 Buy your copy of Some Assembly Required right now, online in the Professional Marketing Store with a credit card. In fact, get a copy for every lawyer in your firm. |
Singer’s subject is networking, the fine art of developing relationships, the “who you know” that complements “what you know.”
Singer begins his book with the sort of simple declarative sentence that would have made Will Strunk proud: “All things being equal, people do business with people they know and like.”
(I might have said, even if things aren’t equal.)
The truth
Maybe you are thinking, “well, duh.” But it is one thing to recognize this truth, another to actually act accordingly. Attorneys have much to learn in this regard, as many have tarnished the profession with a reputation for arrogance and rudeness. (Number one complaint against lawyers nation-wide: they don’t return phone calls. Now there’s a difficult people skill to master!)
Singer skillfully covers the basics of network building. Some of my favorites include:
1) Physically attend events. Some people seem to think that it is enough to belong to an organization, or have a listing in its directory. It’s not. Woody Allen wrote that 80% of success consists of showing up. I teach my clients that they have to give the money a way to find them. A great new business relationship cannot begin if you aren’t there.
2) The importance of sharing your network, becoming a “connector” who introduces one knowledgeable acquaintance to another. Your network makes you a valuable person to others who seek access to it. Singer points out that it can make you a “go to” person in even a large organization. As they said in my old neighborhood, “I know a guy who knows a guy.”
3) 
Give first. Ask questions about the other person’s business. Offer help. As Dan Sullivan, The Strategic Coach, puts it: “I will ask no value for myself before first providing value for someone else.”
4) Relationship-building is like “dating.” The first date, the second date, and so on. I love his emphasis on one of my own favorite tools: the hand-written personal follow-up note.
Three kinds of networkers
From my own experience, I could not agree more with Singer’s classification of Naturals (people who easily and instinctively know how to build relationships); Uncomfortable Networkers (who can learn to do it with a little work); and Selfish or Ignorant People (whose only interest is in people from whom they see an immediate payoff).
My guess is that if you are a Natural, you will enjoy Some Assembly Required. If you are an Uncomfortable Networker, you definitely need to buy it. And if you are in the final group, you won’t be reading this anyway.
Singer’s book is not just theoretical or philosophical. He fills it with practical hints and tips, with particular attention to tools like your business card; your elevator speech; memory tricks for remembering people’s names and other information; Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software; client surveys; techniques for getting speaking opportunities and publicity; and instructions on staying in touch and keeping relationships warm once you have them.
Some Assembly Required also includes some valuable exercises to guide you through the process of understanding exactly what kind of client you actually want, and how to network your way to relationships that will lead to exactly that sort of client.
Singer displays a good sense of humor and includes anecdotes about Pork Chop Man (“Every time the Pork Chop Man meets someone who could possibly be a client or refer him business, he acts as if he were a hungry wolf and they have a pork chop hanging around their neck”); Jerry Seinfeld (“How could anyone not like Jerry?” his mother asks); Donald Trump and Martha Stewart (before “The Apprentice”).
He also sprinkles his book with quotes from authors who have contributed to his thinking, including Harry Beckwith, Jan Canfield, Zig Ziglar, Tim Sanders, Steve Harper, Rick Pitino, and Dale Carnegie. He also includes a bibliography of recommended reading from these and other authors.
I wish the book had been bigger, but I am sure I am in the minority as most busy professionals will appreciate the short takes and small bites of information.
And if the author had consulted with me before publishing his book (which he did not) I would have talked him into some graphic design for the cover and a blow-in, postage-paid card that urges the buyer to “Join Thom’s Network!” (entitling them to Networking Coaching from Thom, plus the CDs to listen to in the car, plus the monthly Networking Newsletter, plus the 10 percent discount on Thom’s annual Networking Bootcamp.)
But then, I’m a marketer, and I can’t help myself from tinkering with the other guy’s model. All in all, I highly recommend Some Assembly Required. Buy a copy in the Professional Marketing Store at www.LawMarketing.BIZ/store.
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Reviewed by Mark Merenda, who founded Smart Marketing in 1994. He can be contacted at 239. 403.7755 and 