Building lasting enterprise relationships requires more than closing deals and moving on to the next prospect. The companies that achieve sustained growth understand that real value comes from transforming transactional interactions into strategic partnerships. Beth Thorson, founder and CEO of the Relentless Growth Collective, has spent three decades perfecting this approach across major logistics companies, scaling revenue from zero to hundreds of millions of dollars.
Transforming Enterprise Growth Strategy
Beth’s approach to enterprise growth stems from hands-on experience building commercial teams at industry leaders like Flexport, SEKO Logistics, and CH Robinson. Her track record speaks to a fundamental shift in how successful companies approach client relationships. Rather than focusing purely on immediate sales metrics, her methodology centers on creating indispensable value that keeps clients coming back year after year. The distinction between selling and partnership building became clear during her time scaling operations at these major logistics firms. Each experience reinforced that sustainable growth comes from understanding client needs at a deeper level than most competitors are willing to explore.
Invest in the Relationship, Not Just the Sale
Most companies celebrate when the contract gets signed, but that’s exactly when the real work should begin. Beth emphasizes that enterprise success requires ongoing investment in client relationships rather than moving immediately to the next prospect. “Too many companies focus solely on closing the deal, but when you’re working with enterprise clients, the real work begins after that signature,” she explains.
The key lies in continuous alignment with client objectives as they evolve. Companies need to invest time understanding their clients’ changing goals and align their roadmaps accordingly. This approach transforms vendors into strategic partners who contribute meaningfully to client success. “At Flexport, we didn’t grow from 24 million to 650 million just by selling. We did it by becoming indispensable,” Beth notes, highlighting how constant communication and value-added insights create genuine partnership dynamics.
Build a Multithreaded Engagement Strategy
Enterprise organizations are complex environments where single points of contact create vulnerability for both sides. Beth advocates for what she calls multi-threading, which involves building relationships across multiple levels and departments within client organizations. “One champion is not enough. In enterprise deals, stakeholders shift, priorities evolve, and reorganizations happen,” she points out.
This strategy protects against the inevitable changes that occur in large organizations. When leadership shifts or priorities change, companies with broad relationship networks can adapt more effectively. Beth’s experience at CH Robinson demonstrates this approach in action. “During my time at CH Robinson, our success came from building broad, deep relationships across departments, which helped us stay sticky even as leadership changed. Our churn rate was zero,” she recalls. The goal extends beyond relationship building to creating institutional knowledge transfer. When new leaders arrive, they should be able to understand the partnership value immediately because multiple team members can articulate it clearly.
Making Trust Operational
Long-term partnerships require more than good intentions or relationship building. Beth stresses that trust must be operationalized through consistent execution and transparent processes. “Long-term partnerships are built on trust, but trust isn’t just earned through words. It’s delivered through execution,” she explains. This operational approach involves setting clear expectations, building robust quarterly business reviews, and owning performance metrics completely. When clients understand exactly how value will be delivered and see consistent follow-through, loyalty develops naturally. The Relentless Growth Collective helps clients create these scalable systems that turn reliable service into competitive advantages. Transparency becomes particularly important when things don’t go according to plan. “When clients know how you’ll deliver and own it when you don’t, that’s when loyalty is forged,” Beth observes. This accountability approach differentiates true partners from typical vendors who might deflect responsibility during difficult situations.
Turning enterprise clients into long-term partners isn’t rocket science, but it’s not easy either. Beth breaks it down into manageable pieces. “Focus on those relationships, build multiple bridges within the organization, and execute with discipline and transparency,” she advises. Most companies skip at least one of these steps and wonder why clients don’t stick around. The companies that get this right don’t just win more business. They build something harder to copy: genuine client loyalty that survives leadership changes, market shifts, and competitive pressure. It takes more work up front, but it pays off when you’re not constantly hunting for new clients to replace the ones who left.
Follow Beth Thorson on LinkedIn where he shares real-world strategies for building enterprise relationships that drive meaningful, long-term revenue.
