In the world of entrepreneurship, the value of effective communication can often be underestimated. Most of us are steering our ships solo, and in our rush to cross things off our to-do lists, we can sometimes forget to check in with clients or customers to make sure we’ve both understood the message being conveyed and have delivered our message in a way that makes sense to the recipient. While it is important to be productive, especially if you’re running a one-person show, it is equally important to communicate clearly and directly. Why, you ask? The simple answer is, it can help you and your business thrive.
It seems counterintuitive that “to get things done,” we have to slow down, but that is precisely what is necessary for our relationships to flourish and productivity to blossom. Slowing down a bit helps us remember that building a business is about building relationships. Yes, on one level, we are in business to make a profit. We are in business to sell our product or service.
Underneath that, though, we are in business to solve problems and to bring value to people’s lives. Building positive long-term relationships with others through understanding how to communicate effectively with a wide range of people is a useful skill in every aspect of life, not just entrepreneurship.
In business, our initial communication sets the tone for the relationship. When we set clear expectations from the beginning, we are not only being transparent around what’s expected of each party in the relationship, and what each party needs, but we’re also allowing for the people we build our relationships with to feel more comfortable bringing their concerns to us as they come up. When we are clear about our expectations from the get-go, whether we sign a business contract or make specific agreements verbally, we are setting our boundaries right away and creating a culture where, ideally, each person involved has the confidence to speak up when they feel something needs to be addressed.
Clear guidelines help your clients feel secure in their relationship with you, and when you set those guidelines right away, you are creating trust. When a client feels they can be honest and open about their needs and their concerns- and when they know you won’t pressure them to buy from you or do business with you if you aren’t quite the right fit- you are letting that person know you are there to support their goals regardless of what’s in it for you. You are building a reputation that says, “I am here to help you because you matter to me.”
As you navigate the world of business, you’ll get to know that word-of-mouth can be an invaluable tool to promote your business. It can also be a fast way to help your business crash to the ground when people feel they are not being heard, which translates to not being valued. Building good client relationships that showcase your dependability, reliability, expertise, and passion for your work gets people excited about doing business with you. What could be a better way to let your work speak for itself and help your business thrive?
It is important to remember the driving force behind a successful business isn’t just a quality product or good advertising. Rather, the relationships you build with people as a result of your work, and the high quality of those relationships, can lead you where you want to go. Business isn’t only about profit. Business is about people. Understanding how to communicate effectively with those people may seem like it doesn’t matter in the short-term, but in the long run, it matters most.
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