While many people might not consider networking crucial to business success, it definitely is. No matter what profession you are in, networking is the fuel that accelerates business growth. Every business leader needs strong building relationships to be successful. These relationships include interacting or connecting with colleagues, stakeholders, or peers.
These connections can prove the most valuable assets in the short and long terms. Without building strong contacts, business leaders cannot succeed, no matter how much hard work they put in. In today’s modern world, running a successful business requires building strong business connections. While some business leaders are masters in networking or relationship building, many are unsure where to start, what to say when they connect with someone, or how to maintain these relationships. Do you fall into a similar category? If yes, you must consider taking executive coaching.
Executive coaching not only helps business leaders improve their leadership, communication or conflict management skills but also their relationship-building skills. An executive business coach helps business leaders establish strong and genuine relationships with their colleagues, peers or stakeholders,
Is this question, “How can I improve my networking and relationship-building skills through executive coaching?” popping into your mind? Scroll down to find an answer!
Tips for Improving Networking and Relationship-Building Skills By an Expert Executive Coach
It has become essential for business leaders to build strong strategic business relationships as no company can meet all their customer needs alone in this highly competitive era. Every organisation need partners to respond to the fast-moving marketplace. Besides meeting client needs, business leaders will also have more client referrals if they have strong connections in the industry.
Therefore, it is no surprise that many business leaders nowadays pay close attention to networking and relationship-building skills. Executive coaching has helped many business leaders build and benefit from strong connections in the industry.
However, if you don’t have time and finances for executive coaching, we are here to help you. Simon Ellson, expert executive business coach at ActionCoach, shared the best ways how business leaders can improve their networking skills to succeed, which are listed below:
Change Your Mindset
Executive coaching helps business leaders understand the importance of genuine and authentic business relationships. When you work with an executive business coach to improve your relationship-building skills, the first thing they will work on will be your mindset. They will encourage you to remove the word “business or work” from your system while approaching a business contact.
If you focus on building a relationship only for business benefits, it can never be authentic or genuine. The people you are trying to reach get approached by hundreds of business leaders just like you, and it is not difficult for them to identify people approaching them for business benefit.
The best networking comes from genuine relationships, not business card exchanges. Therefore, if you are trying to build a relationship with a colleague, peer, or stakeholder, you must treat them like friends. Find something you have in common, make jokes and show that you genuinely care.
Start With Your Own Company
Before approaching business contacts outside of your firm, you must make an effort to create connections within your firm. Executive coaching encourages business leaders to build strong relationships with their firm first and then head outside. Otherwise, they might seem like a hypocrite.
Once you have a leadership coach, they will plan different meetings for you to connect with your colleagues and workforce. These meetings will help you establish a great bond with your coworkers. However, suppose you don’t have a leadership coach. In that case, you can create strong relationships within your firm by attending meetings, lending your knowledge to colleagues who need it the most, or simply going out to lunch with them instead of dining at your desk.
Attend Conferences or Seminars
Once you have established strong relationships at your firm, you need to focus on building a strong network of external connections. Many organisations hold luncheons or conferences to help business leaders meet new individuals in the same industry. When you have a leadership coach, they will not only encourage you to attend these conferences but will also prepare you for them.
Attending conferences or seminars will not mean anything unless you interact with others. For interaction, a business leader should have opinions or knowledge on the latest trends or updates in the business industry. An executive business coach will keep you updated on the industry’s latest trends and best practices. Therefore, you will know what to discuss at those conferences or seminars.
However, if you don’t have a leadership coach, you can prepare yourself for these conferences by reading business journals or listening to business podcasts.
Stay in Touch with Important Contacts
Building a professional relationship takes a lot of time and constant effort, like personal relationships. Therefore, once you have established a great bond with someone in the industry, staying in touch with them is important. Otherwise, soon, they will forget about you, and you will have to do it all over again.
When you work with an executive business coach to improve your networking skills, they will help you stay in touch with all your business connections. They will make it a part of your daily routine. However, if you don’t have a leadership coach, you can maintain your strategic business relationships by yourself by planning luncheons, staying in touch with them on social media platforms, inviting them for house dinners or parties, or just calling them sometimes to check on their overall health and wellbeing.
By doing so, you will stay in touch with all your business connections and with time, these connections will turn into stronger relationships.
Build Trust
Once you have established that you are reliable and genuine, your reputation will speak for itself. Not only your existing business connections will stay in your network, but many new business contacts looking for dependable partnerships will get drawn to your network. An executive coach will help business leaders earn the trust of their business connections by fulfilling the commitments or promises made to them.
Conclusion:
Are you still struggling to build strategic business relationships even after following all the tips mentioned above? You must consider taking executive coaching. An executive coach will help identify your mistakes and set you on the right track.
