I would like to discuss some of positives and negatives of sales and how they relate to relationship building. I would also like explain how you can go about starting to build a solid vendor-client relationship, and what pitfalls to avoid in process.DON'T ever give your prospective client feeling of "This person is just here to sell me something" or conveying even smallest inkling that portrays "Selling".
DO always "help" your client arrive at fact that your are here to provide a service or product that they want and need. You are not there to sell; you are there to help.
DON'T go into "Salesperson Overdrive". There are many of you out there, including myself, that must fight urge to SELL or to Dominate prospect. Whether you know it or not, you are setting yourself (and prospect) up for that final decision, "Yes Or No, What Will It Be"? You end up in situation which most of us despise, "The Sell".
Your entire Business Persona should be a Soft Persuasion. This means that you never try to make your prospect see things your way, It's quite opposite actually. Soft Persuasion is in Packaging. It's way you package your company, yourself and your product or service. I don't mean box it comes in. When I speak of packaging, I mean way you portray your company and yourself. It should be a positive and confident portrayal, not an overbearing one.
Hard Persuasion too often comes back to bite you in ass. Hard Persuasion separates you from your prospect, moving them away from you. Nobody likes to be bullied, and that's what Hard Persuasion or Hard Sell comes down to. No matter how nicely you do it, you are bullying them into seeing things your way. This is not to say that there are not some of you who can make this work, but for most of us Hard Sell Close is a feat that is beyond our capabilities. This is because we are business professionals and technical experts, not seasoned sales people.
Approach your prospect as if they are already a client. Assume this because they truly need your service, not because you want to make sale. How you see and treat your prospective client is how they will see themselves. Perception is a strong tool to be used wisely.
Cover all details before they can become potential problems in closing of sale. Covering all details can help you avoid being pulled into an objection contest. Always maintain one-to-one Relationship. Once you move outside of that circle and separate yourself from prospect, it's almost impossible to get back. You have removed yourself from their domain of trust to domain of a salesperson. Crossing this line even once will cause your prospect to mistrust you and see you as a salesperson, not a service provider.