Nothing can beat a face to face, belly to belly meeting to establish a business relationship with another person. Not taking the time and effort to get to know another person is equivalent to building a house from the second story down, rather than putting in the foundation to build upon. The house won't stand up!

I'd like to share a recent article from Wilson Conferences (https://wilsonconferences.com/Building-Relationships/) which may help you. Remember, people do business with people they 1) like, 2) trust, 3) know, and 4) who care more about them then themselves. 

Building Relationships 

If you are meeting with a client or prospect, attending an industry event, or networking then make sure and read through these 50 tips for building powerful relationships.  Our team attends many events each year and I have participated in dozens of meetings already this year so we compiled our best strategies for making the most of networking opportunities and building powerful, productive relationships.

Feel free to pass these tips along to your colleagues and business contacts and send us any suggestions you think should be added to the list.  Here are 50 tips for building powerful relationships at conferences, your next meeting, or a networking event:

1. Nail down specific terms and make notes.  If you come to an agreement with someone, be sure and be specific with dollar amounts, exact percentages, and any other important details for the deal.  Then, make notes in person and recite them for your counterparty to confirm.
2. Make sure everyone you meet has a 1 sentence summary of who you are and what you provide.  If you create a concise “sound byte” that describes how they can work with you and who you are then your contact is more likely to A) remember you, B) easily catalog you with a note in their CRM or rolodex and C) identify a clear way to work with you.
3. Bring more business cards than you think you’ll need.
4. Don’t be ashamed to take notes on the business card, even in front of the prospect.  It shows that you care about the relationship and don’t want to forget the person.
5. Always maintain eye contact during the conversation.
6. Don’t isolate.  Too often, professionals prematurely try to move their conversation to a private meeting before the connection is established and the opportunity to work together is clear to both parties.  Don’t move too fast to a one-on-one meeting or you’ll scare off your new connection.
7. You can get a laugh by complaining, but rarely a sale.  A lot of professionals try to break the ice by criticizing a speaker, complaining about the commute, and other complaints.  It might feel like you are building a relationship but most business professionals want to do business with people they like, and no one likes a pessimist who is more concerned with making derisive comments than making a real business connection.
8. If you have a great conversation going and you want to continue through the next presentation/speech/session, be respectful of others and take your conversation in the hallway.
9. Make sure your business card is worth sharing.  In the era of digital contact sharing, it might seem like a business card is an anachronism today.  However, business card production has actually increased and with easy, inexpensive solutions like Vista Print, you can create a custom business card more efficiently than ever before.  There’s no excuse not to have a great business card and it is worth investing in this time-tested networking tool.
10. Show up early.  I always get in 24 hours before the start of the event so that I’m adjusted to the time difference, rested, and not stressed about a flight delay.  Be sure to be one of the first ones to arrive.  You’ll get a chance to speak to the hosts, get to know the other early risers, and show that you are serious about your business.
11. Stay late. Be prepared for a long day because the most successful conference-goers and networkers get the most out of the event and don’t leave until they’ve met as many people as possible.  The only reason you shouldn’t stay til the closing bell is if you have a great client from the event that you are meeting with afterwards.
12. Stay in a hotel as close to the conference as you can.  You’ll have more chances to meet conference attendees throughout the day and after the event.
13. Agree on a future action with a firm date, if possible, so that you are sure to speak again with your new contact.  Otherwise, you’re doomed to “let’s stay in touch” where you two might never speak again.
14. After an industry event or conference, have an assistant or junior member of your team log your notes and business cards into your Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system.
15. If you attend an annual event be sure and track the best relationships each year so you can follow up in the weeks leading to the event with a friendly inquiry as to whether you’ll see them again this year.  If they’re attending, you can make plans to meet that week.  If they can’t make it, you will have reached out to someone you might otherwise lose touch with since they won’t be at the event this year.
16. Deliver value above all else.  If you’re meeting someone new or even reconnecting with a past business partner your goal should be to first deliver value before you try to do anything else.
17. Be friendly, professional, interested, and interesting.  It has been proven that, all else equal, people like to do business with people they like.
