The PHCP-PVF industry is built on relationships. And yet it’s hard for me to believe in 2016, a full eight years after I published the original edition of “Relationship Economics,” I still see professionals in this industry undervaluing the asset that is your portfolio of relationships.
Strategic relationships resist competition on mere features or function. Somebody always will come along with a better mousetrap, a cheaper price or flashier marketing materials. But it’s difficult for any of them to replicate the depth and breadth of your relationship portfolio. Relationships are the only sustainable competitive differentiation that counts.