The Biznik Blog - where business networking meets the future

You may already understand that relationships play an important role in keeping profitable customers, attracting talented employees, and advancing your own career. But are you doing anything to strengthen those relationships? Here are a few reasons why you should:

• Customers are 5 times more likely to purchase from existing vendors than try a new one. It’s more difficult for you to get a chance when your competition has better customer relationships.
• When surveyed, customers who are most satisfied also state that they have a strong relationship with their solutions provider. This fact is consistent even when service quality is below industry averages.
• Sales cycles for complex solutions are shorter for providers with higher levels of trust. Strong rapport before selling makes it easy for customers to decide to buy.

How many times have you struggled with low customer retention? Infrequent repurchases. Or, lost your best talent to a competitor? How much do weak relationships cost your company?

Weak relationships could be costing you thousands.

It’s possible the relationships you have with customers, employees, and partners are hurting your ability to obtain the results you desire. Whether you lose thousand per year or by day, weak relationships cause lost sales, poor communications, and wasted resources.

Developing the Relationship Mindset
Given the potential damage from poor business relationship management, perhaps its time you proactively changed your mindset to one focused on building and maintaining stronger relationships.

Developing a relationship mindset does require effort, but can also prove to be fun. To get a good sense of where you are at now, try this. Plot out your various business relationships in terms of 3-4 concentric rings emanating out from you. Those closest to you form your inner circle, those further away, your outer circles. Your goal is to move potentially fruitful relationships from the non-committal, farther rings to the closer ones. But how?

The steps to advance that important business relationship might sound similar to those you’d use with a romantic interest. That’s because they are. In each case, we are looking for others to engage in long-term patterns of behavior that are mutually beneficial. And, both cases require commitment, acceptance of your interdependence, lots of listening and paying attention to the details.

Given a sense of trust and mutual respect, two business people may find that they have similar interests and related goals. They agree to join forces. That’s the beginning of the commitment. If the relationship is to be truly successful and mutually beneficial, each side must buy into it and accept their interdependence. When one succeeds, it’s good for both.

That doesn’t mean that you should always expect an immediate return on your efforts. As you learn more about your partner’s goals, you can focus on helping them achieve those goals. If you do so, even when there’s nothing in it for you, it will clearly show that you have the partner’s best interest in mind. And, it will help develop the relationship. Think about it. When was the last time someone truly helped you when there was nothing in it for them? Refreshing, right?

True understanding of other’s goals takes good listening. The old adage that you should listen 3 times as much as you talk is right on. It’s amazing what you’ll learn when you actively listen. And, when you give them the opportunity to express their opinions, the relationship will be better for it.

Listen to what interests them – their hobbies, activities, and business goals. Ask questions to encourage them to share what’s important to them. “I heard you just got back from vacation. Where’d you go?�? “How did your team do at the golf tournament last weekend?” “How’s business going.” It may just be small talk, but it goes a long way.

Finally, pay attention to the details in their stories and do the little things that make a big impression. If your partner is crazy about golf, you might send them a copy of this month’s Golf Digest. If they love their coffee, bring them a cup of Starbucks java for your next meeting. I guarantee they’ll be impressed.

The Results of Living with a Relationship Mindset
When you proactively commit to the partnership, listen actively, and do the little things that make a big impression, your business relationships will flourish. You’ll reap what you sow and you’ll be the one to get more leads, improve customer satisfaction, shorten sales cycles, and maximize the bottom line. More importantly, you’ll have developed dozens of allies that are now actively looking out for your best interest as you look out for theirs.

Ron is the Chief Relationship Officer and founder of the Relationship Strategies Institute, a training and Relationship development company that provides innovative, effective and relevant programs and systems for corporations, organizations, and associations. To learn more about the value of Relationship Development, visit his Web site at www.RelationshipStrategiesInstitute.com or e-mail him at – RS@RelationshipStrategiesInstitute.com

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 2nd, 2007 at 12:46 pm and is filed under News. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.