How To Build Successful Sales Relationships

1. Always represent a product or service you firmly believe in. When you truly believe in the product or service you represent, this comes across in your presentations of that product to prospective buyers. Your firm belief in the product – and in its ability to fulfill a need they have for it – will be evident to the person to whom you present the product. In fact, many salespeople who are successful actually express their own strong personal belief in the product, while giving their presentation. It can also be impressive for salespeople to cite their own positive experiences with the product and/or examples of positive experiences others have had with it.
2. Confident and sincere representation usually works far better than high pressure selling. Some salespeople push their prospective buyer for a decision and many times this will force a “no” answer out of them. It is better instead to represent your product with sincerity and confidence, allowing the buyers to be drawn into the presentation, so that they begin to see that the decision to buy from you is in their best interest, rather than being in your best interest. When buyers believe a salesperson is simply trying to “score a commission”, this can sometimes be a turn off to them. There is a difference between being overly pushy and highly confident, and most buyers are very experienced in spotting the difference.
3. Create an ongoing relationship with buyers whom you successfully sell a product to. It can really impress buyers if you will follow up with them, to see how things are going with the product or service they bought from you. This can be as simple as giving them a brief phone call or e-mail to simply ask them how things are going with the product. Over time follow-ups will help you establish an ongoing relationship with buyers so that it is easier to make future appointments to sell additional products to them. An established relationship gives you an open door of welcome to visit the buyer, rather than taking a lot more effort just to get a short meeting with them.
4. Observe a buyer’s surroundings, to see if you find something that helps you connect better with them. When you visit buyers at their office or home, observe what types of things they have displayed in their surroundings that reveal their interests. Most people have sports or hobby type items displayed in their homes and offices, or even things such as pictures of their families that you can comment on. By making a remark about those items, you can get a feel for whether they are eager to brag about them or to express the significance of them to you. This type of brief side-conversation can put buyers at ease because they feel a connection of like interests with you. Salespeople have actually been known to spark such interest and friendliness through this strategy, that they will actually be invited to join the buyer in attending a sports event, for example, or in playing golf, going on a fishing trip, etc… These types of connections established with buyers, over time, can end up being lucrative relationships for a salesperson. Additionally, you can make valuable friends in the process.
5. When buyers have been faithful customers, send them a card or gift, to demonstrate your appreciation. Buyers are human like everyone else, despite the fact that some can be shrewd businessmen and sometimes a little tough to deal with. As human beings, they appreciate a show of your appreciation to them. You can do this by sending them a thank you card or a small gift that will express the appreciation you have for the business relationship you have with them. This can go a long way in maintaining that relationship for the long term. Gifts that your steady buyers may appreciate are things like quality pen sets, gift certificates to nice restaurants, tie clips or cufflinks and for lady buyers, a bouquet of flowers or a gift box or perfume, with a card from your company attached.

These are steps that can help with success in selling and maintaining sales relationships, but like anything else, a salesperson also needs to have some discernment for knowing when these things will work for particular buyers and how far to go with any of these suggestions in regard to each individual. A buyer’s attitude and body language will usually indicate when you are on the right track or if you need to change your methods. Over time, a seasoned salesperson will begin to get a feel for establishing and building relationships with buyers.