Take The Plunge

You too can harness a huge amount of power by knowing lots of people. Some of them will be in the right positions to help you or know other people who are. It not only puts you way ahead of the competition – people with good connections are winners, time after time.

Make The Effort

It’s worth it.

At each level in every company or profession, powerful personal connections underpin business success. The formal advantages of good personal connections include:

• colleagues work best in co-operative teams

 

• managers get more from their staff through encouragement, motivation and guidance

 

• effective directors provide inspiring leadership

 

• clients enjoy working with you and are happy to recommend you.

 

And on an informal note, isn’t life just easier and more fun when you enjoy good relationships with other people?

Whether yours is a profession or trade, a commercial or charitable organisation, profit making or not, in the service industry or manufacturing, you will be more successful if you build better relationships with all those who have an impact on your business.

People do business with people they like, trust and respect. Powerful business connections don’t necessarily come from people in high places. A small piece of information can make a huge amount of difference. You may often get help from the most unlikely sources. Never forget the power of ‘thank you’.

Resounding Referrals

Not long ago a client wrote a referral letter for me. He described me as being ‘unique in establishing and developing corporate networks and relationships. In changing times maintaining networks in physical and personal terms is of paramount importance. Frances’s ability to take on this role in an intelligent manner is impressive, representing organisations or individuals, picking up and nurturing the threads of strategic business continuity.’

Impressive? I thought so. I hadn’t expected such a great unsolicited testimonial. Do you ever ask people what they think about you? What qualities and attributes best describe you? Maybe a little 360 degree feedback would help. You may be agreeably surprised!

In my work I spend a lot of time persuading people to become less task-aware and more people-oriented. I’m convinced if you can fine-tune the art of rapport-building, it helps strengthen careers and promote business. Not only do I try to match people, organisations and opportunities, I also coach, mentor and train people on the importance of relationship building via their own personal network.

I stress the words ‘own personal network’ because everyone has one. Some people simply don’t believe that. Whether you realise it, pay attention to it, work on it and use it to advantage, everyone has a network. It is unique, like you. It contains a wealth of individuals, information and opportunity. What I hope you will learn from this book is how to put these contacts to good effect.

There is nothing you can’t achieve, if you set your mind to it. If you add the power of personal connections to your own individual skills, you will enjoy better, innovative and more profitable relationships with existing and new customers, suppliers, staff, colleagues and superiors. This will help you progress faster.

Smalltalk Means Big Business

The reason I agreed to write this book is because I know how much people have influenced my life and the choices I’ve made. I want to share with you what can be achieved from great external contacts and strong internal relationships. I can prove it’s the power of personal relationships and brilliant business connections that really matter.