--- title: Relationship Building Tips description: by Dawn Francis, Ed.D.In his book Relationship Economics, David Nour urges us to think strategically about our business relationships. A significant --- [![](https://blog.performdev.com/hs-fs/file-387051371-png/images/logo-1.png)](http://www.performdev.com//) # Blog ## [Relationship Building Tips](https://blog.performdev.com/blog/bid/287197/Relationship-Building-Tips) Posted by [Rich Mesch](https://blog.performdev.com/author/rich-mesch) on Jan 21, 2010 6:30:00 AM - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) [![](http://pdginnovates.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/handshake.jpg?w=300 "handshake") ](http://pdginnovates.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/handshake.jpg) In his book *[Relationship Economics](http://www.relationshipeconomics.net/NourBook.html), *David Nour urges us to think strategically about our business relationships. A significant component of that strategy, he says, is for us to know our purpose. As a Performance Consultant, our purpose is to serve our clients as a Strategic Business Partner. But how do we do that if our clients keep labeling us as simply a Learning Support Provider? Here are some ideas. According to Dana Gaines Robinson, we can become a Strategic Business Partner to our clients by: In order to *Gain Access* to new clients, we can: In order to *Build Credibility* with clients, we can: In order to *Foster Trust* with clients, we can: These are just some tactical tips for executing on the strategy to become a Strategic Business Partner to new and existing clients. 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