PairUp matches business travellers headed to any destination.

How it works? Members start by uploading their current contacts from Outlook or other contact management tool they use, and can build their network from there. When planning a trip, users enter their travel data: departure and arrival dates and cities, and if relevant, the trade show or conference they’ll be attending. They can then select the contacts they’d like to track or meet up with: people in the destination city at the same time, those attending the same event, flying on the same day, or working for a specific company or in a particular industry.

Before you book your next trip, check Travel Tips & Tricks.

When looking to join a business networking group, keep in mind that in most cities you’ll have many different options to choose from. You can generally divide the choices into seven different groups, however, which will make your final decisions much easier to make. See the groups here.

Have you ever Googled your own name?
Search engines are becoming a more common tool to find information about people. Someone could be searching for you right now. It could be a potential employer, your current employer, an old friend, an old classmate, a date or a journalist. What will they find? Here are some tips and tricks to take control of what they will find.

If you have problems getting started with networking, this article “How to network: For Introverts” will be a good help and guide to get out there, and make some contacts. Read the article at businesspundit.com

Now is the time of giving, and this also reflects on your possibilities of getting closer to your customers. Sending a personal Christmas card (or holiday card) is a great way of saying thank you for the business in 2006, but before you get started, you might want to read the list of dos and donts published by Susan Ward.

Have you ever gone to a networking event, conference, seminar etc. and wondered where the people you really wanted to meet where hiding. The Spot Me PDA is about to change that. The size of a small PDA, it has the complete schedule and list of participants programmed into them, but the neatest part is its radar function which checks the surrounding area and tells you who is sitting near you. Plug in the people you want to talk to, and the thing will buzz when one of them are in your range. Send messages to them, set up appointments and exchange digital business cards.

Get more information at www.spotme.com

Owners, CEOs and Directors don’t let your Account Managers, Inside Sales, Support, Accounting etc. be the only contact that your customers has with your company, be accessible and interested. It will do wonders for your relationship with your customers. At the Danish Business Summit 2006 in Atlanta, Charlotte Jorst owner of Skagen Designs, explained about how her and her husbands close connections with their customers had always been a major contributor to their success. Skagen Designs sells more than 2 million watches per year, and still today Charlotte gets behind the counter at the major retailer stores, to secure mind share and to network with the people who sells her designs.

Hank Paulson Chairman and CEO of Goldman Sachs did just that (reached out): “When I got back to the office in January, I called 60 CEOs in the first week to wish them happy New Year. I had never done that before, but it was great. I asked them about their business and their relationship with Goldman.”

Read the complete article at “How I Work” at CNNMoney.com

The Internet offers powerful tools to help you find the right people, connect with them, and close deals with them quickly and cost-effectively. In this book “The virtuel Handshake”, They’ll give you all the tools you need to use the new generation of “Web 2.0 technologies”: blogs, social network sites, virtual communities, and many more.

For a limited time you can download it for free here…

“Travel on business often enough and it’s bound to happen: You have to travel somewhere with your boss — or his boss or their bosses. Any of these people can affect your career, for the better or for the worse. There is no question that it can be a time of added stress, but it can also be an opportunity to improve your position in the company.” By Terry Riley posted on MSN

And for all you bosses, be aware, we are prepared. Read the complete article and 7 tips here

CNNMoney.com reports that a new study published in “The Journal of Labor Research says that drinkers earn 10 to 14 percent more than those who refrain from drinking…Those who drink socially, for example, may have an easier time finding a new job if they had made more business contacts, the authors claim, or they might strengthen relationships with co-workers or clients that could ultimately affect their salary.”

Ok, before you start a rampage of alcoholism, it might be worth considering why people that are successful drink more. Maybe due to their success they have a higher disposable income and therefore they can afford partying and going out more often, so…did the chicken come before the egg or.. Anyways it’s a good networking rule never to drink alone.

Read the complete article here