In any line of work, regardless if you are an accountant sitting in a cubicle, or a traveling salesmen, you will come into contact with people. Wither they are vendors, clients, or co-workers, building strong business relationships is an important aspect of being successful in any field. Building a business relationship does not happen in a single meeting or communication. A relationship can grow for months, even years before you could see a significant change in the fiscal outlook of the relationship. Although the monetary return is vital, the word of mouth marketing is a factor that you can not replace. If you have a quality relationship, people are much more apt to refer your services to prospective clients. When customers receive memorable service they talk about it with peers, family, and friends. The same goes for a close relationship with a vendor or client; they feel as if you are more closely taking care of their needs as well. There are many interaction aspects that can make or break a connection, and it is of the upmost importance to handle your business relationships with care.

Many of the aspects to building strong buisness relationships are common sense, but are sometimes difficult to follow through with, such as being on time to appointments. If you say you are going to be somewhere at a particular time, be early. You look much more professional if you are there waiting on them to arrive instead of the other way around.

Face to face meetings are still important in building a stong relationship. In a world of email, text messaging, cell phones, and social networking sites, it is easy to do business with clients without ever seeing them in person. Face to face interactions with clients will give a persional feel to your conversation, where an email can seem distant. If travel is a problem, pick up the phone to just say "hello". Random acts of kindness have a way of coming back to you. Sending small gifts to clients or vendors is also a meaningful way of showing the recipient that you appreciate them for what they do for your business.

Remember to take interst in personal stories, and try to relate your own experiences back to theirs. Learn from each other, just as you would do with a friend. During these personal conversations keep a sense of humor, but do so in a politically correct manner. By knowing things about each others personal lives, this builds a level of trust and makes the client look at you as a person, other than just someone selling them a product.

Here are a few other things to keep in mind when building business relationships:

-Be responsive to your clients and vendors; follow up with them as soon as possible.

-Refer and introduce your cleint's services to others when you can. This will show that you care about the success of their business, not just your sale.

-Be flexible with long time clients during negotiations, if done correctly clients will give back to you ten fold for working with them during tough times.

-If you are having a bad day, do not deal with clients if there is a chance that you might relaty those hostilities towards them. Reschedule a lunch, or email instead of calling.

Overall, just be yourself. If you are a caring and genuine person, the cleint will be able to read that. Do not try to be something that your not, your clients and vendors will be able to pick that up easily. Above all, remember to never loose the humanistic side of sales, that personal connection can make all the difference.