Are you in Business for the Sale or the Relationship?

Are you in Business for the Sale or the Relationship?

This past week I was meeting with a new customer to discuss chef wear and some unique coffee mugs they could sell for the holidays.  We had a good meeting, discussed options and agreed on samples she would like to see.  The meeting seemed to be going well.  Toward the end of the meeting, she said something I hope none of my customers will ever say:

“Do you do decals too?  

We are getting low and we don’t really care about the company where we get them.” 

 Wow, a simple phrase that says so much!  From the moment we built our company, it has always been about relationships, helping people accomplish their goals, brand their business, thank customers and reward employees. 

We are fortunate that in the promotional product industry, we sell over a million products – seriously, a million products!  I can’t think of a business that doesn't need what we sell – even if its just business cards.  For us - its not about "the product" but what the product can do for you.  So many companies of all types today think they just need a web site to be in business, to sell their products.  It’s a start; it seems easy, it reaches a lot of people but are you using it to sell product or build a lasting relationship?  Can it build a personal connection that turns sales into customers who want to stay with you?  It can be done but building a person to person relationship in addition to on line sales builds trust.

When you don’t take the time to build the relationship, then it’s just a sale.  It’s not a customer, you don’t have a brand – you just sell products.  Long lasting successful companies put building a life long customer ahead of “just the sale.”  We want customers who will stay with us for years.  We want them to count on us, depend on us.  We want to be their partner, make them look good, help them accomplish their goals.

Stowebridge Promotion Group has grown primarily through referrals.  Our customers refer us to their friends and colleagues.   When they leave, they take us with them to their next company.  We actually work all over the US, Canada and in many other countries.  Building relationships does not have to be a face to face experience.  Our consultative, non-pushy approach makes our customers comfortable with us.  And for us its about more than just being nice - we have invested in the equipment and people to deliver what you need from our outstanding art department to our full scale production facility.  Creating a company that cares about its customers, puts the long term relationship ahead of the sale today takes hard work and a great team – but we feel it’s worth it.  It is who we are as a company and much more personally rewarding than just getting the sale.

We would love the opportunity to build a relationship with you.  Just let us know how we can make you look great – 888-340-8006.