Strategies: Don't get barbecue sauce on your business card

— -- Your neighbor invites you over for a swim party. You arrive — in your most unflattering bathing suit, with a beach ball in one hand and a beer in another. Then you discover your neighbor's cousin is the purchasing manager for the largest company in town. They buy widgets; you sell widgets. What do you do now?

Another time, an important client invites you and your family to a barbecue. You realize there are likely to be other prospective business contacts there, and this could be an important time to meet people. Do you bring business cards with you? How do you politely hand them out? And do you bring your kids, who've been acting up all morning?

Summer presents many sticky situations for entrepreneurs. Many of them involve an uncomfortable mixture of barbecue sauce and business. Here's how to gracefully network at an informal social event:

•Be sociable. Remember, it's a social event. People don't come to barbecues or pool parties to conduct business, and they're not in the same frame of mind they would be in at an industry event. So you need to approach every meeting with a person, no matter how important they are to you, first from a social angle. Don't rush into discussing business.

•Make small talk. If you identify a potential business contact at a social event, engage them in conversation that has nothing to do with business. Easy ice-breaking topics include sports, summer blockbuster movies ("Have you seen the new Indiana Jones yet?"), vacations, even the weather. Look for something you have in common to establish rapport. Do you both love or hate the Yankees? Have kids the same age? Enjoy gourmet cooking? Begin to build a social relationship — that will take you a lot farther than jumping on them with business topics.

•Mingle. Found the perfect person who could help your business? Great. Spend some time with them, establish a relationship, perhaps sit with them over lunch. But be sure to mix with others. Don't monopolize someone's entire time, or you'll seem like a pest and overeager.