It Doesn't Matter If You Are The Broker, The Banker or The Candlestick Maker... It's All About Relationships

Relationships are the core of rainmaking. Any successful businessman, lawyer, accountant, stock broker, banker or other professional will tell you that the ability to develop and maintain relationships is essential to developing a large book of business.

Examples of the importance of strong business relationships abound. I have seen careers soar based on relationships and businesses collapse when good relationships go bad.

A great example of the importance of relationships in sales came knocking at my door this summer, twice. Each time I opened the door, I was met by a smiling face and a hearty greeting. The sales persons introduced themselves and asked my name. After making a point of shaking my hand, each told me a personal story - how they were struggling to improve their lives. One asked me, "Do you have any advice for a young person like me trying to make a better life?"

Whenever there was the slightest pause, I would ask, "What are you trying to sell?" Each time they would re-engage me in conversation and avoid my question. With the second salesperson, I became frustrated. Why won't they just tell me what they're selling?

Finally, it dawned on me: they were trying to develop a relationship with me. They knew the importance of relationships. We were well into "our new relationship" before I ever found out what they were selling.

Did it work? You betcha! I now have a second bottle of orange cleaner (I still haven't used the first bottle from last year.) and a children's hospital somewhere in America is receiving a bunch of magazines (I hope).

Obviously, these folks from two different companies were trained similarly. Why were they trained the same way? Because it works!

What these two peddlers taught me was the importance of establishing a relationship before making a sale. If they had told me that they were selling cleaners and magazines when I opened the door, I would have instinctively said, "I'm not interested." Instead they sold themselves first and the products second. Even though our relationship would last less than five minutes, they recognized the importance of establishing it before trying to sell me their product.