The longer I’ve been in business, the more I’ve learned to treasure valuable business relationships.
In a day and age when making connections has been simplified, the result of this, in my opinion, has made it more challenging to develop meaningful relationships. The onslaught of friend and connection requests, followed by a blitz of cut & paste messages, makes it nearly impossible to vet every new connection, or even have the time to find out if these relationships could hold value.
In my experience, a meaningful business relationship is one where both parties benefit from the connection. A perfect example of this is the relationship I’ve built with Paul Giannamore and Patrick Baldwin, who recently interviewed me on their podcast, The Boardroom Buzz (link below).
By the way, for those in the pest control industry, The Boardroom Buzz is a must listen!
For nearly a decade, I’ve interacted with these men in ways that have been beneficial to all of us. Whether it’s a simple phone call, lunch meeting to bounce questions and ideas off of each other, or the opportunity to introduce one another’s services and expertise to colleagues, the pendulum of value has been swinging both ways for a long time.
I’m certainly not a relationship guru, but from my experiences, if you desire connections and relationships, be as willing to add value to the relationship as you are to receive value. The best business relationships include elements of giving and taking.