So often I see crowds of people at "networking events". Have you ever noticed they're all looking in one direction?... Towards the stage.
Whether by subconscious genius or dumb luck, I came across the secret to networking early in my entrepreneurial life. Bring them to you. I began attending every meetup group in the city that remotely related to startups and tech. I would meet 2 or 3 solid connections (if I was feeling REALLY social), and 3 hours of my night/week was now in the bag "building my network". Bring them to you. I continued this for over a year, but as many entrepreneurs do, I wanted to create my own events. I hosted a launch party for my new office, started a couple meetups, and even hosted other people's events in our space. Bring them to you. This is when I gradually realized that I would not only meet multiples of 2-3 people in one night, people would also show up already knowing who I was, and sometimes even approaching me with a sense of predetermined acceptance that I was credible and potentially important for them to meet. Bring them to you.
Rather than reiterate this "tip" in another anecdote, or try to emphasize or explain another way, I think there is little else to explain. Either go to 100 events and make connections, or host your own and have hundreds of pre-qualified connections show up! Bring them to you.