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Last week I posted a blog about how cultural differences play into global networking and how understanding those differences becomes very important as we do business around the world. On a related note, I’d like to offer some valuable tips I’ve picked up from a handful of networking experts in Asian countries–today I’ll focus on China and Vietnam and in the coming weeks, I’ll revisit this topic and provide the additional advice which comes from experts in Malaysia and Japan. One of China...
Understanding cultural differences when doing business around the world is becoming more important in a global society. Even within large countries like the United States, there are definitely differences from one region to another. When you go beyond that and look at one country vs. another, the differences become even more impactful on business. When we concentrate on similarities with each other in business, the differences aren’t that important. Problems arise when the differences appear to be all t...
In this short video, I share a portion of the results from the survey of 12,000 businesspeople on which my most recent book, Business Networking and Sex: Not What You Think, is based. The results I discuss here indicate that men and women act differently when it comes to the VCP Process®, transactions, and relationships. Based on your experience, would you say these results jive with what you’ve found to be true in the networking world? Please share your thoughts in the comments section–I’d lo...
Who’s in Your Room?03/26/12
“Who’s in Your Room?” This was the question asked by a close friend of mine, Stewart Emery (pictured in this blog) at a presentation of his that I attended a few months ago. He posed an interesting series of questions and ideas to the audience; “What if you had to live your life in one room? Whoever you want to interact with in life is in that room. There is only one door. It is a one-way door. Whoever is in your room, stays in your room forever. Whoever comes into your room impacts yo...
It was truly an honor to be interviewed on the “Today” show last Tuesday (2/21/12) by Kathie Lee and Hoda. It was such a great experience that I’m going to post a blog next Monday about the interview and what happened behind the scenes. For now, I’d like to share the 4-minute video clip of the interview here and please feel free to leave your feedback in the comments section–I’d love to hear your thoughts on the information that was discussed in the interview! CLICK HERE, or o...
I recently received an unsolicited e-mail message from a man named Chris. The message stated: I watched the “video for International Networking Week and… I found it personally offensive and amateurish. I just thought you would like some feedback. Consider that when you make your presentation on the Today Show [next week].” OK, so I should begin by saying – I don’t know Chris. I’ve never met him and have never talked to him. Why he would feel compelled to send me such a ‘pleasant’ communicati...
At a recent Referral Institute conference, I had the opportunity to record this short video with my good friend Paula Frazier, a Referral Marketing expert based in Virginia. She wrote a fantastic article in the recent Amazon bestseller Building the Ultimate Network about how to build, educate, motivate, and activate referral sources and that’s exactly what she discusses in this video. As Paula says, “Whether you’re in front of one (person) or 100 people, you’re always in a position to build ...
People often ask me how to move a relationship with someone they just met to the point where the new contact feels comfortable passing them a referral. I always say that the best way to get to this next referral-passing stage depends in part on how you came into contact with a person in the first place. Let’s say you met while giving a brief presentation to a group of people who are in your target market. Assuming you did a good job, then you absolutely have the possibility of receiving a referral, even tho...
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...
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...
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...
When Martha Taft was a young girl in elementary school, she was asked to introduce herself to a group of people. “My name is Martha Bowers Taft,” said the child. “My great-grandfather was President of the United States. My grandfather was a United States Senator. My daddy is Ambassador to Ireland. And I am a Brownie.” I thought of that quote when I recently heard the following story from Nanette Polito from Cincinatti: In this day of technology, our younger generation understands all the social media and ho...
Diversity and Networking10/17/11
When it comes to business networking, you never know who people know. One of the important keys to being successful at building a powerful personal network is diversity. In running a large business networking organization for the last two decades, I often speak to people who tell me they want to network exclusively business professionals who have similar clients. Although it is good to include these people in your personal network, networking with them exclusively would be a tremendous mistake. It is human natu...
What Is ‘Active’ Networking10/03/11
I was talking with a business woman recently who is fairly new to networking and I was explaining that networking is a contact sport–that it requires people to get out there and actively and strategically build relationships. At one point she asked, “Well, what exactly does that involve? . . . What defines ‘active’ networking?” This is actually a great question because it opens up a discussion about not only ‘active’ networking but also about ‘passive’ networkin...
Years ago, an associate of mine who read one of my books and attended some of my training sessions called me and said, “I really love your material, but why don’t you put more emphasis on your ideas about ‘creating your identity as a brand’ and how it affects your networking efforts? These ideas have made a huge impact on my business, but I don’t hear you talking about it very often.” I admitted that this associate of mine was right. I haven’t talked a lot about identity in my material, and I agree ...
