How to Build Strong Business Relationships — Remotely

While many managers can adapt to virtual meetings to replace face-to-face meetings due to the GCC-19 epidemic, building new business relationships online poses some challenges. Successful communication is based on trust, so it is important to work on the weaknesses of imaginary interaction.

Looking for Confidence in the Global Economy According to our book , before the outbreak began, we surveyed 82 managers from four regions of the world and decided to trust a new business partner. Their reaction varies by region and culture. For example, we found that managers in Latin America and the Middle East / South Asia found time to meet with new business partners to build trust. In Latin America, managers then use business partners to assess shared values, while in the Middle East / Southeast Asia, managers respect different values.

Then, in November and December 2020, we again interviewed 21 executives and asked them how the epidemic had affected their ability to build new business relationships . We still consider their cultural diversity active. For example, beliefs did not change during the plague. It is still lower in Latin America and the Middle East / South Asia than in East and West Asia. However, the collective experience of the leaders led to a consensus. Imaginary meetings explain marketing, but the decision to trust a new business partner requires deep communication.

Here we discuss the challenges that managers face when building virtual business relationships. Then we offer four expert advice to deal with these problems.

Test

Our pre-epidemic interviews identified four criteria used by administrators to make trust decisions: transparency, competence, respect, and intimacy (ie, shared values). During the epidemic, our interviews highlighted the difficulty of obtaining information to assess partners according to these criteria, as social networks are text and time-limited online communication.

For example, a Japanese manager said: * “[It was very difficult to assess specialties before we met with them. Another Hong Kong manager added: "I think it's very difficult to convince people in Cambodia to sign a $ 1 billion contract, not to look at the ground and not see the project.

Participants also regretted that their ability to see and hear potential business partners online is interconnected. According to the manager from Thailand, it is difficult to understand the decision-making process in partner companies when it comes to communication. His company postponed the final decision until the epidemic subsided and they could not meet in person. He tells us: “When we had eyes and eyes, we knew that all their decisions were made by one person. In the end, we did not cooperate.

Tips from Professional Trust Designers

Two years after it happened, everyone learned a lot about what can and cannot be done online. The executives we interviewed have extensive experience and wisdom in building trust with new business partners. Here are four lessons from their experience.

1. Don't miss personal issues.

While spending time in a virtual environment is not good, it is still important to build trust in new relationships. Therefore, it is important to spend more time in private conversations:

Because you are less likely to meet other people in cyberspace. Time is very limited. You don't start talking about your family or how you came to be. After 30 minutes, an hour, it is more difficult for me to talk about personal problems in an imaginary environment than to have dinner with someone who has high or low barriers. - Bolivian administrator

These are rude things, because they are all on the agenda. If you are meeting online, you may not be spending enough time talking offline, which can give you a clue. - Manager from Germany

We all watch and watch videos, but there is still the opportunity to communicate face to face. (Before meetings) You will talk side by side and so on. [These side effects] are currently done on WhatsApp or iMessage and phone calls. But like a taxi or something else [accelerate]. It is these face-to-face moments that build trust with your partner. - Manager from Singapore

2. Use your network.

People you trust in your existing network can promote you or help you evaluate potential partners. They can serve as a broker for you. Explain what you may have in common with potential partners and what questions you have about them. What some participants said about networking:

There is no formula for this. You just have to find the people in your network who can help you the most and are ready to help. I recognized three or four of these people. I approached them and said, “I need to find someone. Can you help me prepare this entry? ”- Manager from the USA

The current German client introduced us to the Austrian branch. And we had a good season with the Austrian team. But then the company was restructured and I thought we could lose all the business of that company. Instead, he said, the new leadership, whom we had never worked with before, wanted to continue with us next year. - Manager from Italy

The importance of relationships [developments] is that it is not easy to build relationships with strangers. The number of people applying for help is growing. Because at that time we could not communicate with people anonymously. You have an email and it's not enough. - Manager from Turkey

The Japanese manager announced the establishment of a new business in Taiwan, but was unable to travel during the epidemic. Instead, he turned to another Japanese company he trusted and knew that there were people in Taiwan who could visit and find them. "Today, we often turn to trusted third-party companies," he said.

3. Consider experimenting with a new partner.

When someone talks to you about a new job, start investing less than you can afford. Similarly, when you start a new business, understand that choosing a small partner will eventually lead to a big one. The manager from Saudi Arabia told us to gather ...

It was a contract we signed last week. This is our first meeting with this partner, but we love this opportunity and love the market, and our necessary research is generally positive. We look forward to spending more money on this unique investment opportunity. But we met with the team in person and could not see the company, so we decided to invest. We now want to invest a certain amount, and after the meeting we want to say that we have the opportunity to invest more in the future.

4. Share knowledge with trusted partners.

They can help them develop their processes - save money or provide better services to their customers and start a new business for them and for you.

Says the manager from Nicaragua.

We are developing some online tools to help them sell their products. It helps us sell our products, but also helps us sell all the products you wear. They saw that we were here to help them, so they helped us grow our business. What is other than business; Living in this new environment is more than trying to help each other.

Another manager from Finland told us that his company's equipment has the potential to transmit digital data. In their first contracts, customers who did not choose this service were asked how they could activate and benefit more during an epidemic. The result is new business for the company and new marketing services offered by the company.

The future requires confidence

Participants agreed that learning to work online during an epidemic would lead to lasting change, but that did not mean giving up face-to-face meetings when deciding to trust a new partner. The Italian manager said:

We can do [more] online after Covidy-19, but I don't think it will be just online because we are human. Everyone wants to go back in time, but there are still some clear meetings that both sides can hold online.

The American administrator told us to mourn ...

I think he will return in this way in face-to-face meetings, but I do not think he will return there again. The epidemic will last a very long time. And they develop new experiences, new strategies and new means of communication that you are used to and very comfortable with. And in most cases, you will see that it is very good. In some of the situations I have experienced before, I don't necessarily meet face to face. It's not as good as physical presence, but it allows me to make the best use of my time and helps me not to make every trip I've ever made.

. . .

As the epidemic continues to hinder business growth, managers are throwing away websites and reaping some benefits. However, Covid-19 teaches us that when it comes to building new business relationships, it is important to use business relationships intentionally. Avoid the urge to spend time in online personal conversations, use your network to connect and check with potential partners, think about some experiences before you risk or cancel a contract altogether, and find ways to help trusted partners work more efficiently. They develop their business.

* Editor's note: Quotes from participants have been changed for clarity.