For many years, experts the world over have been espousing the importance of building strong relationships in business. It’s our experience, based on the testimony of our clientele, that this theory has been proven particularly true in amongst the turbulent economic conditions caused by Covid-19.
Firstly, in our world of financial services let’s list the various parties where strong relationships are important. It’s not simply the end-client and could be any of the following:
- Client,
- Lender,
- Finance Broker,
- Aggregator,
- Staff Member,
- Team Member,
- Manager,
- Professional Adviser, or
- Supplier.
Regardless of who YOU do business with, in tough times the strength of your relationships is critically important to insulate you from declining business volumes.
So, what defines a “strong relationship”? This can vary, but in most cases a strong business relationship is built upon:
- Regular and honest communication,
- A commitment to doing what you say,
- Being respectful in your dealings,
- Being reliable, and
- Adding value to the other party, rather than simply taking from them.
How strong are your key business relationships?
If you can honestly say that you have broad and deep relationships which meet the above criteria then it’s almost certain that you’ve ‘done better’ than your business competitors over the past 3 months whilst our economy has hit rocky times.
At SalesKey, we spend every day to talking to Lenders, Aggregators, Mortgage Brokers, Equipment Brokers and Car Brokers. In recent conversations, there’s been a common theme shared by those who’ve reported better than expected results… they tell of gratitude for the strong relationships they’ve built in the past. Examples of comments made are:
“We’ve always kept in regular contact with our clients and this has helped us to keep the lights on now. In fact, we’e been flat out doing refinances for many of them”
“It’s hard to get deals approved by credit at the moment but knowing the right person to speak to certainly helps!”
“Our aggregator has been so good to us in temporarily reducing some fees”
In a recent article with The Adviser (see link), this theme has been reinforced by Mr. Ruan Burger, Director of Time Home Loans. In the article, he speaks at length about the importance of strong referrer relationships. It’s worth a read!
If this commentary has prompted you to realise your business relationships aren’t as strong as they could be, all is not lost… Now’s a perfect time to call your clients, referrers and suppliers and simply ask them, “How are you going?” This could just be the moment where you start to be more proactive and in turn, insulate you somewhat from the next business challenge that comes your way.
If you’d like to discuss this article, to find out more about our services, or how we help dozens of small to large clients create Better Outcomes; don’t hesitate to call us on 1800 954 488 or reach out via www.saleskey.com.au.
Stay safe everyone!
Scott & Darren.
