Client Magnets Official Blog

Relationship-building is a great way to leverage today’s social networking craze and build valuable relationships that can translate to business success. Relationship-building takes networking to the next step, and helps individuals develop meaningful relationships that may eventually become business relationships. Strategies for effective relationship-building keep in mind that relationship-building isn’t about what people can do for you, but about what you can do for people.

1. Recognize People for their Value
People want to be recognized for their intrinsic value as human beings – not as social connections. Recognize people for their value and individuality first and foremost. By building successful individual relationships with people, you can later leverage those relationships to form valuable business connections. But don’t make the connections about business from the beginning – make those connections genuinely about the connections, and about recognizing people for their individual value.

2. Don’t Ignore The People Not On Your “Target List”
One popular strategy that networkers use is to develop a list of targets – people they want to meet or spend time with at events or online. People who aren’t on that list may get ignored. This is a big mistake, and one of the primary differences between networking and relationship-building. When you target people, you miss out on other people who may have unexpected things to offer.

3. Give People Your Full Attention And Be Sincere
One of the most mortifying experiences that a person can have is shaking someone’s hand, only to realize that the person they’re greeting is looking over their shoulder to see who in the room is more important to greet. Don’t be keeping one eye open for the ‘important’ people when you’re building relationships.

Give everyone you meet your real attention. Make genuine connections with people. They sense the sincerity when you make these connections, and you never know when one of the people you meet has another valuable connection that they can provide you with – a connection you’d miss if you were too busy to move on to a more ‘important’ person.

4. Look At What YOU Can Do FOR People
When people are networking, they tend to evaluate someone and think “What can this person do for me?” Don’t ask what people can do for you. Ask what you can do for people. Look at ways you can provide value in other people’s lives. Offer valuable information, or helpful advice. Help them make connections that will serve them in business or their personal lives. People will return the favor, and may surprise you with the ways they can help your business. You’d never discover this if you were too busy asking what they could do for you.

Relationship-building does take more time than traditional networking, but you will make more valuable connections from it. Take the time to get to know the people you meet, and don’t dismiss people as being ‘unimportant’ because you’re too busy looking for ‘more important’ people. Every connection you make is valuable on a human level. It’s those real, true connections that will reap the rewards of success in the long term!

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