Corey smiled to himself after hanging up the phone. Hugh, one of Corey's current customers, just called to inquire about the Avalanche compressors that Corey sold to Hugh on a regular basis. Because business had been good, Hugh was running short on component parts—including compressors—and had called to check on their availability. Hugh was anxious not to disappoint his customers, so he was

desperate to get a shipment of compressors ASAP.

Corey smiled, knowing that under the circumstances, he could probably get away with raising the prices of the Avalanche compressors for Hugh's upcoming shipment—thus making Corey's boss happy, making Corey's firm happy, and making Corey himself look good.

On the other hand, Corey remembered what his marketing principles professor and personal selling professor had taught him about relationship selling and the advantage of sacrificing short-term profits for long-term relationships. Darn! Now what was he supposed to do?
What would you do if you were Corey?

In the efforts of maintaining a long term, profitable relationship with Hugh's company, Corey should probably refrain from exploiting the situation. However, it would be very appropriate for Corey to remind Hugh that a price increase was discussed and dismissed because Corey is sincere about maintaining their good relationship. By denying the price increase, Corey visibly demonstrates his cooperation with Hugh, which is one of the factors underlying trust. This short-term loss of excessive profit will likely be offset by long-term purchases.