They say business is all about relationships. Well it is. And the better your relationships, the better your business.
If you’ve ever attended any of my workshops, you’ve no doubt heard me quote Jeffrey Gitomer saying “All things being equal, people want to do business with their friends. All things being NOT equal, people STILL want to do business with their friends.”
I’ve said this time and time again in the context of business being all about relationships. But I think I haven’t done enough to emphasize the “friends” part of the quote. You see, one key to a good business relationship is to be friends. And the key to being friends with someone, is having “chemistry.”
I’m not going to go over the importance of networking, let’s just all agree that it is important. But here’s the secret to making it more pleasant, maybe even fun. Find people you have “chemistry” with. The ones with whom you have things in common. Be it kids, books, sports, movies or even values and ideologies. Cultivate the relationship and bond over those commonalities and viola, you have a friend.
And don’t fake it, because you can’t fake chemistry. I’m saying find people you would genuinely want to have AS friends. Because then you’ll genuinely like them and they will genuinely like you. You’ll enjoy talking to them, meeting with them and helping them with whatever they need and vice versa. With chemistry, comes sincerity and authenticity. And you can’t buy that.
As for all the others on your network, keep in touch with them. Keep them on your mailing lists. Get to know them better. You never know. But for the ones you’ve identified as your kindred spirits, treat them special. If you have their confidence and their trust, then eventually, you’ll do business together.