Good Customer Relationships are sort after by all serious business organisations, who know that it is fundamental to their overall business success.

And the most Important Element of a good Customer Relationship is Trust.

But Trust has to be built on strong foundations that will last and can weather the harshest conditions in the intensity of business and Trust has to be earned.

The commencement of Trust is usually formulated by the existing Personal Relationships that are known, but seldom explored between many business companies and their Customer's organisations.

The establishment of a documented Mutual Understanding between your company and your Customers is needed to agree on the requirements that your Customers have and the way your company will respond to those requirements.

Shared Objectives have to be discussed and agreed so that the long term plans for joint project implementations can be envisioned.

Commitment by both parties is essential, not just the Customer's commitment to order from your company, or your company's commitment to deliver, but in all aspects of the relationship.

For continuity of the Trust in the relationship between your company and your Customers, there needs to be a set of Realistic Expectations, your Customer may demand and you will find it difficult to say no, but Honesty is an integral part of Trust and your Customer will respect that, if they want the relationship to be built on Trust.

People are the determining factor in any Trust Relationship and it is the actions of your company's People, or the Customer's People that will decide if the outcome is to be successful or is doomed to failure. Communication from the top within your company's organisation and the Customer's organisation will ensure that all of the People involved in the Trust Relationship have an agreed understanding.

Politics can play a part in making a cohesive Trust Relationship, but there must not be any Hidden Agendas and both parties must Keep Promises that they have made to each other, or the Trust Relationship will be destroyed.

The emphasis must be on Joint Success, both parties must realise a true win situation and both parties should gain the benefits, only that way will the Trust Relationship be maintained.

There is a wealth of Knowledge within both of your organisations and there is nothing more accurate than the accumulated Knowledge from a Trust Relationship such as the one between your company and your Customers.

Sharing of that Knowledge is paramount to the enduring continuity of the Trust Relationship and it will help both your company and the Customer's organisation to do business on a more informed basis and at a higher intellectual level.

Making Connections at all Levels between your organisation and the Customer's organisation will not only reinforce the Trust Relationship, but it will make it much smoother to do business and enhance the Performance of each organisation's People, allowing them to be more productive and creative.

Create an Environment of Openness, so that everyone can feel comfortable and in which it will allow them to express themselves freely, this will mean that the communication between your company's People and the Customer's People will be honest and trustworthy.

In a Trust Relationship, your Customers will confide in you and let you know the timing of their decisions in advance, which will mean that your company does not waste resources unnecessarily and your overall costs will be reduced.

In a Trust Relationship, your company will be given preferential treatment by your Customers, over your competitors and your Customers may well ask you to review your competitor's offers to determine if they can be trusted.

Trust ensures the right conditions for High Performance within your company and people, which in turn is reflected by more Profitability and increased Customer Value, which guarantees continued business activities and a prosperous outcome for both parties.

Trust can take a long time to be achieved, but it can be lost in an instant, don't become complacent and think that your company does not have to put the same effort into the Customer Relationships, protect it, nurture it and make Trust the most Important Element in your Customer Relationships.

Business Success

Medium to large corporate organisations are having to change their approach to business because of the demands of their most important Customers, especially if these Customers are Industry Leaders and operate globally. These Customers are only willing to do business with the companies that have effective Business Processes and demonstrate good Leadership Decisions.

If we look at what makes up the major component parts of an organisation, then we discover the following: Structures - People - Products - Systems - Information - Customers - Relationships and Knowledge. What connects all of these are the Business Processes, which are determined by Leadership Decisions.

All organisations use Business Processes to administer their companies, but careful analysis of the Business Processes, which connect the major component parts of an organisation, are necessary to determine their effectiveness and to see if they reflect good Leadership Decisions.

First let us take Structures - should they be Rigid, which will mean the company could be slow to act, or Flexible, allowing the company to be quick to respond to their Customers needs, or should they be Aligned with your Customer's Structures, which will mean a more 'Connected' relationship and many mutual benefits.

