This document discusses 4 psychological principles for building strong business relationships: 1) employing the endowment effect by making others feel like part of the company, 2) leveraging the rule of reciprocity by helping others first to build cooperation, 3) encouraging investment by making contributing easy so people continue connecting, and 4) overcoming risk aversion through transparency, frequent touchpoints, and trustworthiness. It recommends the collaboration software Cureo, which allows sharing processes securely to bring remote stakeholders together.

1. 4 Psychological Principles to Build
Strong Business Relationships
MOVING FROM “THEM” TO “US”
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“The business of business is relationships;
the business of life is human connection.”
—Author and motivational speaker
Robin S. Sharma
“Eventually everything connects —
people, ideas, objects. The quality of the
connections is the key to quality.”
—Designer Charles Eames

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Think about all the people who play an integral part in your business,
yet aren’t physically located within the four walls of your office:
Remote Employees Board Members
Partners Clients
Contractors Suppliers
Your ability to build and maintain strong relationships and create a commitment and culture of
teamwork that extends to everyone connected to your brand (clients included) is the foundation of
growing and improving your business.

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THE PROBLEM?
Thanks to the digital revolution, the average company’s geographic
reach has expanded to the point that many of your key constituents
will rarely, if ever, meet face to face. Trying to build and maintain
strong “virtual” relationships can be difficult. Without careful
planning, your key people may disconnect. As a result you need to
think strategically about how you can develop the strong bonds that
move you from the realm of employer or vendor to trusted partner—
in other words, to move the relationship from “THEM” to “US.”

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First, understand the psychological principles
behind strong connections. These principles will
teach you to:
Employ the Endowment Effect
Leverage the Rule of Reciprocity
Encourage Investment
Overcome Risk Aversion
Second, understand the digital tools you have
available to you that enable you to collaborate
effectively in a virtual environment. All tools are
not created equally, so it is important to carefully
consider whether or not the ones you choose can
help you create committed partners and raving
fans out of your constituents.
Managing the process of building connections requires making decisions
about how you connect.
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The Endowment Effect
1 TECHNOLOGY TIP:
Find a tool that makes
it possible for you to
invite those outside of
your office into your own
personal collaboration
space. Essentially you
want to be able to give
clients, contractors, and
other collaborators a
virtual “seat at the table”
so that they can feel more
engaged and part of the
collaborative process.
Source: Thaler, R. (1980). Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 39-60
The Endowment Effect states that ownership is
directly related to peoples’ estimation of value.
What does that mean? It’s all about perception. If your contacts see
your company as their company, they are much more likely to stick.
How can you apply this knowledge? The challenge is to communicate to the people in touch with your
business, “You are a part of this.” Small gestures can go a long way here. Find a way to give your contacts a
seat at the table. Mention these key people in your company newsletter, invite their feedback whenever
possible, and include them in your victory celebrations.

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The Rule of Reciprocity
2 TECHNOLOGY TIP:
Look for a tool that
offers personalized,
specific value to your
constituents. It’s all about
the “little things.” Find a
tool that greets users by
name and doesn’t clutter
their inbox with tons of
automatic emails.
Psychology and Marketing author Robert Cialdini
explains reciprocity as the obligation to return a favor.
This is a deeply ingrained dynamic in all human cultures, and a powerful
psychological force.
Put the rule of reciprocity into practice in your business. Don’t wait
for clients or partners to ask: find ways to take the first step in helping
others advance their business. Taking the initiative in this manner
creates a strong inclination to repay your kindness. Continuing the
back-and-forth process of reciprocation builds a strong foundation for
future business.
Source: Cialdini, R.B. (2009). Influence: Science and practice (5th ed.). Boston: Pearson Education, Inc.

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The Investment Model
3 TECHNOLOGY TIP:
Look for a tool that
ensures that investing in
your team is a positive
experience. Find a tool
with easy log-in and
simple navigation. Your
on-the-go constituents
will appreciate tools
designed to scale to their
phone or tablet screen.
Source: Rusbult, C. (1980). Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 16, 172-186)
The investment model states, in
short, that people who invest in you
will probably continue to do so.
(Investments can include anything from money, to time,
to emotion spent on a project or relationship).
The investment model is powerful when paired with the
rule of reciprocity. Cooperation between you and your
clients is habit-building. Make investing in your team an
easy process, and your constituents will stay connected.
Famous experiment:
In 1966, Stanford researchers called two groups of women to ask if they could bring a group of researchers into their
homes to examine the cleaning supplies in their closets—kind of intrusive, right?
The test group had been “primed” for this request—they’d already been asked to invest in the study by answering a
few questions about their cleaning supplies.
The results? Women who had already invested in the study (just by answering a few questions) were
28.6% more likely to agree to the more intrusive request.

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Overcoming “Risk Aversion”
4 TECHNOLOGY TIP:
Find a tool that allows
you to introduce
transparency and
increase touchpoints
with everyone who plays
a role in your business.
The best collaboration
systems allow you to
share your process and
build familiarity without
compromising security.
As humans, we have a natural tendency to fear and
avoid uncertainty. We prefer activities, places, and organizations
that are safe and familiar.
In 1964, research by Harvard’s Dr. John W Pratt demonstrated the
power of our human tendency to avoid uncertainty, even if it means
missing beneficial opportunities.
Unless risk aversion is anticipated and planned for, it may present
a barrier to building strong business relationships. So how can you
overcome this fear of the unfamiliar? Make sure that your relationships
include “ The 3 T’s:”
TRANSPARENCY: The more your contacts can see about your business,
the better. Find ways to open your process to your contacts.
TOUCHPOINTS: Simply bringing people into contact with your brand builds trust and comfort over time.
Today, this can be as easy as an email interaction or a visit to your website.
TRUSTWORTHINESS: Make a promise or commitment. Follow through. Repeat. There is no substitute
for demonstrating that you will stand by your word.
Source: Econometrica, 32(1-2), 122-122

10. www.cureo.com
Cureo is collaboration software
that plugs in to your existing
website. It allows you to turn your
website into a secure place to:
It’s a secure, easy-to-use way to bring everyone involved in your business into one space.
Plug in Cureo. Schedule a demo or free trial today or call 440-424-4311 to learn more.
If you’re looking for
a tool that makes
all of this possible,
try Cureo.
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