How to Build Meaningful Relationships in Business

Thanks to technology it’s easier than ever to stay connected with friends, family, and business colleagues. Next time you’re at the office, take a step back and think about how many tools you use to communicate with others. You’d be surprised in how many you can come up with.

Many of these tools have made our lives much easier. But they’ve also changed how we define relationships. Just because someone has 800 friends on Facebook doesn’t mean they’ve built meaningful relationships with 800 different people. In fact, it’s probably quite the opposite.

Building lasting relationships with people takes time. You have to treat every relationship different. To know how to build each relationship, you need to take the time to get the know the person. Listing them as a friend on Facebook or a connection on LinkedIn simply isn’t good enough.

Throughout your business career, the people you meet will make all the difference in your success. That said, it’s more important than ever to build authentic and meaningful relationships. Here are six tips to achieve exactly that.

Don’t try to be somebody else

There’s nothing worse than a phony. In business there’s always a fine line between “fake it til you make it” and being straight up dishonest. Often times the extra “fluff” is just a result of passion. It starts to go south when you paint a picture of yourself that you can’t uphold. If you want to play it safe, just be as authentic as you possibly can.

Think about it this way. Every successful entrepreneur needs at least one win until they can call themselves successful. It’s okay to be a newbie. It’s okay to fail. As long as you’re authentic others will want to help and work with you.

Practice your listening

Did you know one of the most important communication skills has nothing to do with talking? Well you guessed it, it’s listening.

I’m sure you’ve dealt with this issue throughout your life. The fact that nobody listens. Whether it’s your parents, spouse, or boss it just seems like they don’t understand or listen to what you have to say. Well, how do you think other people feel about you?

Next time you’re having a conversation, try your hardest to listen attentively. As you feel yourself want to blurt out or interrupt, just hold back and continue to listen. You’ll learn much more about others and when it comes time to respond, you’ll have a lot more to talk about.

Go on more lunch dates

Pay close attention here and notice the choice of words. This isn’t a lunch meeting, but simply a lunch date. We get so bogged down with work it’s often nice to go out to lunch and let loose for an hour or so. Even better if it’s with one of your business colleagues.

The most valuable relationships in business come from people who genuinely like and respect each other as humans. How do you build that relationship outside of work? One place to start is a lunch date.

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Give someone a call, just to check in

This is very similar to the point made above. In business, we’re always trying to keep things “strictly business”. When it comes to building meaningful relationships, however, you need to solidify the bond outside of the workplace.

When was the last time you called a friend or business colleague simply to check in? Just to see how they’re doing? If you’re like most people, it’s probably pretty rare. This isn’t because we don’t care about those people, it’s more so that this hasn’t crossed our mind as much. After all, we sent them a Snapchat a few hours ago about the new puppy in the office. That’s enough right?

After you finish reading this article. Take the time to call at least one person you’ve met in business and give them a call. When they ask why you called, you can tell them you just wanted to check in and say hi. You’d be surprised how far that’ll take you.

Be hasty with your responses

Sure we know that you aren’t on your computer or phone 24/7. However, most business people are within reach of a device for the vast majority of the day. Even better, we have access to all of our communication tools on most devices. This makes it super easy to respond to others when they reach out. So why does it always take so long to get a response?

Sometimes the person is truly to busy to respond. Most of the time, however, they simply see the message and decide to respond later. Don’t be one of these people. If you see a message, you should always try to respond right away if you can. People like reliability. If you take a day to respond to a text, people may stop reaching out altogether.

Embody positivity

This is one of the most important things you need to do if you want to build meaningful relationships in business. Ask yourself this. Would you rather spend time with someone who’s a total downer or with someone who’s bubbling with positivity? Okay, I’ll admit, the latter can sometimes be a bit over the top but it’s still much better than negativity.

If you embody positivity it will influence those around you to do the same. If you’re the person who others come to get lifted back up you can expect to keep people around for life.


If you’re looking to start building more meaningful relationships in business, make sure you don’t forget the six tips listed above!


Source: www.business2community.com
Image Credit: geralt / Pixabay

ABOUT WNFP
Westchester Networking for Professionals (WNFP) is a business organization focused on providing our members and guests with an extraordinary networking experience, bringing business professionals together for the sole purpose of generating new relationships and developing new business opportunities. Not a member, learn how you can become a member and join this awesome group of professionals to connect and grow your business.

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How to Network and Build Authentic Relationships

The people you know and surround yourself with will make all the difference in business and life. There’s no coincidence that some of the most successful entrepreneurs are also some of the most well-connected. When it comes to networking though, you need to focus on quality over quantity. Just because you have a bunch of friends on Facebook doesn’t mean your popular right? Same goes for your professional network. If you want to gain value from your network you need to build authentic relationships.

That said, here are five networking tips that will help you build authentic relationships:

1. Build an honest reputation

Your reputation is one of the most important pieces of building authentic relationships. At the end of the day, you want to surround yourself with people you trust and that trust you. Without that trust there is nothing.

While it’s important to stand out and present yourself in a positive light, it’s not okay to do so by lying. Everyone get’s excited and can fluff their personal story a bit. And that’s generally okay. The problems arise when you get to used to this strategy. Eventually, someone will decide to do their due diligence and call you out. In fact, spotting a liar is pretty easy these days. When that happens, it can have a detrimental effect on your personal brand and reputation. You want to avoid this at all costs.

Play to your strengths when promoting your brand and don’t be afraid to wear faults proudly. If your first business was a failure, talk about how much you learned from it. You can spin just about anything into something positive if you need to.

