Now for the next part of the conversation: How can you maintain valuable relationships? You’ve put a lot of work into them – and just like a rocket ship most of the fuel in a relationship is spent in the beginning making that initial connection. Once the relationship is moving along that’s when the least fuel is used – but you have to be smart about it.
Here’s that segment of our video interview:
(For the full series check out this link)
SO…
How can people maintain the relationships they have without jumping from contact to contact?
- FOCUS! Focus on the ones you can actually serve and provide a product or service that is actually going to benefit them. Those relationships should be your primary focus on a day to day basis.
- Learn more about them. Rather than trying to sell them anything create ongoing conversations with them. The more people you help grow the more you will grow.
- Stay top of mind. If you’re not top of mind for them when they’re making a business or buying decision you lose that opportunity.
The way you stay top of mind today is by adding value to the conversation by educating and inspiring them along the way. Jon uses content to do just that; he provides content on a daily basis that inspires and educates others. Because of this they continue to stay engaged with him. This is also exactly what Nimble does; which is why Jon created it. As he points out May West said “Out of site is out of mind and out of mind it out of money honey”. If you don’t want to be out of site that means you have to always be…
BUILDING YOUR BUSINESS BY BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS
A lot of “networking” can leave you running around collecting business cards. So I asked Jon: Where is the gap between the “soft skill” of networking and the business of business development (sales)? How do you cross that chasm without coming off as pushy or offending people?
The first thing Jon mentioned was understanding your constituency. It’s not just the prospects and customers that you directly sell to that will make a modern business scale. You need to identify other people that can help your business; from project partners to key influencers in your market. Connect with them NOW and build those relationships before you need to ask them for a favor or help.
When Jon started building Nimble’s brand he did so by identifying thought leaders around their product and establishing relationships with them. He did this by listening to them, about them and learning about their goals and projects. Then he shared a little about himself and what his vision was for Nimble and asked for their feedback.
Then – this is important – he LISTENED to them, took their advice, built their ideas into the product and came back and shared it with them.
This helped him build the next phase of the CRM movement – imagine what it can do for you!
IN CLOSING… THE MOST IMPORTANT THING ABOUT RELATIONSHIPS IN THE DIGITAL AGE IS?
It’s NOT about the money. It’s not about measuring how many calls you made or how much you have in your pipeline. It IS about being effective when you build your professional networks. It’s about:
- Building your personal brand by…
- Growing your professional networks the RIGHT way by…
- Paying your relationships forward so that over time you can ultimately utilize and lean on those networks to achieve your business goals.
Life is about relationships. In the end all we leave on this planet are the vibrations and connections with people that matter to us over time. After you’re gone they don’t write on your tombstone “This guy made a million dollars”. They say things such as “Beloved father” or “Beloved friend”. Don’t be in it for the money, be in it to serve others.
Help people grow and you will grow.
Who will YOU help today?
