What is the most important part of your business? Is it your products? Your services? Your great sales copy? Your ideas? Would it surprise you to learn that the real answer is none of the above? The most important part of your business is the networking you do to keep connected and forge better business relationships.
You can have the greatest sales staff in the world but if you don’t nurture and develop them into the talented and capable people they can be, your business will suffer or stagnate. You must develop a strong relationship with each and every employee and client in order to reap the rewards of higher profits. Here are some ways you can build better relationships with your employees, your customers, and perhaps even your competitors.
Encourage constructive criticism
Relationships require open and clear communication from both parties. Whenever one side is being talked to, and not listened to enough, they can feel cheated. The other party in this instance could be your employees or it could be your customers. Have a meeting with your employees and brainstorm ideas of how you can improve as a company. Be open to honest feedback in this area. Let the employees complain a little if that’s what needed, and then get them focused on the solutions to their complaints. You may find areas of your business that are weak and be able to shore up those gaps.
Be a good listener
Everyone likes to have their voices heard. When it comes to your customers, they are the life blood of your business. Perhaps you could have a survey or set up a focus group with some of your customers and have them compensated for their time with a small free product from your business. Provide surveys to customers and find out the areas they’d most like to see improved. You can also learn things you’re doing right and work to make them even better. Have the people who interact with your business on a daily basis tell you what needs to be improved. Let them tell you where you are doing great and excelling and also let them tell you where you need improvement. No business can move forward if they don’t have a clear idea of where they stand.
Honesty is the best policy
It is obvious you can’t get ahead for very long by cheating your employees or customers. Even more so, being honest and playing nice with competitors can keep your relationships from getting strained. If not, they can turn to an appropriate business lawyer. However, being honest about your own limitations, not just to yourself but to your clients, can go a long way to forming a good relationship. If you don’t know, say so, and let them know you will do the best you can to find out.
Forming good relationships is essential to business success, and by following these tips you are sure to stay ahead of the game and be able to be happy and productive in your company.
How do you forge better business relationships? Let us know in the comments below.
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