Books to help you network better
Networking is a physical activity, but it does require some off-field preparation. It is a constant practice guided by a plan and backed by a strategy. I share with you some books that can be bought off Amazon and can help you to prepare and be a better networker.
1. Networking Like a Pro: Turning Contacts into Connections
by Ivan Misner (Author), Brian Hilliard (Author)
Grow Your Business with the Right Connections. It’s easy to feel like networking is a waste of time, energy, or money-but that just means you’re doing it wrong. In this new edition of Networking Like a Pro, networking experts Dr. Ivan Misner and Brian Hilliard reveal key networking techniques to help you grow your business. In this comprehensive guide, you’ll discover strategies that go beyond collecting business cards and turn networking into a profitable resource for your business.
Dive into this book and discover how the most successful networkers leverage their brand, expertise, and customers to achieve greatness in life. You’ll learn how to: Attract the right people with a carefully crafted Unique Selling Proposition Gain your most valuable customers with referrals from networking partners Make your best first impression with the 12 x 12 x 12 Rule Choose networking events and activities that best fit your needs Build and expand your network with a calculated follow-up strategy Avoid behaviors that damage your reputation and push potential partners away Plus, gain access to worksheets, templates, and the Networking Scorecard designed to help you get the most out of your network. If you’re ready to build connections that turn relationships into profitable customers, the Networking Like a Pro is for you!
2. Taking the Work Out of Networking: Your Guide to Making and Keeping Great Connections
by Karen Wickre (Author)
The former Google executive, editorial director of Twitter and self-described introvert offers networking advice for anyone who has ever cancelled a coffee date due to social anxiety — about how to nurture a vibrant circle of reliable contacts without leaving your comfort zone.
Networking has garnered a reputation as a sort of necessary evil in the modern business world. Some do relish the opportunity to boldly work the room, introduce themselves to strangers, and find common career ground — but for many others, the experience is often awkward, or even terrifying.
With compelling arguments and creative strategies, this new way to network is perfect not only for introverts but for anyone who wants a less conventional approach to get ahead in today’s job market.
3. Networking to Get Customers, a Job or Anything You Want
by Chris Haroun (Author)
This book has over 200 pages plus over 2 hours of video lectures and 15 downloadable templates and 11 exercises to help you master networking and achieve your most ambitious professional and personal goals. Are you ready to take your career to the next level by getting meetings with people you never thought you could get access to? In Chris’ latest book (called “Networking to Get Customers, a Job or Anything You Want”), you will learn how to significantly increase your chances of getting a job, customers and anything you want by networking. To learn more about Professor Chris Haroun and his company, please visit HarounVentures.com
4. The Fine Art of Small Talk
by Debra Fine (Author)
Nationally recognized communication expert Debra Fine reveals the techniques and strategies anyone can use to make small talk — in any situation. Do you spend an abnormal amount of time hiding out in the bathroom or hanging out at the buffet table at social gatherings? Does the thought of striking up a conversation with a stranger make your stomach do flip-flops? Do you sit nervously through job interviews waiting for the other person to speak? Are you a “Nervous Ned or Nellie” when it comes to networking? Then it’s time you mastered The Fine Art of Small Talk.
With practical advice and conversation “cheat sheets,” The Fine Art of Small Talk will help you learn to feel more comfortable in any type of social situation, from lunch with the boss to an association event to a cocktail party where you don’t know a soul.
5. Networking That Really Works: Do it Right and Get Results
by Andrea R. Nierenberg (Author)
Find the people who will help you achieve your goals and dreams. Grow your network by building on the strengths you already have. Keep your network alive and vibrant for a lifetime. Learn that true Networking is a Life skill and that the ‘opposite of networking is not working’. Discover why the word “Networking” is often misunderstood. Realize that 80% of new jobs and opportunities are never advertised- Networking will open those doors. Networking will help you build the career you want. And the life you want. Networking IS building mutual relationships with great people, sharing what you have to offer them and discovering how you can both help each other. This book is built on easy practice techniques to make you more comfortable and tools to organize your process so you can use your limited time most efficiently. Above all, discover what Networking really is:- Giving first, learning from the remarkable people you meet and building relationships that benefit everyone. Real answers to the ‘networking’ questions everyone asks Real solutions to the ‘networking’ challenges everyone faces
6. Business Networking and Sex (Not What You Think)
By Ivan Misner (Author), Hazel M. Walker (Author), Frank J. De Raffelle Jr (Author)
It’s no surprise that communicating with the opposite sex can be tricky. Hidden in the glitches are often misleading assumptions about each gender that beg for help. Finally, help is here.
Learn the secrets to accurately reading between the gender lines, and uncover a new edge for your business — the power to effectively talk business and successfully network with the opposite sex.
7. 29% Solution: 52 Weekly Networking Success Stories
by Ivan Misner (Author), Michelle R. Donovan (Author)
In many ways, success at networking is the uncommon application of common knowledge. Most people understand that networking is important to their success? they just lack a step-by-step process to get the results they want. Almost no one really implements a comprehensive methodology that will build a business through networking. Thus, the need to network is “common knowledge,” and the development of the methodology required to be successful at it is the “uncommon application.”
By reading this book, you will experience the true essence and meaning of networking. The 29% Solution gives you the answers to two conflicting questions that a business owner or salesperson faces every day: How can I tend to my existing clients while at the same time network for a new business? and, Should I place a higher value on my current clients or on new clients?
8. Avoiding the Networking Disconnect: The Three R’s to Reconnect
by Ivan Misner (Author), Brennan Scanlon (Author), Christine Luken (Editor)
Authors Dr. Ivan Misner and Brennan Scanlon are experts in the area of business networking. Their careers have focused on teaching entrepreneurs, business owners, and salespeople how to build and leverage professional referral networks. Their combined fifty years of experience and ideas have been funneled directly into this book.
In Avoiding the Networking Disconnect, they share their networking insights, providing you with stories, statistics, and strategies for creating more sales through a tried-and-true approach that champions connections rather than competition.
At the heart of this approach are the “three Rs.” Similar to the three Rs of education (reading, writing, and arithmetic), the three Rs of business networking — relationships, referrals, and results — must be consistently cultivated to avoid the networking disconnect.
The book provides you with the five steps for building and maintaining strong business networks — steps that go far beyond just showing up at events and passing out your business cards! It will take some effort, and the process won’t always flow smoothly, but with the aid of Avoiding the Networking Disconnect, you’ll soon be reaping the generous benefits of a business approach based on sharing and trust.
