In sales the relationship building goes in many directions. One salesperson today may be selling company A’s product, but may be trying to sell you company B’s product next year, or a completely different product category. They have a relationship with their current employer, yes, but also a set of relationships with past customers, both companies and also individuals they’ve sold to (and those individuals migrate over time to new roles and new companies). As a buyer, I’m more likely to buy from someone who, in the past, has been honest about whether their company’s product is a good fit for me. I’ve worked with many successful salespeople who are honest about not being the best fit for a customers’ needs. This is especially important when a firm intends to sell to the same customers on an ongoing basis, whether support services or new products or versions. Salespeople will also follow such cues better as long as their commissions depend in part on retention, not just initial sales. It’s hardly universal, but it does happen.
Also: loyalty to a firm relies on believing the firm will also be loyal to you, and I don’t know how common that is, but I have not yet worked anywhere that engendered such a feeling, especially in sales.
Edit: these days the real-world resolution would seem to be that both competing companies move to a SaaS model, reducing the costs of trying and switching products so that customers self-sort over time until they find one they’re happy with, while also incentivizing each database company to continue improving to keep customers happy.
In sales the relationship building goes in many directions. One salesperson today may be selling company A’s product, but may be trying to sell you company B’s product next year, or a completely different product category. They have a relationship with their current employer, yes, but also a set of relationships with past customers, both companies and also individuals they’ve sold to (and those individuals migrate over time to new roles and new companies). As a buyer, I’m more likely to buy from someone who, in the past, has been honest about whether their company’s product is a good fit for me. I’ve worked with many successful salespeople who are honest about not being the best fit for a customers’ needs. This is especially important when a firm intends to sell to the same customers on an ongoing basis, whether support services or new products or versions. Salespeople will also follow such cues better as long as their commissions depend in part on retention, not just initial sales. It’s hardly universal, but it does happen.
Also: loyalty to a firm relies on believing the firm will also be loyal to you, and I don’t know how common that is, but I have not yet worked anywhere that engendered such a feeling, especially in sales.
Edit: these days the real-world resolution would seem to be that both competing companies move to a SaaS model, reducing the costs of trying and switching products so that customers self-sort over time until they find one they’re happy with, while also incentivizing each database company to continue improving to keep customers happy.