A two-way business!

‘You’re still so new to this industry… You haven’t seen enough to understand… Your experience in other industries won’t count for much here… I just don’t believe in you!’

Wow, doesn’t sound great to hear does it? This is some of the feedback I’ve come across over the past 4 years since moving to Melbourne from the UK. As Vinnie Jones would say… it’s been emotional.

Now, I’m a pretty driven individual who, ok, has his moments of absolute disaster, but overall, I’m a motivated person who wants to be successful. From the first day in Melbourne I’ve been looking for that gap in my industry to do something different. Finding this difference caused me a lot of grief – a lot of backlash, even – but as I will come to shortly, gained me unbelievable support from people I didn’t realise I had earned it from.

I work in a fast-paced, high target-driven industry where only the top percent of workers can (in my opinion), really achieve success. This means it’s extremely easy to get trapped in the ‘let’s just do the same as everyone else’ category – because what they’re doing is working well for them and they have proof in profitability in some instances. So, it’s safer to follow them – logical even.

I’ve looked at two things: who are the customers currently not using us & why? And what experience can I bring to change that? My approach is not, and won’t ever be, ‘I just want to do business with you’. I want to work with you when I know I can help you and when you can help me too. It’s a two-way thing – over the long term. And in the meantime, I’ll look for opportunities to provide insight or expertise to your business.

You might read this and think, ‘long term relationships are all great, but what about the short term? What about my current targets?’ Well, I didn’t just give up and ignore my targets. I still did the necessary things to prove to the business that was supporting my career at the time that I’m worth it, I just gave more – this involved identifying in granular detail what my competitor wasn't doing and what they were. I came to realise that even if it means turning down business or letting something go for the good of the relationship, its worth it in the long run.

It's not until I recently started my own business that I’ve come to realise how important and beneficial that mindset is. The support and recognition both peers and customers have given me as I start my own journey has been incredible. One previous customer called me to say, ‘congratulations on starting your business, I hope we can work together in the future.’ I asked him why. He simply said, ‘because you care about a long-term relationship and didn’t just push me into doing things your way, I think there is real value in what you’re doing’.

For me, that recognition of someone who I hadn’t landed business with, tells me the value of relationship building. It shouts out that even the shortest of conversations with purpose and value-add might not necessarily bring immediate success, but can lead to future opportunities – when it’s right for the two of us.

Will Ivens

Reach Recruitment