The Difference Between A New Account And A New Relationship

I MADE THE SALE! Great. Way to go! Okay, now calm down. What kind of sale? Any chance for an up-sell? A referral? Another sale?
The sale is just one small part of the relationship. It’s not the beginning of it, and hopefully it’s not the end. It’s somewhere between establishing rapport, building value, lowering barriers, eliminating risk, developing trust, winning the business, delivering what you promised, training, serving in a memorable way, and getting the next order.
The power of sales is not selling or making the sale. The power of sales is building trust, value, and relationship to earn referrals, testimonials, and the next sale. The power of sales and selling is building reputation and market dominance, whether it’s local or global.
Salespeople and sales managers put 90 percent or more of their emphasis on product knowledge and making the sale. “Here’s what our product does, and here’s how to sell it.”
What about the relationship? That’s where the real sale is. That’s where the real value is. That’s where the real profit is.
Managers should be teaching 90 percent relationships, 5 percent product, and 5 percent selling skills. Inside the elements of relationship are the answers of how to build loyal customers. And those answers are way more powerful than just making a sale.
If you’re looking to build a successful business, it doesn’t start with sales and evolve to “satisfied” customers (unless you’re still selling in 1985). It starts with relationships and builds to loyalty.
Here are the elements that will HELP you move toward a long-term relationship.

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The value of friendly. How friendly are you?

The value of enthusiasm. How enthusiastic are you?

The power of belief. How deep is your belief in your company, your products and service, and yourself?

The power of a first impression. How excellent is your first impression?

The ability to engage. Dialog, not monolog. How much does your customer talk in your presentation? How compelling are your questions?

Tell me what you CAN do - not what you CAN’T do. Create a (sincere) positive atmosphere.

Tell me how I profit and how I win. Customers want to know what’s in it for them.

Uncover the real customer buying process. If you know how they buy, it might help you get to the real decision maker.

Uncover their motives and reasons for buying. Why they buy is a million times more powerful than how to sell.

What’s your “toaster” offer? What’s my incentive (beyond price) to buy from you?

Reducing risk. If the risk is too high, I will stall, object, or lie (“We spent our whole budget”) to get rid of you.

View the customer from the other side. What does ownership of your product or using your service look like to them?

Get to know your customers. How do they use your product? How do they profit? What are their obstacles to success? What are their goals? How can you help them achieve?

Building loyal relationships means taking loyal actions. How do you respond to their service needs?

How easy is it to do business with you? When I call your office, are you asking me to select from among eight options (to serve me better)? Or is your phone answered 24/7 by a live answering service?

What are you doing to build value? How are you helping your customer beyond your product?

Does the customer consider you a vendor or a resource? Are they calling you and asking for vital information and answers?

What are you doing to stay in front of your customers? Do you have a weekly, value-based email magazine? Why not?

Are you treating all customers the same - like gold? Why not?

Are you seizing the opportunity to be your best? Why not?

Are you creating best practices to build your business? Why not?
The root word of relationship is relate. The better you are able to relate to the customer - their needs. their desires, their goals, their ownership, and their use of your product or service - the better they do business, and the more they want to do business with you.
Relationship has ZERO to do with some system of selling. It has little to do with your product knowledge (unless they ask for it or need it). And very little to do with “price.” It has everything to do with how you view the importance of relationship, what your customers expect - and what you’re willing to do about it.
Can you relate? Or are you still trying to “make a sale?”
If you want a few questions you can ask to get a relationship dialog going, go to www.gotomer.com, register if you’re a first time user, and enter RELATE in the GitBit box.

Jeffrey Gitomer is the author of The Little Red Book of Selling and The Little Red Book of Sales Answers. President of Charlotte-based Buy Gitomer, he gives seminars, runs annual sales meetings, and conducts Internet training programs on sales and customer service at www.trainone.com. He can be reached at 704/333-1112 or e-mail to salesman@ gitomer.com © 2007 All Rights Reserved - Don’t even think about reproducing this document without written permission from Jeffrey H. Gitomer and Buy Gitomer. 704-333-1112 www.gitomer.com