It’s All About the Little Things

by Elizabeth Frederick

Have you noticed a theme in our blog posts lately?  For us, February is all about the importance of relationships in selling.

As we were brainstorming topics for possible blog entries, we noticed that just about every possible title made us sound like relationship counselors.  We weren’t exactly surprised – the same principles that help you form and maintain healthy relationships in your personal life will be helpful in your business life.  One key principle is the importance of the little things.

If you’re married or dating, I’m sure you’ve heard this advice time and time again.  Yes, the big gestures are important – I have a friend whose husband’s proposal involved a lengthy scavenger hunt and what seemed like all of their friends and both of their families – but the small things are just as crucial.  She will always remember that the final clue in their scavenger hunt led her to the place where they had first kissed.

Here are some small things you can do to develop and maintain relationships with prospects & clients.  Unfortunately kissing isn’t exactly an option I’d recommend!

Remember Important Dates
Just like you’d celebrate birthdays and anniversaries in your personal life, acknowledge those dates with your business contacts.  You can even track the anniversary of when you started working together.  Depending on the relationship, a phone call, gift, or meal is always appreciated.  You can even use a service like SendOutCards to store important dates and automatically send cards.

Listen and Ask Questions
When you’re meeting with prospects and clients, are you actively listening to what they are saying, or are you biding your time while they talk by planning your responses?  When you hear something that piques your interest, do you immediately jump in with a solution, or do you ask questions to learn more?  As an exercise, try having coffee with a business contact without talking about yourself at all.

Show Gratitude
We all love to hear “Thank you” from someone we respect, and we’re usually good at thanking people for gifts or referrals.  When’s the last time you thanked someone for their friendship or for listening?  Do you consistently thank your clients for their business?  A “Thank You for Your Business” stamp on your invoice doesn’t count!

Stay in Touch
When you first start working with someone, it’s easy to schedule consistent meetings and phone calls.  Over time, meetings get canceled and bumped from calendars, and before long you’re exchanging only the most necessary communication.  Make the time to schedule regular meetings with your key contacts.  Breakfast, coffee, and lunch meetings are great – it’s inherently more relaxed, and just about anyone can fit it into their schedule.  Use these meetings to connect personally as well as catch up on business.

Remain Respectful
Everyone shows up on time for a sales meeting or job interview, but give it a few months and 9:00 becomes 9:06 or 9:14.  Project deliverables might start out perfect, but once you’ve been working with someone for a while it can be easy to wait until the last minute and miss a few typos.  Deadlines start to slip, and every task requires multiple reminders.  Show respect to your contacts: instead of letting your standards relax over time, treat every meeting like a sales meeting and each project like the first.

What small things do you do to maintain strong relationships with your prospects and clients?