In-house business relationships are a critical part of business development.
Developing a business takes more than having a stellar product or service and a willing customer base. This is especially true when working in an organization with more than one employee. When the delivery of the product or service relies on other people, the moving parts within your organization need to be understood and key relationships developed.
Imagine having discussions with a potential customer with urgent technical questions that you are unable to answer. Having a strong working relationship with the technical team, means they will work with you to solve the customer’s issues.
A great working relationship with other teams means they are more likely to help you with your customers requests. This allows you to respond quickly with the required detail, resulting in the customer receiving a much higher level of service. In turn, this gives you a stronger likelihood of winning or retaining their business.
Communication is Crucial
Developing a relationship with the other teams in your company is not difficult. Keep them informed of what is going on. Let them know if large orders or projects are expected. Communication helps teams plan and prioritize their workload. It removes the unknown.
Ask their opinion on the subjects within their domain. Usually, this is beneficial to all parties involved. These teams value the interest shown in their work, and you learn from them at the same time.
I have worked for a couple of organizations with strong technical teams who rarely got to meet the customers. I found that chatting to them about customer feedback was invaluable to them. This helped form a two-way relationship where we both got value from our conversations.
Which In-House Business Relationships to Focus on?
Gaining an understanding of the internal landscape of your organization is incredibly important. How do the different departments interact when responding to customers or delivering the product? Who are the key players? What is the status of your relationships with the different teams? Can you call on them for help and most importantly can they call on you? Remember that relationships go both ways.
It is critical to know who the main influencers and departmental contacts within your organization are, as well as gaining a good understanding of the way they function within their positions. Internal relationships and alliances are essential when developing a durable foundation on which to base your business development action. Often a joint effort with another team greatly enhances the company’s offering to the customer. Market intelligence and contacts gathered by team members can make the difference between winning and losing opportunities.
Team Mates Uncover Opportunities
Engaging with teammates who have long industry experience, are likely to uncover customer contacts that you would not otherwise have known about. However, never underestimate the work-winning potential of your younger staff, you never know who they may know or who they may bump into. This happened to me as a new graduate member of an environmental team in London.
I was having a beer at the local pub with some friends who also worked in the environmental industry. I was chatting to a friend-of-a-friend, and inevitably work came up in the conversation. It turned out that he worked for a large oil company and was looking for environmental consultants to undertake what he considered to be a small piece of work. We swapped details. The next morning, I went straight to my boss and discussed the opportunity. A few emails and calls later, we were tendering on a multi-million-dollar contract.
What’s Next
How well do understand the other teams in your organization? Who are the main points of contact in the other departments? Who are the influencers? If you can’t answer these questions it’s time to act. Draw a simple org chart of the teams that you interact with or would like to work with more. Identify the key people to talk to and invite them for a quick coffee. Start building these relationships now.
As always I’m keen to hear from you. How have you approached developing relationships within the company you operate in? Let me know in the comments below or reach out via LinkedIn.