Customer Reviews

The Connectors: How the World's Most Successful Businesspeople Build Relationships and Win Clients for Life

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I ordered this book after reading a review that I read on Amazon.com. I am not a great reader, especially when it comes to books that are highly technical in nature. The Connectors, albeit not the easiest read that I have ever had, was quick, insightful, and full of extremely valuable tips, and not a difficult book to read. I am in the process of trying to implement a few of the "Tips" outlined in the book currently. I would highly recommend The Connectors to the non-technically oriented business leader that is looking to build on and strengthen current business relationships with exisiting and previous clients.

I have read many books on the subject of leadership and marketing and found this book to be very informative. There are two things that I particularly liked.

The first was Chapter 6 which is devoted to the often lost art of listening. In this busy work, we often get so focused on the task at hand that we do not spend enough time listening to our clients and colleagues. This chapter reminds us of the unique power of listeing and the leverage that it can create in building relationships.

The second is the use of the self-assessments throughout the book. At the end of many of the chapters, the author invites the reader to make an honest assessment of themselves in certain areas such as social intelligence, the questions that they ask, etc. If you are reading a book like this, then you are looking for ideas on how you can improve your ability to connect. These assessments point you in the right direction.

I highly recommend this book as it contains many ideas how one can become better connected.

I received a review copy of Maribeth Kuzmeski's new book, "The Connectors." The book is essentially about good salesmanship. She draws from true-life examples and brings them to life for the reader using short quizzes at the end of each chapter. These quizzes are basically designed to help you to be a better connector -- a connector being a good sales person, a person who deals effectively with other people, especially in business.

The first thing I noticed about the book is that it's not terribly well written. Some of the sentences are clunky and full of unnecessary words. Much of the writing doesn't flow well.

What the author calls the "Red Zone Formula" (the basis for the book) is no more than good salesmanship and was taught decades ago by Elmer Wheeler and many others before and after him. The only difference is the author modernized these methods, has given examples from her own life and business, has made the book interactive (by way of brief quizzes, etc.) and repackaged them as the "Red Zone Formula", which I suspect, is to promote her business, "Red Zone Marketing."

There's certainly nothing new nor wrong with all this. It's just that the "Red Zone Formula" of salesmanship is simply basic, intelligent selling -- a formula used for generations to great success. And I applaud the method. It's just not new.

The only two possible exceptions to that might be the last two chapters. There is a chapter on networking and one on coaching your way to better relationships.

In the final chapter, "Financial Adviser Relationship Strategies", the author gives some rather helpful and somewhat unique information and techniques for getting referrals and for marketing in a bad economy.

The book has an index, which is a good thing and which many books today unfortunately do not have.

In summary, the book, while suffering from some blemished writing and using updated yet old material, also offers some value to the reader in the way of a few new, rather unique techniques. It's not a ground-breaking business book nor one for someone who has devoured business books during a lifetime. But for someone who needs a refresher course or someone who might benefit from the interaction of the quizzes, the book would likely benefit you.

- Susanna K. Hutcheson

Since my investment advisory business is dependent on establishing relationships with others, I attend many different networking events. From my experience, most people do not have a good understanding of how to build successful relationships. They attend these events with the hope of getting sales. They are so hungry to tell others about their businesses that they fail to listen to the other person's needs and wants.

I think that many people will find this book beneficial because the main theme of this book is to change the focus from being "I" oriented to being "You" oriented. It is about focusing on others and having a plan to serve them, pay attention to them, listen to them, and care about them. For me personally, the best section was on how to communicate with your contacts. Again, most people simply collect business cards with e-mail addresses to add to their newsletter distribution lists. The author says that it is very annoying to those on the receiving end because it does not have any personal touch. I totally agree with this and am taking the author's advice to send handwritten notes to people I meet and want to stay in touch with.

The author advises to take the following steps to communicate with your contacts:
-Schedule a phone appointment
-Make a proactive phone call
-E-mail a client whenever you come across anything that might be of interest to them
-Invite clients to educational workshops
-Invite clients to lunch or another social meeting
-Invite clients to a meeting in your office
-Mail a personal note

I enjoyed this book very much and highly recommend it.