The selection of your People - very careful consideration should be given to this activity and as to who should perform this function, the company's human resources department, or an outside agency, or should the board of directors make the final decision, especially for Top Management positions, Customer Facing sales positions and Customer Service support positions.

And how do you decide on People payment - against what criteria, by Performance and measurable value to the company, by surveying your Customer's and determining their Satisfaction with the People that your company provides to them, or with a Bonus for significantly overachieving, in the duties that your company has asked them to perform.

Then there is Product Selection - should your product portfolio be Innovative, which will mean a lot of investment in research, design, development and time to market, or a range of Standardised products that are of consistent high quality, or Specialist products that are influenced by your Customers requirements, or maybe even a mixture of all three.

What is the determination of Product Pricing - by the Volume that your Customers are forecasting to purchase, or by the current Turnover of sales with them, or list pricing with a Discount for their continuity of business.

And then we come to System Selection - the technological recommendations should be closely reviewed by top management to ensure close adherence to your company's Business Processes and policies, and then selection of the most appropriate Systems by Value, Functionality, Availability and Security.

Information and data gathering - the oxygen of all serious business organisations, this can be with a dedicated Marketing Department project, or by careful usage of Internet research and by the many trusted Personal contacts that your company has established. All organisations forget, until they are reminded, that the biggest source of Information that they have is with the People that they have in their own company.

A very important Business Process and one that needs to be very firmly underpinned by your company's Leadership Decisions, is the activity of Customer Selection - should they be determined by the Industry that they represent, or the Potential business that they may do, or the Past Spend that they have made. If there is not enough attention paid to this Business Process by your company's Top Management, then the penalty will be in higher costs, lower profitability and loss of respected Customers who do not wish to be associated with your company's choice of Customers Selected.

The choosing of Relationships is fundamental to your overall business success - do you choose, Good Customer Relationships that have mutual trust, Bad Customer Relationships that spend a lot with you, but don't trust you and would easily go to your competitors, if you did not give them their discount, or Political Customers who you must have a relationship with because of who knows them high up in your company, even though they cause more trouble and effort for your business, which increases costs and inevitably spend much less with your company than they should do.

Last, but not least is Knowledge - the life blood of your organisation, there are many sources for the acquisition of Knowledge, but this needs to be accurate and accumulated from trusted sources such as the Knowledge that is provided by your Customers, gathered from within your respective Industry, and even from your Competition. Knowledge is an intangible product, but if you share it with your Customers it is seen as a sign of respect and gives your company the reputation of being an Industry Expert.

The Leadership Decisions are an integral part of each of the Business Processes and can make a huge difference to the success of an organisation and to the continued support of its shareholders, who decide on the ultimate longevity of any company.

Business Success

We're not talking about the kind of motivator who arrives and excites everyone and then leaves. That is not motivation. Real motivation lasts longer than twenty-four hours. Real motivation is the key to effective leadership, and leadership is the key to effective motivation.

When organisations establish quotas for their sales teams, they should involve their sales people in the process of the setting of their targets.

Effective sales managers give their teams, an overview of the full picture and what the company is trying to achieve. Then, they work with each person to establish individual targets that will meet or exceed the corporate objectives.

Every target must be specific and detailed, then, your people can visualise its outcome. Make the target important to the person who is responsible for achieving it, if not, they may lose interest, particularly if it is a longer term objective.

Targets should have a good chance of being achievable while still challenging the individual to push themselves beyond their existing comfort zone. Each target must be relevant to the main objective of the organisation and relevant to the overall success of the company.

Set a time frame and deadline for each target and ensure the deadline is realistic but, at the same time, challenging.

Work with your team members to help them determine the targets that would be most appropriate for their development and growth and work with them to develop the appropriate action steps to achieve these targets and you will see a noticeable improvement in their performance

Communicate and tell your team what is happening, sales people are hungry for information and from my experience, can be trusted with company details. Unfortunately, too many corporations and their middle managers feel that people should only be given information that is relevant to their specific job.

