Business-Building Action from Terry Brock
Business, like the rest of life, is constantly changing. It is very dangerous to believe that once a business relationship is good that it will stay that way forever. Your customers are experiencing new challenges. They’re experiencing your competition connecting with them. They are forgetting that good time for good experiences they had with you in the past. Relationship Marketing requires continual attention and maintenance.
It is a dangerous practice to think that everything will stay as it was. Relationships, once good, will change quickly. Someone who you think was with you, on your side or a strong customer, can change quickly without your knowledge.
Here are some tips you can take to avoid this dangerous business-losing practice and have successful Relationship Marketing:
Steps to Help:
Step 1 – Remember things change. New happens. Unsuccessful people have a dangerous practice of thinking conditions and relationships will stay the same. We have to realize that the past does not equal the future.
Step 2 – Develop systems to regularly check the pulse of what is going on. Successful Relationship Marketing develops tools and keeps them running well. One of the most important tools you can have is to get a strong CRM (Contact Relationship Management) program. For relationship marketers your CRM is your most important tool you’ll have. Make sure it is Cloud-based, able to be used on a variety of devices, and used regularly. I use Nimble (nimble.com) and find that it gives me what I need in a simple, cost-effective way. It doesn’t do everything, but it does what I need. Make sure you find the right CRM for you.
Other systems would include using your smart phone and tablet to capture video, pictures, and other content that you could send to important contacts to maintain relationships. Pictures are often one of the best ways to maintain contact with someone. You can take a picture of you with a mutual friend, an important sighting of their competition’s new products and developments, or other ideas that can help them.
Step 3–Make periodic “How’s it going?” connections. Make it your practice to stay in touch with important people particularly in those times when you’re not selling anything. You want to be seen as a resource ––– even a partner –––rather than just another vendor. Focus on how you can help others and serve them and you will always do well.
Step 4–Continue to develop new relationships. People move. People leave the industry. People die. This all affects business and can affect your bottom line. Think of it like a bucket that has a hole at the bottom. You need to keep that bucket filled with water and do what you can patch up the holes.
This means making it a regular practice to go to industry-related events. Identify the important meetings in your key industries every year. Don’t just attend, but be involved in a prominent way in those important industries. This practice will help you stay fresh on new content, stay in touch with important people, and create new relationships.
Step 5–Make “relationship refreshing” a regular part of your routine. Make it your point to visit with people when you can. When you’re visiting a particular town where you have important contacts, make it a point to hold your own Meet-Up. Have a luncheon at a restaurant in a back room where you catch up with friends and contacts to find out how things are going lately. I do this regularly as I travel around the world and have generated many positive relationships and learned a lot by doing so.
Avoid the dangerous thinking that all things will remain as they once were. Make it your practice to begin fresh and new each day. Keep important relationships as active as you can while developing new relationships that help you. Focus on helping others and learn new ways that you can serve them.
This will help you to not only stay current, but it will help you to be more successful in those areas that are important to you.
What do you think? Please leave a comment and share your ideas with me and others.
All the best,
Terry
Terry Brock, MBA, CSP, CPAE
Member, Professional Speaker Hall of Fame
Certified Speaking Professional
www.TerryBrock.com
Terry@TerryBrock.com
+1-407-363-0505
@TerryBrock
Facebook.com/MarketerTerryBrock