2. Take meetings in person whenever possible

In the digital age we tend to default to using our phones or computers to take meetings. While connecting over email is great, taking the time to meet in person will take the relationship to a different level. Especially if this is the first time you’re meeting.

Let’s say you have a client reaching out who is interested in doing business. They send a request for proposal (RFP) and let you know they’ll be speaking with competitors for similar offers. You want to win their business so what’s the first step? First off you need to gauge if you can meet their basic requirements. If that’s a go, it’s time to hop on a plane (or car) and meet them face to face.

What truly separates businesses is the people that run them. Often times, all it takes is a face to face meeting to differentiate yourself from competition. This is because you’ve started to build a relationship with the client before they’ve even agreed to work with you.

3. Don’t forget your notebook

After you take a meeting you’re going to forget 90% of what was said within an hour. This is why it’s so important to make sure you write things down. Of course you should take notes on business related topics and or the purpose for the meeting. That said, you should also jot down a few notes on whomever you were meeting. Where they like to eat, favorite travel destinations, hobbies, and other interests are great things to note down when networking with others. This way, you can make an effort to build the relationship outside of work.

Bringing a notebook to your face to face meetings is also a sign of respect. By writing things down as the other person speaks, it shows you value what they have to say. It will also encourage you to listen more than you speak. This is always a great tactic to use when trying to learn more about someone else. Ask questions and take notes as you drive the conversation.

4. Give away a free favor (or two)

The next time you’re attending an industry conference or event take the time to discern who’s giving a sales pitch and who’s looking to build relationships. The problem is it’s rarely the latter. Most often people are looking to further their own personal career by asking something of you. This is a perfect time to differentiate yourself from those kinds of people.

Instead of following the pack like the rest you should try offering a favor away for free. The favor doesn’t have to be much either. It can simply be an introduction or even some advice. If they gained value from you from that favor, you can expect they will happy to return it. If you focus on doing this at your next conference, you’ll come away with a lot more value in the long run than trying to sell everyone on the conference floor.

5. Check in every once in a while

We all live very busy lives. That said, it’s common for us to lose contact with one another. With close friends and family the distance doesn’t cause the relationship to fade. In business however, it most certainly can. This is why it’s always important to follow up with people you’ve met over the years in your business dealings.

When reaching out you don’t even need to ask for anything in specific. You could simply ask them how they’re doing or about some trip you know they recently came back from. It’s the little things that often times mean the most in these relationships. The more you keep in touch with them the stronger the relationship will be.

At the end of the day networking really comes down to practice. Over time, you’ll figure out what it takes to put your best foot forward and build lasting relationships with people. The five networking tips mentioned above will help you accomplish just that!

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Source: business2community.com

ABOUT WNFP
Westchester Networking for Professionals (WNFP) is a business organization focused on providing our members and guests with an extraordinary networking experience, bringing business professionals together for the sole purpose of generating new relationships and developing new business opportunities. Not a member, learn how you can become a member and join this awesome group of professionals to connect and grow your business.

Stay Connected with WNFP!

Want to Be a Stronger Leader? Use this Map to Improve Your Alliances and Relationships

Relationships and alliances help you build momentum and move closer to your goals, They influence your outlooks and attitudes about what's happening around you. They even affect your longevity, resistance to disease, and mental wellbeing.

Yet in the hard work of building a business we often forget to be intentional about the allies we gather around us. We set visions for where we want the business to go, strategize on financial structures and campaigns that test product-market fit, and use design thinking to more deeply understand our customers and what they long for.

But relationships? If you're like most leaders, they simply "happen." We take them as they come -- but seldom apply proactive thought to gathering the right people around us.

You can change that. By getting intentional about your relationship strategy, the way you would about a product or financial plan, you can design a path to improving the connections that influence you most. I recommend a simplified version of a "sociogram," or map of relationships and social connections. Although there are various ways to construct sociograms, the simple one shared here offers an easy way to identify and design the alliances you want to bring to your leadership -- and life.

Here's how it works.

Draw Your Map

First, draw a small circle in the center of a piece of paper and jot your name and date in it.

Then draw two rings around it: concentric circles moving outward from the center. Leave enough room to do some writing in these circles.

Next, reflect on key relationships that influence you: people you interact with often, or who create significant impact on your life, or on whom you rely for stability, support, and collaboration.

Start to write the names of these people: the most influential ones near the center, close to your name, and the somewhat less impactful ones farther from the center.

Try to identify 8-10 names, and no more than 12. Consider both positive and negative influences. Identify important people from your past, even if you're no longer connected. Include personal as well as professional connections: loved ones and key work relationships belong on this map.

Be thoughtful about the process. You may put names down and end up replacing them with others that feel more influential. Keep refining until you have a solid map of the most influential 10-or-so allies in your circles.

Identify Patterns

Now, consider the roles of the people you added to your map.

Which are mentors, guides, or inspirations: people you learn from or see as role models, whether they know it or not?

Which are partners or collaborators, whether personal or professional? Is there someone who is your "Champion," always in your corner ready to cheer you on?

Which are dependents, relying on you for appropriate care or nurturing - or in needy ways that drain your time, energy, and attention?

Who might be a deterrent: a critic or challenger who complicates your path or burdens your life experience with negativity?

Do you have a catalyst, someone who sparks you to a higher level of vision, contribution, or presence?

Notice similarities between them. What patterns do you see? What gaps?

