I had a call with someone the other day.
He’s a brand-new business owner and wants to start offering a service which is complementary to ours.
I’d never met him before, but his message popped up on LinkedIn, and in the spirit of helping someone get started, I thought I’d take the call.
It was a perfectly pleasant chat, but what was striking was how quickly he moved onto the topic of me sending him business, bearing in mind that I’d:
- Never met him before
- Had no real idea of his credentials
- Had no experience of the service he delivers, or its level of quality
Now, I’m sure plenty of that could be put down to the fact that he’s new to running a business, and keen to make as many connections and win as many clients as he can.
But having run businesses for a long time now (23 years and counting!), experience has taught me that – like all relationships – business relationships do (and should!) take time to forge.
Because time is what builds trust – showing up again and again and delivering value to the people you’d like to work with.
Not hawking your wares, hitting and hoping, and selling to everyone at every opportunity.
People don’t buy like that; that’s not how relationships work.
I’ve built my businesses on the back of regularly showing up to my target market and delivering value over many years, and it’s paid dividends.
But it’s a marathon, not a sprint. If you’re so focused on the finish line that you forget to put the groundwork in, you’ve got zero chance of a medal.
The application of this principle extends beyond buying and selling – it’s relevant whether you’re trying to close a deal, or get staff on-side.
Because people buy from people they know, like and trust.
Are you putting in the groundwork to be known, liked and trusted, and if not, what could you do differently?
