As many other networkers are doing these days, I’ve jumped on the social-media bandwagon. LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter,….ah, Twitter.

I just had one of what I am sure are many distasteful experiences on Twitter. I was “spammed”by a follower. One of those, “you-can-make-money-on-the-internet-if-you-buy-into-my-scam” guys. I won’t identify him or her here since that would be like giving TV time to a streaker at a baseball game. Read More...

Pay attention to last words. Whether it’s a meeting with a customer, a lunch with friends or saying goodbye to your mom at the car door as you leave, last words are memorable and important.

It’s happened to me for years. I’ve spent hours with a client over lunch, discussing a project or agreement. It isn’t until we got up to leave that he leaned over and said a few key words, such as “you’ve got the deal,” or “the next time we meet….” or something similarly decisive. Read More...

A tale of two networkers from this past week.

My brother, Phil, closed on a new job this week using his internal network. He did all the cool things you need to do when you get a lead: researched the company, found out the leadership, did his homework on who does what there, what they do, audiences and customers. He directed his application to the key person he thought would be making the hiring decision. Then he did something else: he consulted his network. In Phil’s case, he talked to his internal network: brother, wife, son, friends. They gave him feedback on the next questions to ask, how to ask them, and reviewed what had worked (and not worked) up to this point. Read More...

Conversation is a two-way street. However, in the interest of networking effectiveness, you really need to be more of a listener.

Again, to quote the late Walter Cronkite, we need to be more interested than interesting. That is to say, listening, being interested, is by far preferable to working hard at being interesting. Read More...

With the passing of Walter Cronkite, the sharing and reporting of information has been discussed. Mr. Cronkite, being the reporter and editor he was, knew the difference between opinion and fact.

Whether it takes written form or conversation, relating information continues to change. Today’s world of instant information has put a different spin on things, but, ultimately, the concept shouldn’t have changed. Read More...

Every day that we wake up and go out in the world to engage others, is one more day of challenges. Some more challenging than others.

Friday was one of those. You’re at the end of the week and there are still two more events to get to. And you just are about ready to hang it up and be absent. Read More...

A great exercise in helping define your personal brand is to pay attention to what others say and note what they observe about you.

Our colleague, Robin McCasland of Buck Consultants, says to try this at home: sit with a colleague and use three words to describe each other. On paper: Read More...

The other day I witnessed one of the best examples of how to engage and move on with courtesy and kindness intact.

My colleague, Paul Fulham, and I were walking to lunch. Along the sidewalk, we were approached by a young man with a message who wanted to engage us in conversation. Read More...

Your personal brand is who you are to the world. It is up to you to define it and shape it…and control it.

Robin McCasland of Buck Consultants advises that there are five things to keep in mind when you are building your personal brand: Read More...

Keep in mind that relationship selling is just that–selling you, not a product or commodity.

If you are into networking to generate sales, be patient. And I’ll pull this word out–classy. If you go to an event with order pad in hand, well, knock it off. If the next words out of your mouth after, “Hi, may name is…” are either “where can I send my resume?” or “would you be interested in buying…” then you are not getting this. Read More...