This article was originally published on January 28th, 2011. And after doing months of press for Networking in the 21st Century, it has proved invaluable! It seems that Good Press is the holy grail that every company and organization is chasing after these days. From the the biggest multi-national corporation to the newest one-person start-up, everyone is looking for that elusive media fix. Because of that, there is an overabundance of books/articles/websites that all promise to share their “secret” to getting media attention (most of them extolling the virtue of their particular style of press release writing). Mark Mathis’s Feeding … [Read more...]
Get Clients Now – C.J. Hayden
This article was originally published on August 1st, 2008. And I still use a modified version of her 28 day plan on a monthly basis! Some books are great because they make you look at things in a completely new way; others because they reinforce what you already think and do. Get Clients Now! is really powerful because it does both at the same time. I found myself nodding my head repeatedly as C.J. went though ideas and tools that I use already and that I recommend to my clients. At the same time, she was able to challenge some of my preconceived notions and bring some fresh air to my own marketing. Get Clients Now! is essentially a … [Read more...]
Are you the Right Kind of Networker?
What kind of networker are you? In my experience, people fall into one of two categories. It’s an incredibly important distinction. The professionals in the first category put in an enormous amount of effort and still fail miserably at building their network. Those in the second find their careers blossoming because of their business relationships. Transactional vs. Relational Networking The Transactional Networker The first type is the transactional networker. People that follow this philosophy see networking as a series of brief encounters. And the goal of each encounter is to get something from it. These are the people at … [Read more...]
Relationship Selling – Jim Cathcart
This article was originally published on April 23rd 2008. Sales skills are still a critical component of career success, no matter your title, position, or role! It’s pretty obvious that there are a lot of sales books on the market. If there is any doubt in your mind, just look at the bookshelf full of them at your local Barnes and Noble. I tend to read less and less of them, because once you’ve read twenty, you realize they all say the same thing. I picked up Jim’s book because I was recommended to it by a client. Most of my work is focused on improving the person beyond the sales process, but it’s still important to look at the … [Read more...]
Little Red Book of Selling – Jeffrey Gitomer
This article was originally published on January 16th, 2012. Even though I don't often write about sales, on some level, all networking and communication is based on our ability it influence. This is a great place to start! I have a shelf in my office full of sales books and they pretty much all say the same things. So these days when I read another book on sales, what I'm looking for are the few nuggets that stand out and make the lightbulb go off. It might be a reminder of something I already knew, or a different way of looking at a part of the sales process, but it's a piece of actionable information that will make a difference in … [Read more...]
Endless Referrals – Bob Burg
Ask any salesperson or business owner what their three biggest challenges are, and one of them will be “finding new prospects.” Millions (if not billions) of dollars are spent every year in order to market, advertise, and sell products and services. Much of this is wasted, though, because it doesn’t actually lead to the relationships that create sales. Endless Referrals fills an important role by acting as a sort of almanac for salespeople on different ways to prospect and bring potential clients into their pipeline. In fact, I think the book should be called Endless Prospecting, because it covers way more than just referrals. This … [Read more...]
Drive – Daniel Pink
Quick note: Daniel wrote a blurb for Networking in the 21st Century, but I wrote this review over 4 years ago, so I'm not biased in it. Big Thought When it comes to motivation, there's a gap between what science knows and what business does. Our current business operating system – which is built around external, carrot-and-stick motivators - doesn't work and often does harm. We need an upgrade, and science shows the way. This new approach has 3 essential elements: 1)Autonomy...2)Mastery...3)Purpose. (right from Dan's recap on page 203 – thanks, Dan!) Ideas, Implications, and Questions I think that Drive has big implications for how … [Read more...]