Success in the business world relies on understanding that all business to business relationships are valuable assets that can't be neglected. Savvy managers, entrepreneurs and professionals understand that they are surrounded by people who can help them. They see their business to business relationships with those people as valuable assets.
When you see business to business relationships as assets, you focus on them. You are attuned to every one of them, and you employ them to move your organization and everyone with a stake in it toward a goal. You realize that without business to business relationships, you don't have a business. When you're on top of your business to business relationships, you're on top of the game.
Aren't managers and entrepreneurs already managing their assets? Don't they immediately put idle equipment and empty office space to use? Aren't they ridding the shop floor of wasted time and motion?
Yes, yet they often still allow some of their most valuable assets to leak out, sit idle or lose money. The assets in question are the company's current and potential relationships. Take a look at what's happening to your business to business relationships and develop a game plan for identifying, evaluating, developing and protecting those assets.
Many companies don't fully consider the role that business to business relationships play in their business. For instance, in early to mid-2010, a major food manufacturer laid off a large portion of its veteran sales force. These men and women were being paid more than the company would have to pay less experienced recruits.
Over the next three years, the company's total annual sales decreased dramatically. Analysts reported that the company had underestimated the importance of the business to business relationships that its salespeople had formed with supermarket and grocery store managers. It turned out that the battle for shelf space depends on more than having solid brands. It also depends on the relationships that a company's sales reps have with the people who control the shelf space.
A major reason why so many companies don't manage these assets is that managers don't fully understand the role that business to business relationships play in reaching goals. Companies need relationships with employees, customers, suppliers, investors, government agencies, competitors and a huge array of other entities and individuals as much as they need offices, equipment, vehicles and information.
When people don't really know one another or when mistrust, greed or bad feelings distort relationships, business to business relationships become difficult. The better a company's relationships are, the better the company will function. What's more, doing business by developing business to business relationships is much easier, far more personally rewarding and a lot more fun.
10 Business to Business Relationship Reminders
o See business to business relationships as valuable assets
o Create ownership for business to business relationships
o Transform contacts into connections
o Get to know your prospects and customers as people
o Build bonds of trust with all individuals
o Banish business to business relationship killers
o When something breaks, fix it fast
o Get rolling and maintain momentum
o Maximize the long-term value of business to business relationships
o Keep the “wins” coming, individual by individual
Mike McCann
Mike-at-GlobalBusinessCafe.com
