Relationships are the trump cards in selling. Someone once said, "you need at least three of the four aces to make a new sale."

What are the four aces? First is coverage. Second is service. Third is price. And fourth, and most important, and the card that trumps the first three aces, is relationship.

A good salesperson will focus on qualifying the prospect and building the relationship to trump the competition. Relationships will carry you further and longer than the other three aces. You have to carefully balance coverage, sevice and price to compliment the relationship.

Dale (Andy) Sheets has more than 30 years of experience in structuring risk management programs for businesses worldwide. Follow Andy on Twitter @DaleAndySheets and connect with him on LinkedIn.