There is an art and science to building a relationship between you and your customer. A valuable relationship is worth more than any single sale. It is an asset on your balance sheet that cannot be accurately valued. Only time and trial can begin to quantify the worth of knowing and doing business with somebody.

Knowing how to build good selling relationships can allow you to build a network of value-creating centers of influence. Each center can build its own network and you will be the beneficiary of the influence in each center. The longer you work on the building of solid, value-creating relationships, the larger and more enriching your network will become.

When I ordered a pizza the other night, the man on the other end of the phone asked me for my phone number. I gave it to him and he immediately called me by name and confirmed my address. He then asked me what I would like to order. I told him and he asked if I would like a six-pack of my favorite soda. I felt understood. We had a relationship. On this order it was worth about $15 and a couple of bucks for the guy who delivered it. Who knows what the next order could be worth? I come from a big family and when I get together with my brothers and sisters and their kids, we can eat a ton of pizza.

This is a very simple example of what a minor relationship is worth. How big is your largest customer? I am willing to bet you have a good relationship with them. If you had ten more customers just like your largest customer, what would that be worth to you? Can you find ten more customers like your largest? Of course you can. You simply have to find prospects as large as your number one client and build the same kind of valuable relationship with them.

I have not sold printing for about seven years. Today, I teach people how to sell printing and more. In the last six months though, I have had at least one conversation with someone who works for or did work for my five largest printing customers. I wasn't trying to sell them anything. I was just touching base to see how they were doing. The value of the relationships I enjoyed with them superceded the business that we did together. Should I ever decide to sell printing again, I am sure they will be delighted to consider doing business with me.

Here are six ways you can build value-creating relationships with your customers:

1. Do good business. Be prompt on sales calls and with the delivery of your products. Treat the customer with good manners and always follow through on your promises.
2. Be a good listener. My friend, Zig Ziglar, says that people don't care how much you know until they know how much you care. When you listen to another person with interest, concern and enthusiasm, they cannot help but want to have a relationship with you. If you listen, you care.
3. Practice people-oriented values. Find out at least five things about your customer that you admire. When you are with them, focus on those attributes and let them know of your admiration for their skill, character or values.
4. Find out what challenges your customer professionally. If you can, use every tool at your disposal to help them deal more effectively with those challenges. If you have no way to help, always be on the lookout for solutions and pass them along when you can. This can come in the form of an article or a referral or television documentary. It can take almost any form.
5. Practice the skill of enlightened self-interest. This skill means that you always ask for value in return for value. If you see a good opportunity for your customer, pass it along. Then ask for a referral in return. The very definition of doing business in a capitalistic society is the exchange of goods and services for the mutual benefit of both parties. This is key to mutual respect and understanding.
6. Get to know your customers as people. Go out of your way to spend time with them doing something other than business. This takes time and commitment. It is not always easy with family and personal life to devote more time to getting to know someone in business. However, it is valuable. Go to a sporting event. Invite them for a cookout. Have a holiday party once a year and invite your best customers and prospects. If you are willing to commit to a plan like this then you are serious about creating relationships, not just customers.

Once you have committed to these six steps, then remember what a relationship is. It is connectivity between you and another human being. If you want your network of computers to function properly, you must have connectivity. It consists of hard wires or cables or telephone lines. If you want the network of relationships between you and your customers to work, you must create connectivity. Between human beings, connectivity takes the form of solid and consistent communications. The more communication you have between you and your customers, the more effective and value-creating those relationships will be.

Have a regular and consistent plan for communicating with your customers. Send an e-mail or fax newsletter to them once a month. Send a card for their birthday or take them to lunch. Make an appointment with them to critique the work you and your company are providing for them and their company at least twice a year. If problems surface in the critique, solve them quickly and to the satisfaction of everyone involved. It will keep your line of communications open and your relationship healthy.

Finally, enjoy the relationships you are building. Knowing other human beings and caring about what happens to them and their business is both a privilege and a pleasure. All the money in the world cannot replace the value of a life filled with meaningful relationships. If you have meaningful relationships in sales, you can wind up with all the money in the world.