This study proposes Salesperson Relationship Management (SRM), challenging the traditional consumer-centric Consumer Relationship Management (CRM), a reciprocal approach in which consumers actively build rapport with sales personnel to enhance mutual benefits. The study focuses on the role of human-based CRM (h-CRM), extending Social Exchange Theory and Social Relationship Assessment to a B2C retail context. This research examines how non-monetary consumer equity, specifically social communication quality (e.g., honesty, responsiveness, respect, and genuine interest) and personality similarity, influences sales personnel’s performance, satisfaction, and switching costs toward customers. Data were collected via surveys from 120 experienced female fashion retail salespeople. PLS-SEM, regression, and t-test analyses identified consumers as active agents in SRM. Attractive consumer characteristics significantly increase sales personnel’s service quality, sales transaction satisfaction, after-sales service, willingness to build business and personal relationships, and switching costs, fostering continued service quality even without consistent sales contributions, as relationships themselves are perceived as key job rewards. Sub-group analysis indicates differences by salesperson traits: sales-oriented personnel value first impressions, while older personnel prioritize relational similarity. By transforming high emotional-labor retail into a mutually rewarding social exchange, SRM provides a unique value proposition for businesses to secure long-term loyalty and well-being. This study introduces Salesperson Relationship Management (SRM), emphasizing consumers’ active role in building reciprocal, relationships with sales personnel to enhance mutual benefits. Surveying experienced fashion retail salespeople, the findings suggest that encouraging consumers to engage in authentic, respectful interactions (e.g., honesty, responsiveness, respect, and genuine interest) can improve sales personnel’s service quality, after-sales engagement, and willingness to maintain relationships, even without consistent purchases. These positive interactions increase sales personnel’s switching costs, motivating sustained high-quality service and personalized attention. For managers, the findings highlight that changes in consumer behavior, not just salesperson training, can drive relationship-based loyalty. Encouraging shoppers to invest in rapport with sales personnel can yield tangible advantages: better service, emotional support, and priority treatment, while reducing the perceived pressure to purchase. For businesses, fostering environments that facilitate authentic consumer–salesperson connections differentiates the brand, enhances employee job satisfaction, and increases customer retention. Promoting respectful, reciprocal interactions can transform routine sales transactions into meaningful exchanges and the retail floor into a mutually rewarding social space, creating a sustainable competitive advantage rooted in human connection rather than price competition. Salespeople view these social bonds as key job rewards.