Keep them aware of the progress you are making in achieving your targets, people are naturally curious and want to know how they are doing. Do not reveal confidential information, but share information about the overall status of the company.

If sales are down and you need your people to focus on generating new accounts or business then tell them. If costs are climbing then advise your employees that they need to be aware of their expenses.

Regular update meetings, email correspondence, broadcast voice mails are just some of the ways you can communicate with your team. Another effective method is through casual discussions.

Communication must be clear and concise, employees want to know where they stand and, all but a few, want to do a good job. They want to know how, you, as their manager, view their performance. That's why it is critical that you give them direction and feedback on a regular basis.

Experience has taught me that people will work harder for someone who praises them and recognises the effort they put into their work. Acknowledge their energy and performance, their effort and commitment, how hard they worked and how involved they were with it.

Your sales people have a lot of knowledge and information and can often contribute valuable suggestions to improve the business. If you really want to create a team of highly motivated sales people take the time to listen to their comments and ideas.

Foster an environment that encourages the open sharing of information. Great leaders are always open to new ideas and methods of improving business and some of the best ideas come from the customer facing employees.

This last point is the most important. If you want a highly motivated sales team, then you must lead by setting the example. You must demonstrate enthusiasm, energy, team cooperation, honesty, integrity and commitment.

Treat people with respect and dignity, give them the tools to excel, grow and develop and encourage them to participate and get involved. Ask them for feedback, listen to their comments, and act on suggestions that will help your business succeed.

Set and communicate high standards, provide positive reinforcement when your team members perform and involve them. You will soon see a team that will do almost anything to help you succeed.

Business Success

Top Business Leaders Share Their Best Business Success Advice

This is what 140 successful CEOs, coaches, consultants, professors, managers, executives, presidents, politicians, and religious leaders said that most helped them become effective and successful leaders

Leadership is about making things happen.

If you want to make something happen with your life - in school, in your profession or in your community, do it. Perceived obstacles crumble against persistent desire.

But persistence for your cause should not be gained at the expense of others. A bit of leadership wisdom.

Listen and understand the issue, then lead.

Time and time again we have all been told, "God gave us two ears and one mouth for a reason", "Seek to understand, rather than be understood." As a leader, listening first to the issue, then trying to coach is the most valuable advice.

Answer the three questions everyone within your
organization wants answers to.

What the people of an organization want from their leader are answers to the following: Where are we going? How are we going to get there? What is my role? The more clarity that can be added to each of the three questions, the better the result.

Master the goals that will allow you to work anywhere in today's dynamic business world.

This piece of advice will be instrumental in shaping your direction, future and achievements. Jobs, missions, titles and organizations will come and go as business is dynamic, it is always changing. Do not focus your goals toward any of these, but instead learn to master the skills that will allow you to work anywhere.

The ability to develop an idea; Effectively plan for its implementation; Execute second-to-none; Achieve superior results time after time.

Be curious.

Curiosity is a prerequisite to continuous improvement and even excellence. Study people, processes, and structures. Be intellectually curious. Making progress, in part, is based upon thinking. Learn to apply this notion of intellectual curiosity by thinking about your organization's future, understanding the present, and knowing and challenging yourself to creatively move the people and the organization closer to its vision.

Listen to both sides of the argument.

Listen to all different kinds of people and ideas. Listening only to those who share your background and opinions can be imprudent. It is important to respect your neighbours' rights to their own views. Listening to and talking with a variety of people, from professors to police officers, from senior citizens to school children, is essential not only to be a good leader in business, but to also be a valuable member within your community.

Prepare, prepare, prepare.

If you fail to prepare, you are preparing to fail. If one has truly prepared and something goes wrong the strength of the rest of what you've prepared for usually makes this something easier to handle without crisis and panic. "Preparation is the science of winning.", "Have you done the work?" and "Do you deserve to win?" This speaks to the importance of preparation toward achieving your final goal. If you haven't done the work (the preparation) the answer to the second question is an easy "no"