Chapter 17 - Selling a Relationship
The author shares a quick profile of Richard Nixon, who was in vehement opposition to communism at home, but who also established and open, productive, and in some instances quite congenial relationship with the communist leaders of China and the Soviet Union. It was noted that while there is a great deal of hostility between the two incompatible political ideologies, the relationships between heads of state was such that they could work together to resolve matters that might otherwise have led to more open hostility.
Good working relationships in business can likewise be productive, even among competing firms, in setting aside differences and working to achieve common goals. Where the relationship is good, areas of conflict can be avoided as firms work together to achieve common goals, rather than letting the disagreements poison their relationship entirely.
Getting back to selling services: a good relationship enables you to understand your clients' needs, which is necessary to ensuring that your service is meeting them, as well as identifying other ways in which needs can be served.
Two Examples of Relationships with Clients
The author relates a tale of a client who had been difficult to work with, until one occasion in which the client mentioned he couldn't focus on the business because his daughter was getting married the next month. The salesman had married off a daughter of his own the previous year, and the conversation switched from business to that topic - they ended up getting dinner, chatting about weddings and various topics other than work. After that evening, the author attests that business negotiations with the client went more smoothly - the client didn't turn into a pushover, but the negotiations over issues took a different tone, devoid of the "testiness and latent hostility" they previously had.
He then pauses to consider the separation of personal relationships from professional ones - it's possible to get the two mixed up, to the point where you're making unreasonable accommodations that harm the interests of your firm to accommodate a friend - but it's also possible to maintain a personal and professional relationship with the same person, without making such compromises.
He provides an alternative example in which ha person he counted as a personal friend started a business, and then hired him to provide training for her sales force - but the training failed to achieve the expected results. The author's account is that he mentioned some of his clients got an increase of 10% in sales, but she took that to be an ironclad guarantee, and was incensed when it did not happen, to the point that she terminated their personal friendship over the matter.
Some Guidelines for Client Relationships
A few tips for cozying up to a client:
- Try to gather intelligence about their personal lives in a discreet way. You don't want to be perceived as intrusive, but any intelligence you can gather about their personal lives can be used as an advantage in business negotiations.
- Consider scheduling meetings in a less formal setting, outside of their office, where they are more likely to feel at ease and drop their guard.
- Mentioning your own personal interests can be a way of getting the other person to reciprocate and disclose personal information to you
The author takes a leap forward from these ice-breaking tips to suggest that "in no time at all" you will develop close personal relationships with your business contacts.