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1. Start your engine with a name badge, business cards, and a 7-9 second elevator speech. Your name badge is a conversation starter and helps people remember who you are. Make sure you have plenty of attractive business cards with a holder. Now what are you going to say when you are asked what you do? You only have 7-9 seconds to hook a person's interest. You don't have to real them in just yet.

2. Enter the room with smile, style, and success. Your smile attracts people and lets them know you are open for connection. What you wear and the colors you wear communicate how professional, personable, and playful you are. Choose your image wisely. Finally, your entire body language needs to exude success!

3. Act like a host to get the most. Don't sit in the corner of the room waiting for people to come to you. Go greet people as they arrive. Help introduce, direct people and answer questions.

4. No shame if you forget the name. I hate it when I forget someone's name, but we are human. Ask for a business card. Ask a third party what the person's name is before you talk. Use self effacing humor in regards to forgetting someone's name. My favorite is introduce them to someone else and let the two people say their names in front of you.

5. Exchange business cards. Be sure and give two business cards. One is to keep and one is to give away as a referral. Also make a big to do about something specific on the other person's business card. It's a slap in the face when you don't even take the time to look over a business card.

6. Listen and glisten. Ask open ended questions and encourage the other person to talk about their business, their family, their children, their pet, their vacation, their struggles, their dreams. You will create a new friend immediately.

7. Touch base to stay in the game. Send an email or card for follow up. This sears your self into the other person's mind like a steak on a hot grill. The follow up might just turn into a phone conversation, lunch together, or opportunity to make big money.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Brent O'Bannon, "The Balance Buddy", is an author, therapist, speaker who helps people discover their happy healthy balance. To learn more about his book, Balance Matters and sign up for FREE tips like these, visit his site at http://www.brentspeaks.com.

NOTE: You're welcome to "reprint" this article as long as it remains complete and unaltered (including the "about the author" info at the end), and you send a copy of your reprint to brent@brentspeaks.com.