It truly is who you know in determining how successful you will be in your business. In spite of the news you hear from the media every day, 2009 can be your best year yet.

Marketing is the life breath of business. Now more than ever, we’re all looking for way to make our marking budgets stretch.

Networking and creating powerful relationships with others whom you can support in growing their business and they can support you is one of the very best ways to create business. When I say networking, people think of going to a chamber of commerce event, feeling uncomfortable, eating food you don’t want out of nervousness and waiting for someone to come up to you and talk.

They picture leaving with a pocketful of business cards from people they barely remember and go home, rubber band them together and put into a drawer some where, never to be seen again. Then they wonder why networking does not work for them.

Networking is a skill and it can be learned. When you become proficient, you will notice your business begins to improve over time. Another mistaken concept about networking is that it is an event. You do networking and you get more business. Not exactly how it works.

Successful networking is a process which occurs over time. If you are expecting instant results, you may likely be disappointed. Like most things in life the more you put into it, the more you will get out of that. The quality of networking you do determines the quality of the referrals you receive. And most importantly, successful networking begins with giving; with your commitment to provide highly qualified referrals to the people in your network. Networking with an attitude of “what’s in it for me” is bound to fail.

I have developed what I call “The Seven Fatal Errors of Business Networking” and they are:

The Seven Fatal Errors of Business Networking

1. Not following up.
2. Not having a contact management system.
3. Not being consistent.
4. Selling your self first.
5. Giving up too quickly.
6. Not having a plan.
7. Not understanding it is your best marketing tool.