The Business Investment that Delivers the Highest Returns

When it comes to your business, if you want to excel, you know you’ve got to invest now in order to reap future gains. So you invest your time. You invest in education. You invest in software, design, and branding.

But how much are you investing in your relationships?

The world’s leading entrepreneurs all have one major thing in common: they harness the power of relationships to grow their businesses.

In today’s new post, I’m sharing what it means to cultivate deep working relationships, and how you can begin forging more meaningful connections, especially if they’re currently missing from your life.

Read on to discover why investing in relationships and expanding your network is the quickest way to multiply the sales your business brings in this year.

A common denominator

I just spent the last 48 hours with a group of people who are making millions and millions of dollars - some of them are even in the billion dollar club. These people are all a part of a high-end mastermind group that they’ve been committed to for the past 10 years. Having spent the past two years attending their meetings, I’ve gained so many insights and lessons from the experiences they’ve shared.

But the biggest takeaway that I’m sharing with you today is about harnessing the power of relationships to grow your business.

While there are clearly many things like hard work, drive, and focus that have contributed to these super achievers’ success, the one common denominator was the mastermind they’d committed themselves to. For 10 years, they have all been there for one another. They started out in similar places and helped one another rise to where they are today. There were countless collaborations that have taken place and that continue to move everyone forward. Time and time again, members referenced another member’s help, feedback, and support as a major contributing factor in a recent win.

Are you overlooking this growth strategy in your business?

Most people know on a basic level that you need relationships to grow your business, but so many entrepreneurs get so focused on making sales and on trying to provide the service or offer that they've created, that they forget to take a step back and actually smell the roses. They forget to actually invest in relationships and take them deeper than the initial meet n’ greet. Clients often tell me that they want to grow their audience in a way that feels fun and authentic. My answer: deepen and expand your relationships.

Relationships don't just happen. Relationships take time. They take love, care, and attention so they can grow. And in order for your relationships to help your business grow, they need to have depth.

How to go beyond surface-level interactions

It typically begins when you open the door to a relationship online. You connect with someone on Instagram in the comments or DMs, and continue to express your interest in one another by engaging with each other’s posts.

But this level relationship isn’t what’s going to lead to the growth we’re talking about. There's a difference between being able to comment on someone's post versus being able to call them on their cell phone, because you have their mobile number, and say, “Hey, I'm launching this thing. Can you help me out? Can I do an interview on your podcast? Can I be featured in your newsletter? How can we support each other? What are you doing in your business right now? How can I help promote that to my group?”

These kinds of conversations happen only when you have deep relationships. So how do you create a deep relationship?

Developing a relationship in business is just like developing a relationship in life. So you need to ask yourself, what do I do when I’m trying to develop a friendship or other relationship in life?
It comes down to showing you care with your time, attention, and actions. You communicate with the person on a consistent basis. You check in with them and know when they’re celebrating and when they’re having a rough time. When you see something that reminds you of them, you send it their way. You do things with the intention to wow them.

When experiencing wow moments, we humans naturally want to reciprocate. The same thing happens in our business relationships. When you show up for people - both your clients and your peers - they want to show up for you too. This is where the magic happens.

Creating deep relationships all starts when you show up with a giving mindset. Don't go into the relationship thinking, What can they do for me? Go into the relationship asking yourself, What can I do for them? How can I help them?

A giving mindset is giving without expectation. This energy is what creates deep connections.

Where to make more meaningful connections

Wondering how to discover more people to connect with in the business world?

One way I cannot recommend enough is through masterminds. These longer term containers give their participants time to develop next level relationships with the right kinds of people - people who are also committed to growth and leveling up. And because you’re all there getting coaching from the mastermind’s leader, you also get the opportunity to see the inside of other people’s businesses. This opens the door to offering help and creating collaborations.

You can also meet more people through a shared coach. If there’s a coach you resonate with, the chances are that what attracted you also attracted like-minded people. Check out their programs and look into ways you can get more involved in their community.

Networking groups both online and in person are also useful ways to initially connect. I do recommend moving your online relationships to in person meet-ups whenever possible though. Nothing beats the connections that are formed when you’re able to look at someone face to face and have a true conversation without a screen between you.

Questions to ask yourself to start forming more connections

How can I put myself in the right rooms to find people who, like me, are looking to grow?

Where are places that my fellow entrepreneurs gather?

Where am I being called to go?

Do I feel called to join a high-end mastermind?

Do I feel called to go on a retreat with my peers?

Do I feel called to any particular groups that currently exist online?

Questions to deepen your existing business relationships

How can we help each other grow?

What are you currently on a mission to accomplish?

What is your focus for this year?

What’s something I can do to help you with your goals this month?

Is there anything you’d like to collaborate with me on?

If you're looking to grow your audience and connect with more ideal clients, the best way to do that is through your relationships. If you can not only deepen your business relationships but turn them into genuine friendships, it’s always a win-win.

By being able to support one another, feature one another on your individual platforms, and connect each other to your own networks, you’re going to easily grow a far more aligned following that better converts. This is what harnessing the power of relationships is all about.

As always, I love hearing from you on Instagram. It’s a great space to kick off a relationship. I’d love to know who you are, then we have the opportunity to deepen our relationship from there. If you listen to this podcast, please do reach out - let’s grow together!