Building relationships for business growth

Networking and showing your staff how to build client relationships will make the workplace a happier environment for your staff and your clients.

Learning to communicate well is the number #1 skill on the planet to invest in.

Sometimes we need to take a deep breath and a step back from our business, and ask ourselves some questions.

Have you ever walked into your business and really looked at it the way a customer must see it? Have you taped your meet-and-greets or even watched your staff present to a client? If not, the time has come … Building relationships is an art and not magic, however you can expect magic to happen once you have perfected these skills and tools –

1. Listen – Remember it is not a race and Rome wasn’t built in a day. Let people get to know you, and take the time to listen to what they are saying. The difference between listening and hearing is:

When you listen, you:

• pay attention

• absorb and understand what is being said.

When you hear, you:

• Do not absorb or understand the message.

Most people actually need to practice telling themselves

“I am now going to listen.” The biggest breakdown we have in all relationships is communication.

2. DISC profiling lets us know behavior types. The more we know about ourselves the better; we can also learn how our customers buy. Knowing behavior types via profiling methods allows us to understand our clients and makes it easier to mirror and meet the needs of our customers.

3.Training and Mindset – The best networkers and relationship-building people are

‘interaction-oriented people’. They Jove to solve problems together with colleagues, so in the end the benefits are reciprocated and in the long run they bring advantages to more than just themselves. It’s always great to be part of the solution and not the part of the problem. Even though we may be hearing about doom and gloom and cost cutting throughout the Government, there are still many areas open to businesses to help them train staff, make great choices and educate your team. By hosting workshops for improvements, new skills and tools no matter what your behavior style is will make a difference to the growth in your business. A new mindset for old problems is always needed.

It is really important to innovate, motivate and create in your working environment. This will help the business owner stay motivated, as well as giving the staff direction.

A few tips for building better relationships:

• plan your activities

• set your goals

• smile

• use open body language

• be visible

• be sincere

• listen

• follow up

• follow through

• last but not least -assess your performance.

Enjoy building and boosting your business relationships.