Networking is not going away. No matter how high-tech, plugged in, or globalized the world becomes, networking will be around forever. You need networking, and you need it to work for you.

But as consumers, clients, customers, and executives all realize the power and usefulness of networking you are faced with the difficulty of discriminating how, when, why, and how much networking you should be doing.

For example, if you joined every networking web site there was, you could make a full time job of just filling out web forms. Or, if you attended every networking function in your industry, you would do nothing but eat, drink, and mingle.

So, what are you going to do. This article attempts to lay out seven keys to business networking growth.

1. Become the go-to guy for a networking question. As you begin to network, your circle of acquaintances grows. Your rolodex of numbers increases. And you start running out of room to put business cards. In time, you will build a reputation as a pretty good networker.

Now and then someone may come up to you and say, “Hey, do you happen to know a good franchise consultant?” You dig in your drawer, whip out a business card and say, “Give him a call. I met him last March. Nice guy.” Bingo. You’ve scored a point. You’ve made a connection.

And you’ve won some trust. Eventually, a few more people will come up to you and say, “Hey, I heard that you may know a good marketing firm…” And so it has begun. By and by, you will receive a certain degree of recognition as someone who is very well connected, knows a lot of people, and can point people in the right direction. But networking is a snowballing adventure.

The more people you know, the more people you can get to know. The more people that come to you with networking questions, the more people you can find out about and get to know. Make it your goal to become the networking guru in your space.

2. Seek opportunities to help others. Helping people is at the core of networking. A networking attempt is so much more than a handshake and an exchange of a name card. It is so much more than accepting a connection on LinkedIn.

The value of your network is not measured by the amount of names that you know, but by the amount of help you can provide. As you survey the networking landscape, don’t look at is as a host of names to know. Look at is as a host of people to help. After all, the only truly valuable networking will be from people whom you know personally and whom you have helped.

Once you help people, especially in a sacrificial or altruistic way, you’ve won their trust. They have a degree of confidence in you. That confidence will translate into them recommending you. That is exactly what you want. That is the way to grow your network, and that is a crucial key to business networking growth.

3. Seek opportunities for others to help you. But it works both ways. Not only should you be helping others, but others can be helping you. If you need help, ask for it.

Gaining help from others creates a human connection that can’t be gained any other way. Besides, you get to see the skills of another from a unique angle. You get to see how the person works. You get to experience their product.

And you get to establish a mutual relationship of trust. That goes miles in the networking world. People willl remember those whom they help, and it is the perfect way to build a strong, lasting network.

4. Be everywhere often. Though it sounds daunting, it is possible to carve out a significant presence for yourself. The key word here is “strategic.” As I mentioned, it is an incredible waste of time to join every networking site out there.

Though you will receive a plethora of invitations, be selective. Join only the ones that will best accomplish your purposes. It should be standard, however, to at least have a presence on LinkedIn, the current networking site leader.

Other industry-specific websites should be consulted as well. In addition, attend several strategic functions as often as you can. Again, too much is too much, but make it your practice to be at the important ones as often as possible.

5. Know people well. When you meet people, remember their names and some specifics about them. Don’t be ashamed to write names down. You need to remember them. Carry around a pen and pad of paper, and jot down notes.

Not just for names, but facts, too. When you pick up the phone to call that potential customer, it will go a long way to say, “By the way, how’s your mother-in-law? I remember you mentioned she had surgery last week.”

6. Host something. Be a networking leader and go ahead and host something. It can be as simple as a backyard barbecue for all the CFOs in your town. Or it can be as big as a golf outing for all the engineering firms.

Either way, you can quickly become a networking mogul, just by organizing events. After all, once the event is over, you have a list of everyone who signed up–complete with numbers and all.

7. Finally, make it fun. Networking can be a fulfilling hobby. After all, you’re interacting with people. People can be a lot of fun. Face the challenge of being a networking guru, but make it an enjoyable and refreshing hobby.

You have put hours and hours of time into your craft show. You hope that it will all be worth it. But make sure you do not judge your outcome solely on sales at the end of the day. In order to be successful at the show, you must also put some time into planning ways in which you can continue to reach the customers in front of you. This is how your business will grow in the future.

Many ideas seem commonplace, but are important enough that they deserve a refresher. The first is to always have business cards on hand. In fact, it would be a good idea to place them in several different areas of your booth. Be sure to include your business name, your name, your email address and a website, if applicable. A picture is not necessarily vital, but may serve you well if it immediately identifies the products you carry. You may want to include some kind of discount code so customers look forward to making that first or next purchase with you in the future.

Brochures can also be utilized at the craft show. Most word processing programs include templates for putting these together. Or, venture out on your own to come up with a brochure style that works for you. Oftentimes, customers will pick these up for when they have more time to evaluate your products. You may also want to include the story behind your business as a way to personalize what you do and to connect with the customer. Do not forget to make sure your contact information is provided!

