Ten Ways to Build Solid, Strong, Lasting Business Relationships

It takes a dedicated amount of time and energy to build good, strong, lasting business relationships today. They are such an integral and necessary part of success, but people don’t seem to want to put in the work. In this week’s “Ten-to-Win,” Kim shares 10 Ways to Build Solid, Strong, Lasting Business Relationships. Enjoy!

1. Be Authentic. Be who you are and accept others as they are. It’s easy to create a false persona, especially online, but that is not the way to start a relationship and can be short-lived when we start qualifying people and companies. The authenticity of connecting personality, beliefs and point of view can accelerate relationships.

2. Develop Mutual Respect. I find this takes time, unless someone is referred to you by a trusted connection. We prove ourselves over time and through different activities and experiences. Join a chamber, professional group, or online community which are all great environments to develop relationships. Be patient, selective and watch people in action. Building mutual respect is an essential for growing relationships.

3. Share Some Vulnerability. We are human and sometimes that means sharing and supporting people through difficulty, challenge and change. Showing our vulnerability is part of our authenticity. One word of caution: this is best shared with a select few rather than more publicly. Use good judgment here.

4. “I’ve Got Your Back”. Let people know that you have their back as a way of showing loyalty to them. I have been at way too many events where gossip and unnecessary conversations occur among people that simple shouldn’t be doing that.

5. Make Meaningful Connections for People to Network with Each Other. The greatest compliment in business is a referral. We should be thoughtful, have the right motives and be connecting people for the right reasons. Not all referrals work out. It takes two to make it happen and work, so don’t be doing all the work.

6. Get More Personal. If you really want to get to know people, ask them to go for coffee so that you can talk more personally, one on one. Be willing to share experiences, ideas, points of view and simply learn more about each other’s story, family and professional history.

7. Plan Something Fun to Do Together. All work and no play makes us dull! Be willing to go out and do something fun together that may not have anything to do with work. Music, art, entertainment, meet ups and community events are all fun things to do to see different sides of people.

8. Let Go of Expectations. Always go into relationships with an open mind, realistic expectations and never assume. People are only who we think they are based on what our interactions have been with them. One of the best pieces of advice I got from a client was: accept the way people are not as you want them to be.

9. Schedule Brainstorming Time. Block out dedicated time to brainstorm, engage and do business together. Best to set a regular time, a time limit and an agenda for what you want to accomplish in it. Leave some time unexpected discussion.

10. Offer Something Before Asking for Something. Recently Trendwatching.com came out with a trend brief that highlighted “serving is the new selling”. They put a name on what we were already knew was the trend shift in sales and marketing and now it is the norm in business, social media and content marketing. When we educate, help and inspire others with our experience and expertise, we are building the foundation for trust that underlies relationships that endure.