The Art of the Business Relationship
So much gets talked about today regarding “relationships” and “relationship building” when it comes down to working with your customers and accounts and project teams. It doesn’t matter if you are in sales, customer service, or managing a large marketing project, building a relationship with individuals takes time, work and effort. You have to have a true desire for others to succeed to be considered sincere and trustworthy by others. Relationships are developed over time and not through casual dialog and or meetings or chance, they are typically built when each of you are sharing a common goal or trying to solve a problem together where the end goal is the reward and not the individual attainment.
Businesses rely on relationships (as they are the bedrock of success in just about any field) and can mean the difference between long-term partnerships where all parties benefit versus short-sighted flings where one side benefits and the other parties don’t end up that well. It’s hard work and requires an investment of time and resources and sometimes you have to be willing to give up short term gain for long term success. Open dialog and transparency when building relationships always works best as people feel free to share ideas, express challenges and not feel inhibited their ideas don’t have merit. In the end, creating an open environment can only increase the chances of successful relationship building.
Oddly, most of us have these tools built-in. We learn lessons early on. Perhaps watching parents work through their relationship or their interaction with others that help shape our views and how we treat and relate to others. There aren’t many successful projects, sales closings, or marketing events that haven’t first built a solid foundation on relationships for all parties involved. Consider it the foundation that needs to be built when building a house. We know that once the house is built, it will have to withstand storms, rain, winds in order to remain strong. Relationships are no different in business, they will need to weather the ups and downs and challenging times.
But if built correctly from the start, they are the sturdy foundations for most business activities. Relationships aren’t something you just put on your to-do list to work on. They take communication, some stumbling, and a real sense of authenticity, but their rewards include not only the obvious (success for everyone), but also long-term partner- and friendships.
They’re worth the effort, and it’s worth investing in the art of building them.