- Mariusz Skonieczny, author of Why Are We So Clueless about the Stock Market? Learn how to invest your money, how to pick stocks, and how to make money in the stock market

The Connectors lays it out there elegantly and with clarity. Business success is about connections and getting connected. It's relationships that really matter. Most guru's prefer you don't know this piece of information.

In The Connectors you find out your social strengths (and weaknesses) and go forward from there.

There is a strong formula for success in your business.

First, is the focus on the customer. That sounds so trite, but the sentence, "Focusing on Them Brings More for You" hits the nail on the head. Like most people who truly succeed in business at every level, the importance of having your business relationships in the same or similar category as friendships is highlighted.

Next, the author lays out the fact that being a great listener....is not about being a great talker. This is one of the easiest points to miss. How many sales does someone lose because of talking far more often than listening?

Third, is the logical follow through from number two. Asking great questions, and to the end of not only finding out great answers but causing others to want to do the work for you.

Four, the cornerstone of real selling, is to get the sale to close itself. It either will or won't and it's mostly determined by #1 above.

Five, creating a memorable experience so you stand out in the customers mind. You are indeed unique.

I found The Connectors refreshing and "thinking," Yes, yes, yes, yes.

Brilliantly written. Plenty of charts and graphs and the like.

Most importantly The Connectors "gets it right" and that is rare.

Inspirational? Yes.
How to? Yes.
What to? Yes.

Get this book? .....without question.


Kevin Hogan, Author of The 168 Hour Week: Living the Life You Want 24/7

Enterprise Rent-a-Car founder, Jack Taylor built a car rental empire by adhering to one basic core value---putting customers and employees ahead of everything else, in the day to day operations of running the business. Often, businesses have a tendency to forget that very important philosophy, and foolishly put profits ahead of people. What they fail to realize is by taking care of your most important asset---people, the profits ususally follow. The employees are fully engaged in the company's mission and they go out of their way to take good care of their customers; it's a wonderful cycle that's practically foolproof.

Maribeth Kuzmeski clearly understands that, and has compiled this wonderfully engaging book to help guide any enterprise in the right direction in maintaining good relationships. The message is simple, but one that needs to be restated on a regular basis, especially with so many companies losing their focus in recent years. Corporate America has generally morphed into a fear based entity, where peoople take a back seat to short term profitability; that's a sure-fire way to long-term disaster, as we've seen with alarming regularity throughout the disturbing landscape of corporate America.

Relationships matter; not only with customers, but with employees. The advice in this book may seem obvious, but failure to heed it could be hazardous to an organization's chances for long-term survival. Staying on track is relatively simple, but perhaps not as "easy" as we'd like to see.

In addition to Kuzmeski's wonderful advice, I'd also recommend reading a couple of Bob Burg's great books---Endless Referrals, Third Edition & The Go-Giver: A Little Story About a Powerful Business Idea. Together, they spell the winning combination for business success; by building lasting relationships that stand the test of time.

Doesn't it seem like some people can easily work a room and make useful connections effortlessly? ... we'll this book is for the rest of us.

I just finished reading "The Connectors" which I found to be an easy and excellent read. Understanding how to build, manage and leverage "networking" skills to enable better "connections" and better business outcomes through more impactful relationships is a skillset every business person should value. Maribeth has loaded the book with useful tools and techniques that can even be used beyond one's business connections ... in all relationships. I personally took away numerous ideas and found a number of ways I can apply them. I suspect you will too. My favorite part of the book was the "The 5 Connector Traits".

As I began to read this book, I was reminded of the fact that Charles Lindbergh selected "WE" as the title of his account of that historic transatlantic flight he completed in 33 hours to Paris. He wanted to acknowledge the importance of everyone who was involved. More recently, Maribeth Kuzmeski notes (on Page 57) in The Connectors, "In his biography, It's Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life, [Lance] Armstrong described the vital role that teammates play...In its review of Armstrong's book, the Denver-based Rocky Mountain News wrote: `Armstrong's book is both inspiring and entertaining...and he doesn't forget to thank the good people who helped him most of the way.'" Neither did Lindbergh.

