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For many professionals, networking at a business conference is a daunting prospect. Having an outgoing personality while simultaneously focusing your energy on meeting the right people and making an impression takes a lot of practice. By following proven best practices, you’ll be able to incorporate specific techniques into your repertoire to be truly effective at networking.

In order to stand out among the thousands of attendees at a conference, you’ll need to stay focused on exactly what you’re trying to accomplish. Here are five key tips to networking at a business conference:

1. Build Your Social Network

Hate small talk? Get over it. Talk to others; taking a genuine interest in people you come into contact with is the first step in building your network of friends and associates. Get in touch with old acquaintances, distant relatives and people with whom you went to school. This is a good exercise in reaching out and strengthening your existing connections. The key is to smile and take a keen interest in other people’s lives.

2. Pay Attention to Details

Don’t just get to know people on a professional level. While you’re chatting about business, take a few minutes to find out what they for fun, as well as what their spouse or significant other, nearby family members, and close friends do for work and recreation, too. Then, write it down. You don’t want to forget what you’ve learned. You never know when you or someone you know will benefit from the contacts you’ve met and categorized into an address book or spreadsheet.

3. Find the Extroverts

Once you start networking, you’ll come across people who have been networking for a very long time and seem to know everybody. Get to know these extroverted professionals. They’ll introduce you to others who share your interests or goals.

4. Be Generous

Networking is a two-way street. While you’re looking to make connections that can help you succeed, think of ways you can help others. Some easy ways to be helpful and generous towards others is to listen, offer compliments and be sincere. Networking is not all about making business contacts for jobs; you can offer valuable gestures of kindness and generosity. Remember, you’re establishing good relations with people and opening channels for mutual benefit.

5. Follow Up

People hand out business cards for a reason. Maintain your address database and stay in touch with those which whom you’ve met. Note everyone’s birthday and send a “Happy Birthday” email on their special day. Or, use current events as a reason to make contact. For example, touch base if they’ve had inclement weather in their area or forward a relevant, interesting article their way.

Of course, a little preparation goes a long way. Before the conference, research keynote speakers and others who will be in attendance. Set goals and identify those that you’d like to meet. Plus, you can always establish connections via social networking websites beforehand. With these simple tips, you’ll be armed with the knowledge and techniques to make networking work in your favor.

Claudia Vandermilt is a skilled project manager with many certificates from Villanova University. She attends conferences and networking events regularly.

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This entry was posted on Thursday, January 6th, 2011 at 7:02 am and is filed under Career, Job Search, Networking, Social Media. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.