I wanted to share these strategies with you, in the spirit of supporting you in adding tens of thousands of pounds of profit into your business.
A strategy for success
My good friend and mentor Dan Bradbury is known for saying:
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To achieve this, there is much knowledge and skills to acquire on an ongoing basis – in fact, pretty much … forever.
One of the strategies I’ve been successful at has been to get into a better room and around better people:
“If you’re the smartest person in the room, you’re in the wrong room.”
This is something that I knew to be true very early on, and something that won’t come as new information to many business leaders.
But knowing this isn’t enough – it’s how, as a business owner, you take action on it that is important.
And most importantly, are you looking to cultivate and leverage relationships with people around you?
It’s not enough to just say hello to a connection when you bump into them every three months at a conference or event. You need to be looking at who can help you to develop your business on purpose.
And that’s the secret sauce:
The how and why of purpose and intention
Relationships underpin everything in our lives, both personally and professionally. Again, we all know this – but what are you doing to action this in your day-to-day life?
It’s nearly impossible to do anything to the best of your ability if you’re not putting purpose and intention behind it. Let’s explore the two biggest reasons you should use both purpose and intention when building relationships in business.
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1. Surround yourself with people who get it.
Building true connections with people who understand the entrepreneurial lifestyle is not just good for our business but for our wellbeing, too – which of course feeds back into our business.
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2. Referrals & collaboration
For example, the relationships I developed during my time as part of the
BNI (Business Network International) which I left over five years ago are still working for me today. Only three months ago, as a result of a referral from a good friend that I met at BNI, I was introduced to the owner of a multi nine-figure business. This referral went on to work on a six-figure project with The Business Catalyst, which contributed to our most successful quarter ever.
But not only that – I would not have been able to deliver this project without the relationships and the network that I have cultivated. Through collaboration with people in my network, I have been able to deliver more
and extend the value that I have to offer in my business.
The other huge advantage of building valued relationships?
The more you do, the closer you get to being only one phone call or message away from having pretty much any problem solved.
Where can you find the most beneficial relationships?
So we’ve established the value in building relationships with purpose and intention, and my own entrepreneurial journey is a real-world example of the amazing things that happen when you do.
The good news is that these beneficial relationships are everywhere:
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1. Your clients
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2. Suppliers and service providers
As an example, when I was looking to productise my business, I did this by focusing on a niche: the dental market. When looking to build relationships in this industry with
purpose and intention, I came across EnquiryBot, an intelligent chatbot (best in class) that any businesses can integrate into their websites.
Together, we’re working on an ongoing joint venture that is going to benefit both their business, my business, and the thousands of customers we share in common that have use for both of our services. That is a
win-win-win for all three parties.
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3. Your team and employees
Your team are your go to guys for supporting the growth of the business Nurturing these relationships, supporting them in their own goals, and keeping them informed and part of the process will significantly underpin success.
Safeguarding the future, a cautionary tale
so important to make sure that the values of the other party are aligned with your own and that agreements are in place. If not, there could be serious consequences both time-wise and financially.
One year ago, we hired an employee whose values did not align with ours. This cost us a year of development and around £180,000. Our relationship was great, their skills were on the money, but they just weren’t a good fit.
I also know that I’m not alone when it comes to finding yourself in a poor partnership. As a result of not having these appropriate agreements and safeguards in place, I also lost
Something that’s important to emphasise when looking to build relationships with purpose and intention is that it works best when you understand
To get into the right room, you need to be open to saying yes, paying attention to value alignment, and keeping an eye out for opportunities where others may overlook them. But that’s only the starting point. The rest is up to you – how do you benefit from your network, and how do you evidence the value you can offer in return? (It works best when there is a win-win). Remember that your network isn’t just your support system, it’s your competitive edge.
We’d love to talk to you more about how we can support you in making next quarter The underpinning strategies
