Why Building Relationships is the Cornerstone of Sales and Leadership

In both sales and leadership, relationships aren’t just important, they’re everything. You can have the best product, the most innovative ideas, or the sharpest strategy, but if you can’t build strong, genuine relationships, you’re going nowhere fast. Here’s why relationships are the game-changer that separates the mediocre from the exceptional.

Trust is the Currency of Sales

In sales, trust isn’t a bonus, it’s a necessity. People don’t buy from companies; they buy from people they know, like, and trust. Building relationships allows you to establish that trust, turning prospects into loyal customers. It’s not about making a quick sale, it’s about creating a connection that makes your customers think of you first when they need a solution.

• Long-Term Gains: A strong relationship means repeat business, referrals, and a customer who sticks with you through thick and thin. It’s the difference between a one-time transaction and a client for life.

• Easier Sales Process: When you’ve built trust, the sales process becomes smoother. Clients don’t need as much convincing—they know you’ve got their back, so they’re more likely to say yes.

Influence Through Connection

Great leaders aren’t just managers, they’re relationship builders. Leadership is about influencing others, and influence is rooted in relationships. When you take the time to connect with your team, understand their needs, and genuinely care about their success, they’ll go the extra mile for you.

• Increased Loyalty: Employees don’t leave companies; they leave bad leaders. Building strong relationships with your team fosters loyalty, reducing turnover and creating a more stable, productive environment.

• Motivation and Morale: A leader who invests in relationships understands what drives their people. This insight helps you motivate your team effectively, boost morale, and inspire them to achieve more.

• Stronger Teams: When relationships are strong, so is the team. Collaboration improves, communication flows better, and conflicts are resolved more easily when there’s a foundation of trust and respect.

Relationships Open Doors

Whether in sales or leadership, relationships open doors that would otherwise stay closed. A strong network can introduce you to new opportunities, provide valuable insights, and help you overcome challenges. In sales, it can lead to new prospects and markets. In leadership, it can connect you with mentors, partners, and resources that elevate your game.

In sales and leadership, success isn’t just about what you know, it’s about who you know and, more importantly, how well you relate to them. Building relationships is the foundation of trust, influence, and opportunity. It’s not an optional extra; it’s the core of what makes you effective, respected, and ultimately successful. Invest in relationships, and you’ll see the rewards in every aspect of your career.

Businesses wonder why it is still hard to be thought of as the brand of choice with the best customers and top employees.    How can our business make more profitable transactions and stay out of the commodity battle with low profits?  How can we land and keep top talent in our organization with the salary wars.  Kevin teaches your sales and leadership teams how to build the key ingredient to be successful with their relationships and take your goals to the next level with high levels of engagement.

Stop Gambling And Start Winning With Others: https://www.kevinsidebottom.com/stopgambling

Kevin’s website: www.kevinsidebottom.com

Kevin’s email: kevin@kevinsidebottom.com

The Sales Process Online Membership Site 

The Sales Process Uncovered Book 

Customer Entertainment Secrets

Entertaining customers is a classic strategy for building relationships, sealing deals, and keeping your brand top of mind. But the way you entertain can make a big difference in your bottom line and the effectiveness of those relationships. Here are some secrets to making customer entertainment work for you without breaking the bank or damaging the connections.

Secret #1

The Cheaper, More Effective Option

When it comes to entertaining clients, breakfast is a goldmine that’s often overlooked. Here’s why:

• Breakfast meetings are typically much cheaper than lunch or dinner. You can treat a client to a quality meal without the high costs of a steak dinner or cocktails. Plus, breakfast spots tend to have a more relaxed vibe, which can lead to more genuine, productive conversations.

• Breakfast meetings set the tone for the day. Both you and your client are fresh, focused, and less likely to be distracted by the day’s demands. It’s a great time to discuss big ideas, strategize, and make decisions before the workday chaos kicks in. Ever tried to entertain a grumpy customer after a long day of meetings and emails that have had the opportunity to piss them off before meeting with you?

• Breakfast meetings are usually quicker, which respects your client’s time while still allowing you to connect meaningfully. A 60-minute breakfast can be more impactful than a drawn-out lunch or dinner, giving you plenty of time to get to the heart of the matter without overstaying your welcome.

