Networking Like A Pro
Turning Contacts into Connections
By: Ivan Misner, David Alexander, Brian Hilliard
Published: October 2009
Format: Paperback, 288pp
ISBN-13: 9781599183565
ISBN-10: 1599183560
Publisher: Entrepreneur Press
"The truth is that referral networking is becoming an accepted and important marketing strategy in businesses worldwide", write networking professionals Ivan Misner, David Alexander, and Brian Hilliard in their comprehensive and highly practical book Networking Like A Pro: Turning Contacts into Connections. The authors share their proven techniques for building your contact list, leveraging more referrals, and for quantifying the results of your networking program.
Ivan Misner (photo left), David Alexander, and Brian Hilliard understand that many people have tried many ideas for enhancing their networking skills, but found that nothing seemed to work. The authors dispel many of the most common myths and misconceptions that have grown up around networking, and describe how those mistaken ideas have contributed to the lack of success experienced by many business people. Instead of perpetuating outmoded ideas about networking and referrals, the book presents a complete system for meeting contacts both online and face to face, for turning those contacts into referrals, and then tracking the results. Along with these basic skills, the authors demonstrate the importance of building social capital and enriching the four streams of a networking river of contacts to multiply any networking plan.
David Alexander (photo left), Ivan Misner, and Brian Hilliard recognize that networking is not only a proven business building technique, but also that its importance will grow even more in the future. They describe a networking group of contacts as an ever widening and always flowing river. This large river of networking contacts is built from four tributary streams. The four are:
* Casual contact network
* Knowledge network
* Online Network
* Strong contact network
Brian Hilliard (photo left), Ivan Misner and David Alexander know that each of these groups of people provides their own strengths of referral to the network, generating ever more referrals and opportunities to create more social capital. The book shows the reader step by step how to meet more people, where to meet them, and how to make the most positive and memorable impression possible.
For me, the power of the book is how Ivan Misner, David Alexander, and Brian Hilliard go far beyond most networking books. Very often, networking and referrals are treated as an afterthought, and not given the critical importance they should considering their business value. The authors not only describe the various aspects of networking, and the various techniques for building and farming a network, but they also share the reasons why each of the steps is crucial to success. The book is about developing a strategy for creating, managing, and leveraging an entire networking system, including tracking and quantifying its success. The authors delve into the differences between online and offline networking, as well as pointing out the subtle variations between types of contacts.
I highly recommend the essemtial and must read book Networking Like A Pro: Turning Contacts into Connections by Ivan Misner, David Alexander, and Brian Hilliard, to anyone who is serious about taking their networking skills to a much higher level. The book is not a panacea, but if the reader follows the steps and formulates a networking strategy, the system described in the book will give your company more business. Not only does the process enhance the company's profits, but also shows how to measure the results of the program.
Read the business building book Networking Like A Pro: Turning Contacts into Connections by Ivan Misner, David Alexander, and Brian Hilliard, and stop making the same old networking mistakes. Put this proven process to work for you, and watch your contact list expand, your referrals take off as never before, and your company bottom line grow. Networking is the wave of the future, so get started by reading this valuable book today.
