It may seem like technology is dominating the world of sales today. But no matter how many ways we find to digitize workflows, save time, and cut costs, nothing has been invented yet that can replace genuine human-to-human interaction. Show
The buyer-seller relationship can be the cornerstone of customer loyalty. Plus, it’s a gold mine of opportunities for cross-selling, SPIN selling, and upselling. But there’s more to it than just making friendly small talk and being on a first-name basis with clients. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll examine exactly what relationship selling is, as well as its benefits and challenges. We’ll also offer six effective tips for elevating your relationship sales techniques. First, let’s start with the basics.
What is relationship selling?Relationship selling is a relatively new sales technique. Unlike transactional selling— which is all about making the sale—relationship selling is all about trust and human connection. The result of a good relational sales process is a buyer-seller relationship that only gets stronger with time. Trust is becoming increasingly critical in sales. Even if your product or service ticks all of your leads’ boxes, people will still side with their intuition if they see any red flags. To implement a strong relationship selling process, you must be able to identify and eliminate any red flags that you or your sales team have been accidentally flying. Then, you need to start putting up a bunch of green flags. Trust-based relationship sellingMost people are more than happy to make smaller purchases using self-check-out kiosks or ecommerce sites. You probably don’t need a trust-based relationship to buy a desk for your home office. But for larger purchases that carry more risk and long-term commitment, such as in B2B sales, trust is an essential factor that can’t be outsourced to software. Trust-based relationship selling is about showing—not telling—your leads that you’re worthy of their trust. There’s an art to showing-not-telling, which we’ll dive into later with our six most effective relationship selling techniques. For now, let’s look more closely at what relationship selling isn’t. Need-based vs. relationship-based salesYou may have heard the term need-based sales thrown around. Also called consultative selling, this technique focuses on understanding exactly what the client’s problem is and identifying their goals. Basically, consultative sellers listen to clients’ problems and then point them toward the best solution. Whether you’re using need- or relationship-based sales, trust will always be important. In need-based sales, however, that trust is built on expertise. The consultative seller is expected to be familiar with all the available solutions, and the buyer trusts their recommendations based on that knowledge. In relationship-based sales, the trust is based more heavily on the personal connection and mutual respect between the buyer and the seller. Relationship sales has a much stronger focus on the human-to-human connections involved in the buying process. It’s well suited for people who are naturally outgoing, chatty, and memorable. They should be someone people want to talk to and meet with, and they excel at overcoming their clients’ sales objections without seeming pushy or overbearing. The relationship selling processThe relationship selling process integrates more personal touchpoints into your traditional sales process. That means initiating more contact without seeming too motivated by your own success. If you want to initiate contact without sounding like you’ve only got sales goals on your mind, there’s an easy solution—don’t make your touchpoints about you. Focus on your prospects and clients, and craft your outreach efforts to be about something that personally involves their goals and interests. You can add more personal touchpoints into your relationship selling process by keeping a record of information, such as:
Obviously, there are certain kinds of information you shouldn’t ask about directly. While you can pick up on personal details based on context, there are boundaries with each individual that you shouldn’t cross if you want to maintain trust. How to build relationships in sales and set boundariesMaintaining trust in a buyer-seller relationship relies on setting and respecting boundaries, listening for open opportunities, and picking up on nuanced cues. Relationship selling isn’t any less professional than traditional selling. But it does require a rock-solid understanding of what’s appropriate and what isn’t. Let prospects set their boundaries, then find opportunities for relationship building within those parameters. Remember that there are legal boundaries, company boundaries, and personal boundaries. A good relational sales process is always respectful of all three. Benefits of relationship salesThe ultimate goal of using relationship-based sales is to build lasting trust. And that trust can do some seriously heavy lifting when it comes to your bottom line. Here are the some of benefits you can expect to see with a strong buyer-seller relationship:
Remember: Trust gets stronger the longer it’s maintained. Trust-based relationship selling is a never-ending process that requires a lot of time and attention. And that can be a drawback when there’s already so much to do on any given day. Improve your sales processA good sales process is the foundation of any successful sales organization. Learn how to improve your sales process and close more deals. Challenges of relationship-based salesTireless positivity Some sales reps can find it difficult to always be “on.” Maintaining multiple business relationships can be exhausting—and one moment of letting a bad attitude slip out can do a lot of damage. In relationship sales, you should either be A) someone who can snap into a positive mood at any moment, or B) someone with a sure-fire routine for bouncing back quickly, like breathing exercises or meditation. The effects of poor work environments If your company doesn’t provide a good living and healthy workplace environment, you can hardly expect your relationship sales process to be very effective. That would be like asking an Olympic athlete to perform their best without eating for a week—it’s an unreasonable request that won’t be met no matter how hard they try. Poor workplace conditions can make any sales work difficult, but it’s especially hard when success depends on your ability to stay positive and personable. It can get too personal When you’re building relationships in sales, there’s always a risk that the relationship can go sour. Or, even if everything seems fine, you can still lose an account. It can be a challenge to put so much work and trust into a relationship only for something as impersonal as money to get in the way. An important aspect of relationship selling is being able to compartmentalize relationships so they can’t negatively impact your professional or personal life. The 6 most effective relationship selling techniquesYou can tell people you’re trustworthy, but they won’t trust you until you earn it. Establishing trust involves following the basics of sales ethics and then finding opportunities to take action and show that you’re a person of your word. Here are six action-based relationship selling techniques that you can start practicing today to build more trusting relationships with your clients. Technique No. 1: Be fascinated, not fascinatingWhat this means: Focus on what you find most interesting about the buyer. Keep the friendly conversation going until you can land on details that you genuinely find interesting (key word: genuinely). Then, see if it’s also a subject that they’re passionate about. If you can tease out a passion of theirs that you also find fascinating, you’ll have an automatic go-to for creating personalized outreach opportunities. You’ll also have an endless source of engaging conversation. What this doesn’t mean:
