3 Steps For Awesome Relationship Building - Keys to Success
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In the era of customer experience is king, successful relationship building is key. Some people are naturally gifted in this art and some are not. We are all different, which is what makes the world an interesting place. So, if you don’t already have relationship building skills honed to a fine point, there’s no reason to feel badly about yourself. We can’t all be ace at everything. (For example, don’t ask me to file your taxes. Orange is definitely not my best color and I doubt it’s yours).
If you find that pleasing others interferes with your own happiness or success, you're not alone. Many of us have a tendency to be people pleasers. And it doesn't have to be a permanent condition:-) I'm a reforming pleaser and discovered steps that help me experience more joy and peace by reprioritizing my thoughts and actions. I share these steps in my ebook "Stop Pleasing Others and Get More Joy in Life" and invite you to download a free copy. Click the link below to get your free ebook:
Relationship building skills can be learned.
Here are 3 simple and impactful steps I use to nurture relationships. Try them out and let me know how they work for you.
1. Ask.
Be intensely curious about people. Ask a lot of questions about them. For example:
- How do enjoy life when you're not working?
- What projects are you working on right now?
- How do you define success for yourself and your business?
- What challenges are you dealing with?
- What do you enjoy most and least about your work?
Since people love to talk about themselves, this is easier than you might think. Their answers will give you insight to what they care about and the problems you (or someone you know) may be able to help them solve. Showing an interest in someone is the ideal first step to great relationship building.
2. Listen.
Have you ever tried the experiment of listening more than you talk in a conversation? If you have, did the person you were “talking” with say, “You are so easy to talk to”? If you haven't, try it out sometime. The results can be a fascinating illustration of how much people love feeling heard.
Because people enjoy focusing on themselves (and that's not a bad thing) it's naturally a good thing to let them share ideas and insights with you. It’s a human thing to connect, share, listen and feel heard. When you’re building relationships with humans, understanding this quality is invaluable. We are wired to connect and share our thoughts, ideas, feelings and experiences with people.
3. Reconnect.
Now that you have established some rapport and discovered what your contact values, the most important step is to follow-up with them. Staying connected is how you’ll nurture and build this relationship. Call or email with a brief message about how much you enjoyed talking with them and that you’d like to stay in touch. I also suggest mentioning something specific they talked about.
Also ask what social media they prefer and connect with them on those channels. LinkedIn is a given for most professionals, but find out if they like Instagram, Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest also. Most people have a couple of go-to channels they like.
The magic of successful relationship building is to continue nurturing.
Now you have a platform for nurturing that new business relationship. Use social media to develop your new relationships by liking, reposting and making comments (positive and insightful, never negative). I suggest doing this within the first week, and then at least every couple of weeks after that.
Finally, since nurturing a relationship takes time, stay in touch with your new contact by email or text regularly. You don't want to stalk your new contact, but you do want to stay in touch. so I suggest checking in with them every month or so.
Finally, for more tips on ways to ramp your success, subscribe here . You can have a look at “Three Things Successful Entrepreneurs Do First Thing in the Morning”.