The third strategy to build your business from the craft fair is to keep a guest book in your booth. Customers can sign their name and provide an email address if they are interested in receiving more information from you. This is valuable way to get out the news on new products you will carry in the future, sales and promotions, or other shows you will be attending. This gives you a good base of potential buyers who are interested in what you have to offer. You could also have a drawing to win some prizes for those who enter their name and contact information.

Listen to what customers are saying when they enter and leave your booth. Take mental note and jot things down to help you remember afterwards. It is key to find out what people are looking for, their reactions to prices, and what motivates them to make the final purchase.

Keep a portfolio of your past work in your booth. Up-close photographs of not only the products themselves, but different ideas of how to use them can really encourage the customer to really see the possibilities of what you are offering. You may also consider taking special orders from customers.

As funny as it may sound, try to step outside of your comfort zone and meet other vendors who are there with you! Exchange information and talk together about upcoming shows. You might be surprised how much you can learn from someone who is in the same boat as you!

In the end, it is helpful for you to evaluate your experience at the show you just finished. Take the time to list the pros and cons of what occurred at the show. What items sold? Which items did not? Take note of all of your expenses. Do not underestimate the importance of really debriefing your experience and taking note of these things on paper. After it is all said and done, you will look back and be grateful that you took the time to write these things down, as it will help you think about future shows you may or may not be interested in.

We hope you enjoy your craft show experience! Know that there are many people behind the scenes who are cheering you on and want to see you succeed! Preparing for and selling at a craft fair CAN be worthy of your time and your talents. Maintain a positive attitude, knowing that each and every show you attend is a new opportunity to learn more about your business and yourself.

There are 5 steps to social networking online. The Internet is a vast surface area of space where you can do the unimaginable and process a network, which can be unlimited. Every day, new online networking Internet site seems to pop out from nowhere. It is the most popular hobby or maybe because everyone suddenly desires to connect with everyone else. Whatever the reasons, at the close of the day it is fun to be a piece of an online social networking site. There are online communities of interests like Myspace, Facebook and Friendster that can help you connect with individuals in the identical industry for business or help you find new friends to meet for chitchatting or dating. The signing up part is quite simple though once in a while you would need an invitation from somebody who is already a member there. Once you have signed up, there would be no limits. You can connect with anyone, anyplace, any time.

Things to Avoid

You can do many things at a social networking Internet site such as Facebook. You can talk about politics or sport, date online, play games, talk to people, PM people, watch videos, write blogs, etc. However, your first step should be to make or create a profile with your personal data and make it catchy enough for people to add you. There are a few things, 5 in general that you should know about when dealing with Social networking websites online, having a profile, contacting people or having them contact you

1. If you have a profile, remember it is your page and your choice. The best advice is to not jump the gun so to speak. Chances are you will receive hundreds of friend requests your first day. This doesn’t mean you have to accept every single person. Use your own personal filter. If you want guys, get all guys. If you want all girls, get all girls. If you have a friend request from someone you don’t feel comfortable adding, don’t add them. Remember this is what’s great about being online, these people can’t see you. Don’t be “scared” to deny friend requests!

2. Your profile is ultimately you “book cover”. Since these people can’t see you, it’s a good idea to make your profile as close to the real you as possible. What are your likes and dislikes? What are your hobbies? Who would you like to meet?

3. The face-to-face picture: Sometimes, friendships online move to a higher level and might require a face-to-face meeting over coffee. In such a scenario, it is important that you know what you want from the meeting. This will make your life easier. Also, be sure to be smart. Don’t just go and meet people right away. It’s a good idea to get to know them before hand! Hey, I’m all for social network sites, but I’m also for safety. And it’s better to be safe than sorry!

4. Give to get: Help is a universal word often associated with kindness. So be ready to help people if you can. If tomorrow you help someone get a job, then the chances are that the person you helped might help you back.

5. If someone gives you problems, harasses you, threatens you, sends you a virus, etc, it’s a good idea to contact customer service. In most cases they won’t contact you back with a personalized reply, but they will either warn the person or just delete them altogether. Just know, if you need help, help is there!

Other than the topics noted above, have fun, get to know the site, I can almost guarantee you are going to get addicted pretty darn quick, everyone does! The more time you spend on the site the more things you will find to do, more options to choose from and the more people you will meet!

I think we have all gone through the whole myspace trend at one point or another in our lives and some of us are still stuck in the mud on this one. However if you are tired of mysapce and are looking for something else to do or somewhere else to go that’s newer, funner, and more interesting you can check out the following websites listed below. All three of the sites listed below are fairly new, and better yet nothing like myspace! Aw, did I actually get some boos? Well I don’t like myspace. It has turned into a discovery zone-esque website. You know with the kids running around, and causing problems and just the range of immature drives me bonkers.

