A Must Read
—By Investment Counselor, Portland, Oregon
I've probably read 20 very good books about communication, and several great ones. My favorite so far is the classic "How to Win Friends and Influence People". If you had to consolidate the best of the other books, you'd probably end up with the 'How to Win Friends' book as a summary of the rest, that's how much it leads the field. However, what that book lacks, is a specific "How To" on managing your CONVERSATIONS so you and everyone participating in them can get the most value out of those conversations.
That's exactly what THIS book is. A "How To" apply those timeless lessons to show respect for the other person, to truly listen, to understand where they are coming from, and to get to a mutually beneficial result. This book presents actual examples of how to structure conversations and explains why and how this logic was arrived at.
I've been in business a long time, and been professionally communicating more than 25 years, in business, as a coach, and as a teacher, and I found a lot of value in this book, so I'm sure you will too. I think this book will be ESPECIALLY beneficial for those that want to build great relationships, which is why I bought it for a friend. To be clear, my friend is a good communicator already, friendly, kind, and genuinely interested in people, which is all anyone could ask for in a professional. Those skills will take anyone a long way, and buy them a lot of leeway to correct small mistakes that naturally happen in conversations between people, but how do you go beyond that? That's exactly what this book teaches, which is why I bought it for a friend who is a little newer to the business of dealing with people than I am. *ahem* i'm getting old.
Buy this book. More importantly READ this book. MOST importantly, apply the lessons of this book, and let it inspire you on your own journey to have great relationships, one conversation at a time.
This really works!
—By Wealth Advisor, Seattle, Washington
Conversations is a how-to deepen all relationships. The 10 step process really works and the more I follow the steps the better I connect with my clients. It is written with a logical sequence to follow and just the right amount of stories to help drive the concepts home.
Best book on building mutually beneficial relationships I've read in a long time!
—By Principal Strategist, Dream Mentor and Entrepreneur, Portland, Oregon
This book gets a 5 star rating because the content, format, and excellent modeling of a conversation flow through the better use of questions make it easy to apply. As an executive coach and management consultant myself I highly recommend as a handbook to equip and upgrade leaders, relationship managers, sales, customer service for the times we live in.
As we move into an era where we have even greater need for collaboration and stronger relationships Ivan has written succinctly and modeled well the rut we commonly fall into when discovering needs and re-frames a response empowering the reader to raise their own bar. This book also contains excellent insights on how to address skepticism, misunderstandings and indifference with a conclusion of the 10 Lessons Learned from 10,000 Conversations that make it easy to use for self or within an organization.
The conversation bible for any business professional
—By Investment Counselor, Portland, Oregon
Such an excellent collaboration of real life scenarios to help the business professional and relationship manager. Communication is key and Ivan lays it out beautifully.
Instructive and Impactful
—By Financial Services Professional, Brush Prairie, Washington
This book is a manual for someone who wants to optimize business and personal relationships through effective conversations. The focus is on business relationships, which is why I was first attracted to it. What I found was a cohesive plan for having more meaningful conversations in my business and personal relationships. I strongly recommend this book.
More Aware of How I Speak
—By Company Founder/Principal Insurance Archaeologist, Indianapolis, Indiana
I never gave much consideration to the power I have in my conversations. I can make or break the direction of a call by failing to ask a few simple questions. Employing the strategies in the book help me to hear my mistakes as I make them. This takes practice. And I will continue to reference this book to improve my rapport with my clients.
Review
—By Global Investment Advisor/Relationship Manager, Portland, Oregon
They don’t teach you how to manage client relationships in business school, but they should. I plan to read Conversations more than once—like the scriptures. At the same time, this is not just another business book. It’s a life book. I strongly recommend it. It will help a lot of people.
A conversation starter
—By Field Sales Trainer, Indianapolis Indiana
I enjoyed this book very much. I am in sales, and it was a great reminder of what it takes to have a meaningful conversation. Not just to secure a sales, but to improve all of your relationships. Many of the points are things I had heard before in various selling courses. However, this book was a great read to get back to those fundamentals. I would highly recommend it to anyone wanting to improve they way they communicate with loved ones, or business associates.
Testimonial
—By Financial Outside Sales Professional, Orange County, California
This is an excellent and essential read for people in our profession.
Very readable!
—By Mother-in-law
I worked in customer service a good part of my life and this book distills the essence of being connected to the people with whom you speak. It is clearly written and an enjoyable read as well as packed with helpful information. As Ivan’s mother-in-law I also rate him high on the dependability and believability scale. Follow his advice, as he himself does, and see yourself increase in customer skills!
Puts you in control of moving a discussion forward
—By Manager, New York City
Written in an engaging and easy to follow format, this book helped me use open-ended questions with clients to better understand their needs and develop a stronger relationship. Especially liked the tips for handling objections using questions to better understand the “why” behind them. This is a book you’ll want to read more than once!