Building a business relationship is like building a personal one, so don’t sweat it. Unless you’re a total hermit, you already have the experience you need. Just like with a significant other, you need to show up. What I mean is to be available. Listen. Learn and remember what’s important to them and help out where you can. Listen more. Timing is the trick. You don’t want to come off like a stalker or pain in the hind quarter. Plan your points of contact on a reasonable schedule. Oh, and did I mention listening?

Here are some tactics to help build you budding relationships:

Take notes during your conversations.
Find out their spouse’s and kids’ names. Who’s their boss? What are the challenges they face in their job and industry? Who are their key competitors? What kind of hobbies do the enjoy? Look around their office if you’ve gotten that far. What’s on the walls? Any nick knacks and perhaps a paddy whack?

Pop all this info into your handy contact manager (you’ve have one, right?) and set it up to alert you on important dates such as birthdays, anniversaries. Even better, have it alert you when it’s one of your prospect’s kid’s birthdays.

Be sure to ask how their family members are doing.

Send out cards for birthdays, special achievements, etc.

Send a handwritten card or thank-you note when appropriate

Take them to lunch, dinner or a special event.

Forward articles of interest, special deals you may hear about, special events (Like that club meeting where you’ll be speaking. What a coincidence!).

If they’ve mentioned a problem or challenge they’re having, and you know the answer, for goodness sake, tell them.

Always follow through on what you say you’ll do.
This is your springboard to credibility and earning your prospect’s respect. This also includes having integrity and being honest.

The point is to become a invaluable resource and someone who is looking out for them. It’s very important that this be true. That’s one reason why it’s good to find prospects you like as people, not simply a potential revenue source. Hopefully, you’ll be spending a lot of time with them working on that big project. But first, you’ve got to close the sale. We’ll tackle that in my next post.

Until the next
Marketing Minute
all the best,
nt