Networking Like a Pro - A Review

It seems in today's high tech world, a great deal of promotion and networking is geared toward online readers and businesses. But, the world does not begin and end with the internet-we tend to forget about the original form of networking which is face-to-face.

Networking Like a Pro is not only a reminder that face to face business networking is still alive and healthy, but in many businesses it is also a necessity. And it, along with online networking is a skill like any other that needs to be learned and honed. The co-authors took great care to cover all facets of the networking arena and show that whatever your method or focus, creating social capital is a necessity.

To better understand the importance of networking, the co-authors compare social capital to financial capital. While financial capital is material wealth, money or property, social capital is, according to Networking Like a Pro, "the accumulation of resources developed in the course of social interactions, especially through personal and professional networks." They go on to explain that "these resources include ideas, knowledge, information, opportunities, contacts, and, of course, referrals. They also include trust, confidence, friendship, good deeds, and goodwill."

It's also understood that social capital can actually lead to financial capital as the subtitle of the book describes, Turning Contacts Into Connections. The essence of our marketing endeavors is to sell our services or products; those we come in contact with, whether online or fact-to-face, are possible customers, resources, or contacts leading to referrals.

Networking Like a Pro covers a wide-range of networking topics: The Networking Mind-Set; Your Networking Strategy; Networking Face to Face; Making Your Network Work; Secrets of the Masters; and Is Your Networking Working? Each of theses topics is thoroughly examined and explained through analysis, step-by-step instruction, conversational examples and even diagrams.

In Part III, Networking Face to Face, the co-authors examine: Joining the Crowd; The 12 x 12 x 12 Rule; Where's Your Attention Focused?; Telling Your Company's Story; and Quantity is Fine, But Quality is King. This section is so detailed it provides networking mixer diagram configurations with explanations on how to read a room.

In the chapter, Telling Your Company's Story, the co-authors delve into the unique selling proposition (USP) which every marketer must have. A good USP is a memorable one sentence pitch that "simply tells people what you do, in a manner that gets them to ask how you do it." Each section is conveyed in the same meticulous manner; nothing is left to guess-work.

I was impressed with Networking Like a Pro. It provides a tremendous amount of practical information in an understandable format. Co-authors Misner, Alexander and Hilliard created a comprehensive book that covers networking strategies from A - Z. It explains with great detail the ins and outs, and tricks of the trade of Networking Like a Pro and turning contacts into connections.