The Power of Rapport

Fred’s at a party and across the room he sees the woman of his dreams. He makes his way over to her, looks her in the eye and says “hi I’m Fred, I have a masters degree in english literature, I can bench press 240 pounds and I love opera would you like to go get a cup of coffee?” Now as you may have guessed, Fred generally drinks his coffee alone. He’s got a lot to offer but he cuts to the chase too fast for most people. However, with a little coaching anyone, even Fred could be much more successful.

On today's show discover:

• ... why getting right down to business is costing you sales
• ... and how spending a little more time at the beginning can make you more money in the end

We’re all in a hurry

We’re all trying to do more in less time and a popular misconception is that cutting corners helps you get more done. In reality, cutting corners can end up costing you more time and money. Now consider how this applies to the sales process. It’s easy to think that getting right down to business is the most efficient way to interact with a customer. After all, it’s that idol chit chat, (building rapport) that seems to be so disconnected from the ultimate goal.  You might think “If I just leave that out and get right down to business I can talk to more people and make more sales right?” Not necessarily!

Look at Fred, by getting right down to business he could talk to ten different people in 10 minutes at the party and still end up having his latte solo. Or he could spend a little more time talking with fewer people, making a connection and finding a date for coffee.

In fact, the sales process relies heavily on establishing, building and maintaining rapport.

Look at the entire process and you’ll find it all starts with that connection.

• Before your customer will purchase they need to see personal value,
• and for you to establish value you need to know their needs and wants.
• For them to feel comfortable telling you their needs and wants they need to like and trust you
• and for that to happen you need to have rapport; it all starts with rapport.

So let’s talk about how to establish, build and maintain rapport throughout your next customer interaction.

8 Ways to Establish, Build and Maintain Rapport

1. Be Yourself - Don’t try to be someone else or adopt a “sales-like” tone. Relax, smile, and have a positive attitude. You’ll find it much easier to make a connection.
2. Get and use their name - Being on a first name basis helps you make a connection and build trust. You’re more likable when you call them by name than when you call them sir or mam.
3. Show genuine interest. The more genuinely interested you are, the more relaxed and willing your customer will be to share their needs and wants with you.
4. Listen and Communicate Empathy - People like to be heard and love to be understood. When you listen actively and communicate empathy you accomplish both! It’s an easy way to build great rapport with your customer.
5. Repeat back -  When you paraphrase sentences or important details you help reassure your customer that what they have to say is important and that you’re listening.
6. See it from their perspective - Imagine yourself in their shoes and have empathy for how they feel. Another way to have empathy for your customer is to imagine they’re a close friend or family member. I did an episode awhile back called 6 Amazing Ways to Improve Your Empathy if you missed that you can check it out at KOSalescoach.net/26
7. Take Your Time Sometimes you’ll identify an issue you’ve seen before and want to rush to solve it or share what you know at the expensive of rapport. Take your time it’s always best to focus on building rapport first.
8. Give sincere compliments. Genuine compliments are endearing. If your customer is well informed, has an interesting background or accomplished something impressive compliment them on it. It can go a long way toward building rapport and they’ll appreciate it.

Conclusion

Taking the time to build rapport and have empathy for your customers at the beginning of the call helps provide the trust and value they need to say “yes” at the end.

Today’s One Two Punch Make Time for Rapport at the beginning for Better Success in the end