How to Make Business Connections: Practical Tips

Creating a working business connection is easy. An interesting business offer, a promising contract, a profitable client or supplier – this helps form a business relationship on a situational basis. At the same time, interpersonal relations are often ignored when doing business since business communication and personal contact require fundamentally different approaches.

But business ties, built on such a basis, are rarely strong and durable. Having reached the goal, both parties squeeze the former partner out of their lives. This is due to the lack of obvious benefit from communicating with them. Such business relationship is almost always formal. Even if interpersonal contact appears (a business dinner, attending an event), it does not lead to any further development.

Some people who have heard of Dale Breckenridge Carnegie are trying to transfer the preacher’s tips and recipes for effective communication and networking to business. But it does not bring much success. Establishing business connections with an eye to the future is not the same as finding a pen pal. These processes have completely different goals and objectives. A business relationship is not only communication but also commerce. It is extremely difficult to combine both of these incarnations without proper experience.

Issues of modern business communication

One of the 21st century’s main issues is the transience and haste of everything that happens. The world around us is getting faster every day. Few people now want to spend personal time on maintaining business connections if there is no direct and obvious benefit. The business sphere plunged into numbers and calculations. Everyone began to literally pray for popularity on social media, the number of likes, connections to LinkedIn, etc.

But will all this help build business connections that will stand the test of time? Unlikely! However, even if your goals are prosaic and do not hide secret levels, business ties become less strong and momentary every year. The business world has forgotten that quality is more important than quantity, and a swollen contact list won’t bring lucrative contracts. Business connections last until the moment a contract is signed, and an interpersonal business relationship gives you an e-card (not even a paper one!) for Christmas at best.

When preparing this material, we deliberately abandoned the format of a scientific study with graphs, tables, theoretical explanations, and lists of references. There is no particular point in this. You are unlikely to get new business connections from such a format, and the time spent reading will go nowhere.

We wanted to convey that a business relationship is partner support and long-term collaboration where there is a place for informal communication. Building such a relations format today is an extremely challenging but still solvable task. But for this, you have to abandon stereotypes, change priorities and see a potential business partner as a person. In other words, a business connection without personal contact is worth nothing.

To cope with the goal and give you as much specificity as possible, we have prepared 9 simple tips and recommendations, adapting them to modern realities. A high-quality, correct business connection means support in both directions with a mixture of two principles – personal and business. With the right approach, such a format will remain with you for many years.

InternationalWealth business connections at your service

The tips that we have prepared for you will help any business get on its feet. They are time-tested and relevant without reference to a specific jurisdiction, legal form of business and type of activity. Therefore, with some reservations, these tips are universal.

Their only issue is the obvious delays between realizing that you need business connections and actually forming them. General pieces of advice can’t help build working business connections here and now when the time factor is critically important. Our tips are strategic recommendations that are practically powerless in tactical moments.

Therefore, we strongly recommend you to read the article. Tips by our experts will help you build a competent business and lead it to success. But if you need immediate help, or there is simply no time for the advice practical implementation, or the business situation requires urgent reaction, just contact our experts (e-mail info@offshore-pro.info).

We have been operating in the market for many years and have managed to form a circle of partners from many countries. They are true professionals who can help you in real time. This is a perfect option for those who need assistance right now, not sometime in the future. We are ready to cooperate in a format convenient for you, without any delay, on any questions and issues that you may have.

Our business connections are a unique opportunity for readers and clients to solve pressing business issues in the most efficient format. If you really need urgent help, we are always there.

Tip #1 – Be the first!

Here everything is clear without explanation. Do not seek to establish a business relationship and do not estimate the benefits of a new acquaintance. Don’t wait for the first step from someone – do it yourself! Don’t be afraid to give without taking anything in return. But this does not mean that it is time for you to become an altruist. Always remember (but don’t advertise!) that you are looking for a business connection and not a partner to play poker or go to a bar in the evening.

Never ask for a favor without first offering to help a future partner. It is possible and even necessary to build an interpersonal relationship based on business connections. To do this, do not finish communication immediately after signing a lucrative contract. Even if you got what you wanted, your partner might have a desire to continue communication. Do not deny them with such pleasure.

Never force your interlocutor to the desired action, both directly and indirectly. NLP (Neuro-linguistic programming) is a good thing but too transparent for persons whose knowledge is not limited to a high school course. Thus, it is impossible to establish close business ties. You will only let a stranger into your world.

Tip #2 – Be generous!

Alas, there is a big issue here. Sincere generosity is wonderful, but it can provoke your partner into the idea of becoming dependent. Such a business connection will contribute to the active money extortion from your bank account. In response, you will receive only a ghostly hope to return investments someday in the future.

Do you think this is impossible and you will recognize the threat in time? Don’t be fooled. In the United States, such business connections are especially popular. Even quite respectable business people often get in such nets. Business connection and support (for example, financial) on a permanent basis are incompatible!

True generosity (best of all mutual) is a completely different matter. Business connection – personal contact – generosity – stable, long-term relationship – this format works well. But, once again, generosity and donation are entirely different concepts. And one is not synonymous with the other.

Tip #3 – Be unexpected!

Predictability is an almost unsolvable issue. It destroys not only business communications but also families and true friendship. It is also extremely dangerous in the business world. Your steps can be foreseen, calculated, and met ahead of the curve. As a result, you can safely forget about profitable contracts.

Suddenness (if it is natural and not far-fetched) is completely another thing. It supports business connections, rejuvenates them, and prevents them from burning out. But it is not necessary to turn into a clown or a public laughingstock for this. The boundary between these concepts still exists.

