The Key to Building Effective Business Relationships

Jimmy Johnson, the incredible football coach who has been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame and the NFL Football Hall of Fame, was infamous for forgetting the names of his players. Quite often, he would refer to them by their numbers. When asked if he really did refer to some players by their numbers, the Dallas Cowboys head coach answered with: “Yes, it’s hard to remember all the players’ names. But you know who I don’t forget? Number 8, Number 22, and Number 88.” The players with those numbers were Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith, and Michael Irvin, the Cowboys star quarterback, running back, and wide receiver, respectively.

Johnson and most effective leaders in history have admitted that they didn’t treat everyone the same way. The larger the performer or potential, the more special treatment they would receive. These leaders understood that they can’t pay special attention to everyone because, by definition, that’s not special. They had to focus on those that would bring them victory. This philosophy was usually unfair, but it was also successful.

It's the same with your business relationships. Are you investing time and resources on the accounts and people who will impact you and your company the most? Are you getting strategic and creative, bringing them ideas that will make them better? Are you getting deep into their challenges and helping solve their problems at the core? Or are you spreading yourself thin and hardly making an impact with any of your customers?

Below are three steps to ensure that you are making the largest impact on your customer base.

1. Make sure you know who your key customers are. I like the idea of creating three levels of customers: Tier 1, Tier 2, and Everyone Else. Tier 1 typically includes the top 5% or 10% of your customer base, and Tier 2 typically includes the top 6% to 25% of your customer base. Your Tier 1 and Tier 2 customers should collectively comprise of 70% - 80% of your total sales.
2. Create a plan for both your Tier 1 and Tier 2 customers. The biggest differentiator between these top two tiers and everyone else is that you’re proactive and strategic with Tier 1 and Tier 2 customers, so you need a routine for each tier. For example, Tier 1 customers might receive in-person visits from you monthly, while tier 2 receives visits quarterly. Whatever the routines and offerings, they need to be beneficial to your customers and enable you to deliver the most value possible.
3. Be extremely responsive and professional to Everyone Else customers. To be clear, I am not suggesting that you ignore everyone not included on the Tier 1 and Tier 2 lists. The difference is that you will be proactive with Tier 1 and Tier 2, but you will be responsive to all customers. If the least important customer calls you, then you should call them back with the same urgency as a Tier 1 customer. However, the only customers to receive proactive and strategic treatment are the Tier 1 and Tier 2 customers.

This is a very simple concept, but most salespeople don’t follow it. They feel like they must be great with everyone and end up failing with everyone. Follow these three steps and watch your business relationships pay off exponentially.