--- title: The Differences In Order Acquisition and Client Acquisition | The Sales Blog description: There is a difference in acquiring orders and acquiring a client. You can acquire orders and not have acquired the client (or customer, as the case may be). Many business-to-business sales organizations get this wrong, especially when they need orders. They follow a sales process that is designed to obtain an order. They ask for […] image: https://www.thesalesblog.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/shutterstock_200748233.jpg --- ### [Now booking SKO meetings for 2026/27! 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You can acquire orders and not have acquired the client (or customer, as the case may be). Many business-to-business sales organizations get this wrong, especially when they need orders. They follow a sales process that is designed to obtain an order. They ask for an order, and in a lot of cases, they get an order. But by focusing solely on the immediate sale, they make it more difficult to achieve long-term sales acquisition and truly acquire the client. The client gives them a single, difficult-to-fill order (which some salespeople are naive enough to ask for). The client would give that order to any salesperson who asks. Or, the client is in a bind and can’t get what they want when they want it, so they offer the salesperson who has been hounding them for a chance to get his foot in the door an order to alleviate their immediate issue. In both scenarios, this order is more about solving a short-term problem than making a genuine commitment to an acquisition client. Because the salesperson and their company behave transactionally, believing that they need orders, they get orders. But they don’t acquire the client, when acquiring the client would get them all of the orders (or at least a significant piece of business). When you behave [transactionally](http://thesalesblog.com/blog/2013/11/24/stop-competing-against-transactional-value/), you define yourself as such. There isn’t a business that needs orders more than they need clients. Your local pizza shop doesn’t want you to order a pizza from them; they want you to order every pizza from them. Amazon.com doesn’t want you to order a book from them; they want you to order all of the books you will ever buy from them–and everything else you will ever buy, to boot. These are highly transactional businesses, yet they work very hard to change the nature of the relationship. If what you really want to acquire is a client, then you cannot behave transactionally. You can always ask for an order, but you should always do so in the context of a sales acquisition process that is working towards an agreement to work together at a much higher level. This approach ensures that you are not just securing a one-time sale but establishing a lasting relationship with the acquisition client.   ###### Tags: [Sales](https://www.thesalesblog.com/blog/tag/sales) [2014](https://www.thesalesblog.com/blog/tag/2014) Post by [Anthony Iannarino](https://www.thesalesblog.com/blog/author/anthony-iannarino) on July 10, 2014 Written and edited by human brains and human hands. ![Anthony Iannarino](https://www.thesalesblog.com/hubfs/ai-blog-profile-crop.jpg) Anthony Iannarino is an American writer. He has published daily at [thesalesblog.com](https://www.thesalesblog.com) for more than 14 years, amassing over 5,300 articles and making this platform a destination for salespeople and sales leaders. Anthony is also the author of four best-selling books documenting modern sales methodologies and a fifth book for sales leaders seeking revenue growth. His latest book for an even wider audience is titled, The Negativity Fast: Proven Techniques to Increase Positivity, Reduce Fear, and Boost Success. Anthony speaks to sales organizations worldwide, delivering cutting-edge sales strategies and tactics that work in this ever-evolving B2B landscape. He also provides workshops and seminars. Connect with Anthony on LinkedIn, X or Youtube. 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What we’re doing right now **is working**, even in this challenging economy. **Would you like some help?** [![Solve for Sales](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/2922376/d3a4938b-2008-4a27-8b44-7b2223f6d035.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/2922376/d3a4938b-2008-4a27-8b44-7b2223f6d035) ### Join my Weekly Newsletter for Sales Tips Join 100,000+ sales professionals in my weekly newsletter and get my *Guide to Becoming a Sales Hustler* eBook for FREE! --- ```json { "@context" : "http://schema.org/", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Anthony Iannarino" }, "dateModified" : "2024-08-07T9:34:19 AM", "datePublished" : "2014-07-10 22:45:07", "description" : "There is a difference in acquiring orders and acquiring a client. You can acquire orders and not have acquired the client (or customer, as the case may be). Many business-to-business sales organizations get this wrong, especially when they need orders. 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