09 Jun Modern Guide to Building Relationships Your Business Can’t Grow Without
Everything we do is connected to our relationships. If we want to do something it’s almost a guarantee that we’ll need someone else to make it happen.
“There is always something special about making something out of nothing,” says Rosie, the old woman sitting next to me at the coffee shop. She’s talking about the wire art on the wall, and she’s talking to nearly everyone who comes into the busy coffee shop. Everyone who comes through the door knows her and loves her. If she were social media savvy, she’d have a gazillion connections.
The surfers next to me are talking about going to the beach early in the morning when everything is serene. They suggest ways to find serenity. They laugh. They connect. Rosie suggests ways to make more money, get social security, and retire. They all agree she has great advice.
This seems like any ordinary daily interaction between old and new friends. Likewise, an essential road to building your business is naturally and strategically building the relationships necessary to make your business grow. From lead generation, to networking for B2B development, to positioning your business socially, we all need other people. People make up organizations and people are the source for getting you what you need to grow. There are few ways to thrive without solid relationships.
There is however, a real difference between making a connection and making a connection that will affect the trajectory of your success exponentially for the long term. Here’s how to build your relationships with integrity for all.
Listen first
Extraordinary success, the kind that breaks barriers and is alive on multiple levels is not possible without creating, building, and cultivating quality relationships. Think about quality over quantity. Who is important for you to create a sincere relationship with and why?
Meet Over Coffee
Yes, we live in an online world, and yes, face-to-face conversations are essential. When you can, take the time to meet someone in person. There is nothing more real than your relationship with a handshake, a smile.
Check Your Ego At The Door
No matter how many people you know, realize that we all need to see the core of kindness and purpose in you. This is how we relate as at humans.
Dive For the Bullet
When push comes to shove, someone needs to take responsibility for things that go awry ary even if it wasn’t your fault. Nothing binds a relationship more than the ability to take responsibility when it isn’t clear why something went wrong. Be the one to do what it takes to get a shaky relationship back on track.
Give
If you want to build a relationship with someone, you need to be a giver. Ask yourself first what you can do for them before you ask of them.
Be The First to Initiate Support
No relationship is balanced without give and take. Be the first one to raise your hand and do something that creates a communication pathway or a win for both people.
Apologize
Sometimes an apology is in order. Know when and how to do this right. It’s a skill to realize a mistake and then be able to say you are sorry and why.
Nurture the relationship over the long term
Rome wasn’t built in a day, and it takes time to build trust.
Influencers, super connectors, uber successful experts have all built these relationships over time, and you can, too. Again, remember to get something from someone, give first. To establish a lasting relationship, one that keeps on giving be real and sincere about establishing what you need and what you can give.
We are all human
No matter how connected a person is, understand that we are all people, and we all, essentially, want the same things from a relationship. Attributes like honesty, sincerity, trustworthiness, and integrity span time, culture, and economics. These traits are just as critical to business relationships as they are to our personal relationships. There is a grey area where we are all just people, and a business is based on these qualities. Don’t overlook them as negotiable.
Remember Who You Are Speaking With
Good advice is just that, good advice. It doesn’t matter if it comes from your mom or the CEO of the greatest company on earth. Treat your connections with respect based on humanness rather than how many people they know. You never know from whom the next best piece of advice will come.
How do you create your best relationships?
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