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RELATIONSHIP SELLING By Tom Reilly, author of Value-Added Selling (McGraw-Hill, 2003) Much is written today about Customer Relationship Management, CRM for short. Software providers brag that their software brings high-tech to high-touch. But there’s more to your relationship with customers than software can provide. As humans, we are hard-wired for personal contact. We crave the presence of others—face time in sales parlance. Relationship selling is about personal contact with customers. It is less about technique and more about trust. We recently surveyed 100 top salespeople and asked them how much of their sales success they attribute to their relationships with their customers. They responded with an astounding 79%! When asked how they build this relationship, they responded: “I make it personal.” It goes beyond business. They develop warm, personal relationships with customers based on common interests and goals. They build trust by following up on their promises. They communicate openly and fully with customers. They respond to customers’ needs. They are empathic to the customer’s situation. They help customers succeed. These salespeople partner with customers. Their common bond serves their common good. One customer told us that his salesperson was more like an employee for the customer’s company because of the value he creates. Another customer said that his salesperson knows that, “When we have a problem, he has a problem.” Problem ownership and customer intimacy are two ways salespeople create value for their customers. Building this personal and professional relationship with customers on a foundation of trust is a prerequisite for sales success. If two people trust each other and feel a loyalty to each other and want to seal their business future because of this friendship, they will work out the details. Back to the Sales Bytes Article List
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