The One Minute Relationship Manager

I just finished reading the management classic "The One Minute Manager "(Blanchard & Lorber) this week. It's a short book, 100 pages in a very light style, ideal for a day hop on the plane. It boils down to 3 tools of management

1. One Minuet Goal Setting
2. One Minute Praise
3. One Minute Reprimand

I recommend you pick up a copy for yourself. Like all tools the challenge is in using them correctly and consistently to achieve your goals.

After reading it I was left wondering is there such a thing as the "One Minute Relationship Manager"? What would the 4-5 things if done correctly and consistently would help them build and maintain excellent relationships and hence achieve their goals. Some suggestions:

Be of value
Figure out how you can be of service in each of the business relationship you have. It will be different for each and with every contact made you need to be checking that you have been of service and that they know it.

Keep Excellent Records
Establish a system of keeping excellent records on all your clients and use it. You may have a CRM package, a paper filing system or a well organised email system. The structure is your own choice but it must be well maintained and easily accessible.

Frequent Connect
Business Relationship are build on frequency of contact not necessarily duration, context or even quality. This is a fundamental difference between business and personal relationships. A quick call every few weeks can be as affective as a site visit once a quarter.

These are just a couple of suggestions. I will consider this idea further and see if I can come up with a better "One Minute Relationship Manager". If you have any suggestions please let me know