Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Business relationships start with being nice

by Chuck Bates, Director of Public Relations

Be nice to everyone. It’s as simple as that when it comes to establishing business relationships. By nice, I mean cordial, truthful, and fair with people.

Well-established relationships not only make for smoother more successful business transactions, they can also help in other aspects of your business career. If people feel they have a good relationship with you, they will go out of their way to treat you with the same respect that you have shown them.

Being nice to everyone, in my opinion, is important, especially in business, because you never know whom you’ll be working for tomorrow. That guy that just took the last cup of coffee and didn’t start a fresh pot could be your boss tomorrow. And do you want that business relationship to start with his thoughts of you being the person that chewed him out for not making coffee. I’m not saying to roll over and let people take advantage of you, just that there is always a tactful way to handle situations without leaving people with negative impressions of you.

People naturally want to associate themselves with people they get along with and who feel the same way toward them. In their mind, they have a good relationship with that person. They trust this person, and trust is a powerful tool in business interactions, especially when it comes to selling.

I was once told that there is no such thing as a “relationship buy” and that products and services should sell themselves based on strong brand awareness. I agree that products and services definitely should have the brand recognition and reputation of being better than anything else out there. But when it comes to that face-to-face between salesman and potential customer or service provider and client, a relationship/trust needs to be partnered with that amazing product or service being offered.

The one caveat to relationships is that they can take time to establish, and the business world doesn’t often allow the luxury of time. However, the benefits far outweigh the costs. Think of relationships as long-term investments that keep paying business-interaction dividends. Think of being nice as a sound business investment.

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