Networking Inspiration and the Right Stuff Dr Ivan Misner

Networking Inspiration and the Right Stuff Dr Ivan Misner Networking inspiration and the right stuff: Dr Ivan Misner Image Source: Ivan Misner on FacebookIn Part 1 of our interview special feature on Dr Ivan Misner, the  Business Network International founder discussed the early years of BNI and his belief that networking is not necessarily a birthright but a mindset and a skill that can be taught.Dr Ivan Misner has applied this philosophy across a bibliography of 20 books on networking, including  such widely read sole-written and co-authored titles as  The 29% Solution and Networking Like a Pro: Turning Contacts Into Connections, as well as  the  New York Times  best-seller, Masters of Success: Proven Techniques for Achieving Success in Business and Life. Image Source: Amazon Check Price In Part 2 of this four-part series, Dr Misner discusses his own role models  in  networking inspiration and the right stuff for referral marketing. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Role modelsMisner  has several role models who he claims are as important to him now as when he started in busines s. His primary touchstones remain  his parents. “I think your parents shape you in many ways, either positively or negatively, and mine shaped me in a very positive way. Whatever people skills I have, Im sure I got from my mother. And whatever work ethic I have, Im sure that came from my father, so certainly I’m greatly influenced by my parents as role models.Of his professional role models, he reserves the highest praise for Michael Gerber, particularly during the early years of BNI, and also Jack Canfield  [pictured below, left, with Ivan Misner  at a book launch], the acclaimed author of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series of books. Image Source: Amazon Check Price “Jack is a gentleman, and has become a good friend over the years. I have a lot of respect for him, and one of the things that I love about Jack is… I mean, this guy has sold three quarters of a billion books. Three quarters of a billion! And what I love about Jack is that his ego does not enter the room befor e he does. To be as successful as Jack is, he is one of the least ego-driven people I know. A humble person doesnt have to think less of themselves, they just need to think of themselves less, so I really respect that a great deal about Jack, and Ive certainly learnt a lot from him.”Image Source: Ivan Misner on FacebookThe core attributes of a networker“You have to be there to help other people…”For  people starting out in business who may not rate themselves as natural networkers, Misner creates the greatest grounds possible for optimism in his view that it is a skill-set that can be taught, provided the mindset is correct.“The mindset has to be one of understanding that networking is more about farming than it is about hunting, its about cultivating relationshipsâ€"in BNI we call that Givers Gain. If you want to get business you have to be wiling to give business. You have to be there to help other people.”To understand the skill-set, one has only to look at a survey t hat was published in Misner’s book  (co-authored with Don Morgan), Masters of Networking, in which several  thousand respondents were surveyed on their views about the top 10 characteristics of a master networker. Image Source: Amazon Check Price “The top five of those were as follows. Good networkers follow up on referrals, and don’t  sit on them. They have a positive attitude: people  hate networking with people who are negative.  They are also  enthusiastic. It isn’t just about having a positive attitude, but about being enthusiastic, and being motivated. Good networkers  are also  trustworthy. And they have good listening skills. Those are the top five of the 10 skills that people in that survey recognised. And I wouldnt disagree with those.”Asked to elaborate on whether something such as trustworthiness should even require mentioning, Misner is emphaticâ€"not only does trust matter, but it also matters that it be singled out as a core networking requirement.“Look… when you give a referral, you give a little bit of your reputation away. Give a good referral, it enhances your reputation. Give a bad referral, it hurts your reputation. So, trust is extremely important, and one of the reasons why BNI works so well in 65 countries is that there is no entrepreneurial nation where trust is not a factor in giving referrals. Trust is always important when you give business. Its a union card. You need it to get in the door.”He is adamant that the skills can be taught. “I was not good at networking, and I think its a skill that absolutely can be acquired,” he insists.In Part 3: Ivan Misner discusses what makes referral marketing and face-to-face networking even more important in the age of digital communication.