Are You In A Relationship ?
01 Apr 2026
Published in: Member News
Sales isn’t about chasing ready buyers — it’s about building relationships early. By using the right data, having meaningful conversations and staying consistent, you can create a strong pipeline and be the trusted choice when prospects are ready to buy.
Not the romantic kind, the sales kind.
In January we’re all thinking about intentions and goals. And if you’re a business owner or salesperson, no doubt you’re thinking about getting those all-important sales for this year’s forecast.
Making sales means creating leads. And creating leads is about developing relationships, not just finding people who are ready to buy. Because by the time someone is ready to buy, they’re likely to have several relationships in place that they will turn to for help.
At Cre8, our job is to initiate that relationship, develop and nurture it, so that when the customer is ready to buy, you’re on the list. How do we develop great relationships with sales potential and how can you do this too? Here at Cre8 we’ve honed a tried and tested methodology over our 15 years of helping SME’s grow.
1. Firstly, we spend time with every client to fully understand their proposition, USP’s and what the message is going to be.
If you’re a business coach for example, can you lead with a specific offer that’s less generic and more tangible? You’re more likely to develop a conversation if you are truly understood. Whatever calls take place, should not feel like sales calls, so hone your message and the key points you want to share.
2. Then we begin to think about how to create good data, which is carefully researched or purchased based on agreed targets.
We use digital tools to enrich lists, to give us the best chance of having conversations with senior people.
3. At delivery we move into consistently making really high quality calls, calls that don’t feel scripted or like sales calls.
Calls are really business conversations, where we initiate that all important relationship. We find intelligence, and key decision makers, contact information, and utilise this to plan further communication, timescales and follow up. We use a range of digital tools to support this process and ultimately, we generate some great leads in a range of sectors. A good conversation is the best way to start a relationship of any kind, first impressions count, and we build on this activity with follow up, email, and LinkedIn activities as needed. It may take time, and you may be in this process for some time before any sales opportunities arise, but you’ve got to be in it to win it. If you’re not talking to your prospects, other people will be.
4. Measuring and reporting is the final all-important step, tweaking any approach and making sure we’re delivering what is needed, meeting objectives, and building a great pipeline.
When we’re measuring, it’s not all about meetings. It’s about looking at the levels of activity, the intelligence garnered, and the value derived from all the calls.
Sales is quite simple, but not easy. It’s time, leg work and a committed, organised and resilient approach coupled with commercial acumen, and great communication skills. If you’re developing great relationships with your prospects, you’re sowing seeds and building a sales pipeline that will support your business growth in the long term. If we can be of any help with your sales activities, please contact us on 0121 347 6601
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