Competence in sales depends on how well salespeople master several areas, one of which is the people side of selling. Most sales training dollars are spent on product knowledge and the technical aspects of the job. However, research on emotional intelligence demonstrates that 70 percent of sales success depends on how well salespeople manage themselves and their relationships with other people.

Ted Levitt, marketing guru at Harvard, wrote years ago, “The purpose of a business is to get and keep customers. The sale merely consummates the courtship. How good the marriage is depends on how well the relationship is managed by the seller.”

Professional selling is a people business. As a salesperson, you sell products, but you serve people. There are a number of things you can do to build your relationship with your customer.

First, listen more than you talk. God blessed you with two ears, two eyes and only one mouth. He was telling you to watch and listen a lot more than you talk.

Second, perform acts of consideration. Look for ways to demonstrate your concern for the customer. If the customer's child does something significant and his or her name appears in the newspaper, send the customer an extra copy of it with a nice note. Send “thank you” cards to let the customer know you appreciate his or her business. It's the little things that count.

Third, use entertainment to your advantage. One director of purchasing told me that he liked to use entertainment with salespeople to get an inside look at what the salesperson was really like. Going to a restaurant and watching how the salesperson treated servers told the buyer what he was really dealing with.

Fourth, offer preferential treatment for your top customers. Many companies establish customer loyalty programs for their frequent buyers. You may also rely on these “special” customers as an advisory council for your business. This treatment signals to customers that you value their input as well as their business.

Fifth, offer your customers business-building ideas. When you help them grow their businesses, you are part of their profit stream. This value-added approach tells the customer that you are genuinely interested in their success and want to help them achieve as much success as they desire.

Sixth, deliver proactive customer service. Being proactive with customers means never having to say you're sorry. Anticipate and act in advance of problems to nip them in the bud. The customer may never know you fixed a problem before it affected them, but you'll know—you'll hear the inner applause.

Technology has changed professional selling. Voice-mail, e-mail, cell phones, beepers, laptops, PDAs, the Internet, and video conferencing have given salespeople the ability to stay connected with customers 24 hours a day. Each offers another way to build relationships with customers. People buy from people. There will always be a need for professional salespeople because sales is a people business.