Every business trip you plan should have multiple agendas. Deals on the table may be the motive. Nourishing your network should never rank far behind.

Say you’re going to Omaha or Tampa for an industry event. On your list of 100 top customers, customers #14 and #37 are there. Can you squeeze in a visit? Do you know the name of the hottest restaurant in town should lunch prove doable?

Wedge in opportunities to visit promising, though not top-of-the-list, prospects. That’s often how second-tier customers morph into the first tier.

By the way, before you land in Omaha or Tampa, reach for more than that breath mint. Surf Omaha.com (with news from The Omaha-World Herald) or TBO.com (with stories from The Tampa Tribune). You’ll be electrifying with the the local buzz.