Do you think it matters if your prospects like you? Sure it does. If your prospects don’t like you they probably won’t talk with you, and if they don’t want to talk with you then it is going to be hard to make the sale.
Here are four tips on becoming more likeable to your prospect:
1. Show Curiosity. Ask questions so that you understand your prospect. Find out what their needs and/or wants are and what their ultimate goal is for purchasing the product that you have for sale. Be genuinely interested in that other person and maintain eye contact throughout the conversation.
2. Be Expressive. Nobody likes someone who is dull or a Debbie Downer. People want to engage with someone who is expressive, enjoying life and have a zest about them. Find your personal style, but be expressive, which means changing your vocal tones throughout your conversation.
I took this vocal coaching class once and the instructor was talking about going up the stairs and then coming back down. Sometimes, you need to go to the basement, but then you’ll want to hang out at the landing a little bit and then go over all the way to the attic sometimes. That is called vocal range. That creates more variety in your vocal patterns and therefore, people are going to be a lot more interested in what you have to say instead of just droning on.
3. Actively Listen. Many people don’t actively listen. Some people consider listening as just hearing what someone is saying, but not really understanding. If that’s the case, we’re not understanding the intent of what they’re actually saying. So many of us, when we’re speaking to somebody else, they’re speaking to us and we’re thinking about what we’re going to say next. That is not listening. You need to understand what they’ve said and make sure you’ve understood and then respond to what they’ve said. That is called active listening and it shows that you really care and really increases that likeability factor.
4. Show Similarities. You want to be just like the other person. Obviously everybody isn’t just like you and you’re not just like everyone else, but there are certain aspects of your life that are very similar to the prospect, and you want to highlight those. People like to be around those that are just like them. I don’t recommend that you use this tip in a manipulative way, but rather as a way of highlighting common interests that you genuinely have with your prospect. Is it that you have kids the same age? Do they go to the same school, live in the same neighborhood, have same hobbies, sports, etc.? You want to be able to highlight those points while you’re building rapport with your prospect. Doing this will increase your likeability factor, increase your rapport and increase your sales!
Send me an email at TOM@TOMJACKOBS.COM and let’s chat about any questions regarding your business and how I might be able to help you increase your likeability and boost your sales!
