Most sales trainers overly complicate the sales process. They teach techniques like probing questions, trial closes, assumptive closes and many, many others. While these techniques have their place, the true secret of sales success is building relationships with your customers. All things being even near equal, customers buy from people they like better than other people calling on them.
Here are a few simple tips on building strong relationships with your customers:
Four tips for building strong customer relationships
Entertain. Find out what your key customers like to do at night and on weekends and do it with them. It’s just that simple. If you have a customer that likes to fish, take him fishing. If you like a customer who loves country music, take them to dinner and a show. Even if you don’t have an expense account, you should still entertain to the extent that you can afford it.
Send cards and presents. You should send your key customers birthday cards, baby presents, graduation presents for their children, and so on. They don’t have to be expensive and it’s actually better if they aren’t because they don’t look like bribes.
Get involved with their causes. If you have a customer who is deeply involved with the Wounded Warrior Project, the Red Cross, United Way, or another worthwhile cause, you should get involved with these groups, too. Not only will you spend more time with your key customers but they will appreciate that both of you have a shared cause.
The “Mackay 66.” Harvey Mackay wrote a classic book of business advice in 1988 called “Swim with the Sharks without Being Eaten Alive.” In it, he touts the “Mackay 66.” This is a list of 66 questions for you to get the answers to regarding each of your key accounts. You obviously can’t get the answer to all 66 questions on one sales call or it will look like an interrogation. Keep the list with you and answer a few questions on each call. Over time you will know more about your key accounts than anyone else calling on them and that will result in a deeper relationship and more sales.
