Interacting with potential contacts

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This is a mixture of a couple different catagories so I put it in here.

Please bear with me as I set up the scene.

A company that I'd like to do contract/freelance work with on occasion temporarily stopped in my hometown recently.
They are set to stay for about a week from the day they came.

I stopped by the local headquarters and spoke with the person in charge of hiring. She said she didn't have any open positions, but she would let me know if something comes up. I also asked if it might be possible to hang around and see how they operate. She said yes.

I went on a tour and watched as they worked yesterday. I learned quite a bit and I'm going to try to go back tommorow.

I met several new people and got one business card. The problem is my lack of social skills make it difficult to interact with some of the employees, both the everyday people and the higher ups (its the sort of operation where everyone has to work together so it's okay for me to talk to the higher ups).

So my question is do any of you have tips on how to interact socially with these potential new contacts in a business that depends on who you know.

I need to be able to make friends with the lower level people just for the sake of making friends as well as benefiting from their experiences.

I also need to make friends with the execs because one, they seem nice and two, they can potentially give me a job.

Guys, help me out here.

I have a chance to make a lot of connections here and AS is getting in the way.

SUGGESTIONS PLEASE

Well, I've found that pushing your strengths is always a good idea. If asked, mention that you like to "jump right into the trenches" and get busy. Or "I always want to get everything done up front".
As far as interpersonal communication goes, CEOs are alpha males. They want to know that you're a team player and won't challenge their authority. Tell them a story about how you once worked with management to settle a difficult issue.
Business wise, they always desire consistency over punctuated maximum. Let them know you will spend the time, but that you have plenty of other social commitments that are a priority as well (just none that would interfere with the job).

Good luck!

Thanks. Keep the suggestions.

I am really bad at names, faces and roles. If I could, then I would have a photo of each person, their name, job title and anything significant about them - including things like their children's names where it has come up in conversation. Most people I see who are successful networkers (I am not, at all) seem to be really fluent with using other people's names, getting the other person's first name into the conversation, remembering appropriate personal detail and smiling. Some mobile phones have good contact books that can store this kind of detail, and are easy to look up without being too noticeable.

I don't think it is at all easy to mimic the nodding, postural reflection and other body-language cues that other people use naturally, but I think it is possible to become more aware of what your own body does naturally to reflect the other person, and to ease into it more.

The main thing, I think, is to only do what comes naturally. Don't copy other successful people, because copying badly will not work. Use notes or whatever helps your own natural social behaviour.

The company has packed up the temporary office and moved out.

I have a few business cards and plan to send emails out to each of the people who gave me a card.

Obviously, a thank you and nice working with you is in order. But should I also include some of my qualifications for jobs that they can't actually hire me for, but can pass my name along to people who can?

This particular business is hard to get into if you don't know people. Often times, people start by doing grunt work. I want people to know that while I don't mind doing the grunt work, I am willing and more than able to perform higher level functions (which really aren't that hard if you've done it a few times, even if it's on a smaller scale).

What do you think??

Keep the suggestions flowing please

I've noticed that a lot of places are really interested in self-improvement. Tell the potential employers that you are very serious about continuing your education, and you'd like to know about their educational benefit packages. Mention that education is priority number 1 in your life -- they like that stuff.