Why is building rapport important? Its the first step to show youre sincerely interested in a mutually beneficial relationship, critical to selling solutions.
Who do you enjoy spending measure with at all the holiday gatherings this month? Not the bartender or eggnog server, but those you socialize with. People who are effortless to talk to often generate parties more interesting. Why? Human nature is to feel more comfortable with everybody who take an interest in us; those we have something in common with.

The identical is true with selling. If you are focused on your customers or prospects as people, building rapport becomes an essential first step in the sales process. Lets face it; if they feel like youre interested in them, theyre a lot more likely to want to do business with you. Remember - people buy from all the people and trust is a huge factor.

Some might call this schmoozing or trying to win the customer over. I disagree! Building rapport is about identifying the other persons interests, getting to know their style, and finding what you might have in common. The first requirement is that you have to have a sincere interest in acquiring to understand them as a human not just as a potential revenue generator.

Ideas you can put to work to make rapport:

Discover interests: Find out what they enjoy in life, personally or professionally. Look for signs in their office or at their place of business. Spend some instant asking questions about them to discover more about them.

Match styles: Does your customer prefer to logically examine business, share personal stories, or enjoy joking around? Pay attention to how they prefer to communicate and get in step with them.

Build trust: Identify what your customers needs are beyond what youre selling, then see how you might help with those. Get them in touch with other suppliers or provide understanding to show youre interested in their own well-being before your own profit.

Do your homework: If you were referred, ask the referrer about the human youre going to meet with. If not, do some research on the web or in an annual report. Dont waste their measure or yours.

Your goal should be to establish an atmosphere of trust and respect; its not just about making a sale, its about grasping to know a person. As the June 2002 issue of Selling Power points out, when you treat somebody a defined way , they tend to treat you the identical way.

Why is building rapport important? Its the first step to show youre sincerely interested in a mutually beneficial relationship, critical to selling solutions. Take the measure each sales call to learn something about the human youre dealing with even if youve done business with them for 15 months. Building rapport will contruct you more memorable - just like boring holiday gatherings that suddenly sparkle when you find somebody interesting to talk to.