The importance of maintaining positive business relationships

By Hannah Thomas

Businesses thrive on cordial professionalism between people, whether it’s dealing with customers, colleagues, or other employees. This is true at all levels of the organization, from new hires to you, the leader. Surprisingly, this skill turns out to be more vital for a budding business than any professional expertise, because it ensures you have returning customers, happy employees and invaluable connections and partnering companies. Aside from it being an investment in the future of your company, there are numerous other reasons that will surely have you perfect this precious skill.

Branding

The way you and your employees carry yourselves outside of the company says a lot about your brand. Courteous, intelligent and polite language will always leave a good impression. And if you can pepper your conversation with a certain type of humor or mannerisms that suit your brand, you will definitely stand out from the crowd. The way a law firm partner and a web developing company CEO communicate will certainly be different, but those differences should be limited to nuances in humor, vocabulary and tone. Anything more than that would come off as unprofessional.

Communication skills

Perhaps the biggest personal gain you can withdraw from practicing good business relationships is gaining communication skills. When you learn to speak to your employees, clients, and potential new investors, you will start to see details you might have missed before – which terms work better for which situation, for example. Over a course of time, you’ll even be able to turn entire meetings around depending on the atmosphere in the room. Many conflicts can be avoided, and even more successful contracts closed with better communication skills.

Better teamwork

When it comes to teamwork, not only do employees need to learn how to communicate and resolve minor conflicts, you also need to know how to handle their work issues, successes and failures. This means that being more attuned to their professional needs, praising good performance and achievements (regardless of how big or small they are), you will create a link of mutual respect between yourselves, which can only benefit the general well-being of the entire company. More than anyone else, the business leader needs to keep a cool exterior, and give off an air of a person who can maintain control, no matter the situation.

Reduced stress

There is nothing more aggravating than the inability to properly articulate your intentions. Not only that, but if the other speaker is someone with poor communication skills, or as equally bad, the chances of landing that “stellar deal” is out the window, as it opens the way to conflicts and misunderstandings. Knowing how to phrase your opinions, offers and suggestions, not to mention handle tricky conversationalists, will instantly make you more approachable. You’ll be perceived as someone with whom one can talk stress-free, which boosts your chances of maintaining good relationships with both clients and other business owners.

Returning customers

It is no longer a secret that clients love approachable, cordial companies. They like to know they are doing business with a person, rather than a faceless mediator. Presenting yourself in a warm, yet professional light to all your clients, whether face-to-face, on the company website, and/or forums will ensure their return. Furthermore, they will be more inclined to put in a good word for your company with their friends and acquaintances, and we know how important and priceless is to advertise by word of mouth.

Valuable allies

Another important thing about maintaining healthy business relationships is to always keep doing it. With clients and other companies this could prove to be crucial, because even if they decide to stop doing business with you, due to moving outside your market, they will be more inclined to stay in touch. This, in turn, opens up possibilities of possibly expanding your business one day, as advised by Hawke Segal Mediation. Furthermore, they become an indispensable source of information concerning other markets, and great at giving outside opinions and advice.

Connecting

Business relationships help you connect, and this aspect is twofold:

-You gain understanding – your coworkers will be aware of your situation, and be more open to understanding when you have trouble solving something, or know “where you’re coming from”, because chances are that they’ve been “there” themselves.

-Helping hand – successfully formed business relationships almost guarantee that when the time comes, your new associates, coworkers and partners will be more willing to give a helping hand with troublesome projects, finding new contacts or whatever issues may arise.

Taking all this advice into account, good business relationships are not only important for expanding your business and gaining intelligence for your company. It helps personal growth, having you learn how other people tend to react and communicate by using their body language. It will undoubtedly improve your employees’ workflow, overall productivity, and personal lives. We spend around eight hours a day at our workplace, and the least we can do is turn it into something more than work.

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Hannah Thomas is an expert in business innovation and management with a love for writing. She is always eager to learn new things and to share the knowledge she acquired along the way.

1 comment

  1. Luke Smith says:

    I like that you pointed out how businesses thrive on cordial professionalism between people, whether it’s dealing with customers, colleagues, or other employees. I was reading a list of tips from a successful businessman earlier and I read about the importance of business relationships. According to what I’ve heard before, it seems you could actually get business relationship management professional certification programs now.

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