14Selling your productThe power of relationships
Helen Keller once said, ‘Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.’ The first time I learned about the power of building positive relationships in business was when I worked in real estate in my early 20s. I discovered there are different styles of selling, and like anything, you need to learn the style that works best for you. It's also important to think about how your style will help you succeed in the long term.
As a real estate agent, you make money by selling property. In order to list more properties, you need to build a healthy database of sellers and buyers. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the average Australian homeowner will sell their property every 11 years, so success in real estate is a long game. Now, admittedly, I didn't stay in real estate long enough to experience any real measure of success, like opening my own office, but it did teach me some valuable life lessons about the value and importance of relationship building in selling.
The opposite of relationship selling is transactional selling. It focuses on a one-off transaction, and there is no long-term relationship. I have worked in sales for over 20 years, and in my time, I have observed many great salespeople and some not-so-great salespeople. The ones who stood out were always more focused on the relationship and the long-term strategic opportunities that existed for both parties.
Sales is a skill that is more natural for ...