Try to grope for it, remaining within the conventional framework of social decency. This means that long-lasting business connections must be built at all levels. You have to be both unexpected and predictable. If etiquette requires business attire, don’t suddenly show up to a meeting in sneakers and a turtleneck.

Most likely, you will not be understood. And references to a certain head of a company that produces electronic apples would be completely inappropriate. No one knows how Steve Jobs built his business connections and how he was able to return to the company after being fired by John Sculley. Also, no one knows how he found NeXT launch partners who believed him.

Jobs could afford to show up to a board meeting in sneakers and a black turtleneck, but you are not him. Business connections between people who shape the future are another level that is inaccessible to mere mortals. Therefore, be unexpected, still remaining the same as everyone else (and this is not a typo!).

Tip #4 – Be a party-goer!

This does not mean that business connections can be established while relaxing with friends in a bar with a glass of beer. Business ties between friends, neighbors, or even relatives are an extremely rare exception to the rule. Perhaps this sometimes happens (for example, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, the founders of Google), but you should not hope for it.

Remember that luck is not with those who aim at success but with those who are at the right time in the right place. In our case, these are places with an increased concentration of potential partners, profitable clients, or investors. It is much easier to establish business connections being surrounded by such people.

If you do not have the time or opportunity to attend events, you can look for acquaintances on a suitable web forum or social media. If this option is not for you, try to get into the local community of professionals (there are such communities in every big city). Simply put, the more you are in public, the more chances you have to form a long-term business relationship with potentially useful persons for your business.

Tip #5 – Be heard!

If you remain invisible to potential partners or clients, it is impossible to build strong business connections. Therefore, people should somehow find out about your existence. Moreover, they should know you as a professional and not just a person living at a specific address. And for this, you need to declare yourself.

If there is no sufficient budget for promotion, social media will suit. Post information related to the business area of your interest on your page. Prove to others that you can generate good unique content. Build business connections without focusing on a specific person. Instead, form a potential target audience. Create an Instagram account where you will post useful materials on business and business connections.

Tip #6 – Be purposeful!

Knowing and understanding what you want is very good. But it is even better when you realize what you can. There is no point in being embarrassed that you do not know something. However, setting goals and determining the methods for achieving them is already a very good step. At the same time, you should not limit yourself to mundane purposes. Business connections are formed for a long time. And if business relations between partners are formed on an equal basis and are beneficial to both parties, they may be a business catalyst for many years.

It is extremely important to clearly understand what you want to achieve. Company business connections require one approach. Forming a business connection with support (financial or intellectual) requires another solution. But in any case, the personal aspect is the main one in a correct business relationship. If you think only about profit, you will not achieve anything.

Tip #7 – Be mindful!

Everything is simple here. The people you once met become an inexhaustible source of new promising acquaintances, both direct or indirect. Some of your classmates at the university, fellow soldiers, and even school classmates with whom you have not seen for several decades may have familiar businessmen. And if you remember all the people you met in your life, the probability of a successful acquaintance increases significantly.

This, of course, does not mean that you can build business connections by imposing yourself on all contacts from the phone book. Business ties between people, if one of them puts pressure on the other, are unlikely to be strong and long-term. But it is important to keep in touch with people you once met. Even if you are not ready to mix personal and business, it will always be nice to remember your school or university years.

Tip #8 – Be benevolent! (benefits of small connections)

A stable business relationship with a person whose personal capital exceeds a small European country’s budget is excellent! Or, for example, a business connection with a company from the Fortune 500 list would be very helpful. But you can also establish business connections with those in the same social group as you. Such people or companies may be a source of promising new acquaintances.

The business history knows many examples when top projects started with little things. Jeff Bezos started out in his own garage with a small online book sales company. Then, he did not even dream of millions of turnovers. Bezos skillfully built business connections – he found the right people and was able to interest them. Amazon’s net profit at the end of 2021 amounted to USD 33.4 billion. As we can see, his approach to building business connections helped to quickly move not to millions but even billions of turnovers.

Tip #9 – Keep in touch!

This recommendation applies equally to communicating with relatives and doing business. It used to be said that persons who have information rule the world. Now the rule has changed. People who are always at the forefront of business development achieve success. Business connections without maintaining this connection itself are doomed from the very beginning.

So, our recommendation is to stay in touch with those you need. These are business partners, suppliers, business colleagues, and even tax officials. There are enough reasons to remind them of yourself: holidays, anniversaries, birthdays, and just a good mood. You can carefully build business connections with the right people, each time finding a reason to remind them of yourself. But that’s not all.

It is much more important to maintain a relationship with those who are really dear to you – friends and relatives. Remember that one call to your mom can cost much more than all the money in the world. Such connections should be maintained at all costs. Delay that sad time when there will be no one to call as much as possible.

Business relations tips & tricks

The article on how to make business connections did not turn out the way we planned initially. Instead of dry business-oriented material with a minimum of emotions, we got a text closer to real life, more than bookish logical constructions. And this, perhaps, is good.

Any business is emotions and feelings. In other way, you simply don’t get through to a potential buyer or partner. There is too much competition in the market. Therefore, if you turn on a sober analysis, then the chance that you will be chosen will be extremely small. If you show emotions, you will differ from the mass of competitors, at least. However, broad business connections will be useful to you in any case.

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If you have any questions, please get in touch with InternationalWealth experts (e-mail info@offshore-pro.info). With them, you can discuss the conditions for an individual consultation. We wish you good luck in all your business endeavors!