Networking Effectively by Scott Bradley

The BEST Way To Lower Your Credit Card’s Interest Rates AND Increase Your Limits All With One Simple Phone Call!

Because I feel it is my duty to continually provide you with good content as readers of my blog, even though my posts are somewhat infrequent, I wanted to share this little tip with you that can literally save you thousands of dollars on your credit card bills.

Please let me know your thoughts on this video, and after you implement the same strategy, put in the comments the results you were able to received!

*Make Sure That Your Sound Is Turned Up*

How Strong Is Your Networking Gravity?

Liz Lynch was kind enough to send me a copy of her book Smart Networking, and she is just that…one smart networker! Her tag line says it best, "Attract a following in person and online."

I really enjoyed her book and recommend that you pick up a copy.

From the previous "networking books" I have read in the past, this one has a different and unique tone.

Not only does it go over the networking techniques we all know and love, but further delves into the likes of how to use social media to make powerful connections and increase your "networking gravity" as Liz calls it.

You will definitely get some great information out of this book including…
*How to effectively "pitch" yourself to new connections that you make.
*How to get over the initial fear of networking and putting yourself out there
*How to use the many free resources and tools on the internet to expand your network and do more business.

My review only touches the surface of this 180pg book, so I would recommend that you go and pick yourself up a copy at amazon .

Happy Networking and have a great rest of your day!

Are You Afraid To Ask For A Favor?

Imagine this …you meet a contact at a networking event and really hit it off with them. As you converse back and forth you find out that there could be a lot of potential synergies between the both of you and in return you will be able to help each other out.

You find out the new contact that you have created needs some help with a project and you know the exact person to introduce them to. You make it happen and the relationship turns out to be a success. The new contacts gets what she needs and is so thankful that you helped her.

As the weeks and months pass you fail to keep in touch with this contact that you helped…for no other reason other than you "were too busy" to stay in touch with them.

As you kick yourself for not sending the person an e-mail every two months to check in with them, or fail to send them a card every 3 months from time to time, you find yourself in a situation where the other person that you helped a year ago could definitely help you with a new project that you are currently working on .

As you go to pick up the phone and begin to dial the number, a hesitation strikes you and you think, "Hmm maybe I shouldn’t…I haven’t talked to them in over a year…it would just be too awkward."

As you put the phone down you find yourself saying…"Oh crap why the heck did I let this relationship run astray…that contact was such a great find…I am mad at myself for not staying in touch."

You begin to get so stressed out about getting this current project done, and it makes you even madder knowing that this contact could really help you out. As you begin to struggle to successfully complete this project, the thought of the old contact that you know can help you, for some reason cannot escape your thoughts.

You sit there wondering…"What should I do to call this contact, ask for a favor, and not make it sound so awkward?"

So I ask you…what would you do if you were in this exact situation ?

Networking is NOT About You!

"Networking is NOT about you…" I am going to say it again "Networking is NOT about you."

As you meet people in the business world and through all walks of life, keeping the universal truth that "networking is not about you" at the top of your mind is essential to your networking success.

It has been shown and known that when you do something nice for someone else, they will feel more inclined to do something nice for you in return…and the greatest thing about it is all you have to do is ask!

For those who begin networking and think meeting and building relationships with people is about "Using people to get what you want." I am here to tell you that this statement couldn’t be farther from the truth.

The belief above is totally bogus because just think…if you were a networker that just used people and didn’t give anything back in return, or put yourself first before the other person…the chances that the other person would want to help you again in the future is slim to none.

I don’t know about you, but every time I meet and get to know someone I am thinking to myself , "How can I help this person with their current and future endeavors?" If you noticed I am not thinking "How can I get this person to help me, and if they help me, how can I help him." Help a person to truly help them, not just to get something from them.

If you noticed the slight change in words , you will feel the difference as you say the two individual sentences to yourself. The first one feels giving and caring, while the second one feels completely and utterly selfish. Selfish people are not good networkers.

Now I am not saying, don’t have the motivation to get what you want out of a relationship, just put the other person and their interests first before you look to see how they can help you. The key here is timing.

