In a recent post I suggested relationships are more important than technique in achieving excellence in sales.

Then I started wondering, what exactly makes a business relationship strong and long lasting? Sure, we all know healthy business relationships are built on trust and respect, but what do those words really mean? How do trust and respect play out in a business setting? Let’s delve into it and see what we can learn.

In this series of 8 of posts, I’ll try to identify the things that make for a solid and long lasting business relationship.

One thing that distinguishes business relationships from personal relationships is the mutual expectation that both parties are primarily concerned with furthering their own interests.

That being the case, my “golden rule” for sales relationships is -

Never further your interests at the expense of the other party’s.

A couple examples of what I mean …

It’s OK for a seller to try to upsell a client to a more expensive, higher quality product. It’s not OK for a seller to try to sell a product he knows won’t work, in order to win a sales contest.

It’s OK for a buyer to check prices before placing an order. It’s not OK for a buyer to hold a seller responsible for a problem when the buyer knows the seller is not at fault.

The lines aren’t always clear cut. But, when a buyer and seller are up front about their motives and goals, the lines are a lot easier to see. I suppose that brings us to the next element of strong business relationships …