The Relationship Sales Trait Measures Knowledge of Growing Existing Accounts
The Relationship Sales trait is one of the Sales Traits scored on the Sales Ability Test. It measures what a candidate understands about keeping existing customers close and encouraging them to buy more, which is a different job from winning new ones.
What Does the Relationship Sales Trait Measure?
The relationship sales trait measures the degree of theoretical understanding of the best ways to build relationships with existing customers and encourage them to buy more.
The emphasis falls on how well somebody pleases other people, and certainly not on aggressive selling.
What the relationship sales trait is not
It is not the ability to persuasively sell or make cold calls. Consequently, a strong reading here promises nothing about winning new business, and the two jobs can sit in the same title while needing opposite strengths.
What the Relationship Sales Trait Helps You Evaluate Before You Hire
Ask how their biggest account grew over time. A strong answer traces a series of small openings they noticed, while a weak one describes a renewal that arrived on schedule by itself.
Why the Relationship Sales Trait Matters in Hiring
Account growth and new business are different jobs, and this reading covers only the first. Knowing what it leaves out matters as much as knowing what it measures.
Existing Customers Only
This reading covers growing the accounts already won. Finding new ones is a separate trait with separate knowledge behind it.
Pleasing, Not Persuading
Pleasing a customer and persuading one are different skills, and this particular reading covers only the first one of them.
Not a Cold Calling Signal
Persuasive selling and cold calling both sit outside this trait, so a high reading here is no substitute for Hunter.
How a low Relationship Sales score shows up on the job
Revenue rarely drops sharply. Instead, the accounts simply stop growing, and nobody notices until a renewal arrives smaller than the year before.
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How the Relationship Sales Trait Is Scored
Eleven questions produce this score.
The report names six ranges for it, and the three bands below group them.
Low — under 38
A very poor to poor understanding of building relationships with existing customers and growing them.
Medium — 38 to 55
A borderline to OK understanding of keeping existing customers close and encouraging them to buy.
High — 56 to 100
A good understanding of growing existing accounts, which becomes an excellent one from 75 upward.
Relationship Sales is one of the Sales Traits on the Aptitude assessments
Each trait in this set scores selling knowledge rather than personality.
However, this one describes the gentlest end of selling, so the readings beside it are what tell you whether a candidate can also push.
Customer Service Strength
A named relation, because keeping a customer happy and recovering an unhappy one both draw on very closely connected knowledge.
Solution Selling
The other named relation, because growing an account usually means finding the next problem that is worth solving for them.
General Sales
Persuasive selling sits outside this trait entirely, so read the general selling number whenever the seat also carries a quota.
Hunter
Cold calling also sits outside this trait entirely, which makes Hunter the reading to check for anybody expected to prospect.
Empathy
A behavioral reading worth pairing with this one, since pleasing existing customers comes more easily to somebody who genuinely cares.
Sales Traits
The category this trait belongs to. Every Sales Trait is scored from multiple choice questions with one correct answer, so these readings measure what a candidate knows rather than how they describe themselves.
Best Practice: Never read this as a general sales signal. It covers existing customers only, so check General Sales or Hunter whenever that same person is also expected to win new business too.
How to Interpret Relationship Sales Results
Six named ranges cover this trait, and the action below each range assumes you are holding a report.
The Sales Ability Assessment is its closest related instrument.
What to Do Based on Your Relationship Sales Score
Treat as no demonstrated account knowledge at all, and keep this candidate away from any seat that owns customer relationships.
Expect accounts to stay flat here, so plan who else will own the growth conversations before you make an offer.
Workable only where a manager still runs the account reviews, and check Customer Service Strength before handing over anything valuable.
Compare this against your own role benchmark, since a farming seat and a hunting seat reward two quite different readings.
Place this candidate on the accounts worth growing, and read Solution Selling to see how they will find the opening.
Check General Sales and Hunter before adding any new business to the role, since this reading covers existing customers only.
Assessment results support your hiring decisions, they do not replace them. Always read the relationship sales trait score alongside the full profile and your role benchmarks before drawing a conclusion.
The Relationship Sales Trait Matters for Every Role You Hire
Because a farming seat and a hunting seat reward opposite readings, benchmarks define what each number means. Therefore, review results against the benchmark for the specific job.
Relevant for all role types
Relationship Salesperson
Sales Manager
Vehicle Salesperson
Non-Professional Salesperson
Service Coordinator
Customer Service Representative
Salesperson with Cold Calling Duties
Marketing Manager
If any of these situations sound familiar, this assessment is for you
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Frequently Asked Questions
It measures the degree of theoretical understanding of the best ways to build relationships with existing customers and encourage them to buy more. The emphasis falls on pleasing other people rather than on selling persuasively.
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