Sustainable Relationships
Nobody likes to be “sold” anything. You might be surprised when I tell you that we really don’t want to “sell” you office furniture or “sell” you on how great Team Office is. We don’t want anyone to choose Team Office for their office furniture just because we persuaded them. We want people to choose Team Office because they felt we were the best choice for their needs and they were comfortable making that decision.
Since 1999, Team Office has been saving people a lot of money and time when they buy office furniture and service. We’re pretty good at it and I’m glad we were able to provide so much value to so many people. We take the time to listen to our clients and understand what they want. We provide them with everything they need to furnish their space in a way that they can feel proud every time they walk into their new office. Throughout each project, we work to eliminate problems before they happen and finish on time and under budget.
All of these things are important and necessary but they aren’t the driving factor or the best thing that we will build with our clients. When a project is complete and we’ve given everything the client expected and more, we’ll both walk away with something money can’t buy. We’ll walk away with a relationship that we can count on and enjoy for many years to come.
Selling office furniture and service is transactional and short-term. When the transaction is complete, the relationship is over. Sustainable relationships start before the transaction takes place and continue on indefinitely. Sustainable relationships bring meaning to our work and the more meaning we have in our work, the more fulfilling it will be. Studies show, people are more productive when they find their work meaningful. Transactions are focused on an exchange of something for money. Sustainable relationships are focused on people.
Transactions (Selling)
Are short-term
Often shallow
Impersonal
Meaningless (nothing beyond the purchase)
Often lead to buyer’s remorse
Provide no value to either party after the transaction
Not fun
Only provide what you’ve paid for and nothing more
Sustainable Relationships
Have no time frame
Are reliable and will be there when times are tough (when you aren’t buying anything)
Focus on the other person and what’s important to them
Based on trust
So much fun you’d do it for free
Often get you even better service and pricing because the other person cares about you
Focusing on building sustainable relationships instead of conducting transactions will not only put more meaning in our work, but will lead to greater productivity and better quality as well.
I hope you are enjoying a sustainable and rewarding relationship with your furniture and service provider. If you’re not, I’d love to hear from you.