Ivan R. Misner's Blog, page 24

Successful Business Networking: Do You Need to Know How to “Sell”?

The answer is YES. Master networkers know that sales skills are absolutely required for successful referral marketing. Those skills are needed in every part of the process – not just in closing the sale with the prospect. There have been numerous businesspeople I’ve met over the years who are fantastic networkers and they think that […]

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Getting Comfortable With “NO”

For business networking success, you need to build deep relationships; learn how to help people; and support your professional connections in some way. However sometimes, just sometimes, you need to say “no” to requests that are made of you. It’s important to recognize when someone’s opportunity is your distraction. That begins by knowing your own […]

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Thinking Big

This is my belief about thinking big. Our vision controls our perception, and our perception becomes our reality. Don’t become so attached to a limiting belief that you can’t see what is possible. Move past limiting beliefs and move towards meaningful beliefs. Think big. The size of your success is determined by the size of […]

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The Power of One Conversation

Sometimes one conversation can create the pebble-in-the-pond dynamic that changes people’s lives. It may be a kind word to someone you know who is feeling overwhelmed or despondent. It may be a helpful gesture to someone you don’t know who needed to feel noticed that day. It can even be an invitation to a business […]

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What to Do If You Get a Bad Referral

Today’s professionals know that building a network of strong relationships is important to receive good referrals for their business. However, sometimes we receive a referral that is just not that good. It may be that the referral needed something outside our scope of services or products. Sometimes they don’t need anything at all, or they […]

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Four Ways to Grow Your Business

We all want sustainable growth in our business. The question is: where to begin? Success expert and author Brian Tracy said, “When all you have is a hammer, the whole world looks like a nail.” We can do more than walk around with a hammer. I think we can be more strategic by identifying four […]

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Why Wait for a Class Reunion to Network with Former Classmates?

On my very first day in graduate school, I went to an 8-hour weekly class (yes, really– 8) that had a total of two professors and ten students. One of the professors spent the first two hours talking about the elite network of peers that we were going to be working alongside for the next […]

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My Business Travel Tips

As the Founder of BNI® I have been fortunate to travel extensively for business and for pleasure, meeting many wonderful people from dozens of countries. These global opportunities have resulted in an accumulation of numerous tips about international traveling. Most people know that business travel in your home country requires planning and organization. However, many […]

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They’ll Interview Anyone With a Book

My assistant recently asked me about something I said during a presentation. She thought it seemed to contradict what I have previously shared about self-talk and the power of our words. In that presentation I was talking about the early days of BNI®, the international networking organization I founded, and how I tried to get […]

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Cancer in the Corner Office

This piece is based on an article I wrote for Entrepreneur.com in 2015.  It might be of value to any business person who is thinking about making their health challenge public: I’ll never forget the day that I was first diagnosed with cancer ten years ago. It was the perfect springtime day and I had […]

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