Most companies talk about building a relationship with their prospects as they turn them into customers. Unfortunately, many companies often exploit those relationships, taking as much as they can get and even making sales that their customers don't need. Try to be different and see your prospects as a true partners. You should work together to be more profitable and productive.
ACTION ITEM
List your customers and prospects. Then identify why you have a good relationship with each one or why you don't. Work to strengthen these relationships until you've created a true marriage of equals.
Mike, a silver-haired and highly successful business owner, left prospecting to his sales force. They had the job to wine and dine prospects until they believed a personal visit from the owner and boss might convince someone to come aboard as a customer. When Mike arrived at the prospect's place of business, he placed a nondescript brown box on the table in the conference room where the meeting was to take place. When prospects asked what was in the box—as they always did—he removed the lid to reveal a cake, forks, knives, and plates. He told them that his intention was that they form a partnership that day and celebrate it by cutting the cake—kind of like a quasi-marriage. This strategy was a huge success and, in almost every case, the cake and Mike's presence pushed prospects over the edge. Mike created and maintained a true partnership with all of his customers.