I was traveling with one of our sales representatives when he informed me that we needed to stop at an account and pick up their annual bid request. Unfortunately, we had lost our contract with this particular company 10 years earlier, after having served them for many years. We recognized that we needed to do more than just pick up a piece of paper to win back their business. We had to rebuild a relationship and decided on a strategy of trying to get at least a half hour of some one-on-one time with the shop supervisor.
To our pleasant surprise our contact invited us into the conference room and a friendly conversation ensued. We learned that he had been with the company for 18 years and was born and raised locally.
Connections are Key
As we talked, we noticed a woman off to the side doing computer work and listening. I decided to try to draw her into the discussion and slipped into the conversation that we now had on-line order service. Bingo! This caught her attention. She ordered products via the internet every day. In fact, she was a second-generation owner with two partners, and very proud of the company’s recent accomplishments. She began to share other information with our salesperson. It turned out that they went to the same high school and had mutual acquaintances.
Once we got down to business, we were honest about the fact that ours would probably not be the lowest bid they received as service was a big component of our product delivery. We were quickly assured by the owner that service was more important than pricing.
The Importance of Relationship
Remember, when you are selling a commodity product, building a relationship is your best sales tool. If you can find a common, personal interest with your customer and are able to express genuine concern regarding their needs, you are more than likely to get their business. People do not care how much you know, until they know how much you care.
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