所谓“拓展人脉”，你是否犯了这些错？

Networking is a major part of growing a small business. If you don't get out there to meet and mingle with your target audience, your peers and leaders in your industry, you are severely limiting possible growth opportunities for yourself and your business. Whether you are networking at small business conferences, industry trade shows or various types of events in between, it's important to present yourself professionally and confidently.

Are you networking successfully? Well, if you make any of these five networking mistakes, chances are you are not making the best first impression.

We may be in the technology era where we never leave home without our smartphones and spend more time with our devices than other people, but that doesn't mean virtual business cards have replaced traditional ones. Sure, there are a myriad of apps out there that provide an alternative way to share contact information while networking, but that doesn't mean paper business cardshave lost their value.

Trading physical business cards while networkingcan be a powerful touchpoint that can amplify your first impression. Plus, business cards are still expected and treated as the norm in many professional settings. Not to mention an effective business card can be a powerful part of your brand that makes your business memorable.

While not having any business cards to hand out is a major networking mistake, having unprofessional business cards that you created yourself is even worse. Just because you can buy perforated business card paper that works in your printer does not mean you should. Even if your design skills are up to par, it is almost always obvious when a business card was not printed professionally.

Business cards are very affordable, and there are many services that provide design templates and even custom design services for a reasonable fee, so there is no reason to print your own business cards.

Networking is all about getting your business in front of people that matter, but networking situations can often be a lot like speed dating. When there are a lot of people at an event who are interested in making the rounds to meet as many people as possible, you will have a very brief period of time to introduce yourself and make a great first impression. This is why you absolutely must have an elevator pitch.

An elevator pitch is one- to two-minute speech that provides a succinct overview of your business, products or services. The goal is to introduce yourself and your business quickly in a way that is both engaging and memorable. If you don't have one, you should write your elevator pitch today.

Remember in high school how we all tended to stick with our groups, rarely venturing into other cliques? Sticking with what we knew may have helped us survive the teenage years, but it makes for very inefficient profession

While the actual event is the part of networking that usually consumes most of our time and energy, successful networking doesn't end there. In fact, it's what happens after an event that can determine the success of your networking efforts. If you don't follow up with new contacts you meet during the event, you and your business will probably be quickly forgotten. Whether you follow up by phone, through email or by adding people you met as connections on LinkedIn, an appropriate　follow up process after networking is vital.