How to Be a Strategic Partner to Your Customers

Image of strategic partnershipThere is a great deal of power in the nature of your relationships with prospects and customers—even in the words you use when talking with them. Language can have a significant impact on your customers’ perception of you and thus, your relationship.

For instance, referring to yourself as a vendor or supplier can put a damper on your customer relationship right from the start. It is much better to present yourself as a consultant, a trusted advisor, or even better, a partner. After all, a vendor’s goal is usually to make a sale and profit from the transaction. Even though a vendor supplies needed products and services, the conversations usually focus on pricing and deals, with a perceived “win-or-lose” outcome. That’s hardly the best foundation for an ongoing, long-term relationship.

In contrast, a supplier or vendor who seeks to become a strategic partner to a customer is in a far better position to build a lasting professional relationship, as well as to gain a more comprehensive sale—a “win-win” for both.

In the same way, you are a customer to your vendors and suppliers, and you can benefit greatly from considering them as trusted advisors and strategic partners in your success. These partners truly want to have that deeper relationship with you, as that kind of teamwork obviously benefits you both in the long run. Why not tap into the expertise they want to provide?

That’s the approach we take at Pearson Partners International in providing executive recruiting and leadership consulting services to our clients. With clients who come to us outside of a search engagement to seek our advice and counsel, we have much deeper, longer term, and mutually beneficial relationships.

When you provide added value to your customers—beyond just products and services—you are looked at in a much more positive light. The conversations now become about value rather than cost, and you will be well on your way to becoming a trusted long-term consultant, advisor and strategic partner to your customers.

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