Customer Reviews

Masters of Networking: Building Relationships for Your Pocketbook and Soul

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Preamble: The book is overrated. Granted that the rating should actually be better than the 1 star I am giving it, but I have never read a book rated 5 stars that is as bad as this book. Consequently, the purpose of this rating is to reduce the overall score.

Gripes with the book
- Its more about why one should network, rather than specific methods of how to network
- The book alludes to all these famous personalities but one somehow gets the feel that quite a few passages are deliberately inserted not for their relevance but so the individual's name can be inserted on the front cover.
- The marketing of this book is overzealous

I was a little surprised that most of the chapters were about how successful networking has been for people. I already agreed that networking would be helpful, so why try to convince me? The essays were helpful to illustrate some points, but the book could have been more concise. After a while the essays became annoying as you could have substituted any name and any profession. And, if there was one more reference to BNI, I would have...

I was about to give up on this book until I got to Chapter 9. There were some very helpful tips that pointed out what I was doing wrong and where I needed to improve. But as with anything, networking takes practice. I would check this out from the library before buying.

Masters of Networking offers some warm and inspirational stories, but fails to serve up meatier content. I found many stories about the greatness of networking, but few articles that offered effective strategies.

I also didn't like the books tendency to be repetitive to a fault. For example a lot of the articles tell you not to be a "bore." This is an important fact, but I am smart enough to get it the first twenty times.

I enjoyed this book, but it didn't help me much....although it did allow me to write a review with a lot of buts.

How many times in your life do you get the opportunity to work with or learn from the best in the world? Masters of Networking has gathered the top experts in the world on the subject matter of Networking, Word-of-Mouth Marketing and Referrals and put them in this one book. What I really enjoyed about this book was the variety of stories. Some are as short as one page. Some will make you laugh and some will make you look deeper at yourself. If you are seriously interested in growing your referral business there is no better book out in the marketplace that can give you so much wonderful advice from so many bright, experienced and successful people. Dr. Misner and Mr. Morgan, thank you for a book that can be read by the brand new business professional and the 40 year veteran. Don't just get this book...get this book for a friend.

In case you haven't read any of Dr. Misner's books, this is a great place to start. Full of great stories and insights into the world of networking and word-of-mouth marketing. If you think word-of-mouth and referrals happen by accident, then you are in for a surprise.

The stories presented by the contributing authors are a great testimonial to the power of developing and "working" a network. Misner and Morgan prove that they know how to network with the most powerful people in the business and motivational world--proof that networking works if you work the network.

And, if you haven't read them yet, pick up Misner's first two books: "World's Best Known Marketing Secret," and "Seven Second Marketing" and learn from the master.

I had trouble reconciling the numerous 5 star ratings given to this warmed-over pastiche of trite anecdotes.

If you do a little digging, you'll see that 18 of the five star ratings came around October-November 2002, by people who submitted exactly one glowing five star review and never were seen again.

Compare those ratings to anything post-2002, and a far different picture emerges. Very few five star reviews, and in those five star reviews were two other "networking" authors submitting glowing reviews and links to their own books.

Not recommended.

You can read Masters of Networking in two hours. This book will direct your word-of-mouth marketing efforts for the rest of your natural life! That's a pretty producitve two hours!

This book is a tremendous resource for any individual or company seeking to add the proven power of Word-of-Mouth Marketing to their business. The format of short essays from experts around the world is a refreshing change and will help those of us with shorter attention spans.

Most powerful, however, is the information provided by the BNI Directors. These people are in the trenches of networking, day after day, and offer you a perspective that the big names cannot. They live networking and you should pay special attention to their insights. After all, when was the last time you received networking training from an individual that does it for a living?

Purchase the book and live Givers Gain!

Mike Garrison

There are few networking books out there that come close to the impact Master's will have on your personal and professional philosophy on Networking.

If you are a new student to networking, Master's is a "must have" for your personal library. If you are a seasoned 'networker,' chances are you'll recognize the incredible job the authors have done in bringing together over 90 of the world's foremost experts on the subject of networking and building relationships.

Master's of Networking soundly reminded me that we all desire to build quality relationships with people. We all want to like, be liked, know and be known and perhaps most importantly, trust and be trusted by others in our day to day business lives. Masters of Networking shows how.

In a day and age where our businesses are increasingly dependent on high-speed, high-tech gadgets and various means of the newest methods of mass communications, Master's of Networking will give it's readers plenty of sage advice, fantastic stories and valuable insights into building trust and building business with other professionals.

As another favorite author and mentor of mine, Jim Rohn, is known to say, "You cannot succeed by yourself. It's hard to find a rich hermit."

In today's world where everything is an acronym, Masters of Networking, with so many contributing authors is a "WOW". It doesn't matter who YOUR favorite is chances are he or she is in this fantastic book! Kudos to Ivan Misner & Don Morgan in being able to bring such a list of truly remarkable authorities, visionaries, mentors and sheer 'Powerhouses' together in this phenomenal book! This is a book that will become a reference source that you will pull off the shelf again & again. If you can't find out everything you need to know about effective 'Word-of-Mouth Marketing' or 'Networking', you must have skipped a few pages because it's 'in there'. I would venture to say you'll never see the names Naisbett, Chopra, Peters, Mackay, Hansen, Edwards, Tarkenton, Asner, Levinson, Poe and many, many more on the same cover again in this lifetime or any other lifetime! If motivational reading is a passion in your life you'll be 'extremely' passionate about this book. It's a must read for anyone in business today!