by Geoffrey James, Inc.com

The greatest compliment anyone can receive in the business world is "I just love working with you." That's especially true when that compliment comes from customers, because it means that you'll be getting their business time and time again.

Here are the seven rules for getting customers to love working with you, based upon conversations with Jeffrey Gitomer, author of the The Sales Bible and Dr. Earl Taylor, master trainer at Dale Carnegie:

1. Make building the relationship more important than making the sale.

2. Create opportunities for the customer to buy, rather than opportunities for you to sell.

3. Have meaningful conversations and never give a sales pitch.

4. Be curious about the customer as a person and let the friendship evolve from that.

5. Don't try to be a hero who swoops in to solve the customer's problem.

6. Believe in your heart that you and your firm are the best at what you do.

7. Deliver exactly what you promised to deliver, no matter what.