Developing Relationships Online Builds Business and Community
February 8, 2012
This is a guest post by Elinor Stutz, CEO of Smooth Sale, LLC
Social media has leveled the business playground. It is no longer just the wealthy or well known that are able to make it big in
business. The entrepreneur willing to self-educate, and wanting to connect with and support others now has an equal opportunity. But it is the people who wish to make a difference by working to build community in the process who will experience greater reward and success.
Never before has it been this easy to connect with so many people including the worldwide effect. Practical relationship building and selling techniques used in our traditional settings translate well to building large followings online.
Three components to pay attention to when building your following are:
- Deliver great content for your intended audience
- Reciprocate to further build relationships
- Be of service
The best sales technique is to begin conversations from your prospect’s or potential friend’s point of view. Until you are fully aware of their needs, wants and deep down desires, you are only guessing as to where their true interests lie. Once you have the knowledge, it’s easy to deliver great content.
All of my stated techniques also apply to seeking work and interviewing for a job. By sharing your knowledge and building your followings, you will promote interest in your expertise. Additionally, your willingness to help others by answering questions in related groups will demonstrate you are a team player. These are qualities companies seek and many employers are now online.
Delivering great content means advice, tips or insight that your intended clientele or next employer needs to know. The content is generous and comes from your heart for improved results. If you are not quite certain where to begin, post questions on your Facebook Fan page for your community to reply. Encourage everyone to introduce herself, pose questions and add their insights. This, too, demonstrates being of service.
My favorite saying is, “We are all students and we are all teachers.” An open environment for learning is where everyone accelerates growth.
On Twitter, deliver Tweets 75% of the time without links, and 25% of the time provide a short tip with a link to where you would like your followers to visit. Approach the other sites similarly by mostly providing excellent information without asking for anything in return.
Operating in this manner, appreciation of you takes hold, and awareness of your company increases. Tracking is essential for knowing precisely how well you are doing. Pay attention to the Re-Tweets, mentions, shares, insights, impressions, website traffic etc.
Are your followings growing? Which topics attract the biggest response rate? The answers will let you know where to focus more of your time and are indicators for building further products and services.
Building relationships with those who find your information of great value is where you should ideally focus your time. The easiest way is to reciprocate by Re-Tweeting or mentioning those who are apparently your fans. However, research comes first to make certain you both share similar or complementary thought. Visit their Tweet page and click the other links they make available. Only when you are convinced you respect their work, are you in the right position to promote the other parties. Consistency in what you do and how you work helps to build your brand, and operating in integrity at all times is essential.
Upon recognizing a good match, these will be the people more likely to become a client, refer you to others, or ask to collaborate on projects. This is your qualified community. Thank people by name for sharing your information. Upon repeated shares back and forth, ask if they would like to connect by Skype or phone. Over time further build the relationship and offer to brainstorm ways in which you may help one another.
Opportunity is thus born and puts you on the wave of a very Smooth Sale!
Elinor Stutz is an international speaker, author and CEO of SmoothSale, LLC, a sales training company based in California. Her site maintains a running blog of sales tips , and she frequently speaks about helping others fully thrive in business, sales or their next career move.