The Golden Rule… treat others as you would want to be treated yourself.  We have probably all heard this statement in our personal lives, but does it apply to our business lives?  Absolutely!   I encourage clients to follow the golden rule in their business development efforts.  By applying the most basic human elements to building relationships, you gain confidence, leading to increased business down the road.

• Be friendly. It seems so simple, but so many times people just skip the pleasantries of daily communication.  This goes beyond your basic ‘please’ and ‘thank you’. It means taking a few extra seconds to ask someone how they are doing, what is new or follow up on a previous conversation.
• Be helpful. Go out of your way to be helpful to others.  It doesn’t have to be earth shattering– open a door, look up a reference for someone, send them an article that they may have interest in. Fight the tendency to keep to yourself and ignore the problems of others. Identify a need, business or personal, and offer to help in some way.
• Listen. Don’t just talk at people.  Take the time to listen to what people are saying and connect to them in these conversations. Everyone wants to be listened to yet so few actually listen.  It is difficult to do– it isn’t just waiting for your turn to talk– it is engaging in the other person’s point of view.

Try applying these three tips to your daily business interactions and take notice of how your actions affect others and also how they make you feel.  You will find that you feel more confident in your relationships. Building trusting relationships in this manner allows you to make better connections, ultimately leading to increased referrals.  At the very least, you have improved on the way you deal with others, making a more positive impact in general.