"Real" Rapport Building

By Kent Howell
 

We've all heard it...people buy from people they like and trust. It's true...would you buy something from someone you didn't like and trust? Only if you had to, and unless your product or service is very different from mine, your customers don't have to buy from you. But how do you get people to like and trust you, especially since you're not typically getting to know them in a relaxed setting.

Let's face it, a sales call is a somewhat awkward situation if you haven't met the prospect before. It's kind of like a date. Will she like me? Will she trust me? The prospect knows you're there to sell them, and you know you're there to sell them, but we can't just walk in and start selling.

I guess you could walk in and start "pitching" but that's not very effective, is it? The fact is that most of us can't wait to get to the part where we begin presenting. The truth is most of us wish we could skip all the preliminaries. Wouldn't it be great if you could walk in, present and get the order? Well, while it might be great, it isn't what works. (if it works in your world, please e-mail me and let me know what color the sun is on your planet)

Most salespeople use cheesy, canned "lines" in order to establish rapport. Lines like, "Nice weather we're having," "How 'bout those Mets," or "You golf? I golf!" Supposedly these result in a warm fuzzy feeling between you and your prospect. Do they? I suggest they don't. The prospect knows what you're doing and it's typically uncomfortable for both of you. Lines like these result in the prospect looking at his watch and wondering when you're going to get to the point. Don't get me wrong, if all you have in your arsenal are lines like those above, use them. You can't just walk into someone's office and start pitching so that kind of small talk is better than none.

I think there's a better way to begin a sales call and I think that better way is to have a conversation about everyone's favorite subject. (and we all have the same favorite subject) No, it's not sports, not money, not food. It's themselves. Everyone's favorite subject is ME! Even people who say they don't like to talk about themselves, like to talk about themselves.

So how do you get your prospects talking about themselves? Here's how I do it: "Steve, I'm just curious...before we get started,how'd you get to be the VP of Sales here at ReallyBigCo?" I say it exactly that way for a reason. When you say, "I'm just curious, before we get started," it's kind of like you're off the record and people tend to open up more freely. I usually wind up with my prospect telling me about their resume, background and history for somewhere between 5 and 10 minutes. While they're talking about themselves I'm listening attentively. Now that's easy for me to do because I'm genuinely interested in people. If you're not really interested, fake it. Did you ever notice that when someone is interested in you, they seem more interesting to you? That's why this technique works so well. When you ask someone about themselves and actively listen you give them the gift of being listened to, and most of us don't get listened to in life. Our spouses, kids, co-workers and most others don't listen to us most of the time. When you ask someone about themselves, and listen, they start to like and trust you. Will you be best friends after that? Nope, but you're on the way to establishing real rapport.

Try this method on your next sales call and see how it works for you.