Relationship marketing versus hard sell

The two polar opposite approaches to marketing can be best summarises as the hard sell and relationship marketing.

Hard sell is about helping you to make the decision to buy now. It is about giving you the confidence to make a decision now. The benefits are too good to pass up. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity. Think of your children. Think of what everyone will say when they see you … and, so on.

Relationship marketing respects the buyer’s right to make up their mind when they are ready. It is about establishing a relationship, building rapport, educating potential customers about your products and the benefits of them. At best you can make the customer aware of what you are selling and if they choose then they can buy. You will stay in touch with them on a regular basis and you will try to understand their business.

While relationship based marketing is generally considered to be better for long term business, saying that one is better than the other is not easy because they both have their place.

For larger and more complicated services and products then it makes a lot of sense to establish relationships with your clients.

For one off purchases such as in retail, cars or real estate then hard sell makes sense too.

There are also times where you will need to help a relationship based client move to a decision, and where you may need to build a relationship with a large buyer.

All in all, think about your customer base and the need for relationships or not before you tailor your approach.