Business Relationships That Last

Everyone knows that relationships are critical to business success, but no-one has provided a simple system to turn contacts and acquaintances into valuable assets -- until now. The first systematic program for advancing business relationships. In five easy-to-follow steps, the book shows how to transform any casual business relationship into a valuable source for revenue, leads, and advice. Ed Wallace combines memorable anecdotes with a clear theoretical framework that shows individuals how to leverage their hard business skills with the often-overlooked soft skills of rela-tionship building. Surveyed executives say they need this book. In a recent survey, 88 percent of executives indicated that the strength of their client, cus-tomer, and referral relationships was critical to achieving their goals each year. But only 25 percent of those same executives said they had a formal process for planning, managing, and growing business relation-ships and 73 percent of the group surveyed said they would be very interested in reading a book on this topic. This book delivers the process that so many people and organisations need.

In Building Relationships That Last a Lifetime, Ron Rice reveals the secrets he has learned in his fascinating, entrepreneurial journey to success. He examines the key strategies he used to identify, develop, and maintain both professional and personal relationships over the course of his career. Beginning as a traveling salesman, Rice navigated up through business opportunities and relationships to obtain the American dream for himself and his family. He has proven himself a trustworthy businessman, salesman, and leader. Following his story, you'll be able to evaluate your own business relationships, strategic leads, and entrepreneurial goals against Rice's powerful example.

This book offers a wealth of good, solid business advice. "Fares to Friends" is the business professional's equivalent to best-seller "Tuesdays with Morrie" by Mitch Albom. Like Albom, Ed Wallace '81 VSB invites the reader to share in a series of literally and figuratively transporting conversations with his mentor, a cab driver named Max. Over the course of many trips to the airport, Max, a former business executive who gave up high-level commerce to become a service entrepreneur, points out what the author considers to be crucial guideposts on the road to business success: how to build relat.

Want to supercharge your life? Effective networking is the answer and this book will teach you how. Professionals of all stripes and ages are told to 'get out there' and network so they can build their careers, grow their businesses and elevate their influence in the community, but they are rarely taught the skills to do that. Most people are lost, intimidated by the idea of presenting their own personal brand, and frustrated when it comes to networking. Despite long hours at events and attempts to make the right connections, they aren’t seeing their desired results. From Business Cards to Business Relationships is a start-to-finish guide that demystifies the networking process and teaches readers how to truly benefit from getting connected. Allison Graham provides an easy to follow road map that is adaptable to your personality, circumstances and growth goals. You will learn how to strategically decide where to go, what to do when you get there and what to do afterwards to turn those casual business card contacts into meaningful relationships. Allison's approach is based on the Four Pillars of Profitable Networking: Perspective, Personal Brand, Procedures, and a Strategic Plan. This is a prescriptive, practical system based on the author's real-life experience of going from unconnected to connected in a short period of time. No cheesy gimmicks or high-pressure nonsense, just the skills and knowledge that will create success for anyone willing to do the work and follow this advice. Regardless of your past experience or current level of connectivity, your industry or profession, whether you're an entrepreneur or climbing the corporate ladder: you can accomplish whatever you want by meeting and connecting with the right people. From Business Cards to Business Relationships gives you the tools you need to cement a positive personal brand and build your own profitable network. Praise for From Business Cards to Business Relationships "Allison Graham can help you turn an introduction into a business, a dinner into a relationship, and an average practice into world class. I've long preached that we're in a relationship business, and this book provides the handshakes, codes, actions, and routes to master those relationships." —Alan Weiss, PhD, Author of Million Dollar Consulting and The Consulting Bible "At last—a networking book that actually makes sense! Allison Graham's four pillars of networking are as simple as they are powerful. If you are willing to follow her lead with consistent and persistent effort, you will make your mark and expand your horizons both personally and professionally." —Lou Heckler, Humorous Business Keynote Speaker and Speech Coach "This book is an excellent and much-needed resource to share with the business community." —PJ Hartson, Business Editor, Sun Media

As it has been said, no man is an island, and this applies to the business world too. Relationships hold companies together and fuel future growth. From connecting with customers to forging high-performing teams, success depends on everyone working well together.In The Relationship Engine, author and business consultant Ed Wallace has provided the tools you need to become an intentional, masterful relationship-builder. Whether you are working with employees or associates, vendors or customers, you will learn how to:• Establish common ground• Focus on collaboration instead of command• Put people before process• Demonstrate worthy intent• Make every interaction matterThis insightful and practical guide also includes: a powerful RQ Assessment designed to measure and evaluate business relationships; a Relational Agility Action Planner; lateral and vertical strategy templates; and other simple yet effective exercises to help you get started strengthening your relationships.Don’t fall into the trap of prioritizing potential relationships over established ones. Your success depends not on who you don’t yet know, but on who you already know. Learn how to make caring, real-life connections with those you do business with, and let those relationships expand your networking opportunities for you!

In order to defend themselves against commoditization and disruptive innovation, leading companies are now gaining competitive advantage through networked business models and tapping into talent from outside their company. Rather than implementing rigid "built-to-last" processes, organizations are now constructing more fluid "built-to-adapt" networks in which each member focuses on its differentiation and relies increasingly on its partners, suppliers, and customers to provide the rest. With contributions by the biggest names in business network transformation, this book offers cutting edge research and an in-depth exploration of critical topics such as customer value, supply networks, product leadership, global processes, operations, innovation, relationship management, and IT. The book also provides practical guidance for successfully engaging in BNT, and is filled with illustrative case studies from some of the world’s largest and most successful companies. It contains the vital information business leaders need to enable their companies to deliver faster innovation to customers at lower cost by sharing investments, assets, and ideas across their business networks. An essential resource for all business leaders, Business Network Transformation shows how to transform any business network to achieve competitive advantage and increase the bottom line. Contributors include Geoffrey Moore, Philip Lay, Marco Iansiti, Mohan Sawhney, Ranjay Gulati, David Kletter, Venkat Venkatraman, John Hagel III, John Seely Brown, Gautam Kasthurirangan, Randall Russell, Henry Chesbrough, Jeffrey Dyer, and Andrew McAfee.

Effective customer partnership creates customers who return in good times and in bad, customers who say, "I wouldn't go anywhere else". Using real-world examples, Chip Bell examines the qualities that form the core of all lasting relationships and describes a way of business where personal interactions, not sales, take center stage.