Power Networking
Power Networking
But a funny thing happened as we read the first half of the book – we found out how inefficient we were with these seemingly basic skills. The first thing the authors did was give us a healthy dose of healthy networking reality by pointing out that networking isn’t about leveraging relationships to your own good but rather helping others. It sounds a little corny but as you read and study the Fisher and Vilas words you slowly begin to realize that by giving power away you actually gain both personally and professionally.
Unfortunately we began reading the book one of our last evenings in our hotel room at a trade show. Thinking back over the previous three days of hectic activity we realized how we could have maximized more of our meetings. For example, since several of our clients are Japanese firms we’re accustomed to the courtesy of exchanging business cards with both hands and looking at the cards carefully before beginning a conversation. We realized that the exchange had become so automatic that we were no longer really studying the business card so we could really identify with the person.
Then there was our habit of writing a cryptic note on the business card so we could remember what we had promised the individual. Usually by the time we got back to our office and went through the cards to follow through for the individual we found the shorthand we had used was so bad we didn’t really remember all of the details of our discussions. How much easier and more complete it would be to take the authors’ advice and write the notes in more detail after the conversation rather than right at the moment.
In today’s internet-enabled world it’s too easy to dash off a note and shoot it across town, across the country or half way around the world. But they reminded us how much more impact a quick, handwritten note has on the recipient. During our first 15 years in the business we always used special notepads to write out a quick thank you note to someone. Sometimes we’d clip them to an article we had found we thought they would find of interest or we’d drop a note to an editor or analyst thanking them for the meeting or a recent article.
After our first reading of Power Networking, we sent off five such notes. We won’t say the recipients fell all over us but we have to say the act made us feel better about ourselves and our relationship with the editor or analyst.
But the Internet is an integral part of our personal and professional lives and the authors have done an excellent job of discussing how we can leverage email in our networking activities. We sometimes forget that everything we do electronically conveys an image of who we are and what we stand for. Even though email is very impersonal, what you say and how you say it electronically also spreads your reputation across the country and around the globe.
Power Networking is not a one-time read book. Actually, we’re now on our third time through the book and have found something new or been reminded of activities we have to follow through on each time. The book does an excellent job of showing you how to surf the Internet to gather information, find opportunities, make connections and be a resource to others nationally and internationally.
The book made us realize that power networking is something you have to consciously do all of the time, not just at conferences, meetings or conventions. Fisher and Vilas help you break down the roadblocks to successful networking. The book gives you step-by-step guidance on how to meet anyone you really want to meet once you realize that you know someone who knows someone who knows the individual and that people really will help you…if they are asked properly.
A rut that we know we have fallen into and we are pretty confident you have gotten into as well is your introduction of yourself and what you do as a public relations professional. Fisher and Vilas give you a fresh view of how you introduce yourself and how that introduction is received and interpreted by others. Frankly just understanding and practicing how you can improve your introduction is worth the price of the entire book…it really does open your eyes.
After your first reading of Power Networking and start putting their ideas and recommendations into practice, you realize that by helping others you really can generate a continuous flow of business referrals as well as improved relations with members of the press. You come to realize that by helping editors and reporters – even when your company won’t immediately benefit – you find that your name is favorably passed to other journalists. You quickly find that developing relationships with editors and reporters becomes easier and more natural.
As we noted earlier after three readings we’ve found a number of ways to help our personal and professional relationships. We’ll probably read Power Networking at least two more times in a month or two just to reinforce many of the concepts in our mind. Then we’ll probably put the book aside and not touch it for six months.
After all, power networking takes a lot of reinforcement before it becomes a way of life. Keep in mind that power networking is all about giving and we have to say that Fisher and Vilas have packed a lot of guidance into this insightful and easy to read book.
###########
Power Networking - To learn more about this author, visit Andy Marken's Website.
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Because of the recent articles on the inability, reluctance and/or fear of public relations people to honestly build relationships with members of the fourth estate; we wanted to see if Donna Fisher’s and Sandy Vilas’ second edition of Power Networking might not be useful new and seasoned professionals. Next to good writing skills one of the strengths of almost every good PR person has or develops is his or her ability to exchange business cards and phone numbers and even “work the room” at business and social events.
But a funny thing happened as we read the first half of the book – we found out how inefficient we were with these seemingly basic skills. The first thing the authors did was give us a healthy dose of healthy networking reality by pointing out that networking isn’t about leveraging relationships to your own good but rather helping others. It sounds a little corny but as you read and study the Fisher and Vilas words you slowly begin to realize that by giving power away you actually gain both personally and professionally.
Unfortunately we began reading the book one of our last evenings in our hotel room at a trade show. Thinking back over the previous three days of hectic activity we realized how we could have maximized more of our meetings. For example, since several of our clients are Japanese firms we’re accustomed to the courtesy of exchanging business cards with both hands and looking at the cards carefully before beginning a conversation. We realized that the exchange had become so automatic that we were no longer really studying the business card so we could really identify with the person.
Then there was our habit of writing a cryptic note on the business card so we could remember what we had promised the individual. Usually by the time we got back to our office and went through the cards to follow through for the individual we found the shorthand we had used was so bad we didn’t really remember all of the details of our discussions. How much easier and more complete it would be to take the authors’ advice and write the notes in more detail after the conversation rather than right at the moment.
