A sales approach that involves building and maintaining customer trust over a long period of time.

Relationship selling is a worthy goal, though salespeople and selling firms often fall short of achieving it. Examples of those who do things that jeopardize their customer relationships are far too common. One such example involves Pilot Flying J, the largest operator of travel centers in North America, with more than 750 locations in 44 states and 6 Canadian provinces (www.pilotflyingj.com Links to an external site.). The company sells over a billion gallons of fuel on an annual basis, managing relationships with a large number of trucking firms.

However, in a highly publicized case, the FBI accused numerous Pilot Flying J employees of engaging in a scheme to withhold customers rebates and discounts in order to enhance company profitability and increase individual sales commissions. The investigation began when FBI agents learned that Brian Mosher, director of sales for national accounts at Pilot Flying J, had advised salespeople to target customers too unsophisticated to realize that their rebates were incorrect. When learning of the salespeople alleged by the FBI to have been involved in the scheme, Paul Weick, president and CEO of one such customer, Western Express, noted, A lot of those folks that are mentioned in the affidavit are people that I know, that I trusted.1

Can you blame a customer for responding this way? Would you feel the same way? Moreover, would you ever want to work with, much less partner with, the company again? Most of us would say no; actions like those in the Pilot Flying J example cut at the core of any relationship. They violate our trust Links to an external site., or our belief that another person will act with integrity on a reliable basis. Without trust, there can be no relationship. Trust provides the necessary foundation for our personal and business relationships.

Trust

The belief that another person will act with integrity on a reliable basis.

Salespeople place their customer relationships at risk when they engage in behaviors that undermine trust. These behaviors often have disastrous consequences. In all, investigators estimated that the scheme cost Pilot Flying J customers $56.5 million in rebate payouts and resulted in guilty pleas or convictions for 17 former employees. Company leadership ultimately confessed criminal responsibility and agreed to pay $92 million in criminal penalties and $85 million in civil settlements. It is difficult to monetize the true harm done to the companys customer relationships.2

Its tempting to focus on companies and salespeople who have done the wrong things. In fact, though, there are many more salespeople out there doing the right things. These salespeople understand how important trust is and how critical it is to their success. In sales today, given the focus on relationship selling, it is impossible to succeed if your customers do not feel they can trust you. Trust is an imperative; it must be there for the relationship to develop and ultimately endure.

In this chapter, we focus on how salespeople establish trust and build customer relationships. The first step is to engage customers by understanding their unique purchasing processes. Throughout the selling process, displays of competence and ethics from salespeople will result in customer trust and long-term relationships.

Returning to the Pilot Flying J example provided at the beginning of the chapter, think about ethical issues you would face as a salesperson and as a future executive.

Questions

1- How would you have responded as a salesperson if you were asked to withhold your customers rebates and discounts? What factors may have led to so many employees being involved in a scheme such as this?

2- In one of the more talked-about aspects of this case, top leadership at Pilot Flying J was exonerated in the probe because they claimed to be unaware of the scheme. In your opinion, is this a reasonable excuse for a leadership team? Why or why not?

3- How might you go about trying to salvage the customer relationships negatively affected by the scheme? How could you reestablish trust after an event such as this?