Building Great Business Relationships

If you’re in a business relationship with anyone – a client, vendor, or customer – how important is that relationship to you? Do you value the relationship? Do you want to nurture it?

A business relationship, like any relationship, is a two-way street. The expectations of both parties needs be clear and easily understandable. Applying the Golden Rule is also a good idea: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” That is a very powerful statement, and one I try to practice in my daily life, both in business and personal matters.

Good communication is key for any business relationship to grow and thrive. Even when conflicts surface (and they will), keeping the lines of communication open at all times is extremely important.  Meet conflicts head-on, no matter how frightening they may seem at the time. The sooner the issues are out on the table and dealt with, the sooner you can get back on track and back to business-as-usual.

Another thing to keep in mind is letting people know you appreciate them. Thank you notes, cards and e-mails are always a good idea, and they never go out of style. People love to be appreciated. If you are receiving great business from someone, always be sure to let them know. You will feel better for it, and so will they.

Another great idea is to reach out and “touch” your clients and customers on a regular basis by sending them monthly newsletters. This is a wonderful way to keep in touch, both to let them know you are thinking about them, and to remind them about you as well.

Remember, you get out of a great relationship what you put into it. Value those you do business with. Nurture the relationships, so they are always growing and prospering. Keep this up and you will always have a garden full of healthy, happy business contacts.

How to Start a Business Relationship, Even if You are Painfully Shy and Hate People

Course ONE: Response Synergy — The Ultimate Online & Offline Response Follow Up Tool

To build your business, you’ve got to build your business relationships. I said it now, I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again throughout this course. Don’t worry about building your business, worry about building your relationships and your business will build itself. There are all kinds of easy, even automatic, things you can do to build a relationship and I’ll get into those in later lessons. First, though, you need to have a relationship before you can develop it into something profitable. How do you do that? How do you do that when you don’t have the time, energy, or gift of gab? As for the first two, all I can say is this: if you don’t think you have the time or energy now to start and build a business relationship, fine. Don’t. You’ll have plenty of energy and time later, when you don’t have any business. As for not being a “people person” or being shy about talking to new people, I’ll show you how to make this part as painless as possible.

The first thing to do when thinking about starting a business relationship is to decide who you want to have one with — narrow the pool of potential clients. It may sound counterintuitive, but it’s like pruning a tree. Sometimes you have to cut some new growth to make the whole tree stronger. Besides, that’s just less people you have to worry about talking to. Additionally, once you do this, you may discover that you have no problem connecting with and talking to these people because you have something in common — your business. Which brings me to the two easiest ways ever to start a business relationship: networking lunch and professional activities.

The networking lunch (sometimes it’s a breakfast) is the easiest single way to meet potential clients and client referral sources ever. At it’s least painful, you walk into a restaurant, sit down at a table with a couple of strangers, plop down your business cards, eat lunch, listen to a speaker, then leave after collecting the business cards of others. Of course, this is not the most efficient use of your time; things tend to work out better if you chat with the people you are sitting with. Usually, these things have a meet and greet time before the meal is actually served, and that’s a good time to chat with people and pass around your business cards. Sure you have to interact with people, maybe even strangers, but it actually is much easier than it seems because everything there is out in the open. That is, people are expecting you to talk about yourself and your business and hand them your business card. You must, of course, return the favor, and allow them to do the same. In that regard, here’s a tip that will make it easier for you to work the room: talk less, listen more. Most people will assume you are interested in them and think better of you for being so, and most people will assume you are interesting and intelligent until you prove otherwise.

If you are not involved in an industry or professional organization, tear yourself away from this lesson and join one or even two or three, now. I’ll wait. OK, good. Not only is it a great thing to join such a group in terms of keeping up with your business, it is a fantastic way to generate business. The better known you are in your industry, the more likely you are to get the business that someone else is conflicted out of or doesn’t have time or the ability to do. Further, people who are ancillary to your industry, but crucial for getting business are likely to attend these things. For instance, an estate planning attorney might be part of the Southern Arizona Estate Planning Council, an industry group that meets once a month for a dinner lecture. At dinner, that attorney will probably sit with other attorneys, CPAs, life insurance professionals, and financial advisors. All those people are sources of business for the attorney and vice versa.

Industry and professional groups, to be effective, usually require a little more than the average networking lunch. If you want anyone to take your business card, and actually do something with it besides throw it away, you need to make yourself known, and trusted, to the group. Volunteer for something. Speak at a lunch, write an article for the newsletter, donate meeting space. Do something besides just attend (though that’s better than nothing). When you do those things, you won’t have to worry about trying to talk to people; they’ll be clamoring to talk to you. A correlation to joining industry and professional groups and attending their events is participating in their online activities. Almost every group has a listserv or a message board; contribute to it. This is probably actually the easiest single way to meet business referral sources — even easier than the networking lunch.

Once you meet someone and decide you want to start a relationship with them, follow up right away. The next day is best, but within three days is crucial. Nothing elaborate is needed here, just a quick e-mail or phone call mentioning that it was nice talking to them and you’d like to meet again. Be sure to ask to meet again. If you promised some sort of information, be sure to deliver it. After the quick call or e-mail, send a note card with your business card inside, repeating yourself. It’s a good sign if they follow up with you too, mentioning that they were just about to call or e-mail you, but if you don’t hear anything, don’t freak out. Relationship building is a slow process, give it time. Move on to the next contact.

Read our other courses on: What to Do at a Meeting with a Potential Client and How To Follow Up on the Meeting; How Best to Remain in Contact with Your Client and How to Keep Your Client Happy in the Relationship at http:www.responsesynergy.com

All the best, Wolf Krammel

In business, the customer is always right - sometimes confused,

In business, the customer is always right - sometimes confused, misinformed, rude,

In business, the customer is always right - sometimes confused, misinformed, rude, stubborn and changeable, but never wrong. Ever date anyone like that?

Customers are the reason you have a business. Without them, no matter what you do, there isn’t any business.

Therefore, you should approach customer service the same way you approach a date. Nurture it with good habits and relentless care. Each date builds on the previous one. Each sale does the same in building customer retention.

So, here are the simple suggestions for “dating” your customer and enhancing your business relationships.

* Dazzle customers with your service. The key to good customer service is treating all your customers well but not necessarily the same. Respond to their needs as individuals. While one customer might need a ton of help and attention, another might prefer an opportunity to browse with privacy.

* Anticipate the needs of your customers by emphasizing service over sales. Good service sells. But pushy service people who are always trying to sell more can be a major turnoff to all customers.

* Treat your customers well by being a problem solver. If you can’t help the customer, help him or her find someone who can. Customers appreciate your help - even when you aren’t directly profiting from a sale. Just consider it an investment. They’ll appreciate the advice and remember your business the next time they need your goods or services.

* Innovate by understanding that most rules should be flexible. Don’t ever say, “No, that’s against the rules,” to a customer who’s making a reasonable request. Your main rule - one that should never be compromised - is to keep your customers happy and satisfied.

* Nurture your employees by giving them the care and respect that you want them to give your customers. If you treat them well, your employees will be great ambassadors of service. If you treat them poorly, they’ll treat your customers badly in turn.

* Guarantee that your customers keep coming back. Have a great customer service plan and post it in a central location for all to see. Once employees understand the importance of great customer service, you will have customers returning over and over.