18. Vary your meeting scenarios.  To hammer out an important agreement, you may need to spend a couple of hours in a conference room going over documents.  If all your meetings with your business partner are dull and exhausting then it can be hard to establish a powerful relationship.  Simply meeting in a more fun location like a relaxing, lively restaurant can change things up and take things out of a boring board room.
19. Use different mediums to engage your prospect.  If you are trying to set up a meeting or simply get a response from a prospect be sure to use different mediums including meeting at an event, phone, e-mail, and even the good, old-fashioned hand-written letter.
20. Mind your appearance, even when you’re unlikely to run into a client or connection.  I can’t tell you how many times I see someone dress to the nines for a conference and then totally erase that impression mere hours later when they are poorly dressed, disheveled, and inebriated at the hotel bar (where many attendees are also staying).
21. Be courteous to everyone, not just the person with whom you are meeting.  I’ve seen a number of professionals act professionally and courteously to the client, only to snap at a waiter or embarrass a junior employee.
22. Be prepared with all the materials and supplies you’ll need.  Whether you are meeting with a client or attending a networking event, preparing yourself with any materials you might need is simple but often overlooked.  If you prepare well, you won’t have to borrow a pen, write on the back of a hand-out, or promise to send someone a document when you get back next week.
23. Accelerate the partnership.  I’ve seen many would-be partnership die an early death because the stated action item was just to continue the discussion at a later date.  If you are at an event or meeting face-to-face there is no better time to make tangible progress on an agreement, so why put it off?
24. Make yourself available.  It is hard for someone to start a conversation with you if your head is buried in a newspaper, you have headphones in, or you are turned away from them.  Be sure that you are sending inviting signals rather than hinting that you’d prefer to be left alone.
25. Take what you need, not what you can.  It’s tempting to “get your money’s worth” at an event by taking as much food as you can or taking advantage of an open bar.  However, most experienced conference goers focus on building relationships, paying attention to the presentations, and making sure they get their money’s worth in terms of new clients and valuable insights.
26. Ask questions.  I can always tell when someone is nodding along and not really understanding what I’m explaining.  I would much rather that the person shows that he/she cares by asking questions, even if it means stopping me mid-sentence to say “I don’t understand, can you please explain that again?”
27. Don’t dismiss less senior professionals.  It’s always best to meet with a decision-maker but that doesn’t mean you have to ignore a more junior person at the firm.  At a lot of events and meetings that I attend I often bring one or more people from the firm and at the end of the day I’m always surprised to hear how different someone’s impression is of someone versus my own.
28. Build consensus with everyone involved.  Many deals can get derailed because one important team member is out of the loop or opposed to the partnership.  Be sure that everyone who has a stake in the deal is fully briefed and feels that their input is taken into consideration.
29. Check the weather.  This falls under the category of Be Prepared.  Imagine this scenario: You put on your nice, pressed suit, pack all your business cards, and you feel confident as you leave the door.  As you make the short walk to the event venue, the rain starts to pour.  By the time you’ve made it in the door, you spilled your coffee running for shelter from the rain, your suit is leaking rainwater, your hair is a mess, the papers in your shoulder bag are soaked, and you have lost your composure as you walk into a room full of great prospects and future business partners.  This all could have been avoided had you simply checked the weather and planned accordingly.
30. Get to know the person first.  If you meet a great contact at an event, you might be thinking in your head 2-3 ways that you can work together.  While you’re thinking about the end-game, your new business partner is telling you key details about his/her life, goals, what is important in a partnership, and other insights that you missed because you’re focused on the next step.  Try to be present during the conversation and work in the ways to partner after you have established a relationship.
31. Keep the conversation going.  Don’t ask closed-ended questions, try to keep the conversation going with open-ended questions that can lead to a longer, better discussion.
32. Take the first step.  Too often I see professionals circulating the outer edges of the room hoping that an ideal networking partner will approach them and initiate a conversation.  Don’t be afraid to speak first or you may be waiting all day.
33. Smile.  Not only does psychological research suggest smiling puts you in a better mindset for success, but it makes you more approachable to other attendees.
