Customer Reviews

Networking Magic: Find the Best - from Doctors, Lawyers, and Accountants to Homes, Schools, and Jobs

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I have been in public relations and marketing all my life and it was great to come across a book that is so useful and practical on the topic of networking. Most of us think of networking for a job or for finding potential customers/clients in business, but Networking Magic shows us how to find the things we need in our personal lives -- a good doctor, the right restaurant, a tutor, an insurance agent, a realtor, etc. I will totally recommend this book to my network of people!

This really is a great book. It covers practically every major principle of win/win networking imaginable and is an excellent guidebook for anyone who would like to learn how to master this valuable life and business skill.

The authors are both successful business people who, as part of their businesses, utilize the very skills they teach in this book.

Networking Magic will make an excellent gift for the college graduate, seasoned business pro, and everyone else who has a need to build a far-reaching network of valuable relationships and resources. The authors understand and communicate so well that the best and most successful networkers are those who take great pleasure in being an asset to others.

Job well done!

A very, very useful book. (Along with some really fun and interesting examples.) Too many of these books are aimed just at sales people. (Not that this book wouldn't be a giant help to sales people.) Not this one. This one is for everyone. This book really helps you accomplish more in your life, whatever that may be. Anything you want to accomplish will be made ten times easier if you follow the advice in this book. The techniques described seemed to work well. (Well, they worked for me. And quickly too!) I found the key message of this book is getting others to help you achieve what you want to achieve makes molehills out of mountains. The advice it gives is easy to follow, and even easier to put into practice. (You don't even have to fill in all the exercises, although I found that helpful.) Highly recommended.

Networking is over done in my estimation. It smacks of manipulation and using people for the wrong reasons. If you're into it probably a great book, just doesnt float my boat.

Today, we are beginning to see a resurgence in networking. In many ways it seems so `old school' to folks. After all, we have the internet now, job boards, email, social networking, blogs, and a billion other ways to avoid talking with one another directly. So why do what our `Dad' did, picking up a phone, or UGH, getting in the car and driving to meet with people at some drab event?

The reality is that people, in my opinion, are slowly starting to realize that nothing can trump an established personal relationship with another person. In times of need, who are you going to count on more? The g'zillion Twitter followers you have? Or, Sue, who you've come to know at the local coffee shop? The internet is indeed a productivity multiplier for the networker, the likes of which we've never seen before. But even so, again, in my opinion, it represents but one facet of how we should develop our networks.

Like so many things, once something becomes important to you (e.g. networking) you start to, some pun intended<g>, `magically' discover things that would've been invisible before. So, it was in the interest of learning more about networking that led me to find Networking Magic. Indeed, in the interest of `networking,' I found it entertaining to find I personally knew one of the authors' many contributors. My, it is a small world after all...

Networking Magic, published in 2004, remains fairly current. The only area it tends to show it's age is when discussing the internet. References to `300 million' people actively using the internet, discussion groups, and the lack of social networking are specific examples. At it's core, the discussion of how to network is largely independent of the mediums used (e.g. phone, email, in-person, social networks, etc.). So the book's value remains intact.

An aside, I do find it interesting just how easily some material can date itself. Some books, like others in my reading list, were written decades in the past. Yet, they seem as though they were finished just yesterday.

Some networking books take an academic, life experience, or `what you should know,' approach to covering the topic. In Networking Magic, Rick & Jill take a practitioners approach. They identify nearly a dozen specific networking topics, such as setting your priorities, evaluating networking groups, and hosting dinner events. Each of these key topics are discussed in depth, specific real life examples are given by their contributors, and closing discussions on how they can work for you.

I particularly appreciated the practitioner approach in this book. It seemed to flow in the truest of networking forms: the authors seem to genuinely want to help the reader. After all, networking is about relationships, about giving without expecting to receive, and it was nice to read a book that seemed to `walk' it's own talk, per se.

My recommendation: If you're new to networking, this is a good book to help you learn the bases. It is not constrained to the beginning networker though. I consider myself somewhere in-the-middle if you will and found it offered good refreshers, some new ideas, and helped pull things together nicely. Even if you're a master networker, the book is useful not only in ideas you might not already have, but in the list of sources they cite.

See the original review at www.jtpedersen.net

Rick Frishman has found magic with this quick to read, easy to apply and priceless twist on networking. Understanding that every interaction is more than just business, Frishman shows we are whole beings, and the simple truths professed leaves the reader understanding the importance of the collective "we" and the importance of us reaching out to eachother.

This book is full of gold-nuggets that are universally applicable for building and maintaining relationships. It's obvious that the authors are experts in this area. It's easy to read and easy to implement their non-nonsense ideas. A must read for anyone in the business of building and maintaining relationships....and who isn't???

Mr. Frishman is an highly entertaining author & speaker who is willing and able to share his successes in order to help others achieve theirs. Thanks for sharing!! Bea Joyner

Networking Magic provides practical guidance on how to network by focusing on helping other people succeed. I love the tips, strategies and inspirational stories--the provide readers with a unique path to obtaining the resources they need to succeed. After all, success comes from inspiring other people to help you!

As "The Kick Start Guy" and author of the small business guidebook "Kick Start Your Dream Business," I have helped thousands of people start and grow their dream businesses. I will be recommending networking magic to them.

Boy, what a worthless book on brown nose techniques. One idea that is plain garbage is that if you do lots for other people they will pay back in kind by 2 to 10 fold. What garbage. Please do not waste your money on this book. I cannot believe the nonsense. After you give all you got to people after they see you have nothing left they will just move on. Boy, are these writers living in a dream world? It is a book about suck up that will just make you look like a fool. If I used most of their methods I would be a laughing stock at work. Those who exceed step on other faces, that is how it really works. My rating is really a minus 10 stars but they do not have that rating available. If I could I would return the book but it is probabbly better I burn it so there is one less copy available for some simple minded soul to read. If you want to be exploited and left holding the bag then read this book..
vr
amccom