BUILDING RELATIONSHIP STRATEGIES
 

Do you want your business to be top-of-mind with your customers? The problem is how to do that when there’s so much competition out there. By following these simple, but effective, relationship-building strategies, you can greatly increase your chances of being the person / company people think of when they’re ready to buy – whatever your product.

Communication is vital to every business, whether it’s a small business or a Canada Top 500 company. Contact your customers on a regular basis and with different messages. Don’t just focus on promotions. (“Did I say that out loud?” but you know what I mean.) Send email updates about your business and newsletters with helpful information they can use. What’s happening in your field of expertise? And how to make that information relevant to your clients. And don’t forget to call or arrange face-to-face meetings that aren’t always sell-related.

Two-way communication is extremely important to your business relationship-building. Your customers should feel comfortable discussing their problems and issues with you. There’s just no substitute for good rapport when it comes to building and sustaining customer relationships. It’s a fact that people buy from people they like and like being around.

Nothing can sabotage a business more or more quickly than poor customer service! Respond as fast as possible to any customer inquiry or problem. Work hard to see problems are resolved to your customers’ satisfaction, and they’ll reward you by being loyal, which gives your business a firm customer base you can rely on – today and into the future.

Let me start with one of the most fundamental aspects of human relationships: For each and everything you want to achieve in life - whether it's landing that career position, closing that huge deal you’ve been working a year to complete or finding that lifelong romance - there will be at least one person on the other end deciding whether to support or help you get what you want. Everything we do can only be accomplished through and with other people. Simply put, success, of any kind, requires relationships. If this is the way the business universe works, you can see why human relationships and human networks are so important. The most common mistake people make when building relationships for their career success is treating business contacts differently than personal friends.

Just think for a moment about the people you work with on a professional level who are also close, personal friends. Aren't they always more forgiving when you slip up and more helpful when you're in need? Of course they are! I guarantee your work will become easier and more joyful if you make more of your business relationships personal. How to do it? The same way you make genuine friends. Build trust through intimacy; show them that besides being professional, you're also human. "All things being equal, people will do business with, and refer business to, those people they know, like and trust." So how do you get people to "know, like and trust" you? It takes many exposures for you to build trust so the sooner you begin to build your network of relationships the better.

I have written about building your own personal networks before and here is where I want to re-enforce that message. Who are the people you want in your network? From a business perspective you want potential clients or people who know potential clients. How do you find those people? The amazing thing is that you never know who other people know!

It is said each one of us knows 300 people. The first step is to write down your own 300, or, let’s just start with 100 to make it easy and attainable. Start first with family members, then friends, school colleagues, professional colleagues, suppliers, etc. You’re on your way. The next time you meet with someone on your list, will you be able to tell them about your work and who would make a good client for you? If you don’t have that information on the tip of your lips then you need to prepare that. It’s like your 30 second elevator speech. Prepare a short statement that gives the benefits of the work you do. Something like: “my business is built on professionalism, integrity and dedication to the clients I serve and those who are referred to me. Simply put, assisting my clients in promoting their corporate image is the only thing I do.” Here they might ask, "How do you do that?" Then you can talk about what the new types of products are and what “smart marketing” can do for their company. You also want to tell them who would make a good client for you. So you might add, "A good prospective client for me would be someone who is thinking about expanding their corporate image through branding or wanting to find that perfect product to enhance their image. Do you know anyone like that?"

Networking is a give and take process so you want to be sure you listen to what the other person does and who would make a good client for this person. Part of the whole business development process is helping others too. When you are generous with your referrals you will get many in return. There are all sorts of “referral networking clubs” out there but these strategies don’t cost you an annual membership fee.

You've started with your own personal network but when you expand this network, you'll want to think more strategically. Who are your most likely referrers? Past clients are a strong possibility. If they liked your work, they will be willing to recommend you to others who have a similar need. People who have frequent contact with your target market would be another group that offers possibilities. Finally we all know a few naturally gregarious people who love telling people about someone they know who is great at “______” - the person with the big data base that loves connecting people. This kind of person can be a great resource for you! Some refer to those people as their COI – Circle (or Centre) of Influence. I call them my Circle of 10 – my top 10 referrers and I treat them like gold. And those 10 have 10 (which I’m one of) and so on and so on.
If business is all about relationships then it is up to you as the business owner to keep those relationships going. As you begin to see referrals, you will know who your best referrers are. Treat them well. Stay in front of them so when a potential client for you comes their way, you will be the first person they think of.

Take Action:
If you have never done this before, make a list of your friends, family and other connections. How close to 300 did you get? Okay 200? How about starting with just 100? Remember this doesn’t mean you know these people well. Check your Christmas card list! Your Palm or Blackberry (or both!), all those boxes where you’ve stored business cards collected at previous networking sessions – the list goes on…
Make a list of your current and past clients. Do you know which ones are referring business to you? Take action right now to let all your current and past clients know you appreciate referrals. Have you thanked them recently with a small gift (or promotional product?) – “sorry I couldn’t help myself.”
Make a list of good strategic partners for you. If you know names, put them on your list. If you know occupations or categories of people, put them on your list. Think about ways to meet these people either by going to a meeting or asking someone you know to introduce you.
Above all else – do something productive with this list. As I used to say to my sales team (and this isn’t my quote – unless my name is Anonymous): “It’s better to try and fail in the deed than do nothing at all and always succeed.”
Bill McKinney, Image marketing Consultant


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