Relationships in sales are a very important thing. To truly help the customer, you need to find out what they need. The best way to do this is to build a relationship with them. It is important in most situations, but it is especially important if it could be a large order or if there will be a long process.
The goal of the relationship is for you as the salesperson to help the client. You need to make sure the best possible solution gets to them. It is good for the relationship to be mutually beneficial, but the main goal is to benefit the client. To do this, you need to understand their problem. This takes lots of asking questions and listening to what they have to say.
Adding value is important. Anything along the way that you can do for them will pay off later. This could be forwarding on a helpful website or helping them think through their problem more and dig deeper into it.
It is also important to make sure the friendship is genuine. People can tell if you are not sincere about what you say or about the relationship. Do things to show that you care. Go out of your way to help.
Keeping up the relationships is also key. Even after the current sale is done – whether it ended in a sale or not – keep in contact with the person. This will keep you on their mind for next time they have a solution. The person also might just be a good friend to have in life. You never know what will come up or happen later.
Building the relationship is the key to adding another connection to your network. You did a great job touching on all of the main points on why a salesperson should build relationships. Building relationships may be very important when it comes to making a sale, but it also play a very important role in every aspect of the business world.
I believe that relationship building is the most important part of sales. Whether it is for just one sale or to have that same client over many years, relationships are important for you sales career. Having good relationships with all your clients big or small will give you a good name in the sales community, which will help you for future sales.