Secret #2

A Smart Marketing Move

Outfitting your team and your clients with branded merchandise is a simple yet powerful marketing tool. But if you’re not buying in bulk, you’re missing out. Here’s how setting up your marketing department to buy shirts wholesale can make a difference:

• Buying shirts in bulk drastically reduces the per-unit cost. This allows you to stretch your marketing budget further, giving you more opportunities to distribute branded merchandise without overspending.

• By having a stock of high-quality, consistently branded shirts, you ensure that your brand is represented uniformly at all events, meetings, and casual encounters. This consistency reinforces your brand’s image and helps clients and prospects remember you.

• Bulk-buying shirts means you always have something on hand to give to clients, whether as a thank-you for a deal, a gift at events, or a simple gesture to keep your brand top of mind. A well-timed gift can strengthen relationships and keep your company front and center in your client’s mind.

Secret #3

Less is More

Entertaining customers is essential, but there’s a fine line between effective relationship-building and overkill. Here’s why too much entertainment can backfire:

• When every meeting involves an elaborate dinner or event, it loses its impact. The client might start to see these gestures as routine rather than special, which can diminish their appreciation and the effectiveness of the entertainment.

• If clients feel like you’re trying too hard to impress them with constant wining and dining, they might start to question your motives. Over-entertaining can come across as desperate or insincere, which can erode trust rather than build it.

• Too much focus on entertainment can take the relationship away from its professional core. Clients might feel pressured to reciprocate or may even start to resent the intrusion on their time. It’s essential to strike a balance that keeps the relationship professional and respectful. Plus there are rules about how much a customer can receive which could flag you as someone that is on the naughty list with purchasing organizations.

Customer entertainment is a powerful tool, but only when used strategically. Opt for breakfast meetings to maximize cost-effectiveness and productivity. Set up your marketing department to buy shirts wholesale, ensuring you always have a branded gift ready for any occasion. And remember—less is often more when it comes to entertaining. Keep it genuine, focused, and balanced to build strong, lasting relationships that benefit both you and your clients.

Businesses wonder why it is still hard to be thought of as the brand of choice with the best customers and top employees.    How can our business make more profitable transactions and stay out of the commodity battle with low profits?  How can we land and keep top talent in our organization with the salary wars.  Kevin teaches your sales and leadership teams how to build the key ingredient to be successful with their relationships and take your goals to the next level with high levels of engagement.

Stop Gambling And Start Winning With Others: https://www.kevinsidebottom.com/stopgambling

Kevin’s website: www.kevinsidebottom.com

Kevin’s email: kevin@kevinsidebottom.com

The Sales Process Online Membership Site 

The Sales Process Uncovered Book 

Stretching Your Sales Relationships

In sales, it's easy to get caught up in closing deals and hitting targets. But if you’re only focusing on transactions, you’re missing out on the opportunity to grow deeper relationships with customer and team members. These are the connections that go beyond the immediate sale and push you to grow, innovate, and will elevate your approach.

Stretch Relationships Push You to Be Better

When you engage with clients who challenge you—who expect more, demand excellence, and push the limits, you’re forced to up your game. These aren’t just customers; they’re partners in growth. Stretching relationships require you to think bigger, offer more value, and constantly innovate. They pull you out of your comfort zone and push you to deliver at your highest potential.

They Lead to Long-Term Success

Stretching relationship isn’t about making a quick buck; it’s about building something lasting. These clients aren’t looking for a one-off transaction, they’re in it for the long haul. By investing in these relationships, you’re securing long-term success. Repeat business, referrals, and a solid reputation all come from cultivating these deep, meaningful connections.

They Open New Opportunities

Clients who stretch you often open doors you didn’t even know existed. They connect you to new markets, introduce you to key players, and expand your network. Stretched relationships are the ones that lead to big breakthroughs and new business ventures because they push you into areas of opportunity that you wouldn’t have explored otherwise.

They Build Mutual Trust and Respect

When you stretch for a client, and they stretch back, something powerful happens, you build a relationship based on mutual trust and respect. These are the clients who will stand by you through thick and thin because they know you’ve got their back, just as they have yours. This trust becomes the foundation for all future business and collaboration.

Stretching relationships are the secret weapon in sales. They push you to be better, secure long-term success, open new opportunities, and build unshakable trust. Stop settling for easy wins and start stretching. It’s in these challenging, growth-oriented relationships that you’ll find the real rewards in sales.

