As you know I am not a financial investment coach so the title is not talking about wealth, however; the principal applies to relationships as well. When you make intentional strategic investment into relationships you will see a return on that investment and will have equity when you need it most. A business client of mine found this worked for him when the economy turned for the worse. Many of his competitors were struggling to make sales and discounting to just survive. My client’s business actually was growing in the same time period. The fact is that he had invested the time to grow relationships with his clients in the good times. When others were just running to grab as much cash as possible, even gouging customers because they could, he would take the time to build authentic relationships. He kept fair pricing and turned work down if he had to in order to better serve his clients. When the economy shifted and he needed business he would call those people that he built relationship with and ask for help. If they could not purchase his services, they would provide solid referrals.

What is my point? It takes time and energy to build relationships!  You may not see an immediate benefit but the investment will come back when it is needed most. Far too often in life and business we allow the ‘tyranny of the urgent’ to steal our attention and ultimately become very self focused. It is not very often that we will ‘find’ time to develop relationships; we must be disciplined in ‘making’ time. There is definitely a cost to relationship development but is well worth it. I would even suggest including a budget line for relationship development.

In the end, the return on investment is well worth the time we take to invest in the relationships we have. Not just in business but in every area of our lives.

Until next time, remember Relationship Matters!!