When Does Relationship Building Begin?

As some may know, I often go out to networking groups and do a free presentation called, "Relationship Building- The Key to the Success of Your Business".  One of the questions asked at the beginning is "When does relationship building begin?".   I almost always hear things first like that are connected to when you meet a person.  Things like, 'when you are at an event', "when you say hi", etc. What I don't hear as often, are things related to BEFORE you even meet the person.

After I explain that relationship building often starts before you meet someone, I often get a lot of  "oh yeah!".  It's true, most times people first hear about us before they even meet us.  It could be something as simple as a friend or colleague who shared information about us (which hopefully was good and not bad!) or it could be something more complex like our website or an ad we placed somewhere. 

What about social media sites like Facebook or Twitter?  Or a site like Meetup, Eventbrite or Evite where you share whether or not you are going to an event.  When you make a post or comment in any of these places, you are creating a first impression with people.  Are you the person who is supportive and chimes in to respond to people in a positive way when they share they are coming or not?  Or are you the person who gets on and says they can't come but also goes on to provide a ton of whiny reasons along with it which makes you look like a Negative Nelly instead of a Positive Patty?

Whether you are at a networking event, on a social media site, creating a marketing piece for your business or just hanging out in town, you are always "on display" and should be on your game.  You should also have intentional follow-up in place that reinforces when what people experience when they first meet you.   Are your actions  (before they meet you, when they meet you and after they meet you),  in line with the mission and vision of your company?  Do you even know what the mission and vision of your company are? ​

At Z&B Consulting we help people, explore who they are as a business.  What do they do, who do they do it for and what do they achieve as a result of all they do?  If you're not clear about these things, you'd really enjoy my upcoming half day training on "Making a Difference in the Lives of Others".  Everyone who leaves the course will be clear on the questions above as they explore them with other businesses and expand their thoughts from the ideas of others. 

There is a class this Monday and another on July 10th. To learn more or get registered, click here.  

If you'd like to schedule me to come out and do this free 30-60 min presentation, drop me a line. I'd love to do it! You can check out feedback from my presentation last Wed.  

You can also drop me a line to set up a free 30 minute consult.  ​

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