So far this year, I have talked about the importance of building client and team relationships to sustain your business. But, I think it’s important to also look at the grassroots of building business-to-business relationships. As a professional service provider, you have the opportunity to serve at a larger scale as a business partner to your clients. Your client could be one person, but as you scale to grow your business, you must also think about what business-to-business relationships you need to form in order to get to the next level.
Now, you may be thinking “Gwendolyn, don’t they already have an idea of what they want? Why would I need to form a relationship with them if they know I provide a service?”
The exact reason you need to form a relationship with the business clients that you wish to serve is to stand out and make a difference! Businesses want to enjoy who they are working with, along with knowing their business tasks are being executed, which is why you as the CEO must build business relationships with intentionality and authenticity. Check out my top three tips on ways to build business relationships.
IDENTIFY the types of businesses that you want to work with. This may require some market research, but it’s important to do your research and know who you want to work with, instead of choosing anything and everything available. You’ll thank yourself for Staying In Your Genius© later.
OFFER to educate the business leaders about your services and what makes you different. There is only one you, and that makes all the difference when you are explaining to business owners what they may be missing out on. Remember that one of the most important things to do in closing the deal is to make sure that the client has an issue that only you can resolve.
SCHEDULE a time to chat about goals and values. Don’t let that conversation on LinkedIn go cold. Be responsive in your DMs. Don’t let the opportunity to schedule a call with you go by, because this could be the partnership your business needs to scale.
*As a guide, use something like Calendly to book your calls. There is automation you can set up so that once a person books a call with you, it shows up in your calendar and sends them a reminder.
Building and forming relationships may be a little difficult at first, but once you find your target audience of business clientele, you will be on your way to great relationships, growth, and scalability for your business. And you will save yourself the time and trouble of going through every business in the virtual world and serve the ones that you want to partner with in increasing impact.
If you need some support and you’ve been looking for a virtual assistant or online business manager to help you systemize your business, click here and let’s connect.
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