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Design Your Ideal Map

As you reviewed this map you probably felt things you liked about it, some you didn't like about it, and some you wished to change. Use that thinking to develop the Sociogram you want to have surround you.

Put your name and a realistic future date into a center circle. Then, around it, like before: two concentric circles.

Need a mentor? Mark that in your closest circle, or move someone who could be a guide or inspiration closer to the core.

Notice some toxic forces close to the center? Push them out to the farther circle, or, better yet, out of the circles altogether.

Too many optional dependents? Soften their impact by moving them away from center. Maybe you'll see how this opens up time and headspace to move family or loved ones in closer.

Who is missing from your circles? A champion or catalyst? A partner?

Who needs to move closer to center? Who farther? Who needs to leave your circles? Who do you want to invite in? Invest some time to reflect on your ideal constellation of allies. It's the first step in designing the relationships you actually want.

Convert to Action

Compare the two maps. Everything different between them, is, in a sense, your desire for change. Now, all that's left is creating a plan of action.

Identify those desires and name the outcome you seek. Maybe it's something like "I want a go-to mentor I can meet with regularly to improve my long-term thinking," or "I want to limit the impact of negative personalities by reducing the time I spend with them."

Then think of barriers to these actions. You may not have a candidate for an aligned mentor, or you may need to navigate some politics to interact less with the negative force.

Next, identify ways to work through those barriers: how can you create the desired change and outcomes? Can you activate your alumni network to seek a mentor, or reconnect with someone you've lost touch with? Can you come up with a corrective plan for the difficult forces to see if they can change, or adjust your behavior so you interact less frequently? In other words, what can you do to make your desired change happen?

Reaching the success your second sociogram inspires may seem like an ambitious plan -- but isn't that also true of any product, financial, or organizational vision? Move toward realization of your ideal relationship map the same way you do with other goals: by setting a clear vision for what you seek and putting steps in place to help you achieve it.

Need motivation? Close your eyes and see yourself in that future circle, surrounded by allies who help you succeed. We can't do it alone. Designing the relationships that help you get where you want to go is, actually, a big step forward in getting there.

Source: https://www.inc.com


ABOUT WNFP
Westchester Networking for Professionals (WNFP) is a business organization focused on providing our members and guests with an extraordinary networking experience, bringing business professionals together for the sole purpose of generating new relationships and developing new business opportunities. Not a member, learn how you can become a member and join this awesome group of professionals to connect and grow your business.

Stay Connected with WNFP!

4 Reasons Why Nurturing Business Relationships Makes Money

I’m currently working on a huge project for one of my clients where I get to interview successful entrepreneurs from all types of industries. On a recent interview I did, I had the pleasure of speaking with a friend and colleague who is a genius at building business relationships. According to her, it’s these business relationships that keep growing her revenue.

In a world where so much is being done online, we often forget that we are dealing with people. It’s people who pay you, which is why building business relationships is so important. Here are x reasons why nurturing business relationships makes money.

Trust is a big part of making money.

People will not pay you unless they trust you can fix their issues. Period.

In fact, I find this is often a key component missing in sales conversations. Business owners are often taught to go after anything that moves. This doesn’t work for two reasons. First, you’re better off finding a select few group of people you can cater to. Second, you need to build trust first.

There are several ways of building trust in business relationships both online and off. Here are a few of them:

• Consistently providing great quality work.
• Truly listening to other people when they speak.
• Acting with integrity in business.
• Walking your talk.
• Consistently creating quality content over a period of time.

Building trust in business relationships is not limited to these actions, but they are certainly a good place to start. 

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They can make transitions easier.

When I interviewed my friend and colleague on the topic of business relationships, she shared a great story about quitting her last job. Because she had built solid business relationships at her last job, when she announced she was leaving to start her own company a ton of clients went with her.

The way she explains it, these clients know she’s good at what she does. They want to do business with her, not just anyone. This made the transition into running her own company much easier.

They can send referrals.

Just because someone may not pay you, doesn’t mean they won’t send someone else who will. For example, I recently had a consultation with someone who wasn’t yet ready for my six-week business program. She did, however, refer a friend who is now one of my students.

These things happen in my business all the time. Because I put forth the effort to build business relationships, people know they can refer others to my work.

Colleagues can become sounding boards.

Every business owner needs a sounding board or two. In building business relationships, I now have a group of colleagues I know I can go to for help. This comes in handy when I have questions, doubts or fears. It’s also how I’ve been able to find valuable team members. It’s because of these relationships I’ve been able to build the business I have today.

Final Thoughts

Business relationships can help you expand your current business into new horizons. If you don’t prioritize building relationships, consider this your permission slip to get started.

Source: https://www.business2community.com


ABOUT WNFP
Westchester Networking for Professionals (WNFP) is a business organization focused on providing our members and guests with an extraordinary networking experience, bringing business professionals together for the sole purpose of generating new relationships and developing new business opportunities. Not a member, learn how you can become a member and join this awesome group of professionals to connect and grow your business.

Stay Connected with WNFP!

How to Strengthen Your Client Relationships So Customers Stay With You for the Long Haul

A business is only as good as its customers. But how you interact with your customersafter they become customers is perhaps the most important part of the business-client relationship.

Sure, you want your customers to be happy and loyal, but so often we focus on getting a new customer, but don't have any real strategy on the customer services experience once that client is signed. The result: customers leave, and you are left with a lot of time invested without the benefit of the long-term potential revenue. How can you strengthen your relationship with your customer so it can grow and flourish for a long time into the future? Here are four steps that can help:

1. Watch and listen

If you haven't done this before, you need to have a deep understanding of your customers' needs and goals. Many times, we assume what they want, but we actually don't ask them.

