Eleven ways to develop relationships
by. Lana J. Chandler
“Relationship development is a skill worth perfecting,” points out Lynn Giuliani, president of Progressions, Inc. in Bellingham, Washington. “Selling is all about the relationship.” To enjoy more success as a sales professional, Giuliani offers these tips:
- Guard that your present clients are clients for life. Others are eyeing your clients and wanting them, too. “Make certain that you are cultivating the relationship, making frequent contact and treating them like kings and queens,” Giuliani says. “You don’t want someone else calling on your clients and courting them away.”
- Always remember it’s about relationship not price. People make decisions based on the entire package not the price. It is the relationship that will build retention, referrals, and additional business.
- Remember that little things make all the difference. Make frequent contact, remember occasions and do anything you can to ensure the client continually thinks of you first. When you practice these behaviors, the client is more likely to refer you to others and pick up the phone to ask you for additional requests or seek additional products.
- Continue to look at your business and your approach to see that you are putting your best foot forward. Review your processes, products, and style. If need be, tweak them so that you are always the consummate professional with the best practices in place.