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Sam Manfer Sales Mastery

Relationship Selling Articles

Relationship Selling Is the Easiest Path to Increase Market Share

Copyright Sam Manfer, Sales Consultants

Part I - Using Relationships Selling to Develop New Relationships at Higher Levels

If you had 100% of the business of 100% of your existing customers, would that increase your market share? Of course it would. Let’s say you just increase the business of your existing customers by 10%. Would that increase your market share? Again, yes. As tough a task as the above sounds, it is far easier than to sell that amount to new customers.

Yes, I’m saying that to increase your market share, give-up on trying to penetrate the new accounts, walled cities and focus on getting more and more from your existing accounts - the places where you can relationship sell. Then, as more and more of those relationships develop, the word will get out and those walled city accounts will crumble and come rushing to you for your expertise.

It sounds risky doesn’t it? The bigger risk for you is an existing relationship doing more business with your competitors, and we all know your competitors are trying desperately to make that happen.

Your Golden Network

Existing customers are the easiest place to increase market share because you have a Golden Network of relationships. These are people that have benefited from your product/services in the past and those with whom you’ve established credibility. If you ask them to introduce you to higher-level people, not to sell but to learn business issues as it could relate to your stuff, you will probably get there. This is your strength, your leverage to be used. Your Golden Network of relationships can transfer their credibility with their superiors to you. This is a giant step to learning what really counts and for you to develop your own credibility and relationship with their leaders.

Developing Relationships at High Levels

However, many have gotten to the leaders and failed. They blew their chance by being pushy and self-serving. These first and subsequent meetings are not about you or your company. They are your chance to learn what’s critical this Profit/Loss (P/L) person. These are interviews and you have to get this person talking about his issues, his environment, his threats, and his opportunities as they relate to your world. Your goal is to learn. Most importantly you have to make this person want to see you again. Then when you do come back, it will again be personal about what you can do for him - not his company or his subordinates. These meetings have to be one-on-one and carefully planned and there is a science to this whole process.

Unfortunately most sales people don’t do this. They meet regularly with the functional person and make an occasional stop in purchasing. They spend no time broadening their presence in an upward direction. Consequently, the sales person never establishes relationships with the top people - the ones with the influence and/or the power to approve the expenditure. This makes your company one of the bunch of good suppliers – at best.

Mark my words here and now. If you develop a relationship with the P/L person and he sees you as an integral part of his success ( and don’t say it will never happen), competition will not exist, price will be a benchmark only, business you never thought existed will surface, budgets will be created, and you will increase your market share.

For more see Part II - Relationship Selling Eliminates Cold Calling