As I work with more and more clients and build stronger relationships with them, it becomes more clear to me the different between a consultant and an advisor. A consultant will help improve the performance of your business (at least a good one will), but an advisor does these things in addition to that:

• Provides you candid advice, regardless of what everyone else is telling you
• Introduces you to key people that can help you in other ways
• Always has your best interests in mind, not their own
• Communicates with you regularly, even when there is no work being done together
• Provides value to you on regularly, even when an initiative is not being worked on
• Develops explicit trust with you and shares confidential information
• Brings customers together to share information
• Develops thought leadership material

The only business model that I follow is to be a trusted advisor to my clients and do what is in their best interests to improve their lives. Do you have anyone around you providing that? If not, you should. A trusted advisor will help your business and your personal development improve in ways that you did not know were possible.

It does not take much to differentiate yourself these days, just return someone's phone call. Whether it is a customer, potential customer, colleague, friend...it does not matter, just return the call. I am amazed at how many voicemail messages go unreturned. It is certainly a humbling experience when you leave someone one or two messages and hear nothing back. Why is it humbling? Think about the messages that you don't return. Why don't you return them? Because you don't deem the person to be important enough to take up your precious time or you feel all they want is something from you. Scary eh? It scares me if that is the way that I am being perceived by others.

Building relationships, customer service, winning business, getting good value, soliciting donations and a million other outcomes are based on strong relationships. One way to start building and maintaining strong relationships is to return people's calls. Something that is very simple and easy to do.

The more time I spend talking with people in different industries, the more I realize that success is about building relationships. Whether you are a teacher trying to find a job or an insurance advisor trying to attract new clients or a doctor trying to make a difference, it is all about the relationships that you build. Provide tremendous value and treat each person with care and you will be successful. Don't try too hard, but let your natural personality come through. Think about what is in the self-interest of the other party and help them get there.

No social media platform or smartphone or software program will ever replace our ability (or inability) to develop deep, trusting relationships. Think about that the next time you are reaching out to someone through email or Facebook...

There are a few golden rules that you can follow in order to strengthen your relationships with customers and business partners:

1. Make phone calls instead of using email - it is more personal to speak to someone over the phone and it shows that you value the relationship.

2. Make every decision as if you did not need the money - this ensures that you will make the right decision for the customer/client and not because you need the money.
   

3. Put customer needs before your own - this ensures that you will always have the customers best interests in mind.
   

4. Give before you take - to create loyalty and a reciprocal relationship, it is usually better to give something before you get something. This shows that you want to make the customer's life better.