A Great Business Relationship Starts With A Great Question
We’ve all been to the cocktail party or the networking event where we get bombarded by the person who wants to talk about themselves the entire time. Worse is the person who asks you the sort of questions that they use for screening potential customers. To them you are just another notch in the belt so to speak. You know as well as I do that this is not the way to start a business relationship. Great relationships start with great questions. This is true in life and in business. When you meet someone for the first time the goal is to learn as much about them as you possibly
Build Business Relationships By Asking The Right Questions
There are obvious reasons why people don’t buy a product or service. Price, time, trust, etc. There are also a whole set of other reasons that people don’t buy our product/service that never come up in normal transactions. So how do we uncover these hidden reasons? Yesterday I shared 6 questions that you should ask people who are giving you testimonials. The first question to me is the most important. What was the obstacle that would have prevented you from buying this product? Don’t get me wrong, I like to hear about the things that people loved but those answers are always more obvious. When people share with you the
Who You Know is Important Just Don’t Ignore Who You Want to Know
If you have ever taken some time to assess who you know in your life and take stock of the relationship capital that currently exists, that’s great because it’s important. Taking the concept of who you know one step further is taking some time to assess who you want to know. Our existing relationships can be a great source of inspiration, assistance, accountability, love and friendship. Small business owners need lots of all of these things. There’s come a point, however, where you need to make new connections to move yourself and your business further. This doesn’t mean that your old relationships aren’t important anymore, it just means that you
How Well Are You Cultivating Your Existing Relationships?
Utilizing the power of people when we are building are business is, as I mention previously, an underutilized tool for your business. A resource that is often overlooked in helping you build your business is your friends and family. How well do you cultivate your existing personal relationships? I don’t make the friends and family point in a MLM sort of way where you list them out and then try and get them in your down line. I am talking about have meaningful conversations with people that you care about so that you are aware of what it is they do professional and what types of projects they have been
Are You Asking The Right Questions?
I want to talk about relationship building this week. Specfically as it pertains to building your career or your business. Even more specifically, I want to talk today about asking the right questions when you are talking with people. About two and a half years ago I had started contemplating a move out of corporate America and into something else in my career. Before I get into the story, I want to make it clear that it’s not about me, it’s about having opportunities and not doing anything about it. So as I am contemplating a move, a good friend of mine hears that I am thinking about moving on
Be Creative when Creating Value… Just Don’t Overdo It
Part of value creation is being innovative. Giving people services and products they haven’t seen before. Being creative is great when you are serving your clients but being too innovative could be costly and put your company or your career at a standstill before it even starts. Everyone is looking for the next big thing to catapult them to success. Sometimes it’s the little things that we miss that can make the biggest impact. Let’s look at two examples of this from the article “7 Ways to Create Value and Profit Out of Thin Air” http://www.newsletterarchive.org/2007/08/08/215088-7+Ways+to+Create+Value+&+Profit+Out+of+Thin+Air. Let’s talk about two easy steps that you can employ now: Innovation with existing
Tales of the rugged individualist
The definition of rugged individualism as defined by dictionary.com: rugged individualism- noun- individualism in social and economic affairs; belief not only in personal liberty and self-reliance but also in free competition. I have heard that this person still exists out there and have run across him/her several times in the past few years. Is this how you run your business? The problem with going it on your own is that we don’t know everything there is to know about setting it up and running it on our own. Because of this we are intimidated by the process. Small Business owners move forward every day and try and complete campaigns
The underlying theme of Social Media
I have been thinking a lot about why we use social media today. The reconnection with past friends, the ability to connect with people more frequently that live far away and also the possibility of finding like minded individuals that you may be able to do business or collaborate with in one way, shape or form in the future. These are all great things. The problem is that I think we start to forget why we blog, use Twitter or Facebook, comment on other people’s blogs. When it’s all said and done, the underlying theme is to build meaningful relationships. The key word being meaningful. While I was thinking about
A quick look at who you know for 2009
It’s a new year and you may or may not be thinking about resolutions. For those who are setting out goals this year, it’s time to take stock of your relationships. This will be an easy and readily available resource for all in 2009. There are four questions you can ask yourself to get you on the building track. What relationships currently exist that are assets? Who do I want to build relationships with this year? Where do I need to go to meet these people? And the last question is, who in my life is a currently a liability? Take a few minutes this weekend and jot down the
Are you a relationship builder?
Personal relationships are coming to the forefront of business. The relationships can’t be superficial, they have to include meaningful dialogue and authenticity. No more putting up the front because we don’t want people to see who we really are? Are we still talking about business? We are but we are also talking about human beings as capital for your business. Calling human beings capital may not resonate with you intially (or never) but I use it to illustrate the importance of building relationships with people inside of your current circle and out. This spririt of cooperation will be vital to small business survival. It’s time to make connections that are
