The development of healthy relationships, whether personally or professionally can be an important factor in living a successful life. In fact, it is reported that people who embrace supportive relationships live longer & are more resilient to handle negative situations.
‘Relationship selling’ for example refers to the positive interaction between a salesperson & buyer rather than focusing totally on the product or service. This effective technique is considered ‘old school tactics’. From my personal experience being in sales for decades I can confidently say that relationship selling is just as important now as it was back ‘then’.
This just doesn’t pertain to people who sell for a living in business. Each one of us builds relationships and sells to each other every single day. A mother will ‘sell’ an idea to their children to eat healthier foods to keep them strong or to drill into their minds the benefits of a higher education. A manager will strive to motivate and ‘sell’ their staff on the importance of customer service. A wife will ‘sell’ her husband on the benefits of a Caribbean vacation rather than a week camping, or the new living room furniture that they just have to have! (hmmm, that may come from personal experience!) Regardless of the situation building integral relationships has the potential to develop into respectful, long term outcomes, more referrals & ongoing repeat business. They become harmonious interactions that build loyal connections creating very happy customers.
Image by Bob Dmyt from Pixabay
Over the years I’ve been recognized as a top producer who provides exceptional customer service built on a foundation of trust & integrity. Many years ago I serviced a large company in Hamilton, Ontario called Russell Metals. The sales that I developed thru this account had increased considerably and was so profitable that the company I worked for had to open a brand-new branch in Hamilton just to fulfill the orders I brought in.
It was a massive account and I attribute this success to the strong, loyal relationships I developed with the office & plant management team. I fondly remember spending many ‘sales’ calls bringing them coffee, thoroughly enjoying my time spent with them, listening to their needs, their challenges and news of their daily lives. They relied on my expertise and trusted me.
For years as a ‘fun hobby’ I’ve been creating gift baskets to give to my clients to say thank you, or whenever a special event took place. Even though it was years ago I remember making up these incredible Easter baskets to give to this company. The staff appreciated my efforts & were thankful. Even the rough, tough plant managers & shift supervisors loved them! Not only did the message convey my commitment to servicing their company but it made them feel very special as well.
Over the years I’ve continued with this gift giving practice and recently our company has expanded our services to create unique wellness gift boxes to inspire our clients. They have been widely received to the point that our business has grown substantially now shipping products throughout North America. Even though the upcoming holiday is our busiest season any time of the year is a perfect time to celebrate someone special. I wanted to share this meaningful relationship quote with you:
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