Your Customer Doesn’t Need a New Best Friend.

One of my friends is a top executive at her company. She was recently venting to me because a sales rep found out her family was heading to Colorado and suggested they meet up since they were also going to be there at the same time.

She said: “Does she think we’re best friends or something? I can’t begin to imagine why she would think I would want to take time out of my family vacation to spend time with a sales rep?”

The truth is…this is a HUGE customer pet peeve. I’ve spent a ton of time interviewing customers and this comes up consistently: Customers often tell me, “I hate it when sales reps pretend we’re best friends. You don’t need to know everything about me.”

I think sales reps are told they need to build relationships, and somewhere along the way, many interpret that as becoming close friends. This is a mistake. Sure, every once in a while a dales rep and a customer can become genuine friends, but that’s rare, usually takes years, and isn’t necessary. Here’s what customers really want:

· They want someone who respects their time.

· They want someone who understands their business.

· Trust comes before friendship—not the other way around.

Don’t get me wrong. Being FRIENDLY is very important, but customers don’t need a new best friend. Stop trying to build the relationship with friendship. Build it with trust instead.

What do you think? Share with me in the comments!

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