There’s conference fees and travel costs – necessary expenses if you want to be at the places where your prospects and clients gather.

Non-profit charity events are great places to connect with influential people, but the donations requirements can be steep.

And then there’s the lunches, dinners and coffee meetings where you get to know people 1:1. These face-to-face activities can yield great results for your business and career, but they cost money, time and effort.

Prudent spending. I have become a little more prudent and thoughtful about the money I spend in business and in my personal life after recently completing a 21-day Financial Fast (see my blog post on lessons learned and daily recap that I posted on Facebook). While I will continue to invest myself in networking and relationship building, I’m challenging myself to be more strategic and money smart with each networking dollar invested.

How to get more R out of less I in the ROI equation. Let me share a few practical and motivating ideas on how you can save money on networking while still maximizing your benefit and return in this essential business and career-building activity.

1.  Use what you have. Review the groups and affiliations that you already belong to including chambers of commerce, professional associations, networking and leads groups. Honestly ask yourself if you have made the effort to get the most of these groups that you are already paying for. If you don’t show up regularly to meetings and events, you probably are not reaping the benefits that you had intended with this networking investment. Before you seek out new and better looking opportunities, put more energy into where you already belong. (this advice could also apply to your marriage)
2. Tap into your college alumni group. Don’t wait until your 25th reunion to reconnect with old college friends. Find out who’s doing what through your alumni association. Most alumni groups have on-line groups. Some have local chapters and regional meetings. You don’t have to be a big alumni donor to reap the benefits of associating with the best and brightest of your school.
3. Be opportunistic and fill the empty seat. Many companies will sponsor events and their employees will be too busy to attend. Seats go unfilled. It’s a crying shame. Check with our HR department or marketing department to see what events your company is sponsoring and see if you can get a seat at the table. Let your corporate buddies know that you are willing to fill in at key events should anyone cancel at the last minute.
4. Leverage social media. You can get tremendous networking mileage out of Linkedin.com using their free service. Re-connecting is made easy with their smart technology of suggesting connections for you. You can join discussion groups and get involved – all for free. With a little time and learning you can take your Linkedin presence to the next level of success. Read this past blog post I wrote – http://networkingahead.com/networking-how-to-increase-visibility-on-linkedin/
5. Ride share with people to networking events and conferences. You’ll save money on gas and car wear and tear while also enjoyed time in the captured environment setting of a commuter car. Read more about this ecological and smart business networking tip – http://networkingahead.com/networking-how-to-rideshare/
6. Meet at the public library for your networking 1:1 appointments. Libraries are great environments,  rich in resources. If you don’t like your local library, find one in a nearby community to call your home. Many libraries now offer cozy seating and encourage talking and noise. Many sport the popular Keurig coffee machines offering delicious brewed coffee, tea and hot cocoa for sale for a very low cost ($1 or so). You’ll save a bundle versus  meeting at a coffee house (A Starbucks Triple Grande Soy Vanilla Latte could set you back $US 6.25)
7. Take a walk and get some fresh air together. For your closer contacts, you might consider doing something athletic or physical together when you network such as taking a hike, walk or touring a public garden together. You can still talk business, but do so in a setting that might be more conducive to health and pleasure. And it’s free. Networking does not always have to involve food, coffee or alcohol.