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This is part four of my five part series: Five Steps to Business Success. Today we are going to look at how building genuine relationships equal success.

I had the privilege yesterday to meet with a local group of business people. Some own their own businesses, some work for large companies and non-profits, and some work for local companies. But, what they all had in common was that they were there looking to build business relationships.

It is easy in our high tech world to get caught up in the hype that you can build a long-term, successful business via the internet and never have any contact with clients or customers. The truth is, at least for the vast majority of us, we want to know who we are doing business with. We want at least a business oriented relationship. We want to trust the people we work with and we want to know that they will be loyal to us/our needs.

This kind of trust and loyalty requires genuine relationships. Relationships born of a two-way trust, loyalty, and dare I say even friendship! Now, I know that when I go to the grocery store, any cashier will do, but I also know that when a cashier has a unique and friendly personality, I do search them out. Their making my experience better does bring my into a more loyal position with that particular grocery store. (I have even changed stores when my favorite employee was transferred!)

Among small businesses and entrepreneurs, this building of genuine relationships equal success in even more powerful ways:

1. These kinds of relationships build loyalty and trust. (Key ingredients to long-term success.)
2. These kinds of relationships make referrals easy to give.
3. These kinds of relationships create reciprocal business exchanges.

So, as I spent time at the networking event last night, I met at least a dozen new people, passed around about that many business cards, and talked and listened for about two hours. Now what comes of these encounters is up to me. If genuine relationships come from this event it will be because I move from introduction to knowledge, and from knowledge to relationship, and from relationship to business.

Don’t underestimate the value of genuine relationships.

Genuine relationships equal success!