Chapter 2
Relationship Selling
Learning Objectives
 Understand the role of relationship selling in today’s market
and how it differs from past stereotypes of selling.
 Learn the steps in relationship selling and the purpose of
each step.
 Compare and contrast relationship selling and the traditional
sales model.
 Examine the usefulness of continuous quality improvement in
a sales organization.
 Recognize how to build relationships through team selling.
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Quotable Quotes
- Dr. Tony Alessandra
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Value Creation Through Relationship Selling
 The trend in professional selling today is toward
relationship, problem-solving selling
 Customer Satisfaction: the ultimate goal of the
relationship salesperson throughout the selling
process
 Relationship Management:
 Managing the account relationship
 Ensuring that your clients receive
the proper service during and after
the sale
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Relationship Builders
 Treat customers like life-long
partners
 Become a solutions provider
 Deliver more service than you
promise
 Schedule regular service calls
 Develop open and honest
communication
 Use the ‘we can’ approach
 Take responsibility for mistakes made
 Be an ally for the customer’s business
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Relationship Breakers
 Simply wait for the problem to
develop
 Focus only on making the sale
 Over-promise and under-deliver
 Wait for your customers to call you
 Lie or make exaggerated claims
 Use the “us versus them” approach
 Blame somebody else; Knock a
competitor
 Focus on your own personal gain
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Relationship Selling Versus Traditional Selling
The face-to-face steps of the Relationship Model:
1
The Approach
2
Identifying Needs
3
Making the Presentation
4
Handling Objections and Gaining Commitment
Time: 40 percent spent on gaining rapport and trust
Empathy: Think the way your customer thinks.
Standards: Customer expectations, higher than ever
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Relationship Selling Versus Traditional Selling
Traditional
Model of Selling
Relationship Model of
Selling
Phases
Approach
Identifying Needs
% time spent
Building Trust (Rapport)
40%
Probe, Ask Questions,
and Listen
Making the
Presentation
Sell Benefits
Resistance
and Gaining
Commitment
Reassure
and
Close
30%
20%
10%
% time spent
Telling
Qualifying
Presenting
Features
Closing Long
and Hard
10%
20%
30%
40%
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Sales Cycle Framework for Relationship Selling
Chapter 14
Service
after the
Sale
Chapter 7
Prospecting
Chapter 13
Closing the
Sale
Chapter 12
The
8 STEP
SALES
CYCLE
Handling
Objections
Chapter 8
Preapproach
and Telephone
Techniques
Chapter 9
The
Approach
Chapter 11
Making the
Presentation
Chapter 10
Need
Discovery
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Phase One
 Identifying Qualified Prospects
 Qualified prospects must have:
 Need
 Money
 Authority
 Planning Preapproach Activities
 Telephone Activities
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Phase Two
 Approaching the Prospect
 Discovering Needs
 Success of the process depends on this
 Requires questioning and creative listening
skills
 Making the Presentation
 Takes planning
 Handling Objections and Gaining Commitment
 Resistance happens because an atmosphere
of mutual trust was never fully developed
 There may be problems beyond your control
 The closing stage is the most tedious for the traditional
salesperson
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Phase Three
Service After the Sale
 Relationships keep satisfied customers coming back
 Customer satisfaction is an asset to you and your
company
 The relationship really begins when the
buyer says “yes”
Cognitive Dissonance (buyers remorse)
must be reduced
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Continuous Quality Improvement
 Total Quality Management





Listen and learn from customers and employees
Continuously improve the partnership
Teamwork through mutual trust and respect
Do it right the first time
Get your whole company involved
 Service Quality
 There is a process and an outcome. Both are necessary for
customer satisfaction.
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The Service Quality Interaction
Service Quality
The Process
The Actual
Outcome
Influences…
Leads To…
Perception
of
Service
Quality
Received
Overall
Customer
Satisfaction
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Traditional Management Versus TQM
Traditional Management
Model
The TQM Model
Focus on product
Focus on service
Company knows best
Customer knows best
Transactions
Relationships
Individual performance
Team performance
Fire-fighting management
Continuous improvement
Blame/punishment
Support/reward
Short-term (year or less)
Long-term (years)
Intolerant of errors
Allows mistakes
Autocratic leadership
Participative leadership
Bureaucratic
Entrepreneurial
Top-down decisions
Consensus decisions
Inward focused
Outward (customer) focused
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Team Selling
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The Growth of Team Selling
 It has grown to take advantage of diverse skills and
personalities needed to sell complex products
 The selling steps are the same, but rules are needed
 Usually at least one salesperson and some technical
specialists
 The buyer may also have a team
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Benefits of Team Selling
 Customer gets involved with more than one
person
 More accurate need definition
 Very useful if product is technical
 Different individuals bring more selling skills
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Risks of Team Selling
Requires
special
planning
Must have a
leader
Must agree on
objectives
Must be
better
rehearsed
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Combinations That Work
 Opener and Closer
 Just as in baseball (starting
pitcher and the closer)
 Some salespeople are
good at opening up
relationships while others
are masters at closing the
sale
 Both are very important-a symbiotic relationship
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Selling in a Multicultural World
Multicultural Sales Professionals:
 Place an emphasis on diversity
 Establish a pro-diversity climate that benefits
from different cultures’ contributions
 Provide ethnic diversity that helps foster
relationships
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