Businesses wonder why it is still hard to be thought of as the brand of choice with the best customers and top employees.    How can our business make more profitable transactions and stay out of the commodity battle with low profits?  How can we land and keep top talent in our organization with the salary wars.  Kevin teaches your sales and leadership teams how to build the key ingredient to be successful with their relationships and take your goals to the next level with high levels of engagement.

Stop Gambling And Start Winning With Others: https://www.kevinsidebottom.com/stopgambling

Kevin’s website: www.kevinsidebottom.com

Kevin’s email: kevin@kevinsidebottom.com

The Sales Process Online Membership Site 

The Sales Process Uncovered Book 

Why Saying "No" in Sales Can Be Your Secret Weapon

In sales, the word “no” is often treated like a four-letter word. We’re conditioned to believe that saying no to a prospect or a client is a missed opportunity, a failure, or even a step back. But here’s the truth: knowing when to say no can be the difference between being a desperate salesperson and being a successful, respected professional.

Saying No Protects Your Value

When you say yes to every request or discount, you’re not just closing a sale—you’re undercutting your own value. Not every deal is worth it. If a prospect is pushing for a price that compromises your margins or demands that don’t align with your product's value, it’s time to say no. This protects your brand and ensures that you’re building relationships with clients who respect what you offer.

No Builds Credibility

Saying no demonstrates that you’re not just chasing a commission—you’re committed to delivering value. When you’re willing to walk away from a bad fit, clients respect you more. They see you as a consultant, not just a greedy salesperson. This credibility makes your yeses more meaningful because they know they’re not getting a generic pitch.  Instead, they’re getting a solution that genuinely works for them.

It Creates Scarcity

Scarcity drives demand. When you say no, you create a sense of exclusivity. If you’re willing to turn down a deal, it signals that your product or service isn’t just for anyone it’s actually for the right partner. This can make your offer more appealing and desirable, increasing the perceived value in the eyes of prospects.

No Saves Time

Not every prospect is going to be a good fit. Saying no early on prevents you from wasting time and energy on leads that are unlikely to convert into a successful partnership. It frees you up to focus on high-potential opportunities that align with your goals and values.

No Sets Boundaries

Saying no sets clear boundaries, which is essential for maintaining healthy relationships. It prevents scope creep, unrealistic expectations, and the burnout that comes from overcommitting. Healthy boundaries lead to better outcomes, both for you and your partners.

Saying no isn’t about shutting doors—it’s about opening the right ones. It’s a powerful tool that can protect your value, build credibility, create demand, save time, and establish healthy boundaries. In sales, knowing when to say no can turn a risky gamble into a strategic win. Don’t fear “No” use it to your advantage.

Businesses wonder why it is still hard to be thought of as the brand of choice with the best customers and top employees.    How can our business make more profitable transactions and stay out of the commodity battle with low profits?  How can we land and keep top talent in our organization with the salary wars.  Kevin teaches your sales and leadership teams how to build the key ingredient to be successful with their relationships and take your goals to the next level with high levels of engagement.

Stop Gambling And Start Winning With Others: https://www.kevinsidebottom.com/stopgambling

Kevin’s website: www.kevinsidebottom.com

Kevin’s email: kevin@kevinsidebottom.com

The Sales Process Online Membership Site 

The Sales Process Uncovered Book 

Does Free Shipping Increase Sales?

Will I increase my sales if I offer free shipping?  Amazon does it so does it generate more sales?  How do I compete with Amazon and other big retailers?

These are some of the questions that I hear when I am coaching sales organizations with becoming the brand of choice.  It’s something that sales organizations ask all the time when it comes to generating more revenues. 

This is about the time that I burst the bubble about free shipping and making more sales.  Amazon does offer free sales and they sell quite a bit of products on their sites every day.   Sometimes I even buy too much on their site.  

Yes, Amazon does offer free shipping, but they offer fast shipping, with great updates on their app that you can see how the product moves through their delivery system.  They also offer really simple and low effort returns.  The third thing that they do is offer free two-day shipping by a use of a subscription. 

This is more than just simply offering free shipping.  We need to look at our business and our product offering to understand what we can offer as a solution to our customers so that they will want to do more business with us.  Likely we have more than one product / service offering that will benefit our customers far better than just free shipping.

