Building Relationships | What they don’t tell you
Human beings are naturally social creatures, right? We crave friendships and positive interactions, similar to how we do things like food and water. So, it makes sense that the better our relationships are, the happier and more productive we will be. However, there is much more to building relationships than a cold message in an inbox to pitch your business.
That may not even qualify as the beginning of building one.
Sure, you might have opened some dialogue with another person, but please don’t confuse this with having a relationship with them.
You see, there is so much more to the process, and for whatever reason, true human interactions are lost and overshadowed too often by selling. So in today’s post, I want to leave you with several tips and ideas for building relationships on social media and in real life.
Tips for Building Relationships to Grow your Business
Good relationships give us freedom.
Instead of spending time and energy overcoming the problems that arise with negative relationships, we can (and should) instead focus on opportunities.
Develop your People Skills
Building relationships begins with having good people skills.
For example, how well do you collaborate, communicate and deal with others? Awareness of the soft skills you already possess and those you need to work on is critical. Think about how you engage with others. Many people rely heavily on personality or color tests, but I suggest evaluating your current relationships and what they feel like.
How do others respond to you?
Are people inclined to continue the conversation with you, or do you carry it most of the time? Auditing your current relationships, including the ones you are currently developing, will help you identify where you excel and where you need to regroup and focus.
Show Appreciation and Gratitude
Show your appreciation whenever someone helps you. For the most part, everyone wants to feel appreciated, right? So please compliment the people around you when they do something well. This will open the door to developing great relationships.
Doing this can also be beneficial when building relationships with a cold audience.
If someone shares something that resonated with you, made you laugh or caused you to feel something inside honestly — message them — tell them how excellent their tip was or how you align with their beliefs on a topic.
Show some love to those around you, and if they’re the right people for you, they will show you some love in return.
Be an Active and Attentive Listener
Listening is a critical skill in boosting another person’s self-esteem. You might call it the silent form of flattery that makes people feel supported and valued. Listening and understanding what others communicate to us is an essential part of a successful interaction.
Active listening is the single most valuable and essential listening skill. In active listening, we are genuinely interested in understanding what the other person is;
- thinking,
- feeling,
- wanting, or
- meaning.
You also want to ensure that you are actively checking your understanding before responding.
Refine your Communication Skills
Communication occurs when someone understands you, not just when you speak (or type). One of the dangers with communication is that we may work on the assumption that the other person has understood the message we are trying to get across (when they haven’t).
This is especially prevalent when chatting on messenger without using audio clips or video. Text messages are almost always a precursor for misunderstanding if we’re not being super clear.
Poor communication can lead to a lack of trust, understanding, belief, etc. However, it can also positively affect morale when it works effectively and motivates individuals to want to continue building a relationship with you.
Overall, building relationships is so much more than what many experts paint it out to be. When you become effective in the skills mentioned above (and I’m happy to share more — just ask), at the very least, you’ve made a new friend — and you never know. They might just be your newest customer or team member.
What works best for you when building relationships? I would love your thoughts!
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