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The Relationship Edge in Business: Connecting with Customers and Colleagues When It Counts
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  • Wiley

More About This Title The Relationship Edge in Business: Connecting with Customers and Colleagues When It Counts

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English

JERRY ACUFF is President of Delta Point-The Sales Agency, a Scottsdale, Arizona— based consultancy that helps market-leading companies find new and innovative ways to market products. A graduate of the Virginia Military Institute, he has also served as Executive in Residence at the Amos Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College.
WALLY WOOD is a professional writer who has worked closely with senior executives to develop bestselling business books. In addition, he has been editor of two business magazines and an international marketing newsletter.
  • English

English

Foreword.

Acknowledgments.

Chapter 1: CLIMBING THE RELATIONSHIP PYRAMID.

Building Relationships Is a Skill.

Payback Time in Memphis.

Relationships Can Trump Price.

Four Fundamental Selling Truths.

Meaningful Dialogue Comes with Trust.

Climbing the Relationship Pyramid.

You Need Knowledge, Integrity, Actions.

Key Points about the Pyramid.

Chapter 2: WHAT STRONG RELATIONSHIPS REQUIRE.

Three Steps to Building a Positive Relationship.

Make Self-Fulfilling Prophecies Positive.

Think Well of Others (Even the Jerks).

Implement the Process Completely.

Learn Strategies, Not Tactics.

Set Yourself Apart.

Do Unexpected, Unselfish Actions.

Building a Relationship Takes Time.

Decide Who’s Key, Then Do Something.

Chapter 3: TWENTY QUESTIONS.

Start with a Self-Check.

Sharing Creates the Relationship.

Learn What Someone Treasures.

Thirteen Facts about Human Beings.

Let the Other Person Talk.

Sell by Not Selling.

Start with These 20 Questions.

Memorize the Questions, but Think FORM.

Tell Me Something That Will Surprise Me.

Respect Their Time and Opinions.

Plan What You Will Ask.

Chapter 4: GOOD QUESTIONS PROMOTE MEANINGFUL DIALOGUE.

Motives Matter.

Setting up a Good Question.

Analyze the Bridge to the Question.

Preface Your Question.

Ask Personal Questions First.

Hold up a Book.

Don’t Suggest an Answer.

Learn What Someone Treasures.

Make Them Think.

Stimulate Real Thinking.

Ways to Gain Respect.

Chapter 5: IT’S A SMALL WORLD AFTER ALL.

Connect for Yourself.

Use the Small World Phenomenon.

Connect for the Other Person.

Connect with Difficult People.

Probe for Connections.

Chapter 6: IT’S NOT WHAT YOU KNOW; IT’S WHAT YOU DO.

Show You Genuinely Care about Other People.

Business Gifts Are Not Unselfish Acts.

Be Alert to Opportunities.

Do the Right Thing.

Chapter 7: INTERACTS WELL WITH OTHERS.

Show Respect Correctly.

Identify Qualities You Respect.

Thirteen Ways to Gain Respect.

Examples of Building Respect.

Chapter 8: DECIDE ON YOUR GOALS.

You Can Have What You Want.

Set Smart Goals for Yourself.

Visualize What You Want.

Set Difficult Goals—But Not Too Many.

Be Willing to Pay the Price.

You Don’t Have to Be Where You Are.

Chapter 9: AND WHAT IF YOU’RE THE BOSS?

The Six Drivers of Business Success.

Problems with Command and Control.

Job Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction.

Problems with Sales Training.

Selling Is Learning and Teaching.

What Managers Should Be Doing.

A Coaching Process for Relationship Development.

Build Relationships Routinely, Consciously, Deliberately.

Chapter 10: MAINTAINING MEANINGFUL RELATIONSHIPS.

Understand Customer Lifetime Value.

Create Time for Relationships.

Help Others to Succeed.

Keep the Dialogue Continual.

Make Contact When You Don’t Need Help.

Decide to Make a Difference.

Notes.

Index.

  • English

English

Acuff, president of the Delta Leadership Group, believes that everyone can succeed at any livelihood by mastering the art of relationships. Acuff, who had a long career in pharmaceutical sales, defines the three keys to “relationship edge” as having the right mindset, asking the right questions and doing the right thing. The book develops these principles and uses real-life examples to show readers what types of behavior and conversations lead to success. For example, a sales person can offer to help a prospective customer without pitching a particular product, and often, because of this “goodwill,” the would-be client ends up a steady customer. An employee at a large company makes a point of treating everyone equally, sending birthday greetings to staff in different departments. When her position is eliminated, she has a number of colleagues she can ask for help in finding a new job. Acuff says that asking other people about their lives outside of work is often a crucial step in forming a lasting business relationship. He includes a list of questions designed to stimulate conversation including “What do you do when you’re not working?” “Do you actually get to see any teams play?” and “Where is your favorite place to vacation?” The author’s reliance on quotes from just a handful of people, generally not well known, is a little tiresome, but overall, Acuff’s casual, low-key writing style is appealing. The book should be particularly helpful to less experienced business people, who are more likely to try the recommended strategies than seasoned executives. (May) (Publishers Weekly, April 19, 2004)
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