The 4 Reasons Why Building a Solid Network is Essential to Your Future Success

1) Security

In a tough economy, especially the one we are in right now, finding a job or building a business is 10x more difficult. When you have a network it can help you get things done faster and far more efficiently than if you were to try and do something on your own. Being able to reach out to a trusted contact and ask them if they know anyone who is looking to hire someone in a particular field, or if they are looking to expand their business and you have services that could help them is truly priceless…you can’t put a price tag on those types of relationships.

2) A Source Of Help

Have you faced a challenge or obstacle before where you needed some professional council but didn’t want to pay for someones advice that you have had no previous history with? When you encounter situations like these, being able to reach out to individual connections in your network to ask them personal questions about a particular topic that you don’t feel as comfortable about is something that I enjoy doing often. Knowing that you can reach out to people that you know you can trust to get needed information that will help you move forward should definitely bring you peace of mind, and help you achieve anything that you truly set your mind to.

3) Help You Reach Powerful People

Have you ever wanted to meet someone in your niche where you would never be able to approach them directly because they were too "untouchable?" The greater amount of direct trustworthy contacts you have, the greater the chance you will be able to meet more powerful people. If you have a direct contact who is able to introduce you to a powerful person in your niche, you essentially ride the fast track to an introduction that you would have never been able to achieve by yourself.

4) Referrals

When you have your own business or practice, getting referrals from people in your network is always a good feeling. The greater the amount of direct contacts you have, the more likely you will get more referrals. When a contact trusts you enough to refer someone to you, I can guarantee you will never forget it…and when someone comes to you and needs their services, you will be sure to pass that contact their way as well.

“How to Get An Influencer To Review Your Book”

Are you looking to get big influencer’s on the net to review your book but are struggling to get commitments?

Is the thought of getting an influencer in your niche to talk about your book on their blog the biggest pipe dream of the century?

Well just recently The Startup Princess wrote a post about How to Get Someone to Review Your Book that I wanted to share with you.

With Mike Michalowicz’s book launch for The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur , I am dealing with a ton awesome of people every day. With each and every contact I am making I am looking to continually form win/win partnerships with all of them.

After getting off the phone with The Startup Princess she wrote this amazing post showcasing how much she appreciated how I approached her to help get Mikes book some awesome exposure on her blog.

Check it out!

If you haven’t gotten the opportunity to read The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur definitely grab yourself a copy on our website or on Amazon . The reviews that have come in on Amazon have been nothing short of amazing!

How to Win Friends Quickly and Lose Them Twice As Fast

As I sit down to write this blog post today…a whirlwind of feelings has come over me.

Feelings about…the election, feelings about the friends that I have, and further feelings about the friends that I have made in the social space.

In this social web we all have the same and equal opportunity to make connections so quickly …which can lead to so many positive things…while at the same time those connections we have created over a long period of time can also be lost so quickly by the click of a button, an UN-Follow on twitter or UN-Friend on facebook.

With the election in direct sight, the crazy economy, the barrage of media, the political ads that become so nausiating, the extreme campaign strategies by both parties and further the craziness over who will be the next president on November 4th…tempers are flying faster than white on rice …and are flying even faster in the social space on sites like twitter and facebook.

The reason why I titled this post "How to Win Friends Quickly and Lose Them Twice As Fast" is because that is exactly what has happened to me the past month.

What do you mean Scott?

Well, as someone who is not afraid to tell people my point of view or how I think, I have been pretty vocal about my political beliefs the past month through twitter and facebook…which after looking back on it I think has been a horrible mistake on my part because people who I thought were trusted friends and followers have UN-friended me and UN-followed me on twitter just for expressing my opinion.

And I have to honestly admit that I was a little obnoxious, and probably took it a little too far in the moment…because of my sincere passion about the future of this country…as I only want the best for all of us.

For most who have chosen to ignore me now, there were very few if any messages asking for understanding about why I believe or what I believe…just by a click of a button they made the decision to ignore me …and I guess put me on their personal "blacklist of people to never interface with again."

While this may seem "narcissistic" of me, and makes me look like I have the biggest EGO alive I have to be upfront and brutally honest with you and tell you that I HAVE taken it personally . I really thought some of the people who have chosen to ignore me were friends…some of them I have even spoken on the phone with and have had great conversations with.

As someone who respects other peoples political beliefs that are different than mine I always look to understand where they are coming from first. I welcome the differences and personally feel that we can learn from each other amid our differing opinions. Too often I have seen people shy away from this behavior either because they are scared, or worse they don’t even want to take the time to understand where the other person is coming from.