Ask yourself and your customers "Why do they need you?" For example, in my yoga studio, we want to offer certain classes on the schedule. However, if people don't show up for them, the classes won't be successful. So before we offer new ones, we send surveys and engage with our most loyal customers in our private Facebook group to get their feedback on class format offerings, days and times. We then listen to what the customer wants and decide if that is the direction we can go.

We also observe their actual behavior--they may ask for a class and then never show up. We watch and observe to determine the reason why that occurs. You can do the same. This can help you see signs that your client doesn't and develop a strategy to help match your customer's goals.

2. Take a team approach--with an assigned leader.

Managing the customer relationship involves not just you, but everyone in your company. The most effective customer experience spans your entire team. It is what differentiates your company culture from other businesses when each person in your company is involved in some way.

We spend a great deal of time in our yoga studio to ensure that every touch point for a customer is a caring experience. I assign different people on my staff to lead different initiatives and programs in the studio. It becomes that person's job to communicate information back and forth from the customer to my entire team and for them to work together on getting the outcomes they want in each situation.

You can try this in your business, too. This way your customers have the confidence that no matter who they work with in your business, they will have a consistent experience.

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3. Make Net Promoter Score your guiding light.

You always need to keep tabs on how your customers view your services. I use Net Promoter Score (NPS). The NPS rates how willing customers would recommend a company's products or services to others.

The score is calculated by how customers answer specific questions and range from minus 100 to 100. The NPS is great because it gives you unfiltered feedback where customers can outline possible flaws in customer service that they might not communicate with you.

It also doesn't take your customers a lot of time to respond, so it's easier to get responses. With the results from the survey in hand, you can make changes in how you and your team approach customer service or future offerings.

4. Make your customer experience exciting.

If your team is not excited about your services, your customer won't be either. In my studio, I meet with leaders of different programs to brainstorm what is going well, and not so well, at least once a month. We also create new ways to engage customers and get them engaged with the yoga community. When they are a part of the creation of ideas, that enthusiasm carries over to the customer during interactions in person.

When your customers see and hear how energetic you and your team are about your services, they are much more inclined to join you and best of all, recommend you to others.

Providing excellent customer service is perhaps the hardest part of business growth. But by having a customer service experience strategy in place early on, you'll be in a good position to secure customers who are happy, loyal, and complimentary about your services. A little effort in the right places can make all the difference in whether your clients stay or go.

Source: https://www.inc.com

Image Credit: Getty Images




ABOUT WNFP
Westchester Networking for Professionals (WNFP) is a business organization focused on providing our members and guests with an extraordinary networking experience, bringing business professionals together for the sole purpose of generating new relationships and developing new business opportunities. Not a member, learn how you can become a member and join this awesome group of professionals to connect and grow your business.

Stay Connected with WNFP!

7 Real-Life Business Lessons You Can Learn From Billionaires

The “three-comma club” consists of those in industry, art and commerce who have achieved the exclusive honor of reaching a net worth of more than one billion dollars. From Rockefeller to Gates, members of the club include people who have truly altered the world. To achieve this level of success requires hard work, dedication and a little bit of luck.

Fortunately for the rest of us, these men and women have shared some of the techniques that helped them achieve membership in the exclusive billionaires’ club.

Whether your goal is to make a billion dollars or bring clean water to a billion people, the techniques of how to envision and achieve goals can be used by anyone. Here are 7 of those techniques, straight from the mouths of billionaires.

1. Look failure in the eyes.

Failure is not something that you expect the most successful entrepreneurs to have experienced much of. However, all billionaires have experienced failure, sometimes catastrophically. The difference between those who thrive and those who don’t is that those who thrive failed better. As Bill Gates said, “It’s fine to celebrate success but it is more important to heed the lessons of failure.”

Gates is a prime example of why learning from failure is key. While at his first company, Traf-O-Data, Gates, the future richest man in the world, saw his life’s work fail completely. When Traf-O-Data went out of business in the late 1970s, Gates watched his dream of success start to crumble. However, according to him and his co-founder and fellow billionaire Paul Allen, the lesson they learned from the failure of Traf-O-Data helped Microsoft succeed.

Many ambitious people, when faced with failure, want to forget it quickly and move on. However, something that is key for success is being able to face failures and understand the lessons they offer. The most successful people recognize that failures can be stepping stones rather than stumbling blocks.

2. Insist on excellence.

Excellence for the most successful among us is a habit. Take the words of advice from Mohammad Dewji, CEO of the METL Group and Africa’s youngest billionaire at 42. He says, “Always strive for excellence in life and never make room for mediocrity. Set your standards high and your efforts shall be rewarded.”

Long-term goals can seem daunting or abstract. However, waking up every day and being consistent with one’s standards is key. A billion dollars starts with a million, which starts with a thousand, which starts with one … and that first dollar is only earned by demanding one’s best.

The most successful entrepreneurs create the right goals and achieve them daily. With time, these become the right habits. And finally, these become the right accomplishments. Insist on excellence, and maybe you could end up in the three-comma club.

3. Vision is key.

The other aspect of becoming a billionaire is setting the right goals. Coming up with those ideas that are worth pursuing means thinking outside the box and seeing value where others do not. The ideas that created billionaires have been those that pushed the boundaries. This means pursuing one’s idea and having faith in a vision when others are skeptical or even hostile.

