I usually write about money and how to use it to improve your
business. But this month, I want to talk about a different kind of
investment – investing in relationships. There’s more to business
than money changing hands. There are a host of non-economic
relationships that can really matter in business and it takes all of
them to build a successful reputation, career and company.
Our industry is based on relationships more than any other I know:
key relationships between the merchant and ISO, between ISO and
processor and many others. Each of these links is obvious. It goes
without saying that you need to have a good relationship with your
customers and key vendors.
But what about relationships with others who are not in these groups?
Are there people out there who can be helpful to you as you try to
accomplish new things with your business and career?
I think you can’t always know who these people are or how your
relationship might develop over time, but I do know that when you
need good advice, you need it fast, and there’s usually one or two
people who can really understand the issue you are facing and answer
the question in an authoritative way that you can act on.
The key here is to know who those few people are and be able to get
their attention when you have an issue to address.
I find that as the industry situation changes, I need the advice of
different people. Some times our problems are operational, so I need
to talk with someone from that background. Other times, our issues
are in sales, and I need the advice of someone with that expertise.
Still other times, the issues are financial. You get the idea – you
need a large roladex of names of people with whom you have a good
relationship so that when an issue or opportunity arises, you know
who to call to get the advice or action you need. You really can’t
know enough people.
How do you build that network? A guy I know smarter and richer than
me once said that “Money is like manure – you have to spread it
around before it does any good.” I have always thought that was a
very good observation, and it applies to business cards, too. It’s
simple to think about handing out and picking up lots of cards at a
trade show. But then what? When you get back to the office, it’s
worth the investment to get those cards in to a computer database
(Microsoft Outlook is great for this purpose), and classify them by
category – sales, financial, operating whatever. That way, you can
sort them by subject area later.
How do you form a relationship with people you won’t see regularly?
This is the toughest part of the question, but I think it starts with
the old saying “What goes around comes around.” To me, that means
doing favors for people without the expectation of return. Ask
yourself what you can do some for someone else. 15 minutes of your
time to help someone with an issue they are facing will be remembered
later when your time to seek help comes around.
Trust is the foundation of all relationships. Without trust, you have
nothing to build on. And trust is hard to build.
It takes time. People have to believe that you have earned their
trust over time. How can you show you’re trustworthy? By trusting
others. Share a confidence, ask a question, show respect for their
opinions and see if you get it back from them. I have found this
works great for me.
Relationships are also built using a context of related actions or
experiences. Of course, the primary driver of the relationship is
business, but we’re really talking about two people communicating. A
genuine interest in the other person’s life and concerns can build
strength in a relationship and yield dividends over time. The more
you know about each other, the more opportunities to help each other.
Relationships build value but they take time. I think you can’t put a
value on them, but there’s no question that the right relationship at
the right time can be worth millions.
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