The Key Component To Having A Successful Business Relationship

We interact with people every day in both our professional life as well as our personal life.
These relationships are on various levels and may take on different aspects ranging from casual conversations to complex business exchanges. But do you know the key component to having a successful business relationship?

The tone of our voice as well as the words we choose makes a difference in how others respond to what we have to say. We know that if we wish to convey a particular point, disagree regarding a topic or issue, simply by changing the tone of our voice or increasing the volume a bit generally relays to the other person our position and how we feel about the topic. In business there is one key component that simply cannot be overlooked or disregarded.

The key component to have a successful business relationship is integrity. When you look up the word integrity, the definition is: the quality of possessing and steadfastly adhering to high moral principles or professional standards. Other words that describe integrity are honesty, truthfulness, honor, veracity, reliability, uprightness.

All are business qualities that you look for in others and hope to have within yourself. Without integrity, the relationship will eventually fail. Trust between the parties may be lost, feelings may be hurt and communication between the two may eventually fade away, possibly stopping completely.

Let me give you an example of a business relationship I had. A business associate that I had done a class with called me one day, told me she had recorded our class, and asked if she could use part of what I had said during this class on her website as part of a marketing strategy she had designed. She stated they, her company, would also include a link back to my site in return for allowing them to use my name and this short audio for their website promotion. I asked to hear the audio they wanted to use and she immediately sent it to me via email.

After listening to the recording while still on the phone with her, I agreed to allow them to use the recording that I had listened to as long as placing it on their website was the only way they intended to use it and as long as it was not to be used for any other purposes.

The following day, I received an email from this same business person. This time, the entire audio was attached, not just the snippet that had been sent for me to listen to the day before. She now stated that they actually were developing a product they planned to sell. She would like to include my full audio as it would not be much of a product without it but since

I had stated my limitations on the telephone, allowing just what I had heard to only be used on the website, they now wanted to have full rights to my entire audio for this product they planned to sell and needed my consent. She now offered me a percent of sales if I would agree, however did not mention an amount or how the sales would be tracked or controlled.

Our relationship had suddenly shifted from verbally communicating regarding this subject to emailing. There are also considerable changes or modifications to the original subject we had discussed the day before leaving me to feel less than comfortable. How would you have responded to this? Did this business person create a feeling of trust? Would you have felt a sense of honesty or integrity flowing in this relationship?

During the initial phone conversation, she could have come forth with their plans regarding the product they were creating and ask permission to include my material. That would have opened the door to further discussion and both parties would have felt a free flow of exchange and sincerity. This would have shown integrity. I would have respected that and been receptive to what they had to say. I would have appreciated their honesty and integrity for the manner in which they conducted business.

When you act with integrity, you automatically treat those with whom you interact with more respectfully. Do you want happier customers? Then add integrity to your customer service. You will find that not only do your customers appreciate you more, but they will do more business with your company and refer more clients to you. They will trust you because they know they can accept your words as honorable, without any hidden meaning or agenda.

No one likes "the small print" in ads. This makes you feel uncomfortable. Exchanges similar to the one I mentioned above are like the small print in ads. They leave you feeling uncomfortable and that is no way to conduct any type of relationship, especially in business.

Your words are a direct reflection of who you are. Are you speaking and working from integrity? If you are, that's great. If not, perhaps now would be a good time to do a little reflection about how you have been conducting business or living your life. Take a close look at your current relationships.

Do you value honesty, truthfulness, honor, veracity, reliability, uprightness? Then you value integrity, and integrity will play a major role in your relationships; not just in business but throughout your life as well. Integrity, it is the key component to having successful business relationships.