While attending an insurance conference recently I was asked to participate in a Q&A panel called Ask the Experts where I was pinpointed as being very effective at networking and building relationships. I was then asked to provide some actionable steps someone can take to be better at relationship building in business. After giving a short, but effective response I wanted to expand on it more, and therefore in this article you'll find some excellent information on some simple steps you can take to truly build a vast network full of deep relationships that will allow you to elevate your business as well as the business of others.
"No One Cares How Much You Know, Until They Know How Much You Care."
We've all heard this old adage before, and as cliché as it may sound it is absolutely and unequivocally spot on. The first step in building effective relationships in your business is that you must genuinely and authentically care about people. This is one of those things that you cannot "fake it until you make it." If you do not sincerely care about the well-being and success of others you should cease reading this article immediately and go gaze in the mirror at your own reflection.
By definition caring is someone or something that shows kindness and concern for others. A person who is concerned about others and who does kind things for them is an example of someone who would be described as caring. Insert care emoji. But how do we effectively show someone that we care? Maya Angelou wrote, “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel”. In other words, if we want to build a positive relationship with someone, we need to invoke positive emotions. Feelings of love, happiness, admiration and appreciation. We'll know we've accomplished this when we see someone smile as a direct effect of our actions.
