Today is Monday, and it’s time for lunch. You walk down the street and stop at the local deli. The cute guy behind the counter smiles, asks how your day is going, tells you what the special is, how he loves it, and you not only decide it would be the perfect lunch, but you also walk away from the deli happy that you made that choice for lunch. Will you go back to choose lunch there again this week? Certainly. He’s now your friend, and you love his suggestions.
Last week on Monday you walked the other direction for lunch. You visited another area deli, which was hectic. They didn’t have time for you; the wait was long although they didn’t seem swamped with customers. When you got to the counter you were greeted with a tired, cranky, “What can I get for you?” You asked about specials and the person “helping” you pointed to the menu on the wall. There was no eye contact, someone else took your money and forgot to say thanks. When you finally got your lunch, you knew you would only return if you had no lunch alternatives.
What’s the difference? It’s about the relationship. In every business, the way people are treated and how they feel about the experience with your organization will either make or break the long-term potential. Why would anyone want to do business with someone who doesn’t treat them well? Life is too short.
At Oster and Associates, we take pride in the fact that many of our clients are our friends. We may not have known them well before we started working together, but our interest in what they do, and in them as people, blossoms as time passes. And when you genuinely like someone, it’s hard to not have that feeling returned.
Relationships can be built many ways. Usually it takes conversation, personal meetings, time between two people, a sharing of interests and ideas. Certainly people become friends through long-distance relationships, but it normally involves talking on the phone and again sharing something of yourself and something also of interest to the other person.
In today’s busy world, it can be easy to think you just need to get to the point quickly, don’t bother with small talk, and don’t worry about personalities. But businesses are made up of people, and humans need to interact with other humans. The future of successful business will always be in building relationships. Think about what you’ve done today that will further a relationship with at least one client, vendor or cohort. It might be the most important thing you think about all day!
