If you intentionally, deliberately and proactively work on building your PartnerShip with each of your clients, you will have personal sustainable growth. But every ship needs to be solid and purposeful, so let’s discover how you can build a ship to last a lifetime.
1.     Understand the other person. What are their needs and their circumstances?
Find out what is happening in their business, not just what is new and important with yours. Just because a customer has been with you for a long time, that does not make it the determining factor of a great PartnerShip. It is the quality of understanding in what each other wants and needs and purposefully working toward a common goal.
2.     How can we work together to meet each other’s wants and needs?
A PartnerShip is not just one sided. If you have a PartnerShip but feel like the other party isn’t holding up their end of the bargain, you have a problem. A PartnerShip shouldn’t feel unfair.
3.     Execute with care, trust, and integrity.
Typically a PartnerShip is an agreement. Care, trust and integrity will ensure you execute your agreement better and faster.
4.     Exceed the other’s expectations.
Sometime in a PartnerShip you might feel "I’ve given it my all!" Both parties need to always try and exceed what is expected, then no one gets complacent or taken for granted. The primary reason customers leave is because they feel undervalued or ignored.
Consider one or two important partnerships. What can you do to build your ships so they are purposeful and strong enough to last? What will your ship look like when it comes ‘sailing in’?
Krista Moore is President of K Coaching, an executive coaching and consulting practice that has helped hundreds of companies maximize their full potential through enhancing their sales strategies, sales training and leadership development.
