Why Relationship Building In Business Is The Key To Success

Relationship Key to success

I’ve heard a lot of excuses over the last five years about why something has never panned out; how what a business owner has envisioned has never came to pass. It’s because their employees were too slow, or that they didn’t have enough money to do x, y, and z, or that they didn’t have white privilege.

I mean you can spin it in any way that you like but what’s not going to get you anywhere is if you think everyone is your enemy and that the world is entirely a competition. You can’t defer your own failure onto other people unless you want to suffer a lifetime of failure.

You are the cause of your own shortcomings. You should learn to use them to your advantage rather than get caught up on them. I’ve been in the same position before, so don’t think it’s a bad thing. I mean we all learn by our mistakes, right?

Hopefully!

A lot of people question why I get the good opportunities. I mean, I must admit. I’ve been lucky in the world of publishing. I’ve had opportunities thrown at me left right and centre. I’ve had the chance to (and taken) opportunities to earn bucketloads of cash. And some people have questioned whether it has been the fact that I’m a male, or that I am white, or a whole load of other things (those are the most predominantly over-asked questions I get. Is it because you’re white? Is it because you’re male?), but, in fact it’s none of that. Zero to do with that actually.

It’s because I know what I’m capable of, and how to be in the right situation at the right time. And that’s it. Whilst other people are getting lost in the tiny details of everything I just lunge head first into the opportunity not knowing where it will take me, but enjoying the thrill (and the risk) whilst I do it. Opportunities fly my way because I generally take them if it’s worth my while.

That and I know how to build relationships really well. Like, I’m the relationship builder. I generally know how to work people.

Building relationships is probably the most valuable skill you’ll ever learn in building a business. Please make it count. Don’t think that people need you, because it’s actually the other way around. You need them. You’ll always need them to make it work. You will always need people to work with, don’t give them a reason to not want to work with you.

No-one needs you. As soon as you learn that then you’re onto a winner.

You have to give them a reason to need you, and that reason is almost always because you need them.

I’d like to give you an example with my newly found friend over at The Digital Marketing Launchpad. I asked her to do an interview for me over at my new site Wealth Citizen which is all about earning money with blogging & marketing.

She didn’t need to. In fact, I had very little to offer her in terms of a payment for doing so, and she’s far ahead in what she’s trying to achieve than I am. Earning a regular income, achieving success, connecting with some awesome people, and here was me, little blogger Raymond, with nothing to offer but my time. And yet she gladly did it. Without hesitation might I add.

If there’s anything I’ve learned from this is that she’s now just earned herself a favour from me, and I’m surely going to return the favour when I can; when I achieve success myself, and I most definitely will because I have absolutely lots of ideas to take that place into success. But that’s a different story.

A lot of people have business connection pegged wrongly. Like it’s savage, ruthless, and immoral. And it probably is in some cases, yes. But not always. Sometimes it’s just about being there at the right time, being approachable, and personable. You don’t exactly need to have the cat of nine tails out and on your guard all the time. You can achieve success by being likable too.

You’ll never achieve any reasonable amount of success if you constantly have a chip on your shoulder. If you think people like me are achieving because of some random attributes you don’t have.

All you need to do is learn to be likable, and be savagely hungry for the next opportunity. That’s it. Honestly. Oh, and don’t be lazy. Like if you can’t motivate yourself to get up everyday and go that extra mile then perhaps the business world isn’t for you. Because one thing it IS, is tough on motivation.

So if screaming at other people because your life isn’t working out is your thing, that’s cool, I mean you do what you need to, but don’t blame anyone bar yourself.

Learn to build relationships. Be likeable. Be hungry for that next opportunity.

Boom. You win!