Marketing Tips: Are you a True Business Friend?

Reposted by www.abdpromotions.com

Marketing Tips:  Are you a True Business Friend?

Originally written through Noah Rickun’s Blog from 12/4/10 and The Gilroy Chamber of Commerce Business Focus

Earning the friendship and trust of those you deal with will contribute to your success more than perhaps anything else.  These acquaintances, colleagues, partners, allies, vendors, customers, teammates and friends make doing business fun and living worthwhile.  True friends have some important qualities. They are:

Willing to help — with advice, grunt work — friends lend a hand without hesitation

Willing to argue — challenge without hurting your feelings

Willing to use tough love — doing the right thing even if it’s saying no.

Willing to defend — a friend always has your back.

Willing to criticize — criticizing ideas & work is not the same as criticizing you.

Willing to compliment — there is no “upper-hand” between friends.

Willing to believe — accepts claims & promises without waffling.

Willing to refer — refers and provides testimony for you.

Willing to defer — your advice counts.

Willing to invest — time, money, sweat, energy.

Willing to give — give without expectation & no keeping tabs.

Willing to take — receives without psychic debt.

Real business, real growth, real partnerships, real relationships, real friendships can only occur where trust exists and the necessity to “be careful” is absent.