Networking events are, unquestionably, the finest way on earth to meet water filtration system salespeople. If that's not what you're there for, rest assured, you will be assaulted by a dozen or so Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) salespeople who have some "amazing" or "incredible" opportunities they would love to tell you about, preferably this very moment! (Can I finish my doubled-fried chicken part, there, Bob?...yeeeks).
I, personally, reserve usage of the adjectives amazing and/or incredible for the very rare instance in which it is apropos. I've yet to trip over a skin cream or multivitamin product that was anything more than "relentless" or "suffocating"- as opposed to, say, a "once in a lifetime opportunity".
Back to business networking. Maybe there was a time when these scheduled events included largely people looking to meet new people and extend their business network. My experience of recent years tells me those days have been Betamaxed....and this is coming from a guy who sells stuff for a living. (Note to Self: the expression Betamaxed has been Betamaxed).
I know there are people who still effectively use such events to network and possibly even meet potential clients. These folks network effectively because they know how to listen, they're not there to see how many business cards they can collect and they genuinely care about other people. And they have sufficient body armor to fend off the swarming MLM'ers From the Depths of Hades.
