Relationship Marketing Focus On What Matters

Business-Building Action From Terry Brock

Today I got a sad email.  You might be able to relate to this.  A dear friend of mine, I’ll call him Bob, was lamenting the troubles he was encountering lately.  His website wasn’t functioning as it should, his family members were having medical problems and he had just lost a large piece of business.  The entire email went on about how bad things were for Bob and what is happening with Bob.

I feel for Bob and people like him.  You might know someone like him.  We feel for people in dire straits and want to do what we can to help.  Yet, I think there might be a deeper, underlying problem.   Times like these force us to be more resolute and business-like in our attitudes.

This is where Relationship Marketing provides great strength.  I’ve said in these columns and in my book that Relationship Marketing is more than just a smile and a nice handshake.  It’s about meeting the needs of others in a practical way.

A lot of people are experiencing tough times today.  That is understandable with the economy where it is.  And when government officials are trying to borrow their way out of debt it makes the future look increasingly bleak and scary.

Yet, how do you face it individually and as a small business?  Those who embraced what I call a wish and hope strategy are failing fast.  My friend Bob, has long embraced this strategy.  He would believe that somehow by hoping for the best and saying positive affirmations he would be just fine.  Hard work?  Bob would say, No need for that when you know the secret is to just believe in yourself and think positive.

Somehow in really hard times that vacuous philosophy doesn’t pay the bills.  It takes serious, hard work and diligence to make it.  Tough economic times just bring to light what was buried under the surface for a long time.

Many people like Bob have based their business strategy on hope and wishing more than sound, level-headed analysis and business strategy.  Relationship Marketing is about seeing the other person’s needs and helping them.  It is about being a serious Relationship Farmer working hard to till the soil, plant the seeds, nurture the crops and see it through to harvest.

Relationship Marketing is not just about shaking hands, smiling and even sending birthday notices.  Yes, it is important to be friendly.  It is good to remember birthdays and important events for key people.  However, it is much more important to produce results.  That is the key.  Relationship Marketing is about producing viable, bottom-line beneficial results for those in your supply team and key stakeholders.

Yes, we have to be friendly in business.  It smoothes out the often troubled human-relations side.  Yes, we should go out of our way to help others.  Napoleon Hill‘s admonition to Go the Extra Mile is more important today than ever.

For today’s successful business, it is imperative to focus tightly on producing measurable bottom-line results.  Think of what it is that paying customers need.  Usually this always comes back to increased sales.  When sales are great, it seems that all other issues fall into place.  Amazing!

Take this time as a great opportunity to do an assessment of yourself both personally and in your business life.  Where have you been living on œwishes and hope rather than focusing on producing positive results?  Getting the personal philosophy right is the first step.  From there the action steps fall into place.

Relationship Marketing is about helping others in serious, bottom-line beneficial ways.  It goes way beyond hope and wishing to producing tangible, dollars-in-the-bank results.  As Bob, and others like him realize this, they will do better for themselves, for their clients and ultimately for the economy.

Be sure and listen to the audio portion of this. It is a short 7 minutes and provides a lot of good information for you. You can download it here. You can also listen to it on iTunes or on your favorite audio player. I look forward to hearing your comments and reactions.

Action Steps:

1. Read Napoleon Hill’s Think and Grow Rich and absorb the details.  Read it already?  Read it again with new insights and enjoy.
2. Focus on where you can generate positive, bottom-line results today for your customers.  Dig deep and find out how to assist customers.
3. See the positive in the midst of a crazy world and focus on practical ways to generate value for others.  This strategy never goes wrong in any economy.

Copyright © 2009, Terry Brock and Achievement Systems, Inc.  Terry Brock is an international marketing coach and professional speaker who helps businesses generate profitable results.  He can be reached by e-mail at terry@terrybrock.com or through his website at www.terrybrock.com.  Join the Twitter adventure with Terry through his Twitter address: TerryBrock