Your best referrals do not usually come from your first ten minute encounter with a complete stranger. Follow-up is the key to building lasting, profitable relationships. Effective Networking is an investment that pays off over time. It requires skill, effort, patience and consistent action. Experts claim that most sales occur after the fifth encounter.

Effective networking is a year-round, life-long activity. By contrast, ineffective networking is showing up at events sporadically, not bringing enough business cards, hanging out with people you already know and never following up on a single, new contact. Many people cut back on networking while they are employed because they are too busy. The secret to networking is having valuable information to exchange. You are far more likely to get leads and referrals if you give them.

Be discriminating and set goals. There are plenty of networking events to attend. The challenge is to figure out which ones are worthwhile for your purposes. Choose the associations, conferences or business events where you are most likely to meet people with the power to hire you or buy your product or service.

Be strategic. Prior to attending the event, contact the President or the administrator in charge of registration. Explain what you would like to accomplish at the event and ask them who you should meet on the attendance list. This will guarantee a return on your investment. Your goal is NOT to meet as many people as possible. Networking is a game of quality, not quantity. The more strategic your approach is, the faster you'll meet the right people and the less money and time you will spend. The President of an association has invested a large amount of time getting to know the members. You can leverage that time by having them direct you to key individuals who match your interests. Making multiple, superficial contacts is ineffective. Zeroing in on your target and getting to know them well over time is much more effective.

Arrive early at each event to increase your return on investment. Movers and shakers are often the ones organizing the events. Once everyone arrives, they may be too busy hosting the event to spend time getting to know you. Arriving early also allows you to find a good seat at the table nearest the speaker and organizing committee. You want to get to know these individuals. They can help you achieve your goals faster and more efficiently. Without their help, "working the room" can be hit or miss. Also, get eating and drinking out of the way before it is time to exchange business cards. No matter how much you practice, it is tricky to balance a glass, nibble on hors d'oeuvres and gracefully exchange business cards.

Exchange business cards early in the conversation and study them for a second before tucking them in your pocket. By spending a few extra seconds on pronouncing a person's name correctly and seeing how it is spelled, you'll have an easier time recalling that new contact. Also study business cards for clues about the person's specialty or their level of expertise. Are they President of a Fortune 500 company or owner of a small business? Do they have designations after their name such as MBA, Certified Financial Planner or even Vice President? This can get the conversation started in the right direction and give you valuable information to build rapport. Determine whether this person can help you directly or if you need to ask for a referral. Then, weave your goal into the conversation.

Jot down notes about your conversation on the business cards you collect. This will also help improve your recall. Taking a few notes while you talk to a new contact is a sign of flattery. Later, you can note any distinguishing features such as "tall with beard" or "blonde in red suit." If you network often, you'll also want to note the event where you met each contact. Loading this information into a database is highly recommended. This will allow you to prioritize, catalogue and sort your contacts quickly and easily for future use.

Giving referrals is the secret to receiving referrals. Effective networking is a two-way street. Have your "elevator speech" ready when you meet someone for the first time, but do your best to draw out the other person's interests and needs first. As Zig Ziglar, a master of sales, says: "If you help enough other people get what they want, you'll get what you want." So be generous with your time and your ideas. You will be much more memorable to prospects by expressing a sincere interest in their agenda. Ask "how can I help you?" or "who is a good lead for your business?" These questions let the other person know that you are interested in exchanging leads. This reciprocal exchange of information is the basis of effective networking.

Limit your conversation to approximately 10 minutes per contact. Your goal is to determine if there is a mutual reason to get together at a later date. Follow-up is the key to generating a referral, revenue or a job lead. After each event, review the cards you collected to determine who merits a follow-up meeting. Those who follow-up will stand out in a crowd because so few people do take this next step.

Effective Networking is like effective marketing and sales. It takes approximately five exposures before you make a lasting impression. Think of the five exposures as:

1. your first encounter
2. a follow-up phone call or e-mail
3. a face-to-face meeting
4. a thank you note and
5. an exchange of referrals.

Collecting quality referrals from quality contacts is your goal. Networking can be a numbers game; however, the crisper your focus and the better your strategy, the faster you will turn networking contacts into referrals. It is far better to start small and be thorough than to spread yourself too thin and achieve poor results.