Relationship Selling: What Is It and Does It Work?

Sales professionals have heard a lot of buzzwords recently, none so popular as "relationship selling." The new conventional wisdom is that it has replaced traditional sales techniques. But there seems to be some confusion about what, exactly, it means.

Is relationship selling a process?Does it refer to customers or to everyone in the sales stack? Does it apply to teams or just to individual sales people? Is it transactional?

The answer, it turns out, is more subtle and complex.

Here's how one business site defines it, and this is as succinct a definition as we've seen:

"Relationship selling refers to the sales technique that focuses on the interaction between the buyer and the sales person, rather than the price or details of the product. Arguably, all three remain critical for any sales activity, but the status of the relationship can increase consumer loyalty as a result of familiarity and personality of the sales person.

"This sales technique is prominent for companies selling products and services that rely on repeat business from customers, such as insurance policies, or private instructors, such as dance or music. These individuals are forced to compete on the level of quality and price; however, it they make good relationships, their customers will continue to buy from them as a result, sometimes regardless of price.

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"In the traditional sales approach, the goal is to make the sale, and that is the end point of the buyer/seller relationship. Marketers realized that the sale is not the end point and, in many situations, is not the end goal either. In actuality, the sale is the beginning of what many companies are looking for: a long-term relationship."

Why is relationship selling important?

"A relationship selling strategy, or face-to-face marketing strategy, means exactly what its name implies: Get off your fanny and interact with your customers in person!" Forbes advised. "There is no greater way of showing your clients just how much you care than meeting with them at their office, taking them out for coffee or lunch and discussing what their business goals and needs are."

Forbes outlined the benefits of relationship selling:

1. You will build trust and establish a positive brand image. "An email or phone call can only do so much when establishing rapport. Meeting with your prospective and current customers gives them a face for your business. They know who you are, how you are representing your business, and that you are willing to make the effort to come to them."

2. You will increase sales. "A happy customer is a loyal customer, and when they find a need for an additional product or service that you provide, they are more likely to come to you, as their trusted vendor, over a vendor."

3. You will turn customers into advocates. "There is no greater power than word-of-mouth referrals, and all the online reviews in the world will not change that. If you have managed to turn your customers into advocates for your business, you have not only gained their loyalty, but you've also added the most powerful sales person to your roster."