This is the time we need to open our file cabinets and study our customers.  What we can do to benefit our customers better?  When we really understand our customers, we can start building partnerships with them to buy more and more of what we offer instead of one off sales.  We want returning partners that will benefit the more they do business with us.

What I teach in the sales process is that we need to ask a great deal of questions at the beginning of the sales process to understand our customers.  This is also the time that the customers start to believe we are really looking to help them and not just sell our products / service. 

We need to get the customers to buy into us if we are ever going to sell them more.  We need to make sure that we are building that influence and that is why it is crucial that we ask a great deal of questions to truly understand our customers. We need to understand their situation, their issues, and the ramifications. 

If we can solve them and get the customer to a better way, then we will reap the rewards of more sales and increased revenues.  Each customer has an acquisition cost and we need to make sure that we are selling enough to cover those costs to manage those customers.  If we do not, then it does not matter as much about the revenue because we will have too high of costs resulting in lower profits.  In the end profits are what keep businesses moving forward.

“Businesses wonder why it is still hard to be thought of as the brand of choice with customers.  How can our business make more profitable transactions and stay out of the commodity battle with low profits?  I equip your sales team to walk with the customer through the five buying decisions, and in the correct order to generate explosive revenues with greater profits!”

www.kevinsidebottom.com

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lWIVasmkFsoYL4h0AqIZgH6LC3qaw_gI/view?usp=sharing – client profile sheet

https://www.amazon.com/Sales-Process-Uncovered-Success-Influence/dp/0578421518 - Book

The Sales Process Uncovered Membership Page

Want Customer Loyalty? Then Change Your Focus

Just about every major retailer has a loyalty program.  Offers are given with point systems in hopes of retaining customers.  These are all great things, but there is one area that businesses are falling short when they try to build customer loyalty.

All of us are familiar with Starbucks and Chick-Fil-A who both host lines for the drive through wrapping around parking lots and disrupting street traffic flow.  What we need to do is think about ways to serve customers so well and consistently that they want to keep coming back.

Both Starbucks and Chick-Fil-A do one thing really, really well.  It’s customer service.  That’s right, they are always going above and beyond the call to serve the customer. This is resulting in customer loyalty, a Fanocrocy, and great business success even during pandemics.  People will literally wait in 20 min lines for a cup of coffee, or a chicken sandwich (with waffle fries of course.) 

Chick-Fil-A also has one thing they do every time they serve us when we say thank you.  They respond immediately with “it’s my pleasure.”  They literally ingrain each employee to be customer service focused.  It does not matter which location we to go, we still get great consistent service.

When an organization focuses only on profits and not on serving the customers it never ends well.  Doing the right thing consistently over time creates brand loyalty.  Making sure we have set up a customer experience mindset, we will see customers return again and again.  Even if we sell and inferior product / service, by serving the customer we will see returning customers.

Too many organizations focus on short term profits.  One main driver for this is publicly traded companies focusing on making their stock holders more money as their main goals.  All organizational goals serve this one main goal.  How do we make shareholders more money?  Unfortunately, these large organizations forget about the investments needed to keep the customers happy who are actually paying the bills.  Investments to maintain quality, delivery, and customer focused service.

Organizations should consistently do the right thing for the customers to generate loyal “Fans.”  When “Fans” pledge their loyalty to us, they tell others how awesome our organization is  They share stories of how we have helped them and rave about our service.  We have sales people selling for us that are not on our payroll.  Wouldn’t you like that?

Do not take the customer’s payment and walk away from the transaction waiting to see if the customer will buy from us again before we give extra effort.   Give the extra effort up front and every time we engage people and we will be rewarded! Consistency over time equals more profits and more customer loyalty.

I am also not sponsored by either organization discussed in this blog, but if they want to give me free food, I fat Kevin would be glad to accept it :)

“Businesses wonder why it is still hard to be thought of as the brand of choice with customers.  How can our business make more profitable transactions and stay out of the commodity battle with low profits?  I equip your sales team to walk with the customer through the five buying decisions, and in the correct order to generate explosive revenues with greater profits!”

www.kevinsidebottom.com

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lWIVasmkFsoYL4h0AqIZgH6LC3qaw_gI/view?usp=sharing – client profile sheet

https://www.amazon.com/Sales-Process-Uncovered-Success-Influence/dp/0578421518 - Book

The Sales Process Uncovered Membership Page