For example, when billionaire Richard Branson started Virgin Airlines to compete with air-travel giants like TWA and American Airlines, he was mocked. Others scoffed at him for even attempting to challenge the existing airline companies. However, Branson saw there was a need for a cheaper airline, and one with customer service in mind.

He had faith in his vision, and even though Virgin Airlines struggled in its first few years, it eventually took off for Branson. When Branson sold his 31 percent stake of Virgin America to KLM-France in 2017 for $286 million dollars, his vision was vindicated.

Branson knew that others were skeptical of his idea, but he trusted his judgment and pursued a vision that few others had the will to follow. Billionaires constantly seek to see what others don’t. The fact that others don’t share the vision means only one thing: it’s a great idea.

4. Health is important.

No billion-dollar effort gets off the ground without a healthy and willing personality behind it. As fitness expert and personal trainer to billionaires Samir Becic says, “I truly believe that in the 21st century, in order to excel in the world, you have to be fit and healthy.” Billionaires from the founder of Under Armour to 86-year-old George Soros all emphasize how important personal health is to them.

Your idea won’t get off the ground if you feel sluggish and unfit. You won’t have the energy to do all the things on your list. Stress-reduction strategies, a healthy diet and consistent exercise will do wonders for your motivation and mental capacity. Remember that even in pursuing your dreams, health is key to keeping you in tip-top shape.

5. Opportunity plus preparation equals luck.

You may be surprised that luck is embraced by these hard-working, motivated people; however, it absolutely plays a factor in becoming a member of the billionaires’ club. As Mark Cuban, who sold his company Broadcast.com for $5.7 billion in the 1990s, openly admits, “Being a billionaire requires a lot of luck, a lot of great timing.”

Now, it’s obviously foolish to depend on luck for success. However, the ability to quickly and correctly recognize opportunity when it is presented to you, the flexibility to change course if required and the preparation to rise to the occasion all are vital in taking advantage of what would be considered “luck.”

Learning to take the appropriate chances and having faith in yourself are keys to finding the opportunities that can help you along the way.

6. Keep your priorities in order.

Health, happiness and financial security, in that order, were the three top priorities of millionaires, according to a 2015 US Trust Survey of 640 high-net-worth individuals with at least $3 million in investable assets.

While the financial and professional goals we set for ourselves are crucial to success, it is also important to remember why we are pursuing them. A billion dollars will achieve financial security, and possibly fame, but you should remember the other things in life that money can’t buy.

Warren Buffet often discusses the importance of his children growing up with “normal” childhoods that would teach them self-sufficiency and family values. Even when working hard and making sacrifices in pursuing financial success, remember to think about what you’ll do what you get there, and what you’ll need to have in order to truly be happy.

7. Work, work, work.

The Chairman of Nissan-Renault flies more than 150,000 miles a year. Serena and Venus Williams began hitting tennis balls at 6:00 a.m. when they were 8-years old. Marissa Mayer worked brutal 130-hour weeks while at Google. These stories of grit and work ethic define the journey to becoming a billionaire.

No matter the weather, day or time, for billionaires the only thing on their mind is the task at hand. It is this willingness to work that sets those in the three-comma club apart and defines those who can achieve their dreams, no matter what it is. Luckily, with the right work ethic, all the other steps become easy. As Mark Cuban says,“Companies don’t fail for a lack of cash or attitude. Companies fail for a lack … of effort.”


Source: https://www.entrepreneur.com

Image Credit: Lou Rocco | Getty Images



ABOUT WNFP
Westchester Networking for Professionals (WNFP) is a business organization focused on providing our members and guests with an extraordinary networking experience, bringing business professionals together for the sole purpose of generating new relationships and developing new business opportunities. Not a member, learn how you can become a member and join this awesome group of professionals to connect and grow your business.

Stay Connected with WNFP!

Managing Relationships on the Run: 4 Reasons to Adopt a Mobile CRM

After years of experts saying it was coming, mobile usage has eclipsed desktop. Including tablets, mobile usage has exceeded 56 percent, according to StatCounter’s December 2017 GlobalStats report, while 43 percent of users prefer desktop.

What does this mean for entrepreneurs and startup founders? It means your software and sites have to be adaptable to mobile. But what you might not realize is that it’s time to update your CRM to include a mobile strategy as well. With your sales team members always on their phones, it makes sense to give them the tools they need right where they are. Using a CRM compatible with mobile devices -- whether it’s a web browser with cloud CRM or a mobile CRM app -- they can access important customer data when they meet with customers and prospects out in the field.

According to research conducted by Innoppl Technologies, 65 percent of sales reps using mobile CRM met their goals. In contrast, only 22 percent of reps using systems that weren’t mobile-enabled achieved the same. At Hatchbuck, a mobile CRM strategy has helped our sales teams to move deals faster and more efficiently.

Closing deals with agility and grace.

Today’s customers don’t just want to know you’re there for them, but that you can also respond quickly to their needs. A mobile CRM puts all of the data sales teams need at their fingertips.

While instant, easy access to customer data is the most important aspect, there are many good reasons to upgrade to a mobile CRM in 2018. Here are four benefits of doing so that will make you happy you did.

1. Syncing saves time and boosts revenue.

Recent research by InsideSales.com labs showed that 47.2 percent of sales reps are inside sales, selling remotely most of the time. However, even outside salespeople sell remotely at least 45.4 percent of the time.

If these figures reflect your sales approach, a mobile CRM can help you keep everyone on the same page, saving time and money over the long haul. It gives the entire team -- customer service, marketing, sales -- a 360-degree view of customer data at all times. Access to the most up-to-date information, all in one place and on the go, enables better, speedier responses to your prospect and customer needs.

