There can be more than one reason for everything.

We all need stuff to survive.

I do sales, but I also buy stuff, too. When I go to a place to buy something, expecially if it is a little more complex and I need some help understanding, I want a person who is nice and friendly. I don't want a jerk that looks like they hate being there and barely answers my questions and non-verbal communication shows that they disdain me and hate their job.

Someone might be emulating friendshpi to coopt and manipulate, but as a buyer, I'd rather have an emulation than an asshole help me.

But you are also ignoring the fact that salespeople are also humans, and we all like to make contacts and friends with other people. Am I perfunctorily friendly, emulate friendly sometimes? Sure, of course. But are there times when I genuinely like the other person and wouldn't mind a long-term actual friendship? Absolutely.

All of us have to emulate friendships, though. Just about everyone. We all are polite to our boss, even though we might hate him or her, because they are our customers - they give employees money. The employee is the "salesperson," starting right from the job interview. A nice person who is not as skilled and talented but who is still good but communicates great and is nice person is generally going to get the job over someone who is a lot more talented but who is a dick.

If you are a barber, you treat your customers well to have them come back. It's part business and emulating friendship, but part real.

And also, while I do treat people well and better than I would if I just met them on the street randomly, I personally also care in general about giving the best service that I can - but that is a personal integrity thing. I think most good salespeople feel likewise.

And here's another thing. When I make a sale, I send a thank you card with a $10 gift card to Starbucks or something like that. I've talked to people who tell me that they are having a baby in 4 months, and in 4 months I'll call them back and see how everything went. Then if all went well with a healthy baby, I send a congratulations card. At some level, the people I sent it to, they are not stupid. They completely understand that there is a sales aspect to it, for absolute sure. But at the same time, people are touched by it. I remember sending a congrats card to a guy who just had a baby and I sent a congrats card. He said that I was the only person that did this. People who he knew for 25 years and more, all his friends and relatives - nobody else did. And, I completely meant it. It was also not fake. I personally was VERY happy he and his wife had a healthy baby.

And I know a lot of salespeople will give the best fit, and will turn down a sale if there's no fit. The reason is that having integrity will get a salesperson a LOT more sales in the long run, and repeat sales are where the real money is. They are not going to jeapordize a long-term relationship for a short term gain. Not all sales people, but many do.

I hope this thorough explanation helps you understand a little more.

Be careful with salespeople, yes. But if you find a "good one" then make sure you go back to him or her when you want to buy something. Because it is difficult to find people you can trust.

My brother always uses the same realtor, who goes WAY above and beyond his job description, and everyone in our family and his friends now use the guy, that's like, probably at least 25-30 people that this realtor got from being a good salesperson to just one client.