, on your product, your service, or your store location?

One of the most recent answers to this question is Social Networking. With all of the buzz around Social Networking and Web 2.0 you’ve probably had at least minimal exposure. You might even have a Myspace.com account. But, how does this help your business?

There are actually hundreds of ways, but today I’m only going to focus on one with concrete steps for you to take so that by the end of the day you will have a whole new lead and customer generation stream.

Although Myspace isn’t necessarily the absolute best social networking site, it is the biggest, so that is where we are going to start.

1. If you don’t have a myspace account, go to http://myspace.com and sign up for one. Use a name that is as close as possible to your business name for your account name, as it will show up in your URL as Myspace.com/YourBizName

2. Once you have an account, take ten minutes to fill in a profile. Load in a picture. If you are a consultant or individual service provider, put a picture of yourself. If you are a retail location, put a picture of your store. If you manufacture a product, put a picture of the product you make. Then fill out profile questions that match your business. Keep it professional, and fill out the questions from the standpoint of your business, and don’t be afraid to do a bit of promotion. If you have your own website, it should definitely be included in your About Me section.

3. Once you have a profile, you need friends. If you have a business email list, that is by far the easiest way. Simply write to them, tell them about your new myspace account, and ask them to be your friend! This is perfect because it then locates you in a social circle that is already targeted to the types of people who are your customers. If you have a retail store, make up little cards with your site on it, and give them to customers inviting them to become your online ‘friends’.

4. Joint venture with other users. Find people in myspace who are in your market, and ask them if they will post a bulletin introducing your site to their friends.

Once you have built up a small friends list, you can then truly start some promotional magic. Myspace allows you to post blogs and bulletins. The blog is on your Myspace page, and the bulletin actually gets posted to all of your friends ‘Bulletin Board’ area.

As often as you can, you want to come up with a creative little promotion, and post it to your blog and send it as a bulletin. If you were a restaurant, maybe you would send out daily meals specials. If you were a software company, maybe you’d post articles about the different cool points of your software.

Bulletins move quickly, as if anyone else posts a bulletin to one of your friends after yours was posted, yours will get moved down the board, and will eventually disappear. This is why it is important that you post regularly, and if you are only posting once a day, try to make it at a time when you think that the demographic of people who are your friends will be online.

Keep this up, and you will see growth in your business. You will be exposed to new potential customers, and if you are lucky you might just get big enough to be featured, which can generate a huge buzz for your business.

Estimated time: 20 min. Set Up, 4 minutes daily posting a bulletin

Justin Handley
http://www.articlesbase.com/marketing-articles/utilizing-social-networking-to-grow-your-small-business-139638.html