Driven to Business with Eddie Mayfield

Assuming that you have the chance to lie on a deathbed ( as Jerry Seinfeld quipped: “who on earth would get in one?“) and evaluate your life, I can assure you that it will be judged by you, and everyone else, in terms of relationships.

Nothing is really more important. Those relationships are with God, family, friends, and yes, even business people. In fact, in terms of business, it is my contention that absolutely nothing is more important than developing long term relationships.

I recently had the opportunity to have dinner in Vienna Austria with a long time customer. Our company, EMA Inc. , has for years repaired, supplied, and serviced electronic motor drives. Many years ago we got in a unit for repair, manufactured by a company we didn’t know in Austria. Following that repair, we sent a fax (remember, this was years ago) to the company asking if they needed a North American service center.

We’ve done directly and indirectly over a million dollars in business with them since. The Austrian company was recently purchased by a large multinational corporation, but due to our relationships there, we’re still doing, and in fact, expanding our business with them.

The gentleman I was dining with has been a major part of us getting that business, and we talked about our relationship and how it had grown and deepened over the years. It’s a relationship that was built, and still stands, on trust.

Every good and profitable relationship is built on that.

We live in a seemingly digital impersonal world, but don’t ever believe that. Malcomb Gladwell, in his book Tipping Point makes the comment toward the end of the book that in his opinion, we are in fact re-entering the age of word of mouth. I’m not sure we ever left it, but think about yourself for a moment.

If you are looking for a place to eat lunch, which has the most influence on you? An advertisement you saw, or the recommendation of a coworker you trust? That “relationship” based referral far outweighs any advertisement.

It can also work against you. An unhappy customer talking about your business can destroy any chance you have of doing business with anyone inside that person’s sphere of influence.

Here’s another thought.. it’s a lot more enjoyable to do business with people with whom you have a good relationship isn’t it? And that’s true regardless of whether you are supplying the product or service, or consuming it. It’s also the trick to long term business success.

It’s the secret to overcoming problems, and every business, including yours, will occasionally have problems. John Maxwell talks about “Big Mo” or momentum. If you have a great relationship with a customer, and a problem arises, then it tends to remain a small and contained problem. On the other hand, if you have little or no relationship with that customer, that little problem will become a much bigger one.

So, how does one go about building long lasting, positive relationships?

Here’s a few ideas.

Jeffery Gitomer wrote a great little book called “The Little Black Book of Relationships” in which he talks about exactly that. His number one rule.. it’s NOT about you.

If you approach relationship building with the idea of what you can get out of it, the other person is going to think they’re being used, and no one, responds well to that.

Gitomer talks about giving value to people, John Maxwell talks about adding value to people, but they both mean the same thing- Try to enrich people’s lives. How do you do that?

Well, start off by being friendly and recognizing their accomplishments and skills. I’m not talking about phony brown nosing, I’m talking about actually noticing what people do well, and how they do it. When someone does a great presentation, instead of just applauding and walking to your car, seek them out and tell them how much you enjoyed it. And make a habit of doing this whether or not that person is in a position to benefit you. Gitomer is right, it’s NOT about you.

Become a resource to a customer, far beyond the service or product you provide. If you see an interesting article about their business, send it to them. Offer to help in ways that do not directly benefit you, but benefits them.

If you find a common interest, then use it to enhance the relationship. Let’s say you play guitar, or golf, or are a big baseball fan. Find those common points and build a relationship around it, even (and again) when it does not directly benefit you.

Above all.. be trustworthy. If you make a promise .. KEEP IT at all costs. Do not fudge on the truth.. if your product isn’t great at some little aspect of the business, then tell them that. Daniel Pink in “To Sell is Human”  suggests that the best and most effective sales pitches are those that include something slightly negative about your product or service. This is because trustworthy people don’t lie about their products and services.

Gitomer again, has a great line in which he asks you to think about a customer you WISH you had. Then he says, the primary reason you don’t have that customer is that someone has a better relationship with them than you do. Maybe a hard dose of medicine to swallow for some of us, but true nonetheless.

Believe me, your business life will get a lot easier once you’ve built meaningful and deep relationships with your customers and vendors. So do it.

Eddie Mayfield

Driven to Business with Eddie Mayfield airs at 11 AM every Saturday on Atlanta’s business radio, Biz 1190 AM. The show is streamed live on biz1190.com and is podcast on eddiemayfield.com and

Simply the best business radio in Atlanta.. Driven to Business.