When Molex moved to a mobile CRM, for example, its sales reps were able to see opportunities in real time. For this niche B2B company, a manufacturer of electronic and fiber-optic interconnection systems, mobile access to this kind of information proved invaluable. The improved teamwork created by Molex’s mobile CRM increased revenue by 5 percent the first year.

2. Mobile keeps you on your toes -- in a good way.

In a study conducted by Nucleus Research, sales productivity was boosted nearly 15 percent with mobile access to a CRM.

A mobile CRM ensures that sales opportunities don’t slip through the cracks or out of the sales process completely. Ultimately, people buy when they’re ready. However, with a mobile CRM, your team is able to respond immediately to questions as they come up -- and close that deal the moment the customer makes a purchase decision.

Using a mobile CRM has been an easy way to put our own product into practice. Our salespeople have access to all of the people in their pipeline with the tap of a finger, whether they’re at their desks or in a sales meeting. With the entire team able to quickly retrieve tasks, notes and upcoming to-dos on their calendar, we’re hyperfocused on the customer experience, delivering timely communications and fostering better relationships.

3. Increased engagement helps convince naysayers.

Let’s face it: Busy salespeople aren’t always the most open to implementing change. Getting these teams on board with a new system is usually a tall order.

However, by giving them access to the CRM on their phones, you enable them to stay connected and engaged throughout the entire customer life cycle -- whether they’re out on the road or working after hours.

The key to encouraging the adoption of any new initiative is to demonstrate the true value for the user. This holds true for your sales team, too. Once we proved that a mobile CRM system could increase sales (and commissions), we soon had a crowd of devoted users.

4. Mobile CRMs improve data quality.

Data integrity is paramount to building better relationships with your customers. However, data is only useful when it’s accurate.

Avoid collecting incomplete data or missing out on opportunities for sales, upsells and re-engagements. A mobile CRM standardizes customer and prospect data within a uniform system that’s accessible at any moment. In fact, according to a survey by Software Advice (a Gartner company), 82 percent of salespeople using a mobile CRM believe it improves data quality.

To illustrate: Say a sales rep goes out on a call but has to wait until he’s back in the office to enter meeting notes, adjust appointment times or update customer info on a desktop CRM. There’s a good chance he’ll forget some critical piece of data along the way -- or forget to enter it at all. If the CRM were mobile, though, he could enter that information on the spot, in real time, and even let the customer review and confirm that the data is accurate.

Your competition for new business isn’t likely to fade in 2018. Fortunately, empowering your sales team members with a mobile CRM will give them everything they need to keep your business growing and thriving, no matter where they are.

Source: https://www.entrepreneur.com/

Image Credit: Tim Robberts | Getty Images



ABOUT WNFP
Westchester Networking for Professionals (WNFP) is a business organization focused on providing our members and guests with an extraordinary networking experience, bringing business professionals together for the sole purpose of generating new relationships and developing new business opportunities. Not a member, learn how you can become a member and join this awesome group of professionals to connect and grow your business.

Stay Connected with WNFP!

4 Tips to Building Meaningful Personal and Professional Relationships

In a world full of people pushing their own agendas and their programs and focused on self-promotion, it is refreshing to meet someone who is giving, selfless and authentic. Have you ever met someone like this? More importantly, have you ever learned a lesson from that person that stuck with you?

As a busy 30 year old woman, making new friends outside of my niche doesn't occur all that often. If anything, I connect with like minded women who are paving the way for others in their respective fields, we bond over that aspect. I recently became friends with a neighbor of mine, and we're totally different from one another.

She's a Nurse from Uganda, she's bubbly, loud, and her laugh is contagious. We've become "Farmers Market" friends, and every weekend we explore new parts of town with each other, eating our way through the weekend with reckless abandon.

We have similar interests in food and conversation, and most importantly she doesn't want help with her own business, or to "pick my brain" or even talk about E-commerce. Did you hear that? It was just my gigantic sigh of relief.

She never picks up the phone while we're together, instead focusing on enjoying the time spent. She never complains, even when we get stuck walking in the rain, drive in circles for 30 minutes, or when the two Farmers Markets I took us too both are mysteriously nowhere to be found. She speaks her mind, there's no beating around the bush with her.

What i've learned, is that a worthwhile friendship requires work. Not the drama laden, foot dragging kind of work that may come to mind, but the kind where you actually better yourself. She's taught me valuable lessons that I can parlay into both my personal and professional life.

Here are four tips to start exploring your authentic self.

1. Recognize that being authentic is difficult but there are rewards

Authenticity is about being genuine and real. However, our society isn't used to authenticity and often questions its motives. Sounds like a pain, you might think. So why should you be yourself? Because, as the saying goes, everyone else is already taken.

Authenticity requires self-knowledge and self-awareness. Authentic people accept their strengths and weaknesses. They are accountable. They are connected to their values and desires and act deliberately in ways that are consistent with those qualities. At the end of the day, you'll be happier and more fulfilled pursuing these things than someone else's idea of success.

2. Know who you are

The first step to authenticity is to know who you are. Take as much time as you need to think about what you want to accomplish in your life and what would make you truly happy. What are your values? Brush aside any thoughts of other people's ideas of what matters.

You have one life, and you don't want to have any regrets at the end. Once you know what your values are, decisions that you have to make become easier because you are free to choose things that move you closer to your values. Your decisions should almost make themselves once you know who you really are.

