This is a caution to salespeople that real prospecting cannot be substituted through increased networking. While networking can provide access to referral partners and new contacts, it rarely leads directly to new business opportunities.  As sales pressures have increased and will continue to increase, so too has the number of networking events made available to participate in.  If you really want more business opportunities, you need to get in front of the decision makers and not in front of the same old networking crowd.