4 Tips on Building Stronger Business Relationships
By Mike Fishbein, entrepreneur.com, 27-11-2013
As the old saying goes, "It's now what you know but who you know."
For entrepreneurs, this couldn't be truer. Building relationships can
play a pivotal role in the success of your startup, as it can lead to
important introductions to investors, potential clients, future hires
and advisors.
But it isn't easy. Relationships need trust and rapport, which
requires consistent contact over time. For those looking to nurture and
build valued connections, here are some tips:
Be helpful.
In a professional setting, people like
to have relationships with those that can help their career or business.
Be that person. It will help both your network and you get stronger.
Offer relevant and mutually beneficial introductions. Provide advice,
expertise or feedback. Share information such as events, articles or
research that may be helpful. Promote your contact's work by sharing it
with others.
Per the law of reciprocity, when you are helpful to others, people will feel more inclined to be helpful to you.
Keep people posted. Send updates about what you’re
learning and accomplishing and ask your contacts to do the same. By
doing so, you can determine who in your network is inspiring and
excellent in respective fields, which can lead to connections down the
road.
Stay top of mind. You don’t want to go extended
periods of time without being on someone’s radar. Ask people to join you
for coffee or invite them to an event you’re attending or organizing.
Because people tend to be busy, make sure you always have a reason to
meet. If you don’t, you can still stay in touch remotely. Ask a quick
question over email. People will feel complimented that you’re viewing
them as an expert and will be happy to provide advice.
You can also communicate with people on social networks or comment on
their blogs. I keep a spreadsheet of my high priority contacts with a
column that lists the date of our most recent communication. I also use
email-reminder service Followup.cc to reconnect.
Be visible. Make it easy for people to see you and know what you’re doing online.
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