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Each year, a few days before New Year’s Eve, I head off to my mountain retreat in Big Bear Lake, California, to recharge my batteries. It’s a great opportunity to spend time with the family and prepare for the onslaught of the coming year. It’s also a good time to give some thought to the vision you have for your business and life over the next year. It’s hard to hit a target you’re not aiming at. The new year is a great time to think about some of your plans and goals for the next 12 mo...

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Have you ever heard someone in your network say, “If you don’t do one to ones effectively, you might as well talk to yourself”?  Well, it really is true–if your one-to-one meetings seem more like a waste of time than productive, relationship-building, referral generating sessions that equal time well spent, I highly recommend you watch this fantastic video. In this short video, Lawrence Conyers of UK based Anson Corporate Media, who is not only an experienced networker but also a gifted and c...

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Marketing isn’t something I was always confident about.  When I first started out in business, my degrees were in Political Science and Organizational Behavior.  I had very little marketing experience until I went to work for a transportation company in Southern California and, within a two week span, went from a role in purchasing to a significant role in marketing–a huge change that was an even bigger learning experience. My marketing experience was trial by fire and reading.  I just started reading ...

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In this video, my Business Networking and Sex co-authors and I explain the very different ways in which men and women shop for any given item and, aside from learning a thing or two from this one, I guarantee you won’t be able to keep from laughing at Frank and Hazel’s antics! After watching the video, come back and leave a comment . . . do you think the observations we talk about in this video ring true in your experience?

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I’m excited to tell all the readers of this blog that my next book, Business Networking And Sex (not what you think), will be released in January.  There was a substantial amount of survey data(*) that my co-authors and I were unable to use in the book so we plan on sharing much of that data on the BusinessNetworkingAndSex.com blog. The following table shows the response to a question about having a “system to track money” in relation to whether or not the respondent felt that networking has ̶...

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    The new video for International Networking Week 2012 has just been released! This short, 9-minute video, sponsored by Referral Institute (www.ReferralInstitute.com) and Entrepreneur Press (www.Entrepreneur.com), explains how the week of February 6th-10th, 2012 will bring about great opportunities for businesspeople around the world and increase worldwide awareness about the powerful benefits of business networking. 2012 will mark the 6th annual celebration of International Networking Week which is now r...

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            I received an e-mail this year from a man named Robert and it contained an excellent question.  The full message read: Good morning, Dr. Misner. I was wondering if you could answer a question for me. When it comes to networking and being a connector, how do you handle requests from people you barely know (or don’t know at all) who ask you to give them the names of your contacts so they can connect with those people for their own ventures or projects? For example, I rec...

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I’ve been following the development of online business networking for several years now; particularly at the inception of sites like Ecademy.com and LinkedIn.  That said,  I’d like to state for the record: If you’ve had any lingering thoughts that social media is just a fad, you may want to lose them. Are you aware that LinkedIn’s IPO (Initial Public Offering) has a valuation of 4.3 billion (USD)?  That’s right, I said BILLION.  If you haven’t been taking social media seriously...

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(Dr. Thomas K. Connellan, New York Times Bestselling Author) I’ve been recommending a book by Tom Connellan, Inside the Magic Kingdom, for years and I have great respect and admiration for Tom’s wisdom and his work–today, I’d like to share with you a guest blog written by Tom.   The Next Big Thing Is Small, Completely under Your Control Something You Can Do Right Now Which Produces Massive Results in 71 Days Could you improve some aspect of your personal or professional life by 1% by this...

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Social capital, otherwise known as the value behind your social contacts, can be an extremely important resource in both business and life.  If you take as much care in raising and investing your social capital as you do your financial capital, you’ll experience benefits that can greatly enrich your life as well as multiply your material returns many times over. In this short video, I explain that you don’t have to purposely become a networker to reap the benefits of social capital and I outline the four...

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The best referral efforts I’ve seen happen by design, not by accident or wishful thinking.  Many business people view word of mouth somewhat like the weather: “Sure, it’s important, but what can I do about it?” Referrals and word of mouth can be planned and nurtured.  Anyone, including business owners, entrepreneurs, sales representatives, staff employees, even individuals serving in a volunteer capacity in any field, can accomplish plenty with a well-structured and systematically executed referral plan f...

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At a recent event in San Diego, I asked one of the best networkers in the United States, Kathryn Lodal, to talk about the ability to be truly engaged, the attribute she considers to be the most important in a networker. In this video, Kathryn and I discuss the importance of being genuinely engaged and involved in the networking process and Kathryn explains the three most critical aspects in becoming an engaged networker. Watch the video now and then offer your thoughts about it in the comments section . . . what do y...

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As part of the survey for the book, Business Networking And Sex (not what you think), my co-authors and I asked several questions which weren’t used in the final manuscript.  The survey was open to the public and was conducted with over 12,000 business people from every populated continent in the world.  One of the questions we didn’t use in the book was “What types of organizations do you belong to?” (note that respondents were able to pick more than one). We also asked a question that was used in the ...

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Have you ever been to a networking event and purposely avoided someone you really wanted to talk to because you were embarrassed you couldn’t remember their name?  Well, if you’re not wearing a name badge at networking events, other people could be avoiding you for this very reason! In this short video, my friend Kevin Barber and I explain why name badges are an extremely important tool for effective networking and why you should always be sure to wear a name badge at networking events. Do you have an ex...

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I recently read an article in FORTUNE magazine entitled “OMG!!! The End of Online Stupidity?” The article was written a few years ago but it stated that “internet veterans have long complained about the steady erosion of civility — and worse, intelligence — in online discourse.”  I couldn’t help but think that things haven’t gotten much better in the last few years. It never ceases to amaze me how some people behave online (especially if it is anonymous)!  For exampl...

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Just last month I posted a blog about how to grow business and derive identity-building, brand-boosting benefits through writing (CLICK HERE to view the blog post) and today I want to piggyback on that concept. Whether you’re an experienced writer or you’re just beginning to dabble in writing in an effort to build your personal or business brand, understanding the importance of storytelling can transform your writing into highly effective material. In this video, professional editor and author Jeff Morris...

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The third quarter survey of the BNI Business Index was not very promising for business around the world.  The survey included responses from over 1,200 business people representing every populated continent in the world. The number of people who said that business was growing or growing substantially in the third quarter of 2011 dropped to 66.9% compared to 70.4% in the second quarter of 2011.  More notably, the number of people who said that business was declining or declining substantially almost doubled from 5.4...