257: How To Build Strong Relationships With Our Buyers

<p>If we want to succeed in sales, we want to build a strong relationship with our buyers.  Having to run around and create a new buyer every single time is seriously hard work.  Yes we must hunt, but we also want to farm. However, nowever, nHoot all buyers are easy to deal with.  We might think they should change, so that they are easier to deal with. They should make it easier for us to sell them our solutions. Unfortunately, we can’t change others. We can only change how we think and behave. Doing so can in turn, have a positive impact on others. That’s the whole thinking behind Dale Carnegie’s <em>How to Win Friends and Influence People</em> – it’s not about manipulation.  It is not about us waiting for them to change. It’s about changing ourselves first and how we approach buyers. </p> <p>If we approach buyers in the same way every time, we will always get the same counter reaction.  This is Newtonian physics which we learnt at High School, “for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction”. In sales, if we change the angle of our approach to the buyer by just three degrees, then we will get a different counter reaction. </p> <p>The point is we have to make that decision to change those three degrees on our side first, rather than expecting the buyer to change themselves to suit how we like things.  There are some excellent, proven, time tested Human Relations Principles we can draw on to help us with this.</p> <p>Human Relations Principles 1-3</p> <ol> <li>Don’t criticize, condemn, or complain.</li> </ol> <p>How many times have you criticised someone and had them admit they were wrong and tell you that you are completely right?  It almost never happens because people rush to defend themselves and want to justify whatever it is they are doing.  If we do criticise them knowing this, then all we are doing is setting ourselves up to fail to change them and even worse, create bad feelings between us.  We might be tempted to criticize the buyers company for forcing us to have 120 day payment terms.  Or by