Relationships Matter

Learn the relationship-building secrets that lead to lifelong clients, repeat customers, and endless referrals

In today's commoditized marketplace, no matter what product or service you sell, there's probably someone somewhere able to offer it cheaper, faster, and maybe even better. So how do you differentiate yourself from your competitors? The Connectors shows that the only thing that truly sets you apart is the quality of your relationships with your clients and customers.

Everyone knows that relationships are important in business. Yet most people would admit that their relationships could be better—but don’t spend time working on the underlying skills. This book explains how to develop better, more profitable connections—as illustrated proven by some of the world’s most successful professionals. Even if you're not a “people person,” you can dramatically grow your business or your career through a few simple approaches to relationship-building.

The Connectors presents a five-step methodology that lead to lifelong clients, repeat customers, and endless referrals. Inside, you'll learn how to:

• Stop networking and start truly connecting
• Create an avalanche of referrals and an army of happy customers
• Become a "connector," even if you’ve never been a "people person"
• Find your social IQ—and improve it
• Put relationship-building principles to work daily
• Focus on others and reap the rewards yourself
• Ask the right questions—and sell without selling
• Differentiate yourself through the impact you have on others

In The Connectors, Maribeth Kuzmeski, founder of Red Zone Marketing, LLC, and consultant to Fortune 500 firms, shows you how to build profitable, long-lasting business relationships.

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

The information in this book can be applied to all aspects of your life - business and personal. Thanks! -- Great Book

I wanted to like the Connectors. I kept putting off my review because I'd pick up the book, look for something striking and original, and put the book down. Like others, I received a review copy so I always try extra hard.

What frustrates me is that the author obviously has a lot of real-life consulting to draw on. She knows her stuff. She probably has great stories of her own. So it's not clear why she chose to review basic principles familiar to anyone who's read a half-dozen or so books, taken a few basic courses and ... well, just knew.

The best sections of the book were the rare places the author did use her background, such as the story of the executive who was treating her employees badly. These stories could have been expanded ad produced with a little more flair.

And it's even less clear why she brought out examples from famous people, such as Herb Kelleher, Fred Smith and Dave Thomas. Their stories have been featured in services marketing textbooks for the past twenty years or so. She quotes Malcolm Gladwell's "amazing" report that doctors are less likely to be sued if they're good listeners. Again, that's been around; Gladwell just put it into a new context.

I was especially put off by the chapter on tests, including the infamous Myers-Briggs, and the final chapter on financial planners, which seems tacked on. The checklists might be helpful to an executive who is working with a coach, but how does an ordinary person decide if she's really listening or grade herself on her skills?

In all, the book could use livelier writing, more examples drawn from the author's experience, and a new message with takeaways we haven't seen before. I'm sure the author can deliver, if she gets another chance.
-- Need to connect with something new

Wonderful book that distills the human experience down to the basics. It's all about the connection. It isn't what you know but how you make your client feel with YOU. It is about the experience. Think about it. How many times will you tell someone about exceptional service, bad service, or service as expected? At the two extremes-you tell as many people as you can. On the other hand when do you ever brag about the customer experience when it goes as expected-seldom. Remember everyone's favorite radio station is pointed to WIFM-What's In it For ME? Don't forget that. Give them what they want and you'll get what you want. -- Great book from a great lady!

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. -- Putting People First

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".
-- Great tips and tools for the networking challenged!