No matter how many times I say that relationship building takes time, I continue to encounter the client who wants to skip this step and “get on with the task.” I have to reply: “This is the task.” The greater the trust level a partnership has created, the less need there is for maintenance. Relationships that are characterized by high intimacy but require little maintenance are usually long-term relationships. Some people I care about very much I hardly see, maybe once every four or five years. Yet when we are reunited, we carry on as if we’ve never been apart. It doesn’t matter what we’ve done, where we’ve been, or what’s happened in the intervening years.We immediately revert to our old trust level.

For example, they agreed they would provide tours of each other’s campuses, streamline access for each other’s scientists to enter the other’s facilities, and share their strategic plans. These kinds of steps opened communication pathways between the two organizations and started the process of building trust.

While trust is critical in partnerships between external organizations, being able to build trust within organizations is paramount to success. “Open book” management—an innovative style being used at many successful organizations—relies on the free flow of information up and down the corporate hierarchy to encourage creative solutions to problems and generate new ideas for reducing costs and expanding the business. The idea that employees have an equity interest in the company means they have a right to know about every aspect of the business—from financial information to strategic marketing initiatives.

Most of us in business don’t intend to lie to our partners. But we sometimes avoid telling the whole story to be polite or perhaps to hide something unflattering to ourselves. Telling the truth means facing up to reality. Don’t put a spin on matters of importance. Don’t exaggerate what you’re willing to do or contribute. The Assess Stage of Partnership Development cannot succeed without this kind of healthy self-view. You need to be strong enough to admit mistakes, acknowledge weaknesses, and ask for help. The more truth you both can share, the more trust you’ll develop.

A recent experience illustrates how trust is a keystone in building alliances. I have worked with NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center to help them build a partnering culture. The center’s director, Al Diaz, clearly understands and articulates the importance of partnering to the success of the organization’s mission.

Trust, as Steele Alphin stated in the foreword, “is perhaps the most unsung core competency in business today.” And of all the dynamics involved in partnering, I believe it is the single most important. Trust is the product of all that you and your partner do together. It cannot exist without interaction. It isn’t something you can bestow on another; it isn’t a commodity that you can transfer. Trust is created when expectations are satisfied. It is destroyed when partners experience disappointment with one another.

The internet can also be used to sell additional products, either addons or new product lines. The customer data collected can be segmented and then related to each individual customer’s needs.

The internet reduces sales costs, broadens customer reach and has the potential to increase sales and market share. It has also fundamentally changed such industries as travel and bookselling. But whatever sector you are in, internet activities need to be integrated into the whole business.

Build customers’ loyalty to your business and respect for your brand. If there is something about your business that appeals to customers, then they will be much easier to keep and sell to repeatedly. To achieve this, consider, as far as possible, what matters to each customer and bind all customers to the product through initiatives such as loyalty schemes.

Consider using a range of incentives to close the deal, such as discounts or easier payment terms. But always be confident that when the deal is closed payment will actually be made on the terms agreed.

Compete by developing uniqueness: either unique insights into customer needs that competitors do not possess, or innovative features in the product or sales process that are distinctive and popular, or both.

Act quickly and decisively to impress or reassure customers. Hesitation, for whatever reason, may be interpreted as a lack of concern.

Manage and update information systems so that they serve customers in all of these ways, ensuring a supportive approach.

View the situation from another perspective, ideally the customer’s.

Prepare a plan of action, an approach that will deliver success.

Avoid basing decisions about customers on assumptions. Sustaining a productive dialogue with customers is more beneficial, giving greater insights of a higher quality.

Share information and insights about customers throughout the organisation as this helps to co-ordinate activities and decisions. After all, success is much more likely if decisions are based on the same information and perceptions. Discussions with colleagues and others involved in important decisions (such as agents) can also be invaluable in ensuring success.

Highlight the product’s benefits, not simply its features, and highlight where it compares favourably with competitors’ products.

The strategic importance of the market and its potential are significant in the choice of entry method. If the market is seen as having substantial growth potential and value, this would suggest a larger and more direct presence in order to exercise greater control. The availability, cost and skills of staff required in the new market may be relevant, as may the level of experience that the organisation possesses. The expertise and finance needed to implement the strategy will also influence the decision on how, where and when to enter new markets.