As a business owner or team lead, you may like the fact that some clients prefer to work with you over others in your organization. It's a testament to your professional skills and your ability to earn trust. In many cases, yours is the only advice they will seek or accept and you feel responsible for their well being as they continue to play a large role in your success.

You can't fight science and change neural signals generated by peoples' primitive brains that tell them whether they instantly like you, fear you, or just aren't sure about you. However, you can consciously manage the verbal and visual cues you send upon a first meeting that can turn the tide in your favour. Here's how.

Three widely acknowledged conversational no-fly zones at business or social gatherings are religion, politics and sex. To venture into any of these potentially volatile spaces is to risk triggering a difference in opinion or, worse, an argument with those you are attempting to build a new business relationship with.

If you aren't aware of your clients' changing needs, how can you make sure you're still meeting them? You need to make sure you are helping to solve your clients' business problems rather than just selling them your products. And how does your product offering stack up against a saturated market? Do you stand out?

I used to think that the more people I reached out to, the more business I would earn. I soon realized that's just working harder, not smarter. That misguided approach burns up physical and emotional energy faster than a match set to dry grass.