Can Entrepreneurs Build the Business of Their Dreams?

How do you build lasting relationships?

Monday we talked about building stronger relationships with your best potential clients. Today I will discuss why you should invest your time in clients that you want to work with. Here’s why it’s the best way to build your business.

Just more food for thought.  Take the time to answer these three questions about yourself and your vision of what your business should look like.  After answering, do a self-evaluation.  And if you aren’t doing those things necessary to bring them to reality, CHANGE.

1. Would you prefer a prospect to:

A. Make a one-time purchase or use your service just because of an entertaining Facebook post or a witty tweet that they saw on their social profile or in their inbox?

B. Become a long-term customer and honestly want to recommend you to others because they get value from your product or service and most importantly they view you as an asset in the growth of their business and that you have their best interests at heart?

2. Would you rather do business with:

A. Someone who has an awesome webpage and has a lot of informative blog posts about the newest business trends even though you don’t know how exactly it all applies to your business?

(They have to be the best for your business, right?  They do have 11 million likes and 1.5 million followers!  Of course,  why else would that many people have liked his page or post?  Giving away free I-pads to the first 10 people to get 1,000 friends to like it was just a strategic marketing move.  And, hmm, while we are at it, let’s check the prices on an I-pad because you could use a bigger screen to play Candy Crush Saga on anyway.)

B. Someone who knows the same info but has taken time to find out how much of that actually related to you, and after a conversation or maybe even a few of them, is honest in telling you what his/her company can do for you or letting you know that they are not the best for you?

(Uh oh, this is where you would hear the person on the commercials speak very rapidly and tell you:  Yes, you have a greater chance at getting to know people and building long-lasting mutually beneficial relationships.  And a side effect is that you may not make every sale, and you may find that your product or service is not the cure-all for everything.)

3. Which is better:

A. One bird in the hand?

B. Two in the bush?

(I’d say C:  A person who wants to do business with you and your company because they like you, what you stand for and the fact that you treat them like a real person and not like they were “ALMOST HUMAN”)

As the final credits roll on this post, I hope that you take the time to realize the importance of real human interaction and staying in touch with the reality known as your current and future customers, partners and employees.  Learn more about people and watch your business grow.  Who knows, you may actually stay off the computer long enough to read a book.  If you do, try starting with “How to Win Friends and Influence People” by Dale Carnegie.  It’s longer than this blog post but probably one of the most valuable “scripts” to ever come across your desk.  Whatever you choose, just remember…

“It’s YOUR Life, so build it BIG!”

Tripp will return next week talking about how to build a lasting, profitable alliances and partnerships with your partners. See you here.