It’s a myth that the main reason for having better customer relationships is to sell more products to those customers. Yes, that’s often the outcome, but it’s a byproduct rather than the main point. The primary reason to have better customer relationships is to make selling a heck of a lot more fun.
Yesterday I had a long conversation with my sister, who worked in sales for years and will soon reenter the workplace. She’s not happy about getting back into Sales because, as she put it, “I don’t enjoy always having a hidden agenda in my relationships.” I told her that, if you’re working in sales, your agenda is not all that hidden and that, more importantly, that’s the exact backwards way to think about it.
Sales is fun because you create new relationships. The fact that those relationships have a business component is a plus, not a minus.
If you have the right attitude, being in Sales is a perfect excuse to spend time with people you like and who like you in return. (I.e. your loyal customers.) If you’re a “people person” (and you’d better be if you’re in sales), then building better relationships is the fun part of the job. Because talking with people and learning about their lives is inherently interesting and fun.
The only proviso is that you have be certain, in your heart of hearts, that your goal in building a relationship isn’t self-serving. While you may end up helping that person as the result of the business relationship, it’s part of the relationship, not an end in itself.
By the way, I learned the above from customer relationship guru Jerry Acuff. It was a real “light bulb” moment for me, and it’s made a huge difference in my attitude about being in business.
Meanwhile, I’m curious:
What’s fun about your job? What do you like best about it?
If you want to have a fabulous day, write a comment to answer the question. Focusing on what’s great about your job is the single best way to achieve the positive focus that makes work (and the rest of life) more fun.
