In Rough Economic Seas,
Relationships Matter More Than Ever

By Gary Zandstra

Price matters. Product matters. But all factors of this nature being relatively equally, relationships are often the deciding factor between winning and losing.

It's especially important to keep this in mind as the economy shows signs of serious slowing. Over the past several years, there's been plenty of business to go around; that may soon no longer be the case. Establishing and maintaining strong business relationships will help smart systems companies ride out the storm.

Let's have a look at some "meat and potatoes" relationship and networking principles that can benefit your business.

Get involved in the right organizations. The Chamber of Commerce, Rotary, Lions... just a few of many groups made up of business and community leaders, people who can provide valuable information, leads and contacts on potential systems projects.
You say you're too busy to make the commitment to groups of this type? We're all busy, so get over it! Networking is a priority, and besides, you can always delegate involvement to members of your team, helping pick up the slack.

Be an "animal" about correspondence. There's no excuse for unreturned phone calls! All phone calls should be returned the same day they're made, if not sooner. And if you're around me during business hours and are not a client - sorry, I will interrupt our conversation to take each and every call to my cell phone, or to call my office answering machine if my pager goes off indicating a new voice mail.

Part of this approach is self-preservation - just staying as on top of correspondence as much as possible to keep from becoming hopelessly behind and buried. But the other part, and more important, is opportunity. A chance to talk with a customer, especially to immediately respond, is always an opportunity to advance a relationship or make a sale.

A former cell phone allowed me to select multiple ring tones. I choose "Ode to Joy", because whenever the phone rang it was a potentially joyful experience. Nothing magic here - just being accessible, prompt, professional and ready to jump on any opportunity as soon as it happens.

Make friends in all the right places. I'm not that smart. I'm not that good. But I have been very prudent in cultivating relationships with the right people in the systems industry.

For example, manufacturers shouldn't be treated as an adversary; just the opposite. Our firm does everything possible to act as a true partner with the manufacturers we trust, and this has led to great opportunities.

Several times, we've had the opportunity to thoroughly evaluate and then offer brand-new products for key projects. These products were indeed something different and improved, something our competitors couldn't offer. Thus these products were a big difference maker in the competitive bid process, in addition to enhancing our standing with customers as being "on the inside track" of new technology.

Many of these situations offered even more benefit, with the manufacturer sponsoring major editorial and other exposure of the new product "in action". This of course provides our firm, as well, with national exposure, in trade magazine and web articles that are highly complimentary. We often include copies of these with bid packages, again, giving us even more credibility in the potential customer?s view.

Be Nice. Think about it... how often has your day improved just by dealing with someone who?s positive, pleasant, helpful, polite. Is it really that hard? Doesn't it stand to reason that we have nothing to lose
- and everything to gain - by taking a positive stance in all of our business dealings?

Now, add in the fact that we have much of value to offer. It's the reason the customer (or potential customer) is even bothering to give us the time of day.

They need our information, our expertise, our ability to deliver something that few others can. It is amazing how a nice positive attitude can go goes a long way to enhance this crucial fact! (And by all means - don't ever, ever complain to a customer about anything, particularly another customer...)

Touch 20. It's a principle that's simple yet powerful: commit every week to "touch" 20 people that can help you in some way - directly or indirectly - to garner more sales. By touch I mean call or visit.

This process is enhanced even more with some discipline, such as tracking this activity, writing down each and every "touch" and then reviewing them on a regular basis.

The math is simple but pretty incredible. Touching 20 people a week means only four "touches" a day, and after a year, you've touched more than 1,000. I like those odds!

All of these approaches have worked very well for me through the years, and they can work for your business as well. A bit of courage and discipline is all it takes, well worth it in my book if the result is a growing, thriving business despite a turbulent economy.


Gary Zandstra is head of A/V Systems development for Parkway Group of Holland, MI and can be reached at garyz@prosoundweb.com.