Whether you’re selling a product, a service, or an idea, building a relationship with the customer is the bridge to success.

Social media notwithstanding, old school still works. Face-to-face transparency. Eye-to-eye honesty. Handshake integrity. If relational sales were a game it would be a contact sport.

Relationships take work. Building a foundation of trust in business-to-business sales can be labor intensive, mentally challenging and emotionally exhausting. For starters, what do you really know about your prospective customer? Do you understand what’s most important to them?

How does your agenda connect with theirs? Do you honestly get their vision statement? In your eagerness to make a deal, are you willing to hit the mute button on the voice in your brain so that you can actually hear what they’re saying?

Ultimately if you make this kind of investment in a client, your sweat equity will be sweet! Because once the relationship is established, the sale of your product or service will be a breeze!

One of the best tools you can use to understand your client [and your own strengths and weaknesses] is DiSC personality profile training. Dominant. Influential. Supportive. Conscientious. These are the 4 personality types everyone has in one combination or another. Understanding them can unlock a whole world of opportunities.

For example, if you have a prospective client whose a Type-A Dominant go-getter, you already know you’ll have to hit the ground running and hit every target from day one with this guy. It may be a lot of work, but you’ll have the opportunity to become a sharper, quicker, and more productive professional. So you both win!

The more you understand about what makes your customer tick, the more easily you’ll get in sync with them. And the more clearly you understand yourself, the easier it will be for you to make behavioral adjustments to suit their needs.

When a client or customer recognizes that they matter to you as much as the sale, you’ve just closed a deal and opened the doors to a lucrative, long-term business relationship.