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The Importance of Sales Relationships

As a sales professional begins their career, they are given much advice. One of the reoccurring themes of advice received is about relationships. The relationship between sales professional and customers/clients is one of the most important ones that exist. Building a strong, healthy relationship is a goal every sales professional should have on their list in terms of customer relations.

Regardless if a sales transaction only happens once in a lifetime or on a regular basis, the way the customer “feels” about the sales person can mean a lot to the future success of the sales professional. A good relationship can lead to recommendations to others or can transfer from job to job.

Benefits in a Single Transaction Environment

· If you are the owner of a remodeling contractor business, for example, you may only remodel someone’s home once. You might think, “All I have to do is complete this task and I will never see this homeowner again.” That may be true, but let’s look at the bigger picture.

1. That homeowner may move someday and need remodeling services in a decade from now. Do you want them to contact you then?
2. The homeowner probably lives in a neighborhood. All of those other homeowners are potential customers. What do you want the initial homeowner to say about you when asked?
3. Even a one-and-done transaction may have a long-term effect on the sales person prosperity.

Benefits in an Ongoing Basic Sales Environment

· Now let’s look at an ongoing sales environment. A car dealership has a staff of sales professionals; all of them are trained equally and all have the same products to sell. So, why are some car salesmen more effective than others? There are several reasons, one of them being the ability to build lasting relationships.
· In 2017, HIS released data stating that the average American keeps their new car for 79.3 months 
(https://www.ihs.com/index.html)
. That is about six and a half years. The car salesman can have a new sale every 6.5 years if they can keep a healthy customer relationship with the original purchaser—plus, like the remodeling contractor above, the car salesman can also receive recommendations from the original purchaser to their friends, co—workers, family, etc.
· A more short-term example is a salesperson at a clothing boutique. The clients may be coming in seasonally, monthly or even more often. The goal is to build a strong and healthy relationship built on trust and knowledge so that the salesperson can always be top of mind to the clients.

Benefits in an Ongoing Highly Complex

· Let’s turn our focus to more complex sales environments. The high-technology services industry is a great example. The sales force in this industry is highly specialized, often well-educated with advanced degrees or specific degrees such as computer engineering or sciences.
· The relationship of trust is often built over an extended period of time, even before a single sales transaction will occur. The sales lead for a team selling a technology may spend a year or more cultivating a potential client. During this time, the sales group will work on collecting and assessing the needs of the client as well as learning about the key stakeholders and decision makers. In these sales environments, there may be a project manager on the client side that is the “face” of the group, but decisions are reviewed and finalized by a team that may consist of professionals with technical expertise, financial expertise and legal expertise.
· The sales team here, not unlike the previous examples, may rely on recommendations from prior/current customers but will also need to rely on their own team’s relationships skills. They may even bring in outside professionals to help solidify a relationship. An example of this occurs in consumer products where shopper insights and trends help with the sales relationship. A consumer product sales team may hire an outside fashion and trends consultant to be present at a larger presentation with a national retailer to add value but to also position the group as better equipped to make long-term recommendations.

Summary

Regardless of the sales environment, it is always important for the sales professional to focus on customer relationships for the long-term viability and health of the sales plan. Seeking out ways to make the customer relationship strong and offering more than a simple transaction is a wonderful goal for the sales professional or sales team.