Viewpoint: How to build strong relationships?

Wednesday 22 November 2017

Every month in Connect magazine, ViewPoint puts forward a key question facing one of the island's main industry sectors.

This month, Adam Riddell, Ewan Spraggon, Paul Crichton and Sarah Nibbs explain how they build strong relationships with people, including customers, policy-makers as well as colleagues.

Adam Riddell, PR Director, Crystal Public Relations and Chair, IoD (Jersey) PR Sub-Committee

"Give relationships a place at board level. All organisations are about people – interacting with people, whether customers, policy makers or intermediaries, and built around people, such as staff and suppliers, and good relationships are what make an organisation tick – that culture has to come from board level. If you don’t take people with you on your journey, whether staff or external stakeholders, you’ll come unstuck, and end up in a position where price is your only differential – as Ryanair is finding out.

A report published three years ago by UK think-tank, Tomorrow’s Company, called ‘Future Relationships,’ highlighted the growing importance of relationships to modern
organisations, finding that 80% of the modern company’s value is bound up in intangibles – such as IP, reputation and relationships. That’s a complete reversal to 20 years ago when 80% of a company’s value was based on tangible assets – people, real estate and so on.

Further, the latest Edelman Trust Barometer shows us that people distrust institutions – media, governments and businesses – more than ever, but trust peers and colleagues more and more. Boards need to be alive to the implications of that, and understand that whilst having strong financial, digital and legal direction is of course crucial too, a professional approach to relationship building is going to become increasingly important to their success, however intangible that may seem.”

Ewan Spraggon, Head of Assurance and Advisory at Baker Tilly Channel Islands Limited

"Selling is dead and relationships are in – the key to building strong ones is to focus on the long term benefit for both parties and earn respect.  This means an investment in time to understand your client’s needs; their plans and their goals.  This might be at the detriment to your short-term profitability, but by becoming a ‘trusted advisor’ you become a key part of their journey, not just the next 12 months.

A focus on short term profit over relationship building in the audit and advisory market leads to aggressive fee negotiations and overruns to ensure budgets are met.  I hear this regularly in conversations with my contacts. These difficult conversations aren’t quickly forgotten by those on the receiving end, and often lead to a breakdown in trust and mutual respect between the parties.  The advisor might win the battle, but they aren’t even going to be invited to take part in the war.  

 For the record, this isn’t just theory.  A number of my clients came to me as they were being charged more for services than they were initially advised (as well as not being prioritised!) By investing my time and effort to work with them we have excellent working relationships, providing many opportunities to work with them on their new projects and ventures."

Paul Crichton, Head of Sales, Touchstone (C.I.) Limited

"When asked to write this article, my first thought was ‘that’s true, surely no further explanation is necessary?’ I represent a technology company that is certainly not a ‘sales-oriented organisation’ in the traditional sense. The perception is that a business like ours have stereotypical geeks and techies who take pride in their own brand of verbal and body language that few of us can relate to.

"You might think that this is not a good recipe for strong relationship building, yet nerdy techies are knowledgeable and enthusiastic about what they can achieve for their customers…they challenge, they collaborate and they contribute. And, geeks are inherently likable aren’t they? In fact these characteristics are precisely the right basis for forming and retaining good business relationships because a trusted advisor adds far more value than a sales person simply wishing to make a sale.

"Despite my 30 years in the financial services industry, I have only recently ventured into the ‘dark side’ of sales, but my general approach to customers remains the same: I still enjoy listening, understanding and, where appropriate, advising customers regarding their systems or operational challenges. An opportunity to unconditionally help is an opportunity to add value to a long-term relationship.

"In closing then, a strong, confident and trusting customer-vendor relationship is built on the ability to provide consistent long-term value: you must know your customer well and be relevant, realistic and reliable. Try to have some fun along the way too!"

Sarah Nibbs, Business Development Manager, BCR Law

Business relationships, like personal ones, are a two-way process.  Both businesses and clients are more likely to maintain meaningful relationships with those who take the time to understand their unique needs and interests.

I believe in building strong client relationships by:

• recognising your clients as individuals and taking time to learn about them, their business needs, families and their favoured causes;
• communicating. Ask people what they are hoping to achieve from the outset.  No-one has a crystal ball.
• knowing your stuff.  I’m a BD Manager, but working in law means that I have to be able to understand the legal issues that concern our clients.
• Making introductions. Not to your competitors, but to colleagues in your firm, to help your valued clients. 
• CSR. As a business, think about your contribution to the Island. Many Jersey charities need help. What is your business doing to strengthen its position in the community? How could it improve this?
• Remembering that ‘clients’ are both internal and external. Try and build strong working relationships with everyone you can.

The golden rule? Clients and prospective clients do not want to feel like they are just being sold to.  To simply be defined as a seller is to de-value both the service you have trained to deliver and the person with whom you wish to engage.  Perhaps we are witnessing the ‘death of a salesman.’"

Read the full 'Viewpoint' column and CONNECT magazine's other features here.