As I listened to the joyful news that Russia freed four wrongfully imprisoned US residents, I was struck by President Biden’s characterization that it was a “feat of diplomacy”. Indeed, it involved eight countries, and twenty-four people and took many months to negotiate. When interviewed, former US ambassador to Russia, Michael McFaul, noted that it underscored the importance of relationships.

This reminded me of the importance of building relationships in selling. Over the many years that I have both taught and learned selling skills, I have come to realize that, regardless of the size of the deal, it always comes down to interpersonal relationships.

Now the key question is how do you build relationships? And this is where many get it wrong. Reminding the other party of how big, powerful or how long you have been doing it, does nothing to advance a relationship.
The key is demonstrating that you can be trusted. This is all about understanding them, their challenges, and their needs. As Steven Covey put it, seek first to understand before seeking to be understood.

Practice selling like a diplomat and build trusting relationships. Like the hostages release it may take a long time and be hidden from view, but it will pay dividends in the long run.