If you asked entrepreneurs what the key to success is, you’ll likely get many different answers. Some will be right and some will be wrong. Whilst there are many aspects to accumulating success, there’s only one real answer that will get you there.
The key to business success is not only winning new customers, but keeping existing ones. And the key to both winning and keeping customers is, and always will be, building a relationship.
Unfortunately, you and most others have been fed and sold lies. You’ve likely been told that spending your time building your personal brand, growing your social media network, streamlining your business processes and a host of other factors will help you achieve business success. Well I’m sorry to tell you, that just like me when I was starting out, you’ve been duped.
Everyone at some point in time has heard the expression “it’s not what you know, it’s who you know” – and that’s exactly right. But to know the right people and to get them to trust you means building the relationship. Only then will everything else fall in place.
If you’re still not convinced, then continue reading below and find out why building relationships are the key to business success.
Your network. Not your virtual online network. Your real one. Every successful CEO, executive or entrepreneur will all tell you the same thing. Their most important asset is their network, and they’re not talking about their Facebook friends. They’re talking about the people they know in real life, the people that actually get things done.
Making a sale is done by real human beings. Even with an online shop, most transactions are still between real people. Think about it. Every significant B2C and B2B transaction involves a buyer and a seller. You don’t even need to be the best product, you just need provide the best service, that’s how you’ll get repeat business. The next time you ship something to a customer, pop a handwritten note in the box, thank them for their business.
Computers and social media don’t offer opportunities, people do. We’ve all been there, lying in bed, staring at the ceiling, dreaming about what we’d do if we had financial freedom. But then reality hits and you realise that it’s not going to fall in your lap. The only real opportunities that will come your way are from people. The next time your CEO walks past or you’re walking past their office, pop them a wave and say hello, ask them how their weekend was. They’re living the successful life you’ve only dreamed of. Say hello and let the rest follow from there…
Building relationships is like watching grass grow. You can’t see anything happening but one day you’ll wake up to a beautiful lawn. Call it pure luck or delayed gratification. All I know is, it works.
