Business Success is Built on Relationships

There is no time like the present to assess your goals and make specific plans for growing yourself and your business.  One of the most effective ways to assure that you maintain your current client base while attracting new ones is to focus on building relationships.  That is, after all, the basis of successful business.

All things being equal, people tend to do business with people they like. And all things not being equal, people tend to do business with people they like.

You can have a superior product, a great price and state-of-the-art systems, but if you don’t treat your customers with courtesy and respect, you will eventually lose them to someone who does.  If you are not available to your customers, you will eventually lose them to someone who is.

In today’s high-tech world, it is all too easy to lose the human touch and personal contact.  E-mail and voice mail are two of the culprits that have robbed us of that individual connection, and they have done it in the name of efficiency. Since both save time and money in the workplace, it is often tempting to use them as our primary means of communication.  Neither one should be a substitute for talking to or meeting face-to-face with the people who support us and bring us business.

Use your e-mail to exchange information, but don’t use it when you need to discuss issues or negotiate deals.  In spite of all the cute ways to show emotion on the Internet, smiley faces and the like simply cannot convey accurately what the sender is feeling.  You need to hear with your ears what your client is saying.

Voice mail messages are often more accurate than the receptionist who tries to summarize what the caller said, but they were not intended as a replacement for talking directly with others.  Don’t hide behind your voice mail, or use it primarily as a way of screening your calls.  If you never answer your phone during business hours, people will soon catch on and call someone who does.

Truly successful people are never too busy for personal contact with clients and coworkers.  All the time saving technology in the world will be totally useless if there is no one to communicate with.

Hire Lydia to work with your staff to improve customer service and employee relations through the use of those priceless and often over-looked soft skills called manners. Lydia is the “unstuffy” business etiquette expert who helps individuals and organizations add the polish that builds profits. We’re talking about your bottom line here.

Since 1996, countless people have benefited from her wisdom through keynotes, seminars and conference breakout sessions.  Her Southern charm and sense of humor have made her a sought-after speaker and consultant.

Based in Savannah, Georgia, Lydia is available for national, regional and local speaking and training engagements. She has suitcase; will travel.

Contact her via email at lydia@lydiaramsey.com or call 912-604-0080. Sign up for her free monthly newsletter and visit her website, lydiaramsey.com.