A lot depends on what’s in it for the seller — not just the business owner, but the employee who actually conducts the transaction. The challenge for management — and it’s often a huge challenge — is to figure out a way to get their employees to see the lifetime value of a customer.

Sometimes the self-interest of the employee (as he or she perceives it) conflicts with that of the business, and that affects the way the transaction goes down.

In a recent interview, author/speaker Chris Widener related the story of a bad experience at a car dealership. The salesperson told what Widener believed was an outright lie, causing him to walk out and buy the vehicle from a competitor.

When the manager of the first dealership called to ask what had happened, Chris told the story and suggested that the salesperson was costing himself future business with his behavior — even if he makes a sale, the customer will eventually figure out that he’s been had, and will shop elsewhere next time.

The manager sighed and said, “Most of these guys don’t think they’ll still be here the next time you’re in the market.”

In car sales and many retail businesses, turnover is so high that many salespeople think they can’t afford to take the long view — they’ve got to make their sale right now.