The Relationship Edge in Business: Connecting with Customers and Colleagues When It Counts

by Jerry Acuff; Wally Wood

• ISBN13: 9780471477129
• ISBN10: 0471477125
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2004-04-01
• Publisher: WILEY

Summary

With real case studies and step-by-step guidance, The Relationship Edge in Business shows you how to: Develop the right mindset-understand that personal relationships are vital to business success Ask the right questions-discover the common ground you share with others Do the right thing-be truthful and straightforward or you'll undermine the goodwill you've worked so hard to build

Author Biography

JERRY ACUFF is President of Delta Point-The Sales Agency, a Scottsdale, Arizona— based consultancy that helps market-leading companies find new and innovative ways to market products. A graduate of the Virginia Military Institute, he has also served as Executive in Residence at the Amos Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College.
WALLY WOOD is a professional writer who has worked closely with senior executives to develop bestselling business books. In addition, he has been editor of two business magazines and an international marketing newsletter.

Table of Contents

Foreword.

Acknowledgments.

Chapter 1: CLIMBING THE RELATIONSHIP PYRAMID.

Building Relationships Is a Skill.

Payback Time in Memphis.

Relationships Can Trump Price.

Four Fundamental Selling Truths.

Meaningful Dialogue Comes with Trust.

Climbing the Relationship Pyramid.

You Need Knowledge, Integrity, Actions.

Key Points about the Pyramid.

Chapter 2: WHAT STRONG RELATIONSHIPS REQUIRE.

Three Steps to Building a Positive Relationship.

Make Self-Fulfilling Prophecies Positive.

Think Well of Others (Even the Jerks).

Implement the Process Completely.

Learn Strategies, Not Tactics.

Set Yourself Apart.

Do Unexpected, Unselfish Actions.

Building a Relationship Takes Time.

Decide Who’s Key, Then Do Something.

Chapter 3: TWENTY QUESTIONS.

Start with a Self-Check.

Sharing Creates the Relationship.

Learn What Someone Treasures.

Thirteen Facts about Human Beings.

Let the Other Person Talk.

Sell by Not Selling.

Start with These 20 Questions.

Memorize the Questions, but Think FORM.

Tell Me Something That Will Surprise Me.

Respect Their Time and Opinions.

Plan What You Will Ask.

Chapter 4: GOOD QUESTIONS PROMOTE MEANINGFUL DIALOGUE.

Motives Matter.

Setting up a Good Question.

Analyze the Bridge to the Question.

Preface Your Question.

Ask Personal Questions First.

Hold up a Book.

Don’t Suggest an Answer.

Learn What Someone Treasures.

Make Them Think.

Stimulate Real Thinking.

Ways to Gain Respect.

Chapter 5: IT’S A SMALL WORLD AFTER ALL.

Connect for Yourself.

Use the Small World Phenomenon.

Connect for the Other Person.

Connect with Difficult People.

Probe for Connections.

Chapter 6: IT’S NOT WHAT YOU KNOW; IT’S WHAT YOU DO.

Show You Genuinely Care about Other People.

Business Gifts Are Not Unselfish Acts.

Be Alert to Opportunities.

Do the Right Thing.

Chapter 7: INTERACTS WELL WITH OTHERS.

Show Respect Correctly.

Identify Qualities You Respect.

Thirteen Ways to Gain Respect.

Examples of Building Respect.

Chapter 8: DECIDE ON YOUR GOALS.

You Can Have What You Want.

Set Smart Goals for Yourself.

Visualize What You Want.

Set Difficult Goals—But Not Too Many.

Be Willing to Pay the Price.

You Don’t Have to Be Where You Are.

Chapter 9: AND WHAT IF YOU’RE THE BOSS?

The Six Drivers of Business Success.

Problems with Command and Control.

Job Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction.

Problems with Sales Training.

Selling Is Learning and Teaching.

What Managers Should Be Doing.

A Coaching Process for Relationship Development.

Build Relationships Routinely, Consciously, Deliberately.

Chapter 10: MAINTAINING MEANINGFUL RELATIONSHIPS.

Understand Customer Lifetime Value.

Create Time for Relationships.

Help Others to Succeed.

Keep the Dialogue Continual.

Make Contact When You Don’t Need Help.

Decide to Make a Difference.

Notes.

Index.