How do you feel when …

• Your phone calls aren’t returned.
• Your question is answered with a question.
• A seller promises a full explanation for a late delivery, but it never comes.
• A buyer promises feedback on an in-plant trial, but all you get is, “It didn’t work.”

Nobody likes to feel trivial. Without closure, buyers and sellers come to feel as though they’re low priority. In long lasting business relationships, both parties feel as though their problems are the other party’s only priority.

In business, when you leave things hanging, you wind up hanging yourself.

And yet, how often do buyers and sellers do exactly that - leave problems unresolved, promises unfulfilled? All too often, I’m afraid.

Lack of closure doesn’t have to involve a big issue to derail a relationship. In fact, quite often it’s the little things that do the damage. In “How to Work a Room”, Susan RoAne decries the absence of manners from today’s business scene. She’s right. Whether it’s email or phone calls, the default position seems to be, “I’ll get back to you if I feel like it.”

It’s been my observation that great relationship builders always close loops. They return emails and phone calls as a matter of course. When confronted with a serious issue, they address it directly, completely, and quickly. It matters not whether the other party is a big customer, a small supplier, or a complete stranger.

Diligent follow-through speaks volumes about you. It says you value people more than you value what they can do for you. It says you have the courage to face problems instead of run for cover.

Isn’t that the kind of business partner you’d want?