By Anissa Starnes, Director, National Organizations for Constant Contact

There is no way to calculate the magnitude of new connections that are made every day on social media platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn, but what about face-to-face chance meetings? Do those still happen? Absolutely!

You never know when your next best client may be standing right next to you in the line at the grocery store or at the local farmer’s market or sporting event.  You should always have your 30-second elevator speech prepared to market yourself and your services, in case someone is a potential client. And let’s face it, most people are potential clients — either themselves or someone they know.

Another trick is to always have business cards with you even if you aren’t officially “on the clock.”  Even with the rise of social media connections, old-school printed business cards still work. They can serve as a reminder to the person that you just met that they need to reach out to you, and sometimes that reminder comes later, when they pull the card out of their purse or pockets when they get home.

Master networkers are always on the lookout to make connections with people and for people and you can do it too.  Here is a blog post with more tips on becoming a master networker:
blogs.constantcontact.com/networking-secrets.