In today’s internet-enabled world it’s too easy to dash off a note and shoot it across town, across the country or half way around the world. But they reminded us how much more impact a quick, handwritten note has on the recipient. During our first 15 years in the business we always used special notepads to write out a quick thank you note to someone. Sometimes we’d clip them to an article we had found we thought they would find of interest or we’d drop a note to an editor or analyst thanking them for the meeting or a recent article.
After our first reading of Power Networking, we sent off five such notes. We won’t say the recipients fell all over us but we have to say the act made us feel better about ourselves and our relationship with the editor or analyst.
But the Internet is an integral part of our personal and professional lives and the authors have done an excellent job of discussing how we can leverage email in our networking activities. We sometimes forget that everything we do electronically conveys an image of who we are and what we stand for. Even though email is very impersonal, what you say and how you say it electronically also spreads your reputation across the country and around the globe.
Power Networking is not a one-time read book. Actually, we’re now on our third time through the book and have found something new or been reminded of activities we have to follow through on each time. The book does an excellent job of showing you how to surf the Internet to gather information, find opportunities, make connections and be a resource to others nationally and internationally.
The book made us realize that power networking is something you have to consciously do all of the time, not just at conferences, meetings or conventions. Fisher and Vilas help you break down the roadblocks to successful networking. The book gives you step-by-step guidance on how to meet anyone you really want to meet once you realize that you know someone who knows someone who knows the individual and that people really will help you…if they are asked properly.
A rut that we know we have fallen into and we are pretty confident you have gotten into as well is your introduction of yourself and what you do as a public relations professional. Fisher and Vilas give you a fresh view of how you introduce yourself and how that introduction is received and interpreted by others. Frankly just understanding and practicing how you can improve your introduction is worth the price of the entire book…it really does open your eyes.
After your first reading of Power Networking and start putting their ideas and recommendations into practice, you realize that by helping others you really can generate a continuous flow of business referrals as well as improved relations with members of the press. You come to realize that by helping editors and reporters – even when your company won’t immediately benefit – you find that your name is favorably passed to other journalists. You quickly find that developing relationships with editors and reporters becomes easier and more natural.
As we noted earlier after three readings we’ve found a number of ways to help our personal and professional relationships. We’ll probably read Power Networking at least two more times in a month or two just to reinforce many of the concepts in our mind. Then we’ll probably put the book aside and not touch it for six months.
After all, power networking takes a lot of reinforcement before it becomes a way of life. Keep in mind that power networking is all about giving and we have to say that Fisher and Vilas have packed a lot of guidance into this insightful and easy to read book.
###########
Power Networking - To learn more about this author, visit Andy Marken's Website.
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John PowerJohn Power, founder of Biltmore Franchise Consulting, has extensive experience developing and marketing franchises and business opportunities. He has been in and around franchising for over twenty years. From 1980 through 1990 he conceptualized, organized, and developed the American Video Association. He grew AVA to 2,000 national members, before selling the company it 1990. It was later merged into another home video marketing company. From 2000 to 2005 he worked as a contract marketing and human resources consultant to several local and national companies. In 2005 Mr. Power began working as a franchise development consultant on a full-time basis. Since that time he has helped more than three dozen companies initiate and develop their franchising program. He notes that there are many companies interested in developing a franchise program, and who need his specialized assistance. Mr. Power is a “hands-on” franchise consultant. He said, “I am the ‘nuts and bolts’ person who tends to the details for my clients.” Mr. Power holds a B.S. degree with a major in Marketing. See: www.biltmorefranchise.com You may contact Mr. Power at: jpower@biltmorefranchise.co - Visit John Power's Website |
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Kim CastleWith nearly two decades in the advertising and design business, with clients like Domino's Pizza, General Motors, Direct TV, Pedigree, Wolfgang Puck, Higher Octave Music, Hollywood Celebrity Products, Disney, and Paramount, as well as thousands of entrepreneurs around the world define, structure, communicate, and position their business for greater profits, BrandU(R) co-creators Kim Castle and W. Vito Montone discovered that entrepreneurs could experience the same power that big brands command for a fraction of the cost with the world's only process-based results-drive Integral approach to business creation. BrandU(R) is helping entrepreneurs grow with the power of extreme clarity from idea...to brand...to market(TM) and helping one million entrepreneurs become successful and whole so that they can make a difference in the world. Are you one of them? If you want to experience clarity all the way to the bank(TM), get started now at http://www.brandu.com. - Visit Kim Castle's Website |
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Anne BarrAnne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website |
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Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
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George LudwigGeorge Ludwig is a recognized authority on sales strategy and peak performance psychology. An international speaker, trainer, and corporate consultant, he helps clients like Johnson & Johnson, Abbott Laboratories, Northwestern Mutual, CIGNA, and numerous others improve sales force effectiveness and performance. Though it's George's strategies and processes that help corporations increase productivity and performance, it's his tremendous energy and dynamism that spark the transformation. Again and again, clients remark on his amazing ability to unleash human capacity and inspire men and women to break out of their comfort zones. The result is a whole new type of salesperson. His customized presentations teach achievers to make stunning advances in their lives. From helping salespeople realize cherished dreams to helping corporations exponentially accelerate revenue streams, George Ludwig leaves audiences and individuals empowered, emboldened, and clamoring for more. George is the best-selling author of Power Selling: Seven Strategies for Cracking the Sales Code and Wise Moves: 60 Quick Tips to Improve Your Position in Life & Business. - Visit George Ludwig's Website |
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Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
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