Business Networking Mistakes to Avoid

As someone who is building a business, whether it is web based or not, you've undoubtedly heard that

networking is important.

If you start thinking about networking, you can easily see how they can pop-up anywhere. Of course,

having that many opportunities open to you means that there is a lot of room open to make mistakes

which is why you need to read this article. Skip the school of hard knocks with networking mistakes and

you'll be thanking us forever - read the article.

Do not lose focus during your networking time. If you are meeting a business contact, then put the focus

on that contact. You are not there to socialize. The location of the meeting is not that big of a deal. It

doesn't matter how friendly you feel toward the person. When you are meeting for business purposes,

particularly when the relationship is a new one, keep everything professional. Don't leave the meeting

to talk to an acquaintance-unless that acquaintance and your meeting partner might benefit from

meeting each other. Get around this by not going to any of your regular socializing places. Make sure

you know what the person you are meeting looks like. This might be difficult to pull off if this is an online

client that you are meeting in person for the first time. This is especially the case if they do not tend to

post photos of themselves on their profiles. Always request a recent picture of the person that you are

conducting business with. This will reduce your chances of making mistakes or of not noticing that

person when you arrive at your meeting destination. By that same token, you should be willing, at the

very least, to provide a photo of yourself to the person as well.

Don't be a "drive by" networker which is most commonly experienced at networking events. Try to find

the movers and shakers in your market or field, and then be bold and engage them. Then they move on

to someone else, so don't be that person because nobody will remember you if you are that person.

You cannot create a full blown business relationship with someone you just met, and it takes time to

develop. Remember, networking isn't about simply getting phone numbers, it's about starting the

foundation for business relationships. You want to make sure you can actually help each other. There

are all sorts of things that go into creating a successful networking situation. You can take actions that

will make your networking efforts very successful. One of the best things you can do is to not make any

of the mistakes we've talked about here. This is not going to be a simple task. A good rule of thumb is to

always treat others the way you would want them to treat you.