Relationship Selling


The concept explains how organisations should leverage relationship selling to build strong, enduring relationships with customers. It describes the process of effectively aligning customers with company offerings and details the strengths and limitations of relationship selling as a marketing technique.

Technique Overview

Relationship Selling Definition

Relationship selling, or partnering, refers to "the development of long-term, mutually satisfying buyer-seller relationships" (Gonzalez et al., 2005:57). It focuses on the relationship between a company's sales force and its customer base (Foster and Cadogan, 2000) and can be regarded as the task of "building an aura of trust and warmth that should ensure a permanent bond between buyer and seller" (Jolson, 1997:76).

Relationship Selling Description *

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Business Evidence

Strengths, weaknesses and examples of Relationship Selling *

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Business Application

Implementation, success factors and measures of Relationship Selling *

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Professional Tools

Relationship Selling videos and downloads *

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Further Reading

Relationship Selling web and print resources *

Relationship Selling references (4 of up to 20) *

  • Beverland, M. (2001) Contextual influences and the adoption and practice of relationship selling in a business-to-business setting. Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, Vol.21(3), pp.207-215.
  • Foster, B. and Cadogan, J. (2000) Relationship selling and customer loyalty: an empirical investigation. Marketing Intelligence & Planning, Vol.18(4), pp.185-199.
  • Gebauer, H., Johnson, M. and Enquist, B. (2010) Value co-creation as a determinant of success in public transport services. Managing Service Quality, Vol.20(6), pp.511-530.
  • Gonzalez, G., Hoffman, K. and Ingram, T. (2005) Improving relationship selling through failure analysis and recovery efforts: A framework and call to action. Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, Vol 25(1), pp.57-65.

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