Build Trustworthy Business Relationships

Think of the strong business relationships you have. How did they form and grow? There may have been tense moments or disagreement. However, because relationships are important you were able to handle the situation.

Seven steps to establishing trustworthy relationships:

1. Create dialog. Without dialog, you don’t know what a person or a company wants or needs. Their website may tell you, but with conversation, you can create opportunities to be more mutually beneficial. Things don’t know people—people know people. It’s your ability to connect with others that catapults your worth to them. When you create relationships and get to know people, you build more options for you and
them.

2. Identify what’s important to the other person (their motivation). What do they want? Where do they want to grow? How can you help them in this process or help them identify what they want and need to benefit financially?

3. Identify the other person’s bugs. For example, I have a client who doesn’t like the word “just.” The first couple of times I used the word, I sensed his dislike and made a mental note to not use the word in our conversations. It seems like a small thing, but that’s the point. It’s the little things that differentiate you and make you special. Notice these subtle clues to keep your clients, employees, friends and family happy.

4. If the person says anything about family, friends or themselves not being well, know that this person needs you more as an encouraging, helpful, supportive friend. Be there now and you can pick up the business conversation when the time is right.

5. Create results for each other. The client receives something of value in exchange for the supplier’s receiving something of value. It most likely is money in exchange for a service/product, or it may be becoming a referral partner, collaborative partner or another type of partner.

6. Curb your temper, sarcasm, criticism, need to be right and tendency to judge. The person who’s causing your irritation often just needs to be taken out of autopilot by good emotion and good logic. Usually, it’s a lack of understanding or poor consideration that causes confusion, bad service or unethical
conduct. If you take the high road, your mind, heart, body and spirit will be stimulated with endorphins, and the “miscreant” will not be slain for his or her mistake. Treating each other well creates more highways for success. We must all have peace at our center.

7. Always make an honorable stand—in the world, with your family and clients, at work, in schools, and during play. A ten-foot giant doing wrong will back down if you make an honorable stand, because you will stand bigger than the giant, your spirit will know that you must take action to stop the injury, and the monster will only be subdued, not “slain.” If you’re able to execute these steps, you’ll have a trustworthy
relationship, but it’s up to you to create synergy for both parties.

A simple definition of a relationship is when you interact or place a call you receive a cooperative response. Sometime this is not possible because of a life event or emergency. Keep the lines of communication open to help one another.