Connection Over Commission: Choosing People Before Profit

Sometimes making the connection is more important than making the sale. Businesses thrive because of the relationships that they build. When you have solid connections and loyal customers, the transactions will follow, and you will get repeat business. However, if your sole focus is on closing the deal, and you don’t take the time to develop those relationships, then     you may get a temporary spike in revenue for the sale, but that’s not a sustainable business model. If you want to build your long-term success, you must first build lasting relationships with your customers.

Just because someone might not buy your product or service right now does not mean they won’t keep you in mind for the future or tell someone else about you who might need your services more than they do. That is why it is so important to keep all of your interactions professional, courteous, and open. If someone decides not to move forward with your business, don’t burn that bridge. Keep them as a contact, check in with them every few months to see how they’re doing, and offer as much value as you can to them, even if they are not yet a customer.

When you put people before profit, you make them feel valued, and when people feel valued, they pay attention to you and remember you. In one of my previous jobs, I had a customer tell me that we did not have the better prices, we did not even have the better products, but it was an easy decision for her to go through us because of the customer experience that we provided. She had gone to several businesses that week to explore her options, and she told me that she came back to us because I made her feel seen and valued. She said that no other company made her feel like they cared about her beyond the sale. The difference was that I saw her as a person first before I saw her as a customer. She had been having a rough day, and I listened to her while she told me about it. When it came to our products, I did not make her feel bad for changing her mind several times, asking questions, getting multiple quotes, or not committing her business to us right then and there. Instead, I presented her with the options we had, I treated her with kindness, and I let her come to the conclusion on her own.

After that conversation with her that day, I was reminded of how important it is to focus your energy on connecting with others. This applies across all industries. To be successful, a business must be profitable, but it is the people who drive that profit that you need to work on maintaining. Put connection before commission, and you will develop trust, brand loyalty, and long-term success.

-Meghan Slaughter