3. Have an open mind

Success isn't just about money, contacts, a huge loft in the city or a house on the beach and glittery parties to attend every weekend. Of course, success could look like that for you, and if it does, by all means, go for it. But most of us want something else from life. Think about how you are able to reach your goals and help others at the same time.

4. Once you reach your goal, share your success with others
You've probably heard the expression that success is twice as sweet when shared. Once you've figured out the secret to your own happiness, don't be afraid to spread the world so that others may be able to share in your success. Don't be afraid to give away your idea -- it will be credited back to you and often bring rewards and recognition your way.

When you assert yourself as someone who is not solely out for their own benefit, you'd be amazed at how many more people actually want to work with you. You'd be a unicorn in the business world, people gravitate towards those who are enjoyable to be around.

These are my favorite kinds of people, and the ones that I want to help achieve their own goals. Take a look at your own behaviors, and make sure you're not being a parasitic friend or business contact.

Source: https://www.inc.com/
Image Credit: Getty Images




ABOUT WNFP
Westchester Networking for Professionals (WNFP) is a business organization focused on providing our members and guests with an extraordinary networking experience, bringing business professionals together for the sole purpose of generating new relationships and developing new business opportunities. Not a member, learn how you can become a member and join this awesome group of professionals to connect and grow your business.

Stay Connected with WNFP!

3 Relationships That Will Build the Tribe Every Entrepreneur Deserves

Entrepreneurial success isn't easy to achieve, and it's even harder when you're going it alone. Every entrepreneur needs to build a network of sustaining individuals who fill key relationship roles -- -- and LinkedIn is stepping in to help.

The business-centric social network is preparing to roll out Career Advice, a new service to connect its members with potential mentors. Users set preferences about the advice they'd like to give or receive, and LinkedIn suggests possible partnerships within their networks, schools or regions. Once connected, mentor and mentee can talk using LinkedIn's messaging service.

How valuable are these connections? In a MicroMentor survey of more than 700 participants, entrepreneurs with mentors increased their business revenue by 83 percent; mentorless small businesses gained only 16 percent in the same period.

Life is a team sport, and we cannot succeed alone. Building healthy, supportive relationships is more than a cornerstone of life and dream fulfillment; nourishing ourselves with the words, advice, and caring of others is embedded in humanity's very fabric.

A biological drive to connect

If I asked you to list humanity's basic needs, you likely would include food, water and shelter. But that list would be incomplete without mention of social connections.

Matthew Lieberman, author of Social: Why Our Brains Are Wired to Connect, has explored the psychological association between trusting social relationships and personal and professional success. Fewer than 5 percent of the 60,000 leaders he examined for his book described themselves as adept at both forming strong relationships and turning in important business results. The takeaway? Many individuals cannot easily bring ideas to market, and so leave innovations to "wither."

I echo Lieberman's sentiments: Building networks and leveraging the talent of a team of gifted persons results in major benefits. When you recognize and celebrate the strengths of others, you uplift people and reduce stress-producing interactions. Instead of seeds of doubt, you plant seeds of energy -- and watch your true potential and greatness evolve.

Who do you need to be in your corner?

Although you might be great at connecting with your team at work, you need to branch out beyond your company or field to find new friends. Think about everyone in your life who plays a pivotal part in helping you get from today to tomorrow. Ideally, you should have each of the following personalities in your corner:

1. The cheerleader. Doesn't everyone deserve to look to the sidelines and see someone rooting just for them? When the chips are down, this person says "Everything's going to be OK" and makes the tough stuff easier. He or she is excited for your achievements and urges you to work hard -- and this verbal encouragement will help you achieve your goals, just as it can help athletes perform better. No better tireless advocate exists than the cheerleader.

One way to attract cheerleader types into your sphere is to show appreciation for others. Comment on your colleagues' positive behaviors and contributions, especially if you've neglected to say anything thus far. Send a handwritten note to a colleague or friend to thank him or her. The more you emit cheerleader vibes, the more likely you'll magnetize these much-needed friends to your own corner.

2. The mentor. When you're dealing with a startup's ups and downs, you need someone you can call who has navigated similar hurdles. Find a person who exhibits the traits you covet, and ask him or her to be your mentor. If you can engage at least once a month to share ideas and get advice, you'll start to see your confidence and business acumen soar. Just ask Bill Gates: He credits his mentor, Warren Buffett, with teaching him to change the way he thinks and with igniting his interest in philanthropy.

Finding and securing a mentor takes both audacity and patience. First, write down the specific expectations you have for a mentoring relationship. Then, seek out mentors from all your in-person and online business and social networks. Ask for an exploratory meeting to discuss forming a formal mentorship relationship. If you can get a commitment, make sure each meeting covers what you both need.

3. The foxhole buddy. The foxhole buddy is someone you can count on to be with you day in and day out. You need a partner who will have your back every day and whose skills complement your own. Consider the partnership between Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, co-founders of Apple: Wozniak was the mastermind behind the tech giant's first offerings, while Jobs focused on building the future of the company. Wozniak has said that a combination of technological expertise and business acumen like theirs is key to overall success.

You and your foxhole buddy should be the "yin" to each other's "yang," able to combine forces and make an unstoppable team. Make sure you're both headed toward the same goal and focused on the same future so you can get there together.

Bring the smartest, most optimistic people with real-world experience into your inner circle. The more intentional you are in your relationships, the more your investment in social connections will pay business and spiritual dividends.