It is also noteworthy that in the companies on Fortune magazine's annual list of those "Most Highly Admired," there is widespread use of first-person plural pronouns. In her exceptionally informative book, Kuzmeski cites dozens examples of how "the world's most successful businesspeople build relationships and win clients for life." Actually, the examples she cites indicate that almost anyone can establish and then sustain mutually beneficial relationships within and beyond the workplace. She asserts that "true connections" between and among people must be made and then sustained with feeling and purpose and honesty. Bill George would invoke the term "authentic," insisting that it is imperative to be true to one's self (to one's True North) as well as to others.

Kuzmeski cites former Southwest Airlines CEO Herb Kelleher among exemplary business leaders and he is indeed worthy of the praise he has received for many years. On countless occasions, Kelleher has explained his airline's success in terms of how well it treats its people - and how well they are expected to treat each other. His reasoning is seamless: If you take good care of your people, they will take good care of your customers, and your customers will take good care of your stakeholders. Consider these remarks from a speech he delivered many years ago at the Risk Management Association's annual conference:

"Everybody's looking for a single Big Answer, an easy answer such as 'We'll communicate for six months, then get on with something else that's more important.' I keep telling them that the intangibles are far more important than the tangibles in the competitive world because, obviously, you can replicate the tangibles.

"You can get the same airplanes. You can get the same ticket counters. You can get the same computers. But the hardest thing for a competitor to match is your culture and the spirit of your people and their focus on customer service because that isn't something you can do overnight and it isn't something you can do without a great deal of attention every day in a thousand different ways. That is why I say that our employees are our competitive protection."

Readers will especially appreciate Kuzmeski's generous provision of "Downloadable Forms" that can be put to immediate use as worksheets to implement what she recommends in the chapters in which they are included. (Directions to obtain them are provided in the book.) For example:

CONNECTION LIST (Page 21)
"The What's in It for Them FACTOR" (63)
"The Listening Assessment" (80)
Self Assessment of "The Questions You Ask" (93)
"Getting the Sale to Close Itself" Selt Assessment (105)
"Unique Elements of the Business" (121)
Choosing a Mentor (155)
Mentor Meeting Checklist (162)

Other value-added benefits include "In Other Words" quotation clusters (Pages 18, 64, 81-82, and 94-95); "The Connector IQ (C-IQ) Assessment" with an explanation of how to interpret the score, accompanied by suggestions as to how to become a more effective Connector (Pages 32-35); a summary of the Red Zone Connector Traits (Pages 44-46); Three Strategies for Connecting and Closing Sales (Pages 98-103); the smith&jones Business mantra (Pages 129-130); an annotated list of major women's business organizations (Pages 164-171); Four Tips for Organizing Connections (Pages 179-180); the Red Zone Connectors Formula for Speaking (Page193); and suggestions about how to use the top ten social media sites (Pages 203-211). All by itself, the information provided about the social media sites is worth more than the cost of this book. It is obvious to me that Kuzmeski is a world-class, Five Star pragmatist. With all due respect to her thorough coverage of "what" to do, I think she is really at her best when sharing her experience and insights with regard to "how" to do it.

For many executives who are now struggling to help their organizations (and themselves) through the current economy, this may well prove to be the single most valuable source of information and advice they will encounter. I wholeheartedly recommend it without hesitation or qualification.

The Connectors is a nice read for those who have year's of experience as well as those who are just beginning their careers. The information taken from the most successful business connectors provides actual tips and tools to use. The book provides a workbook section for you to analyze your own style and self-coach. Worth reading (and dog-earring)!

I found "The Connectors" to be very helpful, especially with the marketing of Don't Miss the Boat. That is worth its weight in gold. It has many helpful inside hints and tips, and I think any serious student of the business who wants to serve the best interest of their clients and yet be profitable cannot go wrong by reading such a good book. Kudos to Maribeth Kuzmeski. I would without hesitation recommend her and her book to any group or any individual in the future.