Book excerpt: A proven step-by-step approach to leveraging the unique power of relationships to your best business advantage.Our professional relationships are the most important asset we have when it comes to growing our careers and our businesses. Most people think of this as “networking.” But in today’s hyperconnected market, the most cost-effective and high-return route to new, repeat, and referral business is through our existing networks, not through adding more social media “friends” and “connections.” This transformative guide from relationship marketing expert Zvi Band shows you how to deepen your personal connections to achieve your professional goals—using the CAPITAL strategy of relationship-building techniques:•Consistency: develop good habits to form stronger relationships •Aggregate: build a personal database of professional contacts•Prioritize: order your network based on who can help•Investigate: collect intelligence on the people who are most important to you•Timely Engagement: create a steady cadence in your outreach•Adding Value: offer more than a simple follow-up•Leverage: execute more effectivelyThe basic idea behind these powerful tools is simple: Effective relationship building is not about acquiring new contacts. It’s about strengthening your connections with the key people who will help you drive your business forward. Through a combination of personal research, best practices, and case studies, Band provides a prescriptive strategy you can customize and follow every day. You’ll find cost-effective, high-yield tools that can be implemented via social media and other digital platforms. You’ll discover the best-kept secrets of the most popular companies in the world—and time-saving techniques for achieving similar results with your own customers. Most important, you can make the most of what you already have: the simple human connections that make everything worthwhile.In business, as in life, it all comes down to the quality of your relationships. When the right people are on your side, Success Is in Your Sphere.