The Connectors: How the World's Most Successful Businesspeople Build Relationships and Win Clients for Life | Date: 28 April 2011, 05:36
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The Connectors: How the World's Most Successful Businesspeople Build Relationships and Win Clients for Life
By Maribeth Kuzmeski
* Publisher: Wiley
* Number Of Pages: 272
* Publication Date: 2009-09-22
* ISBN-10 / ASIN: 0470488182
* ISBN-13 / EAN: 9780470488188
Product Description
Learn the relationship–building secrets that lead to lifelong clients, repeat customers, and endless referrals
In today’s commoditized marketplace, no matter what product or service you sell, there?s probably someone somewhere able to offer it cheaper, faster, and maybe even better. So how do you differentiate yourself from your competitors? The Connectors shows that the only thing that truly sets you apart is the quality of your relationships with your clients and customers.
Everyone knows that relationships are important in business. Yet most people would admit that their relationships could be better—but don’t spend time working on the underlying skills. This book explains how to develop better, more profitable connections—as illustrated proven by some of the world’s most successful professionals. Even if you?re not a “people person,” you can dramatically grow your business or your career through a few simple approaches to relationship–building.
The Connectors presents a five–step methodology that lead to lifelong clients, repeat customers, and endless referrals. Inside, you’ll learn how to:
• Stop networking and start truly connecting
• Create an avalanche of referrals and an army of happy customers
• Become a “connector,” even if you’ve never been a “people person”
• Find your social IQ—and improve it
• Put relationship–building principles to work daily
• Focus on others and reap the rewards yourself
• Ask the right questions—and sell without selling
• Differentiate yourself through the impact you have on others
In The Connectors, Maribeth Kuzmeski, founder of Red Zone Marketing, LLC, and consultant to Fortune 500 firms, shows you how to build profitable, long–lasting business relationships.
From the Inside Flap
What makes the world?s most successful individuals so good at their jobs? What do they do that others don?t?
The Connectors answers those questions with the kind of straightforward wisdom that business strategists so often overlook. Forget marketing tactics or business school best practices. Those are handy, but it?s really people—and the relationships you build with them—that form the cornerstone of long–term success, sales growth, and excellence. Whether you?re a salesperson, an entrepreneur, or an executive, your ultimate job is to bring in clients and keep them.
Competition is brutal. No matter what you sell, there?s probably someone somewhere selling it cheaper and faster than you can. So how do you differentiate yourself from your competitors? The Connectors uses practical exercises and case studies to show you how to set yourself apart from the rest by building high–quality, profitable relationships with your clients and customers.
The Connectors presents a five–step methodology that helps you build the kind of high–quality relationships that lead to lifelong clients, repeat customers, and endless referrals. Inside, you?ll learn how to:
*
Stop networking and start truly connecting
*
Create an avalanche of referrals and an army of happy customers
*
Become a "connector," even if you?ve never been a "people person"
*
Find your social IQ—and improve it
*
Put relationship–building principles to work daily
*
Focus on others and reap the rewards yourself
*
Ask the right questions—and sell without selling
*
Differentiate yourself through the impact you have on others
In addition, The Connectors includes a wealth of valuable relationship–building tools, including tips on using software; smart strategies for keeping in touch; speaking tactics that really work; and self–coaching exercises that will change the way you develop relationships.
Maribeth Kuzmeski is the founder of Red Zone Marketing, LLC, which consults to Fortune 500 firms on strategic marketing planning and business growth. A member of the National Speakers Association, she speaks worldwide on the topic of professional services marketing.
Summary: Valuable Book to Read and Re-read
Rating: 5
The Connectors is a nice read for those who have year's of experience as well as those who are just beginning their careers. The information taken from the most successful business connectors provides actual tips and tools to use. The book provides a workbook section for you to analyze your own style and self-coach. Worth reading (and dog-earring)!
Summary: This Book Contains Excellent Insight into Relationships
Rating: 5
I have read many books on the subject of leadership and marketing and found this book to be very informative. There are two things that I particularly liked.
The first was Chapter 6 which is devoted to the often lost art of listening. In this busy work, we often get so focused on the task at hand that we do not spend enough time listening to our clients and colleagues. This chapter reminds us of the unique power of listeing and the leverage that it can create in building relationships.
The second is the use of the self-assessments throughout the book. At the end of many of the chapters, the author invites the reader to make an honest assessment of themselves in certain areas such as social intelligence, the questions that they ask, etc. If you are reading a book like this, then you are looking for ideas on how you can improve your ability to connect. These assessments point you in the right direction.
I highly recommend this book as it contains many ideas how one can become better connected.
Summary: Lots of old, extremely good techniques modernized and repackaged
Rating: 3
I received a review copy of Maribeth Kuzmeski's new book, "The Connectors." The book is essentially about good salesmanship. She draws from true-life examples and brings them to life for the reader using short quizzes at the end of each chapter. These quizzes are basically designed to help you to be a better connector -- a connector being a good sales person, a person who deals effectively with other people, especially in business.
The first thing I noticed about the book is that it's not terribly well written. Some of the sentences are clunky and full of unnecessary words. Much of the writing doesn't flow well.
What the author calls the "Red Zone Formula" (the basis for the book) is no more than good salesmanship and was taught decades ago by Elmer Wheeler and many others before and after him. The only difference is the author modernized these methods, has given examples from her own life and business, has made the book interactive (by way of brief quizzes, etc.) and repackaged them as the "Red Zone Formula", which I suspect, is to promote her business, "Red Zone Marketing."
There's certainly nothing new nor wrong with all this. It's just that the "Red Zone Formula" of salesmanship is simply basic, intelligent selling -- a formula used for generations to great success. And I applaud the method. It's just not new.
The only two possible exceptions to that might be the last two chapters. There is a chapter on networking and one on coaching your way to better relationships.
In the final chapter, "Financial Adviser Relationship Strategies", the author gives some rather helpful and somewhat unique information and techniques for getting referrals and for marketing in a bad economy.
The book has an index, which is a good thing and which many books today unfortunately do not have.
In summary, the book, while suffering from some blemished writing and using updated yet old material, also offers some value to the reader in the way of a few new, rather unique techniques. It's not a
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