The Virtual Handshake: Opening Doors and Closing Deals Online [Paperback]

David Teten (Author), Scott Allen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 29, 2005

Online social networks such as LinkedIn, blogs, and Meetup have enjoyed phenomenal growth in the past year. They are among many new social software tools in an arsenal that also includes virtual communities, social network sites, and much more. The Virtual Handshake is the roadmap to a dynamic (and lucrative) online arena that is fast becoming the crucial relationship-building environment for serious professionals. Filled with clear, real-life examples, The Virtual Handshake shows readers how to: * attract business in online networks * meet more relevant senior people * start and promote a blog * analyze and value their social network * use web conferencing and discussion forums to build awareness * manage their contact databases * ensure privacy and safety For professionals whose businesses rely on a constant flow of new opportunities and contacts, The Virtual Handshake is a practical and vital resource.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"HBS Working Knowledge (http://hbswk.hbs.edu/index.jhtml): ""This comprehensive book is a smart addition to any company bookshelf.""

Woman Engineer: ""...a practical and vital resource."""

“This comprehensive book is a smart addition to any company bookshelf.”

-HSBWorkingKnowledge.com

Review

"""An outstanding book, full of great ideas for growing your business.""

-- Dr. Ivan Misner, founder, Business Network International (BNI); coauthor, Masters of Networking

""The Virtual Handshake is a down-to-earth explanation of how people really connect on the 'net, and how to make that happen for yourself. David and Scott turn the abstract theory into practical action.""

-- Craig Newmark, customer service rep and founder of craigslist

""A practical, fun, and informative guide.""

-- David Allen, author, Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity

""The Virtual Handshake is a treasure chest of good advice, valuable information, and useful tips about a topic of looming future importance: growing our business relationships online. Anyone planning to build a business -- online or not -- will benefit from this pioneering book.""

-- Robert B. Cialdini, author, Influence: Science and Practice"

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 17 and up
  
• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: AMACOM (August 29, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0814472869
• ISBN-13: 978-0814472866
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,047,521 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The How-To Resource for All Online Networking!, October 3, 2005

By 

Dana "Dana VanDen Heuvel" (Green Bay, WI USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Virtual Handshake: Opening Doors and Closing Deals Online (Paperback)

Online social networking tools give you the power to expand and manage your network with an efficiency and effectiveness that were virtually unheard of even a decade ago. It's no longer who you know but who you know online that counts when closing deals, making a career move or organizing a local charity function. The authors of The Virtual Handshake -Teten a CEO and online networker extraordinaire; Allen an entrepreneur-tell their story from hard-earned personal experience and research that spanned over 300 sources.

Settling into our careers, we were taught the old school methods for networking. Glad handing and card flashing at evening mixers where all you could do was hope to meet someone with whom you could form a connection. Not to mention that most networking events seemed tailor made for extroverts only! According to Teten and Allen, online networking, already a fast-growing professional tool, proving to be a highly effective means for growing, cultivating and managing personal networks many times larger than most of us ever dreamed possible.

Getting started is simple, or so say the authors. Most of you reading this probably have anywhere from a few dozen to several hundred contacts just sitting in your computer, on your PDA or, gasp...the old Rolodex on your desk. The trick is to get those people out of your Rolodex and into the online network tools scene where you can really flex your networking muscle.

According to Teten and Allen, getting started with online networking isn't the challenge you might think it is. In fact, 84 percent of us have already used the Internet to contact or get information from an online group, according to the Pew Internet and American Life Project.

The authors have even put together a ten-step action plan to get started with online social networking. Here are six of the ten steps:
1. Write down your goals and how a virtual relationship could help you achieve it.
2. Analyze your current network.
3. Make the mundane sublime. Common office productivity tools combined with e-mail and the Internet are very powerful
4. Become and information sponge (and send that information to people you know).
5. Master your email.
6. Share your knowledge wealth with your network.

The book is not all how-to and action item lists, however. Teten and Allen understand that networking is about altruism, sharing, doing what is in another's best interest and giving of yourself to the network. Speaking from my own personal experience, they're on to something there. In networking, you must give to receive.

Whether or not you choose to participate in online social networking, it will impact us all in some way. It's just as likely that your next client comes from within a salesperson's online social network as it is that someone is using Google right now to learn more about you in hopes of expanding their network.

The Virtual Handshake is a resource for anyone trying to build a professional or personal network both online and offline.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars BIG Applause for, August 8, 2005

By 

Vincent Wright "Wright Hand Blogger" (Hartford, CT USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Virtual Handshake: Opening Doors and Closing Deals Online (Paperback)

Though by most accounts my forum is a fairly successful one, as creator and moderator of a very active forum, I can safely say that my forum would have been even more successful and enjoyable had I read and applied the principles in David Teten and Scott Allen's "The Virtual Handshake" when I started "My Linkedin Power Forum" 6 months ago.

David Teten and Scott Allen got it right! And kudos to them for organizing and sharing such great networking concepts with us.

Rather than community participants wringing their hands anxiously trying to figure out the online business networking world, "The Virtual Handshake" will have those who practice Teten and Allen's principles opening their hands to greater prosperity and less online stress.

I highly, highly, highly recommend "The Virtual Handshake" for community members and moderators alike.

[...]

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Give and ye shall receive, February 22, 2006

By 

Joseph T. Kutchera "Joe Kutchera" (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Virtual Handshake: Opening Doors and Closing Deals Online (Paperback)

My first response while reading the book was "how can a busy professional find the time to do all or even some of these online self-marketing best practices"? But the deeper I got into the book, the more I realized that representing oneself online is really about developing daily/weekly habits that foster getting-the-word out there about what you do. Whether it's hosting a blog, creating a personal web site or an email list, David's suggestions are right on. Most importantly, as David points out about this information age that we live in, hoarding information hurts your online reputation. Give information (e.g. networking, book recommendations, helpful web sites) and ye shall receive.