Salespeople are people too

An interesting phenomenon happens when salespeople visit, and you ask questions about them and their lives in addition to the product or services they sell. The phenomenon only occurs if, when you ask, you are sincere about wanting to know the answer. The phenomenon of trust and true communication begins to appear as they recognize they are in a business that cares about them as a person and not just pusher of a product or service. For years our shop would have salespeople stop in regularly even when they knew the likelihood of a sale was low. We spent time with each one as a person. I once had a salesman stop in, and we spent an hour talking before he got up to leave only to realize as he reached the door, we had not discussed the product he represented. What is the point behind all of this? We have a trusted, valued salesperson to turn to when we need problems solved who will go above and beyond to provide service. The salesperson has a trusted, valued customer who recognizes there is more to business than just dollars and recognizes their knowledge and experience has value. On a side note, I always thank a new salesperson for visiting and showing us their products when they leave.