Earlier this year, I wrote an off-the-cuff LinkedIn post about things I hope our sales team always does and things I hope they never do — and it got a lot of attention and feedback. Today, I want to dive deeper into the “always” side of that conversation, exploring the five practices that I believe are essential for building genuine relationships with customers rather than just chasing transactions.
- Be courteous
When I posted this on LinkedIn, one of the commenters said that sales people should “lead with empathy”. Yes! Taking the time to understand the feelings of the person you are selling to is courtesy in action.
In other words, put yourself in their shoes. What does a win look like for their company? What does a win look like for them personally? What demands do they face in their role?
Recently, I reached out to one of our customers to discuss a new project. When they didn’t respond, their VP explained that the team was overwhelmed with start-of-the-year priorities. I did not “professionally persist,” but instead, listened. And then I applied number 2.
- Be accessible when customers need them
The meeting I wanted to schedule needed to fit their timeline, not mine. This meant that I had to be accessible when the customer was free.
I want the same thing for our sales team. While there have to be limits to work, one must also be open to connecting when customers want to connect.
I once had the pleasure of playing golf on Kiawah Island with Jimmie James. After retiring from a 33-year career at ExxonMobil, Jimmie played the top 100 golf courses in the world. Suffice it to say he was a lot of fun to play golf with.
But the lesson I took from him was not about golf, but about accessibility. While we waited on a par three, my phone vibrated for the third time in five minutes. I excused myself and had a quick call with someone at the office. When I got back to the tee, I apologized profusely to Jimmie.
Jimmie looked sternly at me and said, “Don’t you ever apologize for doing your job. It does not matter that you are on vacation. As an owner, you need to be accessible when your team needs you. Your ability to be playing golf at Kiawah is because of that job. Don’t you forget that.”
So when a customer calls, I remember that my ability to do anything is because we have customers at Hoffer Plastics.
- Ask questions and listen
Asking questions and listening may be Sales 101 in theory, but it’s Sales 401 in practice. Even for me, it is easier to ask questions than listen. Listening means shutting off your brain from what you will say next, locking eyes with the person talking, and digesting what they say. What they say next might change your life. After all, in the story above I cannot tell you what I shot the day I played golf with Jimmie James, but I can tell you exactly what he said to me on that tee.
Similarly, I want our sales team to have stories of where the hero — the customer — tells them something that changes our business.
- Respect the “no”… and the prospect’s inbox
In all walks of life, no means no. Want to turn a no into a yes? Respect the no. I am more apt to buy from people tomorrow because they respected my no today.
Arguably the best sales person I hired said no to me first. Twelve months later, our executive vice president saw her at a conference, and she was in a different place. Ten years later, she still brings all the fun to the sales team!
The second aspect is simply respecting how many messages people get these days. In 2025, expecting every message to be replied to is unreasonable. As outlined in the last post, responding to solicitations could quickly turn into a full-time job — something I’m sure you can relate to if you are an executive.
It comes down to this: I trust our sales team to use discernment. If a message is not returned after a few attempts, move on. While the aggressive inbox-flooding approach might occasionally win business, this tactic damages far more potential relationships than it creates. The short-term win often comes at the expense of long-term opportunities.
- Be 100% honest about what we can, and cannot, do
Finally, I want our sales team to be brutally honest about our capabilities. If we are not saying no to opportunities, we set ourselves and others up for failure. The reality is that we should NOT strive to match every price or every capability. Instead, we need to be brutally honest about what price we can manufacture the product for, and what capabilities we have now and will pursue in the future.
While it’s tempting for salespeople to over promise to secure a quick sale, honest limitations build lasting trust. Saying ‘no’ demonstrates humility and respect — acknowledging that our company can’t be everything to everyone. This transparency may cost an occasional transaction but preserves our integrity and customer relationships.
Above all, I encourage our sales team to stay positive and approach each day with an abundance mindset. There are always more opportunities — more customers to help, problems to solve, and relationships to build.
Remember that providing real value comes first; the business will follow. That’s not just good sales practice — it’s good business.