Books – Strategic Connections & Make Your Contacts Count

Strategic Connections – Publication Date: January 2015

Available at your local bookstore or through Amazon.

Today’s organizations are collaborative. With old command-and-control methods replaced by openness and transparency, networking has become an essential professional skill—expected of everyone, at every level.
Unveiling eight indispensable competencies for the new Network-Oriented Workforce, Strategic Connections provides practical advice for building better, more productive business relationships. Readers will discover how to.

– Commit to a positive, proactive networking mindset
– Align networking activities with individual and organizational objectives
– Leverage their contacts by organizing them into strategic groups
– Earn trust—a prerequisite for collaboration
– Boost their social acumen and increase their likeability
– Master conversational skills and deepen interactions
– Employ storytelling to make communications memorable
– Use networking to deliver value to the company

Thanks to technology new contacts are only a click away. But the level of connection and collaboration required for real success demands advanced face-to-face relationship-building skills. This book gives you the tools you need to meet goals, execute strategies, foster innovation, and make yourself invaluable to your organization.

Make Your Contacts Count, 2nd Edition

Available at your local bookstore or through Amazon.

Building a network of contacts is the single most important thing you can do to protect and advance your career, and succeed in the business world. No matter what you do for a living, networking confidence and know-how will help you reach your goals. Filled with quizzes, checklists, and sample conversations, the book opens with a Self-Assessment so you can see which skills you’ve mastered and which ones you need to give attention to next.

– Avoid the top 20 turn-offs
– Master the six stages of relationship
– Make the most of events and memberships Answer, “What Do You Do?” in a way that builds trust and makes you memorable
– Join groups of people who are already talking
– Remember names and teach yours
– Decide what to talk about
– End conversations with the future in mind
– Become part of the “inner circle” in groups
– Increase your visibility
– Network inside your organization
– Find a job
And much more!!!!

Make WHO KNOWS YOU just as important as what you know and who you know!
“My colleagues affectionately call me “The networker.” In response, I smile and say, “I took a class and read the book. You can too! My networking skills are largely due to the tips I learned from Make Your Contacts Count.” Martha Miller, SMCG, LLC, Management and Consulting Group

“Chapter four alone of Make Your Contacts Count fulfills your promise: “We make networking an art . . . not an accident!” brilliantly. The targeted networking model and supporting information guarantee our members hit a bull’s-eye every time. Thank you.” Wendy L. Kinney, Executive Director, PowerCore, a “close-contact” networking and referral group in Atlanta.

“I recently started my own marketing strategy consulting firm after 15+ years in the corporate world. I found your book insightful, concise and above all practical. It helped me to create a networking plan that works for me. Thanks from a grateful reader.” Kathleen Malaspina, Principal, Malaspina Marketing LLC