Technique No. 2 : Know the whole truth, and tell nothing but the truthWhat this means: In relationship sales, you can never misrepresent information to a client, even in a vague or subtle way. If you don’t know the truthful answer to a question, know exactly who to go to for the best answer, and then report back honestly. If you suspect a client has a false understanding of what you can offer, provide as much clarity as soon as you can. The simple act of allowing a client to believe something that isn’t true can seriously damage the relationship. What this doesn’t mean:
Technique No. 3: Avoid trash-talking the competitionWhat this means: Speak of your competition in concrete terms that can be backed up with facts. Be direct about their shortcomings compared to yours, but don’t resort to ad hominem attacks or rude language. If you constantly speak negatively about the competition, it will seem like you don’t have enough positive things to say about your own brand. Plus, clients might think you enjoy talking about others behind their backs, and they’ll start wondering what you’re saying about them when they’re not around. What this doesn’t mean:
Technique No. 4: Don’t make promises you can’t keepWhat this means: Always make realistic predictions about what you can accomplish. Be clear with clients about what you can do for them, and don’t overpromise just to secure the deal. If you say you’re going to do something—like draw up a contract or schedule a sales presentation—have a practiced system for making sure you carry through on your promise. Keeping tabs on every single task can overwhelm even the most competent salesperson. Relationship sales is easier when you have a good software program that tracks and reminds you of your commitments so nothing falls through the cracks. What this doesn’t mean:
Technique No. 5: Don’t push—help insteadWhat this means: Look for opportunities to help, not to sell. Clients already know that your end goal is closing sales. But in relationship selling, you’re also selling yourself as a helper. Take any opportunity to show that you don’t just sit back and let problems persist. Even if the problem isn’t directly related to your product or service, the simple act of trying to give help when it’s needed will establish you in your client’s mind as someone who is eager to find solutions. What this doesn’t mean:
Technique No. 6: Shake off the lossesWhat this means: If you lose a promising lead or a good account, don’t take it personally. Beating yourself up only makes it harder to focus on the leads and clients you still have. One of the hallmarks of relationship selling is being able to jump back into the game after a loss and not letting it sour your attitude toward the next opportunity. What this doesn’t mean:
How to build relationships in salesSales skills can be innate, and they can be learned. But knowing how to build relationships in sales is about more than just being good at conversation or being outgoing. Before committing to a relational sales process, you should have comprehensive answers to these questions:
Be honest about whether or not you have time to build strong relationships. If you don’t, consider how you can shave hours off your workload and make room for more relationship selling techniques in your day-to-day operations. How does sales relationship building work in the age of virtual meetings?Meeting in person is always best for building trust. But when all you have is the next best thing, you’ve still got to make it work. Here are some basic tips for sales relationship building when meeting virtually is your only option:
Make more time to cultivate relationship salesOne of the best things you can do to get started with sales relationship building is to give yourself time for it. As you’ve probably guessed, relationship selling can be time-intensive. How are you supposed to remember all those birthdays and make space for friendly chit-chat when you’ve got a million administrative tasks to deal with? Here are a few time-saving tools offered by all-inclusive CRMs like Zendesk Sell. Even the simplest sales tech platforms can boost efficiency, giving you more time to devote to relationship building in sales.
Request a demo of Zendesk Sell today so you can seamlessly organize your information and build profitable relationships with incoming leads. Improve your sales processA good sales process is the foundation of any successful sales organization. Learn how to improve your sales process and close more deals. Improve your sales processA good sales process is the foundation of any successful sales organization. Learn how to improve your sales process and close more deals. Read now What is the most critical part of the personal selling process?The sales presentation is a crucial part of the personal selling process. A sales presentation is a pitch the salesperson delivers to convince customers to buy. During the pitch, the salesperson will discuss the product features and why the customers should purchase them.
What are the 7 steps of the selling process?The 7-step sales process. Prospecting.. Preparation.. Approach.. Presentation.. Handling objections.. Closing.. Follow-up.. In which step of the sales process would you address customer concerns?The first three steps of the selling process involve research into prospects' wants and needs, with your presentation midway through the selling process. The final four steps include addressing any questions or concerns, then closing the deal and maintaining your connection.
In which step of the sales process would a presentation be shown to a customer?Step 4: Presentation
By the time you are ready to present you will understand your customer's needs well enough to be sure you are offering a solution the customer could use. The presentation should be tailored to the customer, explaining how the product meets that person or company's needs.
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