Like a good poker player, a successful salesperson needs to be able to read their ‘opponent’ and adjust their strategy accordingly.
Rapport is key when it comes to closing deals – if you can make the customer feel at ease and in control, they’re more likely to trust you and buy from you. Here are seven little-known rapport techniques that will help you close more sales.
Here are tips and tricks on how you can get those prospects to like you, trust you, and buy from you, through a simple process of rapport building. As you are aware of this in sales, building rapport is always the first step. If you don’t have people to like you, trust you, and know you, the chances of making a sale are lower.
By the way, these aren’t rocket science types of techniques. It’s just seven things you can do, in order of importance, to build better rapport with your prospect.
You have GOT to smile.
Here’s an experiment that I want you to try: Walk down the street and look at different strangers as you go along. Then, just smile at somebody. Give an encouraging kind of smile. You will see how infectious that is. You will see it will get the person who’s just walking by you, maybe somehow looking quite confused, but you will surely see that they are still smiling back at you. That is because you’re smiling.
The more you do this, the more you will see in other people. When you do it during a sales conversation and you’re smiling and being friendly, the person will feel at ease and be more likely to trust you.
“Make Eye Contact “
This means looking at people in the eye, not doing the death stare. I had a boss once who did that all the time. Imagine the awkwardness. So, not that kind of look. You want to make eye contact when talking to them. Look away a little bit from time to time and then come right back to them.
Eye contact is critical, especially in sales. By looking dodgy and just not looking at them, people are not going to trust you. When you look someone in the eye, especially when you are close to them, you can see their reaction. This is a good way to know if you will make a sale.
Use the other person’s name.
This is something that I’ve struggled with quite a bit, as it’s not something that comes naturally to most people, especially introverts like myself. That is using the other person’s name. Consider this scene:
I was walking through the office, heading to his cubicle when I heard someone call my name. I turned around and saw Bob, one of my co-workers. “Hey Tom, how’s it going?” Bob asked.
The smile was instantaneous. “It’s going great, Bob,” I replied.
Hearing our name always makes us feel good. It’s the best sound in the world.
Be careful not to use their name too overly, though. Instead, remember to use their name frequently enough so they know that you are aware of who they are and it becomes a lot more personal.
Mirror, mirror.
This is something maybe a little bit more advanced. Mirror the person’s body language. One of my staff shared with me this experience he had:
“I could tell that the other person was feeling a little bit uneasy. They were sitting with their arms crossed, and they looked like they didn’t want to be there. But I did. I wanted to be there, and I wanted to talk to them.”
“So I started by mirroring their posture. I crossed my arms and nodded along with them, letting them know that I understood where they were coming from. But then slowly, ever so slowly, I started to uncross my arms. And as I did, the other person began to relax too. They opened up a bit more, and we started having a real conversation.“
Mirroring is a simple technique that we’re programmed to recognize when other people are similar to us. What that means is if you’re smiling, they’re going to smile. If they’re leaning forward, you should lean forward as well. They’re relaxed, you are relaxed. This puts people at ease and will think, “This person’s just like me.”
You’re not mimicking them. That’s completely different. You want to make this as natural as possible. Maybe wait one or two seconds after they make a move, then you make a move. It will make rapport building a lot easier.
Talk less, listen more.
This is another thing that a lot of salespeople struggle with. I find it fun watching sales conversations when I’m coaching salespeople. I noticed most of them like to talk a lot.
You need to listen more and talk less. This is because you need the person you are talking to tell you all the information you need. Once you have all the information, you can figure out if you can help them. You will also develop a program that is customized for them and helps them. Then, when they are ready, you will show them a presentation that will help them buy your program.
You’re not getting any information from them when all the talking is coming from you. It could be that they have lots to say and just don’t know how or where to start.
It’s kind of a rule of thumb: 80% they should be speaking 20% you should be speaking. What I like to do is always just ask a question because that gets the ball rolling a little bit more. People love when you ask questions because then that gets them talking. Make sure that you are not speaking too much and allow that prospect to speak as much as possible so that you can get a lot more information.
Leave them feeling like: “Oh, wow, this is great! I get to talk about myself a lot.” Everybody loves to talk about themselves, right?
Ask really good questions.
This goes along with tip number 5. As you are speaking to people, you want to be asking questions and asking really good questions to get them to explain what their issues are. Certainly, they will reveal to you why they need you. This will be advantageous for you as you will hear them more verbalizing their need for you and for your service than them telling themselves: “Oh, I need this service.”
It’s one thing for you to tell somebody how they need your services. Your prospects are not going to necessarily believe. But if you ask a question to get them to realize that they do need your services, then the conversation is a lot better.
The key to getting what you need from others is by asking questions. The more specific and thoughtful, the better. Get them to realize how they need you.
React positively to corrections.
This one’s kind of fun because a lot of times you won’t even have to use this if you do everything else right in the sales process. React positively to objections.
A lot of salespeople seem to have encountered the boogeyman- something you never know when it’s going to show up, and it can always seem to catch you by surprise. when they hear an objection.
To me, objections are like clarifying questions. I always love when people ask me questions about my products. It shows that they’re interested and want to learn more. So when the customer said, “I don’t think this is the right product for me,” I just smiled and nodded.
“Of course, of course,” I said. “Can you tell me a little bit more about what you’re looking for? I might be able to suggest something else.”
It’s not always that they’re going to say no, it’s just that they don’t have enough information to decide at this point.
Objections may sometimes mean that you haven’t done your job right. If you did your job, right, you wouldn’t get any objections. Use objections as a really good point to go back to different steps in the sales process, asking better questions and answering any questions that they might have.
One thing that I like to do is always restate the objection or the question that they have, and then make sure that it’s still valid.
So when my client tells me that our services were too expensive, I was more than happy to have a conversation with them about it. “Well, too expensive compared to what?” I ask. “What are you currently paying for similar services?”
My client was quiet for a moment and then admitted that they hadn’t looked into other options. They just assumed that our prices were too high.
It’s not just about the price. People think about what something is worth to them. You probably haven’t shown them enough value to make it worth the price you’re asking. Most of the time, this is a really good objection that I’m happy to hear. This lets me talk more to them about the value I’ll provide so they can make a better decision.
Well, there you have it! Seven powerful rapport techniques will help you close more sales. We hope you found this blog post helpful and informative. If you’re looking to take your sales skills to the next level and want to learn more about how to build trust-based relationships with potential clients, be sure to try getting one of our impact call series. During these one-on-one calls, we’ll help you identify your strengths and weaknesses when it comes to selling, give you tailored feedback on your current sales process, and provide actionable tips for improving your results. Ready to get started? Schedule a call today and let us show you how easy it is to create lasting connections with potential customers.
If you’re looking for more advice for your business, please contact us for an Impact Call to see if our approach would be appropriate for your situation.
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