The Sales Executive Council ...did a global study of 6000 reps across 100 companies in multiple industries. They discovered that [sales] reps fall into one of five categories: Relationship Builders, Hard Workers, Lone Wolves, Reactive Problem Solvers and Challengers. The surprise in the study was that Challengers* outperform the other four types....
( *Challengers teach their customers, and provide insights and fresh perspectives on a client’s business...)
I have been saying for years that too many salespeople overemphasize the “relationship” factor in selling. Yes, people should like you--and I subscribe to being responsive to other people's preferred working styles ... but, at the end of the day, buyers don’t need more social friends. They need business pros who can keep them from making mistakes, who can get them to see issues from a different perspective, who can solve problems, and who can make them legitimate heroes in their world. Do all that with your customers and the “relationship” that follows will be deeper and longer lasting than anything gained from a series of lunches at expensive restaurants.

Anne Miller. Is Selling About Relationships or Something Else?