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Today I have invited professional coach and trainer, Jill Simpson, from DEVA Training in Kilmarnock, to share her 5TopTips on business networking. Watch the video or keep reading for Jill's insight into how to make networking more enjoyable and effective.  If you are a networking newbie and not a natural extrovert then the prospect of walking into a room full of strangers is likely to be a daunting and intimidating prospect. But like most new experiences, once you get started you will probably relax and enjoy yourself. Just forcing yourself to do it is the major issue. To effectively get over that barrier it helps to be prepared so keep reading and you should pick up enough to not only enjoy networking but also make it effective for your business. For more networking tips check out my post featuring Janet Torley from Events for Business. Looking for books on business networking? These Amazon links may help, otherwise keep reading.               No one goes ne

Today I welcome Janet Torley to my blog. Janet is Chairman of Federation of Small Business - East of Scotland and owner of Events for Business , the event management specialist for business to business. I first encountered Janet at the 2012 Lanarkshire Business Show, one of many business and networking events she has organised across Scotland. With countless hours of networking experience and a bulging contacts book if anyone can give good practical advice on how to network it has to be Janet. So here are Janet's five top tips on how to network effectively at business networking events.             Networking can and should be really simple and really enjoyable and my top tips are very, very simple. Number 1 : Just do it! You might find the idea of walking in to a room full of total strangers daunting but go on, put an event into your diary and just go. Number 2 : Before you go make sure you have enough business cards. Take twice the number of business cards