Virtual Business Relationships.
Building relationships is nothing new to sales and business. Social media marketing is. To be able to build long-lasting virtual business relationships over the web is hard. Some would say impossible. I don’t agree.
A blend of marketing what you offer and a general interest in what others offer is critical. It is so easy to get caught up in the “what’s in it for me” syndrome. Our society thrives on it. However, when someone acknowledges us how do we feel? Where are our loyalties and who will we go to when we need their product and/or service? Isn’t that what we are truly trying to accomplish?
I have applied this strategy of not making it “all about me” throughout my personal life and career. In researching better ways to market I have recently found that this approach not only fits, but indeed enriches, the new marketing strategies of today as well. Let me share:
5 Steps to Stronger Virtual Business Relationships
1.) Wishing Happy Birthday to a social media connection, business and/or personal, and mean it. Even if you don’t know them yet. There’s nothing worse than having no one recognize you on that special day. We’ve all been there or could be.
2.) Recognizing someone for what they do and are… All of us have something tremendous to give and say. Simply let them know. A quick update, recommendation, or email can mean the world to someone.
3.) Look at their sites, profiles, social media (twitter, facebook, linkedin, etc.) and don’t forget their rss feed (company). Comment to the world their achievements! Not yours. At least not at the same time.
4.) Challenge yourself to win over others that have the wrong opinion of you. Granted some are tougher than others… but it usually can be done in time.
5.) Offer something from your heart and mind for free. Be sincere in your offerings. No gimmicks, catches, obvious ploys to get them to your service and/ products offering. Do it over and over again.
“To be successful, you have to be able to relate to people; they have to be satisfied with your personality to be able to do business with you and to build a relationship with mutual trust.” – George Ross
Virtual business relationships can be crucial to your personal success. Make a sincere effort to establish these lifetime resources. Achieve this and you will win business relationships over the internet and sales success.
Chris Lott
Chris has over 15 year’s Sales Management experience including Business Ownership, Product Management and Web Design/Marketing. He’s a national sales team strategist and trainer. Chris is the designer of the popular totallysales™ sales playbook with thousands of copies downloaded. He’s a nationally syndicated author with his articles on SalesBlog! rated as a “top must-read” on consultative selling.
Very nice article, the key word is relationships which take a bit of work to make them.
Excellent advice! My job is to teach people how to interact (network) with others to achieve success. In particular, I focus on job-search skills. So, your article naturally caught my eye. I love the idea of giving to others in genuine, no gimmick ways. That's the one concept I teach that people seem to have such a hard time conceptualizing. But its true: the more we take an active interest in and care for others, the greater our network (and ultimately our success) becomes. I would be very interested in hearing more about specific ways in which social media networking can be used to help achieve success. Thank you so much for your expertise!
Caleb… Great insight and glad you liked the article. I have also taken a similar approach to sales networking in general. Article is: "Networking is not all about you". While not social media specific the concept is the same. I couldn't empathize more on "That’s the one concept I teach that people seem to have such a hard time conceptualizing". With that said… the sales professionals that get it are the winners typically. Thanks again for taking the time to comment.
Just wanted to say, that made a lot of sense. I appreciate your words and good advice! How are you?
Phil Edwards
Phil… Great to hear from you. Thanks for the kind words. I am doing great and am enjoying my new venture with lottspace and totallysales tremendously.