Social capital is possibly the most important form of capital there is. With a bank of social capital, financial and human capital can abound. It is formed in the relationships you cultivate with others; these connections that you give value to and receive value from. There is no area that this can take you further than in business. Whether you are building and strengthening relationships on the golf course, in the rotary club or in a Mastermind group, your business is sure to grow as a result of your network.

Succeeding in building relationships in business is very much like succeeding in anything else; the hard work must be done long before. Build your network before you need it. Not only does this nurture authenticity in your network, but it gives you the chance to avail yourself should your expertise be needed. That way, when you require help in the future, they are more than willing to go above and beyond.

People with rich social capital are paid better, promoted faster, and receive better appraisals
~The Role of Social Capital within Business Networks

Part of mastering the art of building relationships in business is knowing the ‘what’s, ‘who’s and ‘where’s. Let’s jump right into it.

Building relationships in business

1. What are your objectives?

Your short and long-term business goals have to be in mind when you are creating your network. What is your niche? What goals are particular to that niche? What do you want to achieve from your business and how does building relationships with others serve that purpose?

A possible list of objectives could be:

• To increase sales
• To increase brand awareness
• To get a job role
• To find collaborations
• To find a business partner

It doesn’t stop there. Follow the SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, timely) guideline to develop your goals and detail it to the point in which it can be easily achieved. For example, if you are a health coach looking to increase your brand awareness among Nairobi’s youth, a specific objective could be to collaborate with Just Gym It in a campaign that offers their clients discounted health and wellness consultations for a certain period.

2. Who?

Creating good business relationships is tantamount to who you are creating them with. If you are looking to grow your business, it is necessary to concentrate on strengthening connections with those who are likely to add value. Most entrepreneurs already have a solid base to start off with, and the rest of the connections can be acquired with some effort.

• Friends and family

Never mix personal with business, right? In most scenarios, that does stand. However, asking your friends and family to tap into their own networks can be of some benefit. It could be as simple as spreading the word about your business to their connections. This alone can go a long way in getting you new business and increasing brand awareness.

• Influencers

Influencer marketing is a big player in the social media age. To utilize this accordingly, you need a deep understanding of your target audience. Then look into the things they like to read, who they follow etc. Trends can be found in the influencers they engage with and these influencers can be a core part of growing your clientele and building relationships in business.

It is important to pay attention to the values the influencer has, as these are a reflection of your own. Associating your business with the wrong kind of endorsement, partnership or collaboration could be detrimental.

For more on influencer marketing and its foundation in authenticity, read this article.

3. Where?

These are some online gems that can be useful in directing you to areas saturated with professionals you can work with. Be it professional networking sites or sites which make it easy for you to engage your clients, your business relationships are able to flourish naturally.

• LinkedIn

LinkedIn is the entrepreneur’s dream come true. You don’t have to look for potential customers, they come to you – if you grow your network well. On LinkedIn, you can establish yourself as a thought leader in your field. Publish a post frequently and provide your connections with well-thought-out of points of information. With time, you will be top-of-mind when they are faced with an issue in your area of interest.

Take it further, and join relevant groups. LinkedIn allows you to join as many as 50 groups, but you certainly need less than 50 to make an impression. For solopreneurs such as coaches and consultants, here are a few groups where you can plant your seeds of wisdom:

a) Conversation Intelligence
b) The Executive Coach
c) Kenya Marketing and Communication Network
d) Kenya Business Network
e) The Motivational Speaker
f) Business Growth for Coaches

This piece about the magic of the messaging on LinkedIn and why it is specifically helpful to coaches and consultants is a must-read.

• Skype

In-person meetings go a long way in strengthening relationships with clients, however, not everyone can find time to spare. If you are in consultancy, the first meeting you hold can be a Skype consultation. Subsequent meetings can then be planned out after establishing the way forward.

As a business coach, you can have weekly Skype sessions with your clients as part of your value package. Skype for Business allows you to meet up with up to 250 people, schedule meetings on Outlook and the ability to manage employee account and features. Your clients don’t even have to have Skype for Business – all they need is a phone and internet connection.

• Ning.com

Building your own community is much easier when you start off in one where coaches and consultants already are. Ning.com allows members to customize their profiles, includes forum hosting capabilities, email broadcasting capabilities, and allows social network integrations. Sites like these enable coaches and consultants to house all their business activities in one place online.

If you are on the look-out for more online tools you can use to help grow your business, take a look at these 12 Online Tools for Independent Consultants that can work great for Coaches too.

For a short course on Building Business Relationships, click the image above to access a tutorial by Author and Executive Coach Simon T. Bailey. “Discover how you can build meaningful rapport, set yourself up for visibility and success, manage up when you don’t click, develop executive presence, and cross-train within a team to better serve the organization.” (Lynda.com)

If you are a coach/consultant or simply an entrepreneur looking for ways to make a bit more money, check out our post on Passive Income. You are bound to come out with a few new ideas – let us know in the comments if you find it helpful!