Build Stronger Business Relationships

I don’t know how best to say this, but trust me, business relationships are very important. Building relationships play a vital role in the success of your hustle, your startup, or your business, as it can lead to important introduction to investors, potential clients, business partners, future hires and even advisers.

But really, let’s be honest, it isn’t easy. Relationships naturally need trust and rapport, which requires a lot of effort as well as consistent contact over time. So here are my few tips on building stronger business relationships:

Stay connected. People tend to be busy every now and then and you don’t want to go extended periods of time without being on someone’s radar. Ask people to join you for a drink or invite them to an event you’re attending or organizing (I do the latter most times).

Meeting people physically is cool but you can still reach out to them or stay in touch remotely. Ask a quick question over email, find out how they are doing or what they are working on at the moment and most times people get to respond to such mails. You can also communicate with people through social media networks which is easier since we all are on one social media network or the other. Bottom line, stay connected always no matter how busy you are.

Be helpful. In business or in a professional setting, people love to have relationships with those that can help their business or career. Be that person. Be willing to always give rather than collect. It will surely help both your network and you get stronger.

Offer relevant and mutual beneficial introductions. Provide advice, expertise or feedback whenever you can. Share information such as events or articles that may be helpful to people and be nice enough to tell your contacts about other people’s product too.

Be visible. Make it easy for people to see you and know what you’re doing online. These days, it is easier to maintain a strong online presence on relevant social network sites like LinkedIn and Twitter. Let people find it easy approaching you either offline or online and in turn you could be connected to people you have always wanted to meet or get advice from.

What other tips do you have for staying connected? Kindly share in comment section. Thanks.