I wish I had a dollar for every salesperson who had bragged to me about how great their relationships are with their customers only to lose out on a sale because they didn’t have the lowest price or their bid wasn’t the lowest.

I’d be a multi-millionaire.

Every time your customers buy from you, they’re telling you, "You win. We elected you vendor and we’re voting with our dollars, our money."

Is that sweet or what? Real sweet. Unless you don’t win.

When you don’t win it’s a double loss. Not only do you lose, your competition celebrates because it won. Reality bites.

Many of your customers have more than one vendor selling them the same product. Some have several vendors. So you may have a customer but you don’t have all their business - or all of their wallet. That’s why it’s called "wallet share."

For any particular order, your can pick and choose from among a variety of vendors.

It’s sort of like what voters do at election time. Voting decisions are based on either history or trust or both.

Consider the criteria:

• Ease of doing business

• Belief in product

• Perceived value of product

• Reliability of product (quality x use)

• Durability of product

• Reputation of product

• On-time delivery exactly when I need it, where I need it

• Correctness of order

• Correctness of billing

• Ease of return

• Ease of order add on

• Ease of order change

• Friendliness of people

• Performance comparison of product

• Customer’s belief in company

• Customer’s belief in salesperson

• Response to service needs

• Response of salesperson

• Trustworthiness of total package

And you thought it was price.

No, price is only the issue in the absence of value.

Those are issues upon which decisions are made. And if those voting issues are more important than the decision not to buy the item, the vote will be made to purchase the item. And money will follow.

As a salesperson, I have given you the issues of consideration when someone is considering a new purchase from you. I recommend you work these elements into your presentation in a way that answers concerns before they arrive.

Each time you answer a concern, you build credibility. Build enough credibility and the prospect will feel secure enough, and believe and trust you enough, to buy.

The list above is not applicable in all buying situations. Your job is to determine which of them fits your situation, and then create a winning strategy around them. None of these purchasing issues or concerns is complex – but when answered and addressed properly, they will lead to a favorable, value-based decision.

There are times when you deal with procurement or purchasing, and price is the issue. Your job in sales is to build relationships with decision makers in any department except the people in those departments.

Then there comes the reorder, better known as a sales, service, value report card. From the time of your first sale, your report card begins. The next order will depend on the following key elements:

1. Was your product or service delivered on time?

2. Were all of your promises kept?

3. Were service or accounting issues resolved favorably?

4. Did you follow up after the service?

5. Is it easy to find anyone in your company at any time?

6. Did you stay in contact with the customer on a regular basis in between sales with some kind of value message?

6.5 How accessible and responsive were you?

I have just barraged you with a bunch of issues and questions. Some may be uncomfortable but none are so challenging they can’t be answered in a way that doesn’t build belief in yourself.

Contact Jeffrey Gitomer at salesman@gitomer.com or (704) 333-1112. Gitomer is president of Buy Gitomer in Charlotte, N.C., and the author of "The Little Red Book of Selling." He gives seminars, runs annual sales meetings, and conducts Internet training programs on selling and customer service at www.trainone.com. Sales Moves appears weekly.