Building Authentic Business Relationships

You can't be successful in business without engaging with people.  For your company to grow, building meaningful relationships is key to building a business that thrives long term. Let’s look at ways to creating authentic business relationships.

"Business is all about relationships, how well you build them determines

how well they build your business.” – Brad Sugars, Business and Wealth Coach

Relationships over transactions:

Building an authentic business relationship starts with seeing people as individuals. Cultivate relationships every day. Don’t wait until you need something before you approach them. Get to know what they need, what they value and what motivates them. Find out what you have in common with them. When you know someone personally, you can better understand what motivates them professionally. People will remember how they feel when they are around you.

Collaborate with others:

Look for ways you can support other businesses in the area. Look for businesses that would work well with yours. Meet the owners and find creative ways to work with each other that will benefit you both.

Mutual success:

Genuine relationships are formed when you focus on what you can give them, not what they can give you. When the success of others is important to you, they can tell, and your relationship can grow. People know when you have an agenda and only want something from them. No one wants to align themselves with someone who is only looking out for themselves. When times get tough, it’s good to know you have people who will support you.

Trust and credibility:

Lack of consistency or authenticity can seriously harm your brand and business. From your peers, to vendors, or customers, people need to know that they can trust you. You want to be seen as reliable, trustworthy and supportive. Get involved with the community, Get involved in what others care about. Show up consistently, people will notice.

Building authentic business relationships is not complicated, but it does take time and patience. Shifting the focus from what’s in it for me to what can I do for you, will bring you much larger rewards. Focus on building genuine relationships and they will build your business for you.