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How to create and maintain business connections

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In today's business world if you do not know people in the high windows of companies or businesses, you will find it very difficult to open doors and grow your business. In this article I will show that each on of us has a network of connections that can be used to extend existing relationships and grow your career and business

Business connections

Why is establishing business relationships is so important?

It is impossible to talk about the importance of business relationships without explaining what business relationship is. Many people I have known and still know, are usually bragging about the impressive amount of connections they have. It is important that we make a difference between "nice" relationships, but that usually do not advance us on a personal or professional level, and relationships that can bounce our careers to the next level.

 

Examples of non-promotional relationships at the business level

  • A friend who can get us into the club without queue or to a reputable restaurant
  • A large amount of friends on Facebook - the fact that we have a lot of friends doesn't mean they will promote our business, or they are in any way going to help us
  • "Discount friends" - those friends who can arrange us a free entry, or at a significant discount. It's nice to have friends like that, but it's not a business relationship. For comparison, a business relationship that arranges a customer for us with $ 5,000 in revenue actually arranges more money for us in one link than all the times all of our friends put us at a discount or free throughout our lives

 

Examples of promotional relationships at the business level

  • CEO / VP of any organization in any field - having the ability and influence to take us as a supplier, arrange work for us, etc.
  • Human Resource Managers - usually responsible for a large part of business relationships, consultants, welfare providers, etc. Getting to know them is worth a ticket to many organizations
  • VP / Operations Manager - Responsible for money, expenses and manpower. If you want to sell something to your organization, work order, get to know other connections, these are the people who need to know
  • CFO - the party responsible for spending in each organization and usually one of the most closely associated with the CEO. Through him/her you can reach countless suppliers with whom he/she is in contact with
  • Placement / HeadHunter Companies - Exploring a wide range of Head-Hunters connects us to many business factors they know and additionally of course it helps in finding work for those looking for
  • Personal Assistants / Office Managers - True, they are not in a senior position, but they know everything that happens in the office and they are the ears of senior executives that are open to them for examining business relationships
  • Consultants from every field - They know a lot of factors and can link you to businesses, senior levels, etc.
  • Relevant business owners - not all of them work with organizations and there are those with whom a particular business owner can arrange lots of customers, for example: a garage that directs customers to a car test at a particular institute

 

So what is the profit from a business relationship?

Lots of things and the best illustration of this in the examples i will now present to you. As the owner of a business consulting firm, I am recognized as part of my work by many senior executives in many organizations and also business owners. Just during the current working week where the article was written, I linked a business owner who wanted to set up a call center, and a company looking for a hotline to sell its services. In addition, I linked a CEO of a company looking for language speakers in Eastern Europe with an office that provides such employees, and i also linked an HR manager to a company looking for an employee just the same. Now imagine the three examples I gave and try to think how long if at all those people would have achieved what they needed regardless.

 

10 Tips for Creating Business Relationships

  • The Phone Is Your Best Friend - The Cell Phone Hides Many People You Haven't Talked With for a long time and some phone call, text or email change your life (just like that)
  • Facebook as a Connection Tool - Sometimes there are people we know but we are not in touch with and they are Facebook members. Do not be ashamed to contact them in a private message if there is a chance they can help you. From experience, you may be pleasantly surprised
  • There is no shame! - on a variety of occasions I have heard from people that they are unwilling to call someone they have not talked to for two or three years because it is unpleasant. There is no such thing as unpleasant! At the best, they won't help you. A month ago, I contacted my former employee after not speaking for nearly 7 years. This Facebook chat turned into a phone call that became a business meeting. We ended up transferring two customers. This connection can be worth tens of thousands of Euro's a year to me. And I can't even count the amount of placement contracts I received for my placement company just from people I last contacted many years ago.
  • Your past is the present and the future - a lot of people you knew in the past grew, matured and stabilized in key places in the job market. It's time to start looking for them online and contact them, and as I wrote in section 3, don't be shy
  • Always end things nicely - business relationships are something that is built over time. Even if you have they talked to you not so nicely, you are tired of the workplace or the client is not right for now, it is important to end the relationship nicely. Aside from wanting to please our egos in that moment, a "dirty" ending of a relationship will surely hurt us in the future, because we will someday need one of the people we have been in contact with. Put your ego aside, shake hands and wish the other side good luck
  • Strengthen Your Relationships - Relationships don't stay if you don't maintain them. Invite a distant friend to a coffee, pick up a phone call when you're around, send a happy Christmas message to people you haven't talked to in a long time, open WhatsApp groups with people you've worked with in the past, and many more options to maintain relationships. I can't count the number of non-close friends who spend time with me and my family, but by keeping in touch we help each other on the business level
  • Linkedin - Maintain a great account, upload professional content, and most importantly, contribute to others. LinkedIn is a knot machine that can bounce you up
  • Conferences /  Meetings - Professional conferences, meetings and any place where there is a large amount of people will allow you to make new connections or maintain old ones. And if you don't know anyone, see section 3 - Don't think too much, just introduce yourself and start a conversation, within 15 seconds the shame will pass and the connection will be maintained
  • Connections through Unusual People - Put your business or work into conversations everywhere and market yourself. You will be surprised, as connections can be obtained through another kid's parents in the kindergarten, the health fund, the kiosk seller or just someone who came with us on our flight abroad
  • Don'y be cheap - people fondly remember someone who invited them over for a meal, bought them a nice farewell gift when they left work, or even did things that didn't cost a lot, like writing a repetitive review of someone's new business twice. Spending $ 50 on occasion or spending 5 minutes for someone else is nothing compared to all the relationships you make as a result and yes, it's also fun to

 

Want us to help you create business relationships?

As part of our consulting services, we help connect different business owners, suppliers, organizations, investors and stakeholders. You have a call center, we will help you get a product or service that you can sell, and conversely, if you are looking for someone to sell your product or service, we can link you to business owners who have a sales set. In addition, we provide workshops and personal guidance to business owners and managers in organizations on business development and support in establishing relationships and gaining customers.

 

Summary

You can succeed and do it big time without business relationships, but it is much easier, convenient and fast to get help from business friends we have acquired along the way. I use all the tips above and even more to maintain my personal level of business relationships and also to make new ones.

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