Customer Reviews

One Phone Call Away: Secrets of a Master Networker

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Although I've recently read many networking books as I've transformed my networking style, Jeffrey Meshel's "One Phone Call Away: Secrets of a Master Networker" truly stands out! It is a practical, highly enjoyable how to guide and mindset reframe that is quite possibly the most important book on this subject since Dale Carnegie's "How to Win Friends and Influence People."

This is one of those rare books that is immediately useful to the reader. Before I was finshed reading it I was already employing a number of the techniques described. Meshel presents strategies that will enhance productivity and build long lasting relationships for any reader willing to follow his straightforward guidelines. This is perhaps the most useful book on business productivity I have read.

Unlike other business books that promise to teach you secrets, Meshel simply tells you what did and didn't work for him. He gives you personal examples, some examples of friends, and explains what worked for them wouldn't have worked for him and why. He really explains what business networking is all about and coupled by the 'golden rule' it seems so simple. I really liked the parts where he discussed maintaining his professional database, and even discussed the new web ones coming out for professional networks.

I have been in a chapter of BNI (Business Network International) for nearly 2 years now and we employ many of the techniques that Jeffrey Meshel writes about. However, there are things that Jeffrey writes about that I found myself guilty of doing that I immediately changed and have seen immediate results! One thing I liked about the book was that it did NOT have really long sections but rather was written in short little segments that drove home a point. Very easy to read some and put it down and pick it back up a little while later and not lose the continuity. Some terminology was lost on me because I'm not in the same business as Jeffrey, but those things were not a problem and did not take away from the effectiveness of the book. If you are not in a FORMAL networking group that employs the structure Jeffrey writes about, you need to find one soon.

I'm one of those guys who has always thought of "networking" as sort of singles bar/speed dating events for business people. Jeff showed me that much of what I do in business life is, in fact, the elemental basis of networking, and that networking is/can be your daily life and not social events with name cards. His frank and revealing descriptions of his learning curve combine tips and advice with human insight in a way which make this both readable and provocative. I came away with a new slant on things and the motivation to try new behavior. I'd recommend this to anyone who deals with large, diverse groups of business people in their day to day life.

The author, Jeff Meshel, demonstrates the importance of relationships in business and how to develop them. In a way, this is the book on developing techniques to build a stable of important relationships. What I have discovered is that these relationships also lead to a more fufulling life because you begin to make friendships beyond your business intentions. The author works with the concept and teaches how, by giving to people, you will receive many times over in the long run. He teaches you how to invest in your business and personal life through networking. It has lead me to discover a whole new life both in business and personal friendships.

Jeffrey Meshel wrote a fantastic book. It was filled with "aha's". Its not just who you know, but what you know about who you know. If you don't know something pertinent about each person in your database, you don't have a database, you have a phone book. Be passionate about something, be an expert, how to overcome shyness, how to evaluate a networking group. These are all covered expertly in the book. An excellent choice.

Ken Jansen
[...]

Jeffrey W. Meshel tells stories and shares networking experiences that reveal how he became a success by building an extensive web of relationships. He asserts that your existing list of contacts should be so far-reaching that your next big sale, job or opportunity is always just "one phone call away." Meshel explains the tenets of help-based networking, a system wherein you succeed by helping others succeed. His mantra is to tap into, "the power of who you know." This is a narrative, and not exactly a networking how-to manual. While his information about starting a networking group or joining one is quite helpful, Meshel often leaves it up to you to extract the practical advice from his experiences. Yet we find that this extra level of thinking is quite worthwhile if you are developing a business or a sales practice, and need support and contacts.

Jeffrey Meshel has become a master networker, because he does it to help others. He tries to go out of his way to connect two people that can help one another, and the great thing is that it brings business in to his company as well.

One Phone Call Away gives great tips for novices on how to overcome shyness and how to control the perception others have of you. This part was very helpful to me as someone just starting to enter the business world. He also has tips for expert networkers about organizations they can join, and how they can expand their networks. I assume those tips are great also. They sounded good for CEOs and other executives.

I found myself with two opinions throughout this book. The first was very positive and appreciative of the advice to ask "How can I help others?" and not "What's in it for me?" It shows that networking is not a selfish thing to, but rather a very productive business practice.

The second opinion stems from my own desire to not change my behavior because of money or my status position. Because Meshel networks with executives and other high status people, he finds it profitable to adopt habits of the rich and famous. One example he gives is paying twice as much for a yearly health club membership to be an "executive member", which ended up giving him business opportunities with other executive members he met at the gym. This is probably simply a sound business practice. I just don't like the thought of putting myself above the regular members of the gym.

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Cat Cromar
www.astartuplife.com/category/book-reviews

Some very useful tips and insights on how to succeed by helping others to succeed first. Somewhat too pedantic and a bit narcissistic for my tastes, more of a biography really, but the stories and anecdotes do illuminate universal lessons. A useful and highly personalized self-help book.