Our newsletters and sales seminars continually emphasize the importance of customer relationships; building solid relationships with your customers is the core of a successful federal sales program.

A recent Government Executive article titled "Schmooze or Lose" by Kimberly Palmer (http://www.govexec.com/features/1205-01/1205-01s4.htm) presents an exceptionally well-balanced discussion of the issues surrounding relationships between federal contractors and the government employees who make contract award decisions. Everyone involved in federal sales should read this article.

Concurrent with Ms. Palmer's article, the Washington Post has been awash with articles about the Jack Abramoff influence peddling scandal. Mr. Abramoff went far beyond the line in relationship building. His lobbying activities cannot be compared in any way to the relationships between federal buyers and contractors.

Sales of goods and services have been based on good buyer-seller relationships since the cave man. Anyone purchasing a complex product or service knows that you don't buy unless you know what you are buying and the value of the product to you. This information cannot be communicated solely through the written word. Personal communication between the buyer and seller is essential and this is true both in the commercial and governmental sectors.

Accordingly, rules have to be established to draw the line on how far the seller can go in establishing a relationship with the buyer. These rules, both written and unwritten, have always existed in both the commercial sector and government. New rules will no doubt emerge as a result of the Abramoff dealings.

When attendees at our sales seminars ask about what can and cannot be done in establishing relationships with government buyers, we answer: Use your common sense. Know that there is a line, and don't step over it. And I'm not talking about buying lunches here. Almost everyone knows that you don't buy lunches or provide any favors of value. Asking for and receiving information about a procurement after the final Request for Proposal has been published is clearly crossing the line. You should have everything you need concerning the buy and the customer's needs and desired solutions if you have done your homework and established a strong relationship with the customer. Aggressive, front-end sales will eliminate any need for stepping over the line.