One of the foundations that's stuck with me through the years is, “Businesses do not do business with other businesses. People do business with people.” There has never been a corporation that has ever paid cash or written a check. People do that. Yes, companies try to put you on autopilot by making you subscribe to things, but it still takes a human to enter the data and make the initial purchase.

There has long been a buyer and supplier mindset as you experience business throughout life. It's not quite the hunter and the hunted metaphor of our cave people ancestors, but the more significant the sale, the more that mentality creeps in. Think of all the spreadsheets, personas, statistics, trends, models, evaluations, and now AI machine learning innovations associated with defining and delivering leads, prospects, and business profit forecasts.

A corporate job once meant a lifetime job.

Although corporations date back to the 1600s, the multinational businesses we now think of as corporations grew out of the industrial revolution. Starting in the 1700s, small companies began growing as mechanical processes allowed manufacturing scale-up. Factories, fabric mills, and food-processing plants started adding hundreds and (by the end of the 1800s) thousands of people to run the production lines. This growth continued until the stock market crash of 1929 and started up again with the production needs of World War II.

Corporate growth in the 1950s gave us suburban sprawl as corporations expanded beyond their urban beginnings. In the 1970s, we began to notice corporations becoming international superpowers. In the 1980s, deregulation let them grow even more. The number of companies employing thousands of people took off. Mergers, acquisitions, liquidations, and consolidations became the norm.

What had been the Horatio Alger dream of the Nineteenth Century, starting in the mail room and ultimately owning the bank or factory, now had even more scope. How many loyal workers dreamed of climbing the corporate ladder to become CEO of a
multinational corporation?

The business community should be about the common good.

Being in business means that you belong to a commerce community. You not only have people that you sell to, but you buy from others. If you are like most businesses, you work with service providers: an accountant, insurance agent, lawyer, and others. You purchase office supplies, computers, and software. If you make products to sell, you buy raw materials or parts, equipment, labeling, packaging, and more. You are part of a business ecosystem. You probably formed these relationships through various meetings, conversations, and referrals.

Back in the pioneer days, the old West revolved around its towns and settlements. Decades of movies have ensured that most people think of the saloons, bar fights, and gun duels at high noon when they visualize these towns. But despite the movies’ evidence, the most important place in town was not the saloon, sheriff’s office, or jail; it was the general store.

The general store constituted a cornerstone of the society. It was where you bought essential staple foods for your family and livestock, fixed broken things, and bought new things. It helped you sustain life in the Wild West. If that store closed, you might have to travel hundreds of miles by horseback or wagon to find another source for the needed supplies to maintain your life. Because of that, if the store owner fell sick, people throughout the town would chip in to help. They realized that the general store was more than just a small business; it was integral to the prosperity and well-being of the
entire community.

If the general store failed, the whole community would suffer and might even fail itself. It existed not just to sell merchandise but for the common good, which meant that everyone had a vested interest in its success. The store possessed camaraderie, synergy, community, and purpose!

The internet has brought us closer than ever.

Flash forward to today. In many ways, social networking and the internet have brought us back to the good old days. It’s brought people together just like the general store did to the communities of the Wild West. It’s just that the “general store” now covers every continent, hundreds of languages, and all 24 time zones.

The means by which we do business and the structure of our business community have changed. The internet now provides a 24/7 virtual wonderland of shopping and shipping. However, being active in your commerce community will still help you establish relationships that make your product or service the better choice for your customers, even though we no longer need to walk into a store in person to purchase most goods and services.

Even though the advent of the jet airplane made the world much smaller, it can still take 24 hours to travel from the US to Australia. However, you can video chat with friends or colleagues “Down Under” 24/7 with Zoom. Through presentations and interviews I have given, both web-based and in-person, I now have Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn friends across the globe.

The main point is that things continue to change. Even if your clients sit within one mile of your location, your brand, business, and audience are global. You may not want to or even need to pay attention to that reality, but that’s the new world order.

Locally, grassroots movements are helping the pendulum swing away from the “big box” machine, benefiting the smaller, local entrepreneur. People are becoming fans of the underdog and local businesses because their families' ecosystems and livelihoods depend on local businesses. People are asking friends and coworkers, “Do you know a plumber?” or “Where can I buy (this or that) product?” People turn to social media to ask people they KNOW, LIKE, and TRUST about products and services.

You may still shop at a Walmart, but across America, towns and cities that hope to revitalize local downtowns are getting more involved with their chambers of commerce, urging their citizens to “Buy Local” or “Shop Main Street.”

Networking in person

Part of the evolution of business is about teaching ourselves how to really network. There are many options, from associations to chambers of commerce to people who do informal and semi-formal free and paid events.

Those events lead to people suggesting other networking opportunities. That could expand your Golden Rolodex even further, but how do you find value in networking?

The Pareto Principle (the 80/20 rule) explains that 80% of results come from 20% of the whole. Although we learn and strive for balance (aka 50/50) that principle is more accurate than anything I have ever learned in business.

Most networkers are looking for leads, and their mindset is very transactional. Very few networkers consider the long-term and try to build relationships that have long-term reciprocal benefits.

So, 80% of networking is about hunting for business, and 20% is about meeting people with whom you can create long-term business relationships.

It’s easy to feel like the best salesmen or saleswomen would make the best business partners. Still, those people often jump from group to group, and each time you meet them, they are selling a different product, service, or opportunity of a lifetime.

It took years to change my networking habits enough to realize that 80% of networking has limited value. I needed to focus on the 20% who could become great power partners.

I had to learn that a connection is not the same as a relationship, and each has its place.

 

For Consumer Business

In the local in-person space, it's easy to build a relationship with your customers (if you want to). The person completing the transaction can join a one-on-one networking event called checking out. Even in the self-checkout lane, a manager has to fix problems and approve restricted sales like alcohol.

Collecting data without connection may help you spot trends and serve up coupons, but it rarely leads to referrals, recommendations, or, sometimes, repeat business.

For B2b Business

Building relationships in B2B business is a bit more challenging. It takes time to get to know someone, and it can take multiple interactions to determine whether there is an opportunity or desire to start a relationship. With networking or tradeshows, you rarely get the full picture of decision-making, but it all starts with getting to know at least one person.

It's about connection before collecting data. That data is more personalized yet critical to understanding the underlying intricacies of a business entity's culture.

Build new relationships; nurture existing ones.

So what’s a business to do? Build and grow relationships. And remember that new clients are not the only ones you need relationships with. New clients, past clients – and people you may never do business with – not to mention your employees, suppliers, and vendors – can and will all be significant people for your business.

In this ever-changing digital spreadsheet, Quickbooks report, analytics world, PEOPLE MATTER! Relationships matter. People look very different in person than they do as entries on an income statement.

As a businessperson, you are part of a much bigger picture. Nurturing current relationships and planting new ones has been more crucial than ever before!

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Comment below and share your thoughts, ideas, or questions about business-to-business sales and marketing today! Do you have a sales or marketing communications strategy that works for you? What tips or techniques can you share that work for you and your business?

To learn more about this and other topics on B2b Sales & Marketing, visit our podcast website at The Bacon Podcast.