One person who I contacted on twitter about who they are voting for after Obama’s 30 minute ad replied back to one of my questions to her, "For those who want to have a political debate about the next president I am not going to have at it…if you are happy with the past 8 years of this country vote as you will."

Not only did this surprise me, but I really enjoyed this person’s tweets and what they were doing.

When speaking with someone who thinks differently from me I live by one of Stephen Covey’s 7-Habits, "Seek first to understand then to be understood." Sadly, for those who have chosen to completely wipe me off their "trusted contact list" the damage has been done and is probably not un-doable, and it breaks my heart to the core…and makes me want to kick myself in the ass for letting my emotional guard down for doing what I did.

Sadly regarding my actions on the social space, my naive 22 year old brain thought that people who were friends and followers would respect the fact that I think differently than them, and if they had a problem with it would contact me with their opinions to discover a deeper understanding for why I believe what I believe…further edifying the beauty of social media and the powerful 2-way communication channel that has been created for us to leverage to the nth degree.

To all of you I have offended I would like to say that I am sorry, and that I really screwed up bringing politics into the middle of our relationship. I don’t know if you will ever forgive me, and I can respect that if you don’t, but even so I just wanted to send my apologies to you from the bottom of my heart because offending you was never my intention, it was only to foster discussion and understanding between us.

What is really interesting about my behavior in a "self-analysis" kind of way…is that before the debates and the election started to really heat up, I never ever talked about politics with anyone. Because of how politics polarize people so quickly causing people to judge and say things they would regret later, I never broached the subject for this very reason…but when the twitter stream started to heat up during the debates …my crazy mind couldn’t resist the temtation to "join in on the conversation." And as I did…my twitter and facebook friends dropped.

Maybe you have a story you would like to share?

So the lesson?…Don’t talk about politics no matter what party you support…it will only lead to pissing people off and polarizing contacts which may not be a positive thing…

In the end, while you can’t be all things to all people…just keep your political beliefs to yourself because you never know who you may offend or worse…who will be adding YOU to their blacklist.

Economy Got You Down?

With all the bad news about the economy I thought it would be appropriate to share something with you that will not only brighten your day, but further brighten your entire month!

This video below is of Mike Michalowicz, The Head Toilet Paper Entrepreneur himself doing a 17 min video about WHY NOW is the best time to start a business, and HOW to do it in this type of economy.

With the media going crazy over the election and the bad economy I found this to be a bright spot amid all of the craziness we are facing as a nation right now!

Enjoy and feel free to share with your friends!

Tip’d, An Awesome New Website

On top of providing you with great information about helping you be better networkers I wanted to let you know about a new website out that is simply stated, "The New Financial Digg site."

The website is called Tip’d…and can be visited at http://www.Tipd.com

As the website says, "Tip’d is a community for financial news, ideas and tips."

After hearing about it this morning, (today is their public beta launch), I just had to share it with you because of the quality of the site and the information it will attract over the long run!

Check it out!

Networking Effectively + Toilet Paper Entrepreneur = Success! :)

Today is the launch of The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur by Mike Michalowicz !

Mike’s book is all about growing a business without money , experience or other “necessities” – because that is how Mike launched all of his companies (two of which have sold for millions by the way). In the book, Mike shows how, in fact, the lack of these things are your biggest strength. Check it out at http://www.ToiletPaperEntrepreneur.com or on Amazon.

To be frank with you, it is by far one of the best business books I have personally ever read . To paint the picture for you I will give you this analogy…

Rich Dad Poor Dad : Financial Education :: TPE : Entrepreneurship.

As a networker, I feel it is my obligation to let you know about things that will bring value to your life…especially amid the crazy economy we are currently in.

The book has already been endorsed by billionaire Bill Bartmann , Donny Deutsch from the Big Idea, and Scott Allen who writes the entrepreneur column for about.com.

Click Here to View Bill Bartmann, Donny Deutsch, and Scott Allen Testimonials

Be sure to pick up a copy of this book today! You won’t regret it!

If you are one of those who likes to "Try Before You Buy" … put your e-mail in the box on the home page, click "Hook Me Up" then you can get your complimentary introduction and first chapter on us! If you like what you see, then you can purchase the book for yourself!

Have a fantastic rest of the week!