OurZone -
This site is such a great site, they have all kinds of activities you can get involved in and great things you can add to your profile such as gadgets, photos and videos and you can even upload your own music to your profile and to your zone but they also have a chat room and a forum and obviously a blog. This site is a lot like Moli or Xanga, its nothing like myspace and thats why I love it so much. You can even make your own social network if you choose to do so. This site is run by Nate who is also the owner of My Electronic Mall which seems to me to be one of the coolest discount stores out there! This is another one you really should check it!

Xocai Global Network Community -
Yea, this is the real deal baby! For those that don’t know, Xocai is a social networking and network marketing business you can get into for healthy dark chocolate products! The social networking site offers options such as a your profile page, events, forums, gadgets for you XocaiSpace, groups, photos, videos and much more! This isn’t just for people that are in the Xocai network marketing business either, ANYONE can join this site, especially if you are looking into meeting some new people! However I assume this also would be a good place to join if you are interested in the Xocai experience or the network marketing aspect of the company. This website has the perfect slogan; “Bringing Chocolate Lovers Together From All Around The World.” Terrific site!

Twitter -
I think everyone has heard of this social networking site by now; its a service for friends, families and co-workers to communicate and stay connected through one quick questions, what are you doing? So its a little like myspace where you are connected with everyone, but its also very different. Its basically an “update” everyone on your life program. Still pretty cool, I have checked it out but I felt like their was a lot of younger kids on this site. I’m 27 and just didn’t feel like I belonged, at all, but hey, maybe once you join you will feel different! Give it a whirl.

I hope you join up with one two or hey, all three of these sites, especially the OurZone one! Remember to have fun and be safe, good luck!

Excellent MLM’s vs. scam MLMs, it sounds like a sports game, doesn’t it? It does bear a marked resemblance to a competitive game, the difference being that you are the prize. A good MLM should, in fact, resemble a well run sports team with a winning record. The parent company should be well organized with a solid mission statement in place. The coach should know his team’s strengths and weaknesses and be able to use that knowledge to everyone’s benefit. The players should know their duties and feel comfortable fulfilling them.

A scam on the other hand looks a lot like a losing team. The parent company is disorganized and difficult to reach in times of need. The coach pushes the team to do better without guiding them in ways to improve performance. The players feel rudderless and uncertain.

When we watch a game we can tell which is which fairly easily. The scam team’s playing reflects the disorganization, lack of guidance and support, and makes desperate or uncertain plays. Their plays are most often sabotaged by everyone wanting to be the hero and save the game.

In today’s internet market we are often asked to invest in some sort of multi level market plan. They all try to sound attractive and that’s where it gets difficult to determine which is excellent and which is not. There are several clues to look for before agreeing to anything.

First, what do they expect from you? A good company expects you to work at making sales and improving your performance under their guidance and with their support. They provide a reliable support and coaching system. They encourage you to improve with positive incentives.

A scam expects you to believe that selling their product will make you rich without effort. There is no guidance, no support. They aren’t willing to help you learn the business or improve your performance. One thing to look for is the importance the company places on sales vs. recruitment. Scams always offer positive incentive for greater recruiting than they do for sales. So, if you’re being asked to push recruiting, your best bet is to refuse to invest.

In good network marketing you task is to sell a product. You receive a commission based on your sales and the person who recruited you gets a portion of that commission. Whether you have the product you’re selling in your business or home and have to ship it yourself, or the order for the product is sent to the parent company via your site will depend on the parent company, but both are legitimate. Either way, the company will expect you to encourage customers to your site based on the ability to buy their product from you. For instance, if you have a car parts site and someone tries to recruit you to sell crystal ware on your site, you probably want to think this through about a dozen times.

Good Network Marketing will require a commitment from you. Scams will exploit you. A really good indicator to look for is what is offered in return for your investment. Good companies promote their training and support. They emphasize their availability to both you and the customer. They invite you into a network and respect your questions and ideas.

Investing is always a bit scary. That is truer today than at any other time in our history. You don’t want to throw away your family’s savings, but you do want to grow them. Working with an excellent MLM is a good choice. Network marketing gives you more control over your financial growth than savings accounts and certificates of deposit.

The best way to ensure that you are associating with excellent MLMs vs. Scam MLMs is to do your homework before you enter negotiations. Does the parent company have a good reputation? What is their product? Is it something you are comfortable representing? What do you know of the recruiter? Does the recruiter have references? Can you verify their association with the parent company?

MLMs are a good way to make money especially on the internet. Consider this; when you purchase a new product or service from an advice or info driven website you could be buying from an stealth network marketer or savvy affiliate of the item your purchasing, it’s no skin of your nose to buy from that link, or referrer, but they make a commission on the sale.

Wouldn’t it be nice if you could do the same, without ever pressuring anyone and make a nice income stream from it over time… Stealth referral and network marketing is definitely worth looking into.