How Good is Your Team at Relationship Selling?

Relationship Selling Key #1: Building Trust

Trust is the foundation of any great relationship, whether it is with family, friends, or a spouse. But in sales, building trust is a different ballgame.

When we work with salespeople, the first thing we tackle is mindset. If they believe it takes a long time to build a relationship, then it probably will. If they believe they need to be liked to win business, they will focus all their energy on being likable. But here is the truth: what they do drives their results.

If prospects are not setting appointments after a call, or if your salespeople are not converting those appointments into opportunities, do not just assume the prospect was not qualified. Instead, take a deeper look at your salesperson’s relationship-building behaviors. This is where coaching can help.

What are your people doing to nurture and develop strong relationships? Are they proactively and consistently talking with a prospect and offering industry-related and value-added information? If they are only focused on making the sale, they may turn off a possible prospect. There is a direct link between how your salespeople build trust and the results they are getting.

Relationship Selling Key #2: Being Consultative

Trust matters, but so does the ability to be consultative. Take some time to think about how skilled your salespeople are at:

• Staying present in the conversation

• Uncovering compelling reasons for the prospect to buy

• Asking strong, thoughtful questions

• Truly listening to their answers and asking additional questions

• Understanding how they will make their decision

• Presenting solutions at the right time

• Maintaining a healthy dose of skepticism

If your salespeople take this approach, prospects feel heard. That builds the kind of trust that leads to real opportunities.

Relationship Selling Key #3: Making a Commitment

Your salespeople can do everything right, build trust, and follow a consultative process, but they can still hit a wall. Why? Because forces are working against them:

• Prospects are distracted

• They think they already know the answers

• They have had negative past experiences with salespeople

That is why delivery matters. If your people can communicate in a way that captures the prospect’s attention and creates a compelling conversation, the prospect will give them a chance. Your salespeople also need the confidence to believe they are the professional in the room. They must break the mold by not looking, acting, or sounding like every other salesperson.

Relationship selling is a commitment to making a conscious, daily decision to do it well. It requires always working on and improving relationship-building skills. It takes practice, focus, and the belief that relationship-building is critical to success. Your role as a coach is to ensure that this is happening with your team.

Want to keep reading?

Download our free eBook, The Relationship Selling Guide, HERE!