How to avoid the danger of success

How to avoid the danger of success

I was reading in the news that the Canadian-based tech company BlackBerry was planning to stop making its phones.

Just a few short years ago a BlackBerry phone was the in thing to have and use. People relied on them so much we’d joke they were “crack berries.”

Lately, however, people have called them “grandpa berries” indicating how out-of-step they were in an age of iOS and Android devices. Just because you had the cool thing of the moment a while back doesn’t mean you can stop.

The same idea applies to relationship marketing in business. Don’t assume that a relationship that was good a while back (however long “a while” is) is still vibrant today. All relationships in business and life require continual nurturing and refreshing to stay alive.

Sometimes it is just a quick phone call. Sometimes it is a much-needed extended lunch. Sometimes it is just a quick “Thought you would like this article” email. Keep important relationships fresh and nurtured.

It was professional speaker and Speaker Hall of Fame member Al Walker who helped me years ago as he described something that can happen to all of us. He said that he found he begins a descent in his business whenever he takes the attitude that he can sit back, rest on his laurels, and take it easy. I agree with Al Walker on that!

Be a relationship farmer

Success can be a dangerous thing. It can lull you into a dangerous, and very wrong, pattern of thinking that whatever you’ve done thus far will continue. Throughout history, those who thought that things would always continue as they are, have inevitably been proven wrong.

This is both good and bad news. If things are going very well, the wise and successful prepare for a coming challenge. If things are going badly, successful people prepare to turn the situation around to achieve their goals.

Relationship marketing has a strong comparison to farming. I like to call it relationship farming. In agriculture, they go through the process of cultivating the soil, planting, nurturing, watering and harvesting every year. Relationships in business also require continual renewal to keep them alive.

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