Getty Images
As seen in Forbes
More than 100,000 small businesses have closed forever since the start of the pandemic. Did they have to? Some businesses are bound to fail when an economic tide recedes, while others might have stayed in business longer if they had focused more on building core relationships.
Often, we can take our business relationships for granted. Success can make us cavalier. When the economy is booming, it’s easy to forget nurturing employee or client relationships when there is always a new relationship available around the corner. That’s why challenging times like Covid-19 can hold growth opportunities for business leaders and entrepreneurs. They help us be more authentic, effective and relevant to those we serve in our organization and those we help outside of it.
As novelist James Lane Allen has been credited with saying, “Adversity does not build character; it reveals it.”
Be authentic.
When the sky is falling, don’t tell people it’s a great day for a walk. Be straight with your customers, clients, vendors and teams about what’s going on in your organization, and try to understand what’s going on in theirs. Tech evangelist Guy Kawasaki recently explained the importance of being open and transparent with your team. Kawasaki stated that they know what’s happening, and they see it happening in the company and with friends, so don’t be opaque.
(Full disclosure: My company sometimes represents Kawasaki for speaking events.)
Ask them, “How it’s going?” and mean it. Then listen to what people are feeling and saying. Don’t just listen to their words. Listen to their tone. Listen to what they don’t say. If you listen carefully enough, you’ll find out what they need and how you can help them — and how they can help you.
Forget the old normal (and the “new normal” — enough of this saying, please). The old timetables and ways of doing business are gone. So be graceful when holding employees and vendors accountable for work performance. Recognize that key performance indicators (KPIs), objectives and key results (OKRs), and all those other stat measurements we loved to throw around in boom times don’t always apply when people are working from home, taking care of children, or looking out for parents — or even on their own, in survival mode.
By being authentic and understanding, you’ll build a stronger relationship that will carry on beyond the pandemic.
Stay effective.
People are searching for answers. Don’t hide from them or their questions. Even if you don’t have a good answer, reach out to clients and employees to keep the communication lines open and the relationships strong.
Don’t be pushy with sales. We’re all hurting, but you won’t help your business or your relationships if you keep calling to make a sale when no one is buying. Instead, stay patient. Checking in from time to time is an effective way to let people know you are there when they are ready.
Keep relevant.
When business is bad, it’s common to feel stuck on how to reach out to our clients and partners. We may partly feel like we need to do something “right now,” and on the other hand, don’t know if this is the right time.
During a crisis is not the time to pitch your services or products. Yet, you can stay relevant by reaching out to check-in, listen, be of service, and be understanding.
Then, when the time is right and guided by the advice of bestselling author Brené Brown, reach out to your partner or client. In her “Stories of Resilience” April webinar, delivered by Salesforce, Brown suggested companies recognize that their partners and clients need support as well as space to breathe right now. It’s important, as a company, to remind them that you’re there to help, and ask what a good time to connect looks and feels like to them.
(Full disclosure: My company represented Brown for this particular event and has booked other speakers for Salesforce in the past.)
By focusing on the needs of others, you can build better and longer-lasting relationships. By remaining authentic, effective, and relevant, you can strengthen your business so it can last through bad times and thrive when the good times come again.
About the Author Ken Sterling