The Connectors
Maribeth Kuzmeski
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. The Connectors shares the tactics of developing profitable business relationships as told to author, Maribeth Kuzmeski, by some of the world’s most successful business people, entrepreneurs, founders of famous companies, politicians and more. Learn how to build the kind of high-quality relationships that lead to c-suite positions, lifelong clients, and endless referrals.
You might not be the type of person who loves to socialize, attend big parties, and network whenever you get the chance. But to be a great connector, you don’t have to. Successful connectors who would be classified as introverts often will enter into a social situation with a plan for those they want to meet and connect with. And, a plan almost always produces better results than going into a networking event or other meeting just “winging it”. To effectively connect with another person, it doesn’t matter whether you are introverted or extroverted; what matters is that you’ve spent some time thinking about which relationships are most vital and have a plan for reaching them effectively.
So, do introverts connect better than extroverts? Sometimes, yes. Probably the nation’s best known networking professional came to the realization that he is an introvert! Ivan Misner, PhD, founder of BNI and the author of 11 books on networking, shared with me in an interview I conducted for The Connectors that he discovered he’s actually an introvert. What? Misner said that his wife of 20 years told him during dinner one night that he displayed many introvert tendencies. Misner was shocked! How could the founder of the largest networking organization be an introvert? “It struck me why I started BNI,” Misner said. “I was naturally uncomfortable meeting new people. BNI created a system that enabled me to meet people in an organized, structured, networking environment that did not require that I actually … talk to strangers.”
Introverts, if they really want to make networking successful, will go into the event with a plan of action. What’s your plan?
Maribeth Kuzmeski is President of the consulting firm Red Zone Marketing, Inc. Maribeth and her firm work with entrepreneurial-minded corporations and salespeople on unique marketing messages, strategic marketing planning, recruiting, and business growth. Maribeth has written 7 books including And The Clients Went Wild! (Wiley), and The Connectors (Wiley). Maribeth is an international keynote speaker rated as a Top 25 C-Suite Speaker as seen in Meetings & Conventions Magazine. She is a regular media contributor appearing on Fox News, ABC, NBC, USA Today, The New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Wall Street Journal, and Forbes. Maribeth is also very involved in charity and has her own foundation supporting youth leadership and education, The Red Zone Leadership Foundation.