Source: https://www.entrepreneur.com/
Image Credit: Shutterstock


ABOUT WNFP
Westchester Networking for Professionals (WNFP) is a business organization focused on providing our members and guests with an extraordinary networking experience, bringing business professionals together for the sole purpose of generating new relationships and developing new business opportunities. Not a member, learn how you can become a member and join this awesome group of professionals to connect and grow your business.

Stay Connected with WNFP!

Why Building Relationships with Your Employees Is Better Than Just Managing Them

The wealth created through authentic business relationships stimulates growth and innovation, advances commerce, and benefits all. Relationships sustain more than momentum—they create and sustain relevancy. But these high-level relationships take time to cultivate. By valuing relationships, maximizing the utilization of resources, investing in your people, and always looking for ways to improve strategic-resource sharing, your business sustains momentum. The key word? Relationships.

To seize the opportunities great relationships create, leaders must evolve from managing and live with an entrepreneurial spirit that values relationships and invests in people, including themselves. Then they must deploy two supporting characteristics: first, lead to leave a legacy, which holistically supports better relationships through reciprocity; and second, work with a generous purpose, which requires a commitment to collaboration, sharing, and giving to grow.

Hundreds of studies of Millennials and shift populations show your employees, partners, and customers want to have relationships with you, one another, your business, and your brand. Lessons from the longest study on happiness—the Harvard Study of Adult Development—which tracked annually the lives of 724 men of varying economic statuses show that “Good relationships keep us happier and healthier. Period.”

I can’t think of better foundational or fiscal reasons—happiness and health, not to mention growth and innovation—for building great relationships. So why aren’t you building them? Because you’re likely still stuck in the templates of business past. You lack the ability to see that building these relationships doesn’t start with others; it starts with you, which is why you must continuously invest in yourself to sustain your relevancy. This investment will require you to find the right people who can further guide you and teach you to invest in yourself. It requires you to answer a foundational question of living with an entrepreneurial spirit: How can I nurture and develop a relationship that invests in mutual success for the future rather than what I need now?

Only after answering this question can leaders truly value relationships in the broader workplace and marketplace and encourage entrepreneurial mindsets in others. But you can’t have leadership, let alone a successful business, without strong management of and thus accountability to processes and systems. Management is important for saving time and completing the most mundane tasks, as well as for knowing what steps to take when you need to put out fires. Managing people, however, isn’t the same and can’t be done by templates, accountability to job descriptions, and letting the business define the individual. Relationships must be mutually rewarding and beneficial. They value individuality, allowing that individuality to prosper, multiply, and add value to others. They’re about giving not getting and creating that mutual success. They’re about sharing and taking business to the next level so you can grow.

Of course, you can’t operationalize relationships without good management. When people can’t automatically provide me with information—numbers, data, materials—they need, that’s a management problem, because I haven’t provided the tools they need to manage it or manage the people the information comes from. I can help those people deal with this management issue through my relationship with them and by coaching them to have a better relationship with others. But the real solution is to have a management process in place that demands the information so no one needs to rely on a personal relationship to ensure that things are done properly. The management process should do that and then “Leadership à la Relationship” can take things to the next level.”

That next level is what it means to grow by creating a culture of reciprocity in relationships through leading to leave a legacy and working with a generous purpose of giving. First, ask the legacy questions:

• What is the legacy that my promise has created for those around me?
• Do my employees believe that their jobs aren’t just jobs—they’re opportunities to shape their legacies?
• Do my customers, clients, and partners believe that I do?

Then, you ask the generous purpose questions:

• How do I give back to my people?
• How can I share my expertise beyond my everyday work?
• Do my people, customers/clients, and external partners believe that my company promotes sharing among and giving back to my people and the communities and causes they and the company embrace?  

Relationships should always be reciprocal. Unfortunately, they’ve become too much about getting without giving. Real relationships can’t be about something that exists for our own benefit or getting a return on an agreement to work together in any capacity, be it a mentorship or a contractual agreement. They’re about perpetuating the momentum that each person brings to the relationship.

The same must be true in leadership: It should never be one-sided, nor should the leader always be the one generating the ideas or making the decisions. Leadership means actively listening and advancing the ideas of others (and injecting recommendations along the way to further strengthen or add value to them). If you’re the type of leader who needs all the attention, you won’t seek to cultivate wisdom in others.

Reciprocity is key; cultivating wisdom requires being in touch with what matters most to your employees and giving them the room to express their opinions and put their ideas to the test. The more you can gauge and unleash the passionate pursuits of your employees, the more effective you’ll be in challenging them to stretch their thinking and expand their endless possibilities.

Relationships in the marketplace must also go beyond the transaction—to evolve beyond the sale. Because what influences the marketplace? The individual—much more than ever before. Because we’ve shifted to individuality in the marketplace, customers are looking well beyond a brand’s products and are measuring a brand by intimacy and relationships with them as they make their selections. Customers want to share how great and authentic the story is behind what they consume. If all you have is a transactional relationship, then as soon as another brand offers a better deal, they’re gone.

Why don’t we all do the things required to create great relationships? Probably because they require hard work to do and maintain. But if you can invest in your relationships, stay authentic, and not get stuck in the past, you will continue to stimulate growth and innovation, advance your business, and benefit everyone involved.

Image Credit: Getty Images
Source: http://www.entrepreneur.com


ABOUT WNFP
Westchester Networking for Professionals (WNFP) is a business networking association dedicated to helping small businesses and entrepreneurs develop, expand and grow. We offer affordable opportunities to help create a positive impact and advancement in your business interests and personal quality of life to take you to the next level.