Networking, in relation to running your business, is not just attending events that allow you to meet new contacts and exchange business cards. Networking is any time you talk about your business. Whether you are at a social event and you get chance to bring up wonders of being a small business owner or you bump into an old college friend and you swap stories about what has happened in your lives since you last saw each other, anytime you get to tell someone about your business, that is networking and you should jump at chance.

Even when you chat on email discussion lists that you belong to and use your signature line, that is networking. There are so many opportunities to network every day.

But (and I am sure some of you can relate to this) hardest part of networking can be “what do I say?” How do you let them know great aspects of your business without over doing it or sounding full of yourself?

Well, there are many contributing factors when it comes to saying just right thing at just right time, factors that will influence how well you impress others and whether you leave a positive lasting effect. First and foremost, what are circumstances of your encounter? Are you at an organized networking event or are you chatting with a friend? More often than not, your attitude and professionalism will be determined by your surroundings.

The reason I mention this particular commercial is not because of number of times it was aired but rather because of message it was sending. This company knew importance of potential clients hearing something about their product or service that impressed someone else.

It’s called Word of Mouth and it can make or break success of almost every aspect of our lives, especially our business lives. In our personal lives, if we like something, we will talk positively about it to others. This, in turn, will show them that this is something good and that they should check it out.

It could be anything from a favourite plant that flowers throughout growing season, to a fabulous doctor who has bedside manner of an angel. If we are happy about something, we will likely talk about it to others.

In our business lives, positive word of mouth generates referrals and referrals generate business. So, word of mouth is one of most important marketing tools that can contribute to our success. What could be better than a customer mentioning how pleased they were with a service you provided to others who may need this service? Free advertising… that’s what word of mouth is.

Not only do we love to be recipient of positive word of mouth, we should also realize that others are in same boat as us and rely on word of mouth to help them succeed as well. So, if you like something, be sure to tell others about it, especially if they are in need of something you had a great experience with.

For example, for months I have been trying to find a backup software to use on my new computer. I tried several and was not impressed with how they performed or extent of their customer service. It would sometimes take over a week to get a response. Well, I finally came across this little, cheapy program that said it would do what I wanted it to do. I figured it wouldn’t hurt to give it a try. And… I was very happy with outcome. At one point I had problems and in one afternoon, after several emails back and forth with author of software, I was up and running again… no problem. This tiny little company impressed me so much that I have recommended his software to as many people as possible…including you. Check out Backup Assistant at http://www.graffman.net.