34. Take your time.  Many networkers feel an internal pressure to make sure they mention a prepared remark or the name of their firm before the conversation ends.  This makes you less attentive and your conversation will feel forced if you’re steering it unnaturally toward your talking points.  Building relationships takes time so relax and don’t worry about getting everything into the first 30 seconds of your conversation.
35. Grab the seat next to a stranger–and leave room for others.  I often see people attending conferences and grabbing a seat next to a familiar face.  It is much harder for a new contact to approach you if he/she feels that you are part of an exclusive group.  So grab a seat next to a stranger and make sure seats around you don’t have a briefcase or other materials that ward off people who would otherwise join your table.
36. Don’t be afraid to interrupt.  While it’s always good to be polite, a networking event or conference is a time when people expect strangers to strike up a conversation.  If someone is scrolling through their phone, more than likely they’re just passing time because they don’t have someone to talk to so don’t be afraid to interrupt with a polite opener.
37. Don’t linger.  If a conversation has run its course and you have all the info that you need to solidify the business relationship, then don’t linger.  You’ll be wasting valuable time and now that you’ve made the contact, you can always speak more over dinner or coffee in the future.
38. Pick your openings carefully.  If you see a couple of business executives reviewing a pitch book and engaged in a serious conversation, they’re more than likely discussing private business and your entry into the conversation would be unwelcome.  Wait for an appropriate time to engage or join a different group that is more welcoming.
39. Be genuine with your follow-up.  At our conferences, we do not share the attendee list because too often we have had one or two attendees upload all the contact information into a CRM and blast out a mass e-mail that is clearly not customized to the recipient.  That is a great way to get spam-blocked and lose any goodwill you gained establishing the relationship in person.
40. Review the schedule beforehand so you can pick the best presentations/panels and still have room for meetings.  That way you don’t miss any powerful meetings or great speakers.
41. Be memorable for the right reasons.  You don’t want to be remembered as the professional with the bad breath, bad joke, or bad tie.  Dress well, behave well, and you’ll be remembered well.
42. Do your homework ahead of time.  If you know anyone who is attending ahead of time, come prepared to get business done.  It will be refreshing for your target to know that you have put thought into how you can work together.
43. Many speakers at our conferences are highly regarded executives or investors that control millions (even billions) of dollars.  When these speakers finish their presentation or panel discussion there is often a rush toward the stage by professionals who want to introduce themselves.  There’s nothing wrong with wanting to connect with the speakers but I would suggest that both parties are better served with a well-thought-out e-mail after the event or at least waiting until the speaker is more available later in the day.  Many speakers like to listen to their colleagues so it can be inconvenient for them to trade business cards during another person’s presentation.  One of the conference hosts is usually able to suggest a better time to connect or introduce you personally to the speaker at one of the networking sessions.
44. Set your goals ahead of time for what you hope to achieve by attending.  If you set these goals beforehand, you can make a better determination of whether the event was a good use of your time or whether there are better events that offer a greater ROI.
45. Don’t cover the same ground.  It is great to attend a conference with your coworkers but be sure that during the networking time you are not covering the same ground.  Share your progress periodically throughout the day so you are forming truly new relationships and not meeting the same people that your colleague just met with.
46. Stay off the phone as much as you can.  It is tempting to check your phone because you’re missing work in the office and because you may not have someone to talk to at the moment.  But it is a little bit harder for others to approach you if they perceive you are busy or just more interested in your phone than networking.
47. Be the connector.  Successful networkers make a point of welcoming others, introducing new members to the group, and even offering points of common interest among the group.
48. Stay professional with your greetings.  When you’re meeting someone new, stick to the tried and true firm handshake over hugs, kisses on the cheek, informal handshakes, and other greetings reserved for close colleagues, friends and family.
49. Get in the spirit of the event.  Conferences, especially more casual networking events, are meant to be fun so participate in the activities and allow yourself to have a good time.  You are far more likely to make a friend or business contact by taking part in the full event, rather than just picking the few areas of the schedule when you feel comfortable joining.
50. Stay professional after the event.  I can’t tell you how many times I run into an attendee, a speaker, or business partner outside of the event.  I try to remember that even at dinner in a different part of town, I could run into an important business contact and I should be ready for that possibility.