If your competitors are beating you to the most lucrative deals, it could be they're better at pressing the flesh. Wooing potential clients over drinks or dinner is as much a part of a banker's job as making formal pitches.
But if your networking is not working, help is at hand. Next month the London Chamber of Commerce is running training sessions on: ?How to work a room with ease, confidence and results.?
The courses claim to tell all you need to know about how to impress people at parties. The first day's session will cover networking at cocktail receptions. The following day, attendees can learn the radically different skills needed to network at sit-down functions.