Success as an entrepreneur or manager in almost any business means building great relationships with people.

It doesn't matter whether they are employees, suppliers, contractors, advisers, or customers. We're talking about anyone who has some influence over how your business will do. Having a strong relationship with your network of key business supporters makes a big difference.

If they want you to be successful it means they will go just a little step further for you when it really counts. Enough people doing that for you can add up to a very big business advantage.

Relationship building is most effective when it's personalized - when the other person really feels you like them, and that you do appreciate having them as part of your life. How many people in your work life can you name who you really feel do value having you as part of their "team"? Most of us start to run out of names as we run out of fingers.

We might know and work with a lot of people in our business lives, but how many connect with us at that special emotional level that will inspire us to go that extra mile for them when times get tough?

When you deal with a lot of people in your business it gets hard to squeeze personal time into the daily rush to build strong relationships. The rush gets worse for most businesses around Christmas. Sure, you will do the rounds of Christmas parties, and probably throw one or more yourself. You will talk to a lot of people, and make contact with many more with Christmas cards, telephone calls and emails. But, for most of us, the Christmas rush is not a great time to build and reinforce close personal relationships with the most important people to the success of our business. There just aren't enough hours in the day.

So how do you project meaningful and personalized thanks to these important people in your business life? And do so in a way that they will appreciate and remember all year?

You want these people to feel they have a very special relationship with you, something more than other people. You want them to believe you really do care about working with them. Just a party invitation, a message or a box of chocolates is what everybody else gets as well - it's appreciated, but it may not be "special" and "personal" enough to make them feel they are part of your inner circle of key relationships.

A Christmas holiday corporate gift basket with a personal message delivered to the person's home sends the kind of message you want. It's something special, more than just another token gift, but not excessive. It's personal because it's delivered to their home and comes with your personal message. The person will realize that not everyone is going to get a delivery from you like that, only the people who are very special to you.

The contents of gift baskets are often gourmet food items that appeal as little luxuries that add to the holiday celebrations, and are much appreciated by the person's family. When family members comment that you must truly value your relationship with that person to send a special Christmas gift basket, this often reinforces the message you want to convey.

Sending personalized corporate gift baskets to the most important people in your business support network is easy to arrange in the Christmas rush, and a cost effective way to communicate how you feel.

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