In any profession, industry, sector, walk of life, there is a distribution curve of performance.

There's that 2-3% of people who bring up the rear. They never do anything and they're tough to manage. Like pushing milk uphill. These people sell the least, object the most, create the most problems, take up most of their bosses time and are the least motivated.

Likewise there's that top 2-3% of star performers who are simply world class. These people make the most money, sell the most stuff, have the most influence, get the best results and seem to have the most luck.

Then of course you've got that middle swathe of people who are average. Perhaps slightly above, perhaps slightly below. As well as applying to certain industries, it applies to certain skills. In every team there will be the best performing networker, presenter, seller, typist, coffee-maker etc.

If you want to be a better networker, you can do it. If you want to be world class, that top 2%, here are three world class tips...

Let's talk about referrals. You do all this networking to either win direct business or cultivate relationships that will lead you to direct business. This second strategy is referrals.

The problem is that few people can tell you what a referral is.

Getting terms mixed up can make you sound a bit confusing when you ask for help. What you think is a referral might be a lead to someone else. You can see how it will help to get people on the same page. Would it help you to get a definitive answer on this?

Let's talk about presenting yourself in an attractive, compelling way.

You see, people need to 'buy you' before they buy what you're selling. People will always buy people before they buy products and services.

If everything else is equal, people will buy from the people they like rather than people they don't like. So you've got to understand that 'selling yourself' is a powerful weapon in business.

So if you want to sell yourself and make people buy you, what can you do? Three steps:

Why do people go networking? Forget the silly reasons like 'because we have to' or 'because everyone else is'. Forget 'because I have nothing better to do' or 'because it's the only way to win business'.

I'm talking about developing your networking strategy so you have proper, strategic reasons to attend networking events and spend time with online networking sites. I'm talking about walking into networking events with a real purpose, a proper reason for being there and a set of networking goals or objectives. In other words, a powerful 'reason why'!

There are lots of good reasons to do business networking, but every single one boils down to either PLEASURE, PROFIT, PROFILE or PROVISION.

Let's break these down for you so that you can make that transition from amateur networker to professional networker...

Just been reading a great blog post The Most Valuable People in Your Network by Rob Cross. In Malcolm Gladwell's Tipping Point, he talks about the critical number of 150.

When companies, churches, gatherings, networks and communities expand beyond that point, it takes a different level of managing to make things run smoothly. But with technology, online social networking and mobile tools, the networking landscape is changing. So in 21st century networking, what is the optimum size of your business network?

Ever considered that your best customers can still be prospects? If you've got something else to sell them, or you need to sell them again, you can't take it for granted that just because they've bought from you once, they'll do it again, no questions asked.

You've got to take them through some kind of sales cycle and treat them like prospects. They need woo-ing, romancing, nurturing, qualifying and questioning.

Came across this great story from a Christian website - they do a really inspiring and motivational ‘Word for Today'. It's a story that tells you the power of a well-worded question!