Relationship In Business

The Rules of Relationship Management -DRAFT

After reading a number of books and blogs that have popularised the idea of wisdom in a list format I thought I come up with my own list or "rules" for developing and maintaining excellent business relationships.

This remains a work is progress and the rules are listed in no particular order yet. I hope you might get some inspiration or take away an idea or two.

It's a conversation not a presentation

Good relationships in business is a conversation between you and your client.

You are there to help them

"How can I help you?" If you start with that idea you will build great business relationships. It's all about them but there also has to be mutual respect, you are not helping anyone if you are taken advantage of. Helping might mean passing the business to someone else, after all few companies can cover every requirement. It might also mean saying no for their long term advantage.

Interactions with a purpose

Meetings should have an agenda, calls a point, emails a call to action. Every interactions with a client has a purpose and delivers value for both of you. This is one of the subtle but important differences between business and personal relationships. Clients have lots of vendors, suppliers, employees, peers, etc vying for their time. You want to get the reputation as someone who brings value with every interaction. By all means be friends with some of your clients but be clear to yourself and them when a call is social and when it's business.

Don't trust your memory

What were you watching on TV at this time a week ago, who was in it, what was the plot, who producted the programme? How about the same time a month ago?

Few of us have a memory for detail over time and we certainly wouldn't make serious commitments based on it. You must get into the habit of taking notes on all important client interactions, especially any actions. Having notes to refer to also means you can quickly return to a conversation even if significant time has passed. As the saying goes "he who keeps records breaks records"

What's my 80/20 today

We are all aware of Peretos hypothesis, what is not so well know is that it's a changing game. The 20% of clients who generated most of the revenue last month have more than likely changed this month. The 20% of clients who generated 80% of the incidents have also changed. When it comes to business relationships you need to be thinking what small actions (20%) can I be doing that will provide the maximum impact, today.

Have a System

In any one year you may have 100's of conversations with clients, suppliers and partners. Keeping notes of each encounter is invaluable but you also have to consider the bigger picture. How do you get around to everyone, what should I cover when I meet them, how do I ensure consistency, what if I want to delegate a task, how can I improve? In short you need a system. It will be a mix of technology, process and buy in from the people impacted. It does not need to be complicated but it does need to be consistent and clearly enough defined that someone else could execute it in you absence.

Change the script

Keep it fresh, don't get into a routine or taking things for granted. The other person will know.

Relationship In Business - Piaras MacDonnell