Business Is About Relationships
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What’s business about? Is it about branding, sure. Marketing, absolutely. What about selling, yes.
But all these things lead to one thing – relationships. Business is about relationships. Doesn’t matter whether you’re selling products or pitching services, ultimately people buy because they trust you. And trust comes from developing a relationship – even if that relationship is built from content on your website.
Whenever I think about my business, I try to remember that people do business with people, not businesses. It’s people who buy and they buy from people. Hence, business is all about relationships.
No where is this better illustrated than in the Cluetrain Manifesto. Yeah, I know it’s been around a while but it’s the benchmark for understanding business as relationships. Here’s a clip:
…After hearing (about ‘markets are conversations’), he acknowledged that our observations were astute, but also incomplete. Something more was going on in markets than just transactions and conversations, he said. What was it?
I said I didn’t know. Here is the dialogue that followed, as close to verbatim as I can recall it…
“Pretend this is a garment”, Sayo said, picking up one of those blue airplane pillows. “Let’s say you see it for sale in a public market in my country, and you are interested in buying it. What is your first question to the seller?”
“What does it cost?” I said.
“Yes”, he answered. “You would ask that. Let’s say he says, ‘Fifty dollars’. What happens next?”
“If I want the garment, I bargain with him until we reach an agreeable price.”
“Good. Now let’s say you know something about textiles. And the two of you get into a long conversation where both of you learn much from each other. You learn about the origin of the garment, the yarn used, the dyes, the name of the artist, and so on. He learns about how fabric is made in your country, how distribution works, and so on. In the course of this you get to know each other. What happens to the price?”
“Maybe I want to pay him more and he wants to charge me less”.
“Yes. And why is that?”
“I’m not sure.”
“You now have a relationship”.
Their conversation goes on to talk about the importance of relationship in public markets. “Transaction still matters, of course. So does conversation. But the biggest wedge in the social pie of the public marketplace is relationship. Price is less set than found, and the context for finding prices is both conversation and relationship. In many cases, relationship is the primary concern, not price.”
So in creating your business, in running your business and in marketing your business, you want to make room for relationships. You want to remember that it’s people who buy. And it’s through building long-term, mutually beneficial relationships that you can build long-term business success.
If you liked this article, you might also enjoy:
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Jim Pearson has spent more than 25 years helping small and mid-size businesses find solutions to their business problems. He specializes in sales, marketing and rapid revenue growth and has helped hundreds of companies make more money.
Gene Culver has more than 15 years of diverse business experience across the music industry, telecom network marketing and business coaching. His specialty is helping individuals with marketing, their internet presence and lead generation.
I would also add that business is about creating and providing value. More importantly, it is about being able to articulate value. Most businesses that I work didn’t get this at first, despite having great products or services.
How you approach prospective customers and then position that value is the key. And you are right – they should be conversations. These interactions should NOT be ‘presentations’, which are one sided and keep the seller out of alignment with the buyer – which is, in my humble opinion – the reason why most people don’t buy from most salespeople.
The best salespeople facilitate buying behavior by aligning to the prospects needs and then having a conversation around that, in ways that articulate the alignment with whatever it is the seller has to sell. This is how sales take place in the new economy today.
Brooks Van Normans last blog post..There’s A New Search Engine in Town Called Cuil
Great article! It is very true that you must build a relationship with your clients. I wouldn’t have had the business success I’ve reached in my first year without getting to know my clients, and being accessible to them. And, it is so much fun to learn about my clients as well! What a great opportunity to broaden your horizons.
This is really true! I’ve been thinking a lot about this lately. It really is all about relationships. People buy from people they know, like, and trust.
Something happens when you strike up a conversation and you find you have something in common. You might have just met that person but all of sudden…you’re friends!
Been in commercial real estate 29 years and all my success and clients are from relationships and trust. I couldn’t agree with you more..Great post.
Dorothy from grammology
grammology.com
Dorothy Stahlneckers last blog post..Cancer what’s the hurry?
Excellent information.A business is all about marketing your self to build trust.
Tom At The Home Business Archives last blog post..Guidelines For Blog Commenting
I would venture to add that it is crucial to build on-line and face-to-face based relationships.
To pursue one avenue at the expense of the other is an invitation to arrogance.
Carlos Hernandezs last blog post..Engagement vs. Marketing
Most referrals come from those we know the most and that we have formed trust with, that’s why it is equally important to do the same with your clients, build